Clean your bike regularly in winter too? Annoying! And unnecessary, because it’s going to get dirty again straight away anyway. Or is it? Your bike likes being out in winter. It then just needs a bit more care so it doesn’t suffer from the weather conditions. If you can’t give up riding even in winter, it’s absolutely important to clean the bike from time to time; you should give it a wash even more often than in summer. Here you’ll find out how to do it and which accessories make winter bike washing quick and easy.
But why is it so important to wash the bike again and again in the cold season? It’s quite simple:
- Your bike has to take a lot more in winter than in summer. It’s often constantly wet, and sometimes at cold temperatures it doesn’t dry properly for days. Unfortunately, the moisture freezes solid at sub-zero temperatures.
- Problem number 2: Moisture helps dirt to creep even into the smallest crevices .
- Speaking of dirt – it sticks particularly well when it’s wet and turns into a thick crust if you don’t remove it in time.
- The biggest problem, however, is road grit. On the one hand it helps you not to slip on snow and ice, but on the other it really attacks the material. Chippings or sand then also cause problems for city bikes and lead to increased wear, the kind you otherwise only see on off-road bikes, MTBs for example. But what’s really nasty is above all road salt! It likes to eat away at bike surfaces. That’s why it’s all the more important that you wash and care for the essential components properly in winter.
Cleaning your bike in winter – it’s that easy!
Slush, grit sand and salt have to be removed from your beloved bike first. But don’t worry, you don’t have to scrub the bike for hours with stiff-frozen fingers.
Step 1: First you need to clean the bike!
If you haven’t been out in knee-deep mud, “rinse - spray - rinse” is usually enough. Especially if you’re ploughing through winter dirt on your mountain bike trail, you should rinse it off immediately after every ride.
Is it a good idea to clean the bike with a pressure washer?
Especially in winter you should not wash the bike with a pressure washer . The water jet from a pressure washer is usually too harsh for bikes and, at worst, causes more damage than the proverbial sand in the gears! Often a pressure washer also blasts water with a lot of pressure into all kinds of gaps and openings. At cold temperatures it can take a few days for this dampness to dry out, and that’s not good for the bike!
It’s better to clean a bike with the garden hose , but here too you should work with the spray nozzle rather than the “powerful jet”. If you don’t have a garden tap, or you have to shut it off in winter so it doesn’t freeze, you can of course also use a bucket or a watering can . There are also bikers who give their beloved bike a wash in the bathtub. To simply remove the drivetrain from salty water after a trip, a bike bottle with lukewarm water is enough. You can remove heavy dirt carefully with a soft brush .
Bike brushes for all kinds of components are conveniently available as a set. Image © Peaty’s
If possible, it’s recommended to plan the wash on a winter day without sub-zero temperatures or at least wait for a day when the bike can dry in the sun .
What cleaning products do I need for my bike in winter?
With modern cleaning products you can remove even stubborn dirt from the bike with ease. Suppliers such as Muc Off and F100 offer special bike cleaners for this. Best is to use a biodegradable bike cleaner, spray it onto your bike that you’ve already rinsed off roughly, wait a while, then rinse off dirt and cleaner with a water jet.
In the meantime, some manufacturers offer various biodegradable and therefore safe cleaners , but it’s still better if the wash water ends up in a gully and not on a lawn. There are also refill packs or bike cleaners that you can mix yourself, so waste and plastic packaging stay within limits. “Bike soap” is particularly environmentally friendly because it comes completely without a plastic bottle.
Exemplary in terms of environmental compatibility: the bike soap from Schwalbe. Image © Schwalbe
Step 2: Special cleaners for bike components
After the rough wash, it’s time for the drivetrain and brakes. There aren’t only universal cleaners for the whole bike. For sensitive components , special cleaning agents may be better in winter. Especially disc brakes are a delicate topic; a degreasing cleaner for the brake rotors cleans them gently. The bike chain also gets hit hard in winter; with a chain cleaner and a new layer of grease, your whole drivetrain lasts longer!
Brake cleaner
Bike brakes should be cleaned from time to time, especially in winter. Even for fair-weather riders, well maintained brakes are an absolute must. When the roads are wet and slippery, they become even more important, because the braking distance is already longer anyway. Poorly maintained brakes are simply dangerous in winter, because a film of water plus road salt will hardly improve braking performance.
Normally, it’s enough to treat the brakes with bike cleaner . But for heavily soiled MTBs or city bikes that are used every day, special brake cleaner is highly recommended. Here too there are environmentally friendly and biodegradable products. If you notice that braking power is fading, you should have it checked carefully; they may need more than just cleaning, they may need a service.
Chain cleaner
The bike chain should also be cleaned regularly in winter. If you commute through the city every day to work, or occasionally do leisure rides, you should rinse the drivetrain from time to time so the road grit is washed off. Only if it’s heavily crusted do you need chain cleaner. After that, you must re-grease the chain!
With a soft brush you can carefully remove dirt from your bike drivetrain. Image © Peaty’s
> Here you’ll find bike cleaners, brake cleaners and more.
By the way, even if your bike glasses don’t belong directly to the bike, we still have a pro tip for you! You should use a special cleaner for clear vision on glasses lenses and goggles and at the same time make sure your glasses don’t fog up so quickly! Works just as well on ski goggles!
Step 3: How to dry your bike properly after cleaning
Many cyclists put their bike in the garage wet after washing and then wonder the next morning – after a few hours it’s no longer as clean as it was the day before. Here’s the simple explanation: small dirt particles collect in the water droplets on the bike, and during the slow drying process they “stick” to the frame and components. To prevent this effect, you can blow-dry your bike after washing with compressed air from a compressor. A soft cloth has the same effect.
With a soft cloth you can dry your bike and polish it to a shine. Here too there are now environmentally friendly products without plastic. Image © Peaty's
Step 4: After cleaning, it’s time to lubricate!
After washing comes care, and in winter you should be especially thorough with bike care! High-quality care products seal the surfaces of your bike, so moisture, road salt and cold can’t cause damage here. Don’t forget to lubricate the drivetrain and treat the suspension either. Coordinated care products help your bike achieve long-term function and better performance.
Chain oil
You need to clean and lubricate the bike chain particularly thoroughly, because it’s one of the most important components on the bike and it’s constantly moving. It’s also very close to the wet road, so it’s all the more important to give this component a bit more attention. There are a wide range of oils and lubricants for the bike chain.
These care products come in oil form in small bottles or as aerosols in a spray can . With both variants, you need to clean the chain thoroughly first and then apply the lubricant. If the chain is heavily contaminated, using a special chain cleaner, a soft brush or a chain cleaning device is recommended.
Warning 1: Chain greases and chain oils come in different versions adapted for wet or dry conditions! If you ride your bike frequently in winter, you should at least use an all-weather chain lubricant. Even better, in some cases, is chain grease mixed for damp riding conditions.
Warning 2: There is bike care – including drivetrain lubrication – that must be applied to dry surfaces. Other products creep under moisture. The instructions tell you what you need to do.
> Go straight to drivetrain lubrication
Lubricant for suspension elements
Winter is tough not only for the drivetrain and brakes; your suspension elements and/or their seals also have to deal with a lot when riding in mud, and surface rust is likely! So when cleaning and caring for them, it makes sense to occasionally spray the stanchions or wiper seals with suspension fork oil or shock oil.
> Here you’ll find shock oil and suspension fork oil for bike care
Shock oil or shock grease keeps the seals supple and reduces friction. Image © SRAM
Anti-corrosion spray protects metal parts
After cleaning, you can protect sensitive parts of your bike from rust with an anti-corrosion spray.
Step 5: The shiny protective layer …
First you clean your bike, next the drivetrain is lubricated. Finally, the surfaces get a protective layer. From various bike brands, there are special “gloss sprays”. These have essentially two functions: first, after washing they ensure a shiny bike. Tiny, superficial scratches are sealed, and the paint looks “like new” again. They also help prevent new dirt from sticking, because on a smooth surface dirt adheres less quickly and water can run off easily.
Whether your bike needs to be dry for sealing or whether the finish can also be applied to wet surfaces depends on the product you choose.
By the way, you don’t have to make your bike glossy to protect it from the weather. There’s also bike care for a matte finish.
If you use a spray finish, make sure it doesn’t get onto the brakes and brake rotors .
> Here you’ll find care products, gloss spray, surface sealant and more.
More tips to help you clean your bike
If you ride your bike often in winter, you should definitely clean it and care for it particularly well. Now you know how easy that can be! For cleaning, sets are especially practical, because they include bike cleaners, cloths and brushes and of course care products like chain grease or spray finish. These sets are also a great gift idea for bike enthusiasts! Do you want to optimise your bike care and are you looking for special tips? If you want a more detailed guide that helps you clean your bike, you should read our article “Bike clean properly”. We also explain bike care in detail; in addition, we tested the environmentally friendly products from F100.
How riding becomes significantly safer in wet weather and in winter is explained in our articles “Winter with your bike – finally safe through ice and snow!” and "Riding a bike in the rain"
Title image: Robert Ruggiero on Unsplash
