Cleaning GSA wheels

[ijg5]

Hi, what's the quickest way to clean wheels. I use garden hose and bucket and sponge however every time the bike dries I look at the wheels and I seem to miss lots of dirt around the spokes. End up having to clean with a cloth. Any quicker ideas?

 

[cherokee]

Hi

hey buddy i have the same problem,takes forever not sure theres any quick way to do it,love the wheels just hate cleaning them...

 

[bigron]

Warm soapy water and a washing up brush to get into the nooks & crannies works ok

 

[Don El Eee]

Andy W of this parish has done a comprehensive guide. I suspect he goes further than most - myself included - but the guide is very useful nonetheless.

Tim

 

[MattW]

GS cross spoke wheels are a knuckle breaking b'stard to clean!

Be thankful that yours are anodised unlike my 1100 wheels which I have to attack with solvol too - a thankless, soul destroying job

 

[kevsky]

NO QUICK WAY

THERES NO QUICK WAY MATE.THE MORE TIME IT TAKES THE MORE YOU SPEND WITH YOUR LOVELY BIKE.ITS QUITE SATISFYING WHEN YOUVE FINISHED.THEN YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN AFTER A WINTER BURN.....

 

[always 100]

Muc-off

I use these £16 or 25 with cleaner and bucket. I got the full kit but I use it with the push bike aswell. The spoke cleaner worth it's weight on the GSA wheels.

Just my 2p

 

[always 100]

See above but demon tweeks do just the spoke brush for 4.99, they are however expensive for the rest.

 

[Voyager61]

I use a toothbrush and a spoke brush, but not string (feared it might mark the annodised finish).

Be careful when using the spoke brush though - those plastic nipples on the end of the wires can come off

 

[tailscookie]

fit a set of alloys.

 

[Pukmeister]

Buy a cheap loo brush from 'poundland' or similar. Lots of soap, water & elbow gease.

 

[always 100]

Check this out looks ideal and cheap.

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_8577.htm

 

[ijg5]

Thanks folks for all the great tips

 

[Goose]

I would offer your son some pocket money to do it.... if you don't have one, ..... borrow the neighbour's?

 

[hiup]

Be careful of using any wheel cleaner. I ruined my wheels at the first clean a few days after getting the bike. I read the blurb on the bottle and it said it was safe for use on my wheels. Result = white marks in the black coating that I cannot remove - and I've tried everything! I would stick to quality vehicle shampoo, water and elbow grease

 

[Narcoda]

I just use a jet wash, cleans the rims and the spokes perfectly- I am careful not to jet wash the grease out of any bearings etc etc...

I also ride through the deepest puddles available on my way home from a blast/3 day out/off road session- this helps loosen up the crud.

This may be useful unless you want your wheels to look like how they did the day you bought them, which it seems most people do! you have two choices-

1. Ride the bike or
2. Clean the bike (and pretend it's in a showroom)

decide which is most important for you

 

[wrinkleyowlie]

30+ years of riding,
You can ride your bike 365days of the year and keep it mint.
It just takes a little time,90mins a week.
I would second everything Andy W says in his link,except i prefer MER products to Autoglym.
As for wire wheels i use bottle brushes which can be bought for under a pound in bargain shops.
I also polish them twice a year with a polish called. Bilt hammer.this is also great for dabbing onto vulnerable area's such as bolt heads etc.
My bikes are not clean all winter, but they never show any great signs of deterioration in the spring.

Steve

 

[KevG]

Hello "hiup" I got a few white marks on the black anodising of my GSA. Was the wheel cleaning fluid disolving the anodised finish.
Got round the error with a thick black permanent marker.
Works a treat.

kev

 

[Rich ZX12R]

Re white marks on wheels - Yes had the same - got very concerned about what to clean GSA black wheels with. Went on BMW Off Road Course - They clean bikes twice a week with Muc Off and jet wash, wheels are all fine.......

Good enough for me.

 

[geoff48h]

well if hiup used his bike more, and stopped cleaning it he could just enjoy it if you want to buy something to look at buy a painting