The right bike cleaning: Make your bike shine again!

As a bike owner, you probably know how important it is to clean your bike regularly. Regular cleaning keeps your bike in good condition, prolongs its life and ensures a smooth ride. In this article, we would like to give you a detailed guide and helpful tips on how to best clean your bike.

Especially those who ride a lot on trails and forest paths should clean their bike regularly and lubricate the drive components. (Source: antidot)

Step 1: Preparation

Before you start cleaning your bike, make sure you have all the tools and materials you need on hand. Here are some of the things you'll need:

• Bucket with warm water

• Cleaning supply

• Cleaning brushes

• Sponge or rag

• Water tap or garden hose

• Chain oil

• Towel or cloth for drying

• Lubricant

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Also make sure that you park your bike or e-bike safely and clean it in a suitable place. A bicycle assembly stand is suitable for this purpose, for example.

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Step 2: Rough cleaning

Before you clean your bike with detergents, you should first remove coarse dirt and dust. You can use a soft brush or a cloth for this purpose. Make sure that you clean all corners and edges thoroughly.

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Step 3: Cleaning

Now you can start the actual cleaning of your bike. Fill a bucket with warm, soapy water and use a soft brush or sponge to thoroughly clean the bike. Start at the top and work your way down so the dirty water doesn't drip back onto areas that have already been cleaned. Focus especially on dirty areas like the drivetrain.

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Important: Avoid cleaning your bike with a pressure washer, as this can damage sensitive parts.

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Step 4: Rinsing

After you have thoroughly cleaned the bike, rinse it with water or a garden hose to remove all soap residue and dirt particles. Be sure to rinse all areas thoroughly so that no soap residue remains on the bike.

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Step 5: Drying

When your bike is cleaned and rinsed, it is worth drying. Take a clean towel or cloth and dry your bike thoroughly. Make sure you dry all parts of the bike well.

Use a cloth to wipe the bike dry. (Source: antidot)

Step 6: Lubrication

Finally, you should lubricate the chain of your bike so that it runs smoothly. Put a few drops of chain oil on the chain and be careful not to "over-grease" it.

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To avoid over-oiling, you should distribute the oil evenly on the chain and turn the crank a few times. This way you can make sure that the oil is well distributed. Then wipe off excess oil with a cloth.

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Additional tips

• Clean your bike regularly, especially if you use it often. Regular cleaning prevents the accumulation of dirt and dust and can extend the life of your bike.

• Do not use aggressive cleaning agents that can damage the surface of your bike. Instead, use lukewarm soapy water or special bike cleaners.

• Avoid spraying water directly onto the bottom bracket or bottom bracket, as this will encourage water to penetrate the bearings.

• After cleaning, the bike can be treated with a special bike care product to protect the surface and bring it to a high gloss.

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Our recommendation: cleaning and lubricating agents from antidot Bikecare

Bike cleaning at velio is an essential part of our professional refurbishment process. Since our concept is not only to offer a cost-effective alternative to buying new, but above all to make the bicycle market more sustainable, we strive to make all our processes as environmentally friendly as possible.

With a bike cleaner, it is much easier to remove any dirt from your bike. (Source: antidot)

In order to further reduce the environmental impact of the care of our bikes and avoid the use of harmful chemicals, we have decided to use the most sustainable Bikecare on the market for all cleaning and lubrication operations on our e-bikes and bicycles. For this reason, we work closely with the antidot Bikecare team.

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antidot is the first bikecare that demonstrably uses 100% biodegradable ingredients and up to 90% renewable raw materials. Also in terms of packaging, recycled materials are used as much as possible, which are of course recyclable. All this 100% made in Germany.

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Here are our favorite products from antidot

antidot bike cleaner

• for the basic cleaning of your bike

• Removes all stubborn residues

• 100% biodegradable base

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antidot technical cleaner

• For drive and brake cleaning

• Biodegradable

• Bottle made from 100% recycled PET

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antidot chain cleaner

• Cleans chain, cassette and chainrings

• 100 % environmentally friendly

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antidot chain oil

• For all weather conditions

• 100% biodegradable base

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Click here to go to the antidot store: https://antidot-bikecare.de/produkte/

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Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Cleaning your bike regularly is a simple but important task that can help keep your bike in good condition and extend its life. By following the steps and tips above, you can easily and effectively clean your bike to ensure a smooth ride.

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We hope that this article has been helpful to you and that you are now ready to give your bike a new shine. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help you.

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Have fun cleaning!

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Your velio team