How to clean a road bike: a step-by-step guide

There are a few essentials that you’ll need to wash your road bike, as well as a few items that will make the job easier but aren’t strictly necessary. Let’s start with the essentials.

The Decathlon bike maintenance and cleaning kit contains chain lube, chain degreaser and bike wash all in one package, while we also stock an excellent pair of bike cleaning brushes to help you get in all the nooks and crannies.

The obvious things that you’ll need to wash your bike are:

• A bucket of warm water with the bike wash of your choice

• A source of running water to rinse your bike

• A degreaser for cleaning your chain

• An old toothbrush

• A sponge or a clean rag to help get the dirt off

Now that you’ve gathered all of the necessary equipment, you’re ready to start washing your road bike. You’ll want to set up in an area where you can make a bit of a mess, so washing your road bike outside is ideal.

If that isn’t possible, clear an area so that nothing else will get wet or dirty and consider putting down plastic or rags to protect your floor. We’ve seen plenty of cyclists make use of their bathtub or shower as a relatively contained place to wash their bikes!

Once you have your area set up, you can get your road bike ready to wash. First, remove any bags, water bottles or bike computers that you might normally keep on your bike so that they don’t get wet. If your bike is particularly dirty, you might want to also remove things such as bells and bottle cages, but that’s not always necessary.

If your road bike has disc brakes (which is virtually all road bikes and the entire Van Rysel road bike range from our entry-level Van Rysel NCR right up to the elite RCR Pro Replica), either cover your rotors or consider removing your wheels after cleaning your drivetrain so that your rotors don’t get any bike wash on them.

The first thing that you should clean when washing your bike is your drivetrain, as this will likely be the dirtiest part of your bike.

To clean your chain, use either a chain cleaner filled with your degreaser of choice or a spray-on degreaser and a brush. Rotate your cranks several times to ensure that you thoroughly clean your entire chain.

Then, use a brush to remove any excess grease from your cassette and chainrings, as well as any dirt that may have gotten caught in your crankset.

Finally, rinse your drivetrain with water. You’ll dry it thoroughly after you’ve washed the rest of your bike.

To clean your road bike’s frame, use a sponge or a clean rag and your bike cleaner of choice. Start at the top, with your handlebars and top tube, and work your way down.

If you are using a cleaner that you spray directly onto your bike, brush off any large pieces of dirt or grit before applying your cleaner. Let it sit as directed before wiping the bike down, staring from the top as before.

Be sure to pay special attention to the hard-to-reach areas around your wheels where dirt can get caught.

Now is also a good time to take a close look at your frame to catch any cracks or dents.

To clean your wheels, it is easiest to use a rag to wash the hubs and wipe down your rims and spokes. Avoid getting bike wash on any braking surfaces. If you have rim brakes, wipe down the braking surface with a clean and dry microfibre cloth. 

Then, rinse your whole bike with water. This step can be skipped if you’ve used a waterless wash, as many of them don’t require a rinse. Next, be sure to thoroughly dry your frame, wheels and drivetrain. Drying your drivetrain is especially important as keeping your bike dry will help to prevent rust.

You can also spray a bike polish or protector onto your frame after cleaning and drying it. This will help to keep your frame looking fresh for longer and will protect your road bike a little bit from the elements.

Finally, re-lube your chain, using your preferred bike lube. Make sure to lube every link then wipe your chain down with a paper towel to remove any excess.

Remember to use a dry lube for warmer and drier seasons and a wet lube for wetter seasons. When using a wet lube, bear in mind that it will attract more dirt, so you’ll have to wash your drivetrain more often. 

Though cleaning your road bike is fairly straightforward, there are a few common mistakes that, if they happen, can cause bigger issues down the road. Here are a few things that you should avoid doing while cleaning your road bike. 

You may have wondered "is it okay to use a pressure washer on your bike?". While there are some pressure washers that are okay to use on bikes, most should be avoided. The water pressure from a pressure washer can damage your road bike’s paint job or get into your bearings and cause issues for you down the road. In general, it's safest to stick to a hose or a bucket and a sponge when washing your road bike.

As we mentioned above, you should be careful to avoid getting any bike wash, degreaser or polish onto your disc brake rotors. This can cause your brake pads to get contaminated and diminish your braking performance.

You should also avoid touching your disc brake rotors for the same reasons. If you do need to clean your rotors, a microfibre cloth and isopropyl alcohol will do the trick.

Even when using a hose, avoid spraying water into areas that contain bearings, such as your hubs, bottom bracket and headset.

These components should be watertight – your bike, after all, is intended for use outdoors in all weathers – but they’re absolutely not designed for prolonged submersion in water, or exposure to high pressure streams of water for any length of time. Over many rides and many washes, the slow ingress of water can eventually wear down their functionality. 

In order to keep your road bike in tip-top shape, there are a few regular checks that you should be doing. These will catch any issues before they turn into big problems and can save you a lot of hassle in the long run. Doing them after washing your bike is the perfect time, as your bike will be nice and clean so any issues will be easier to see. 

Something you should keep an eye on in order to keep your road bike working smoothly (and to avoid expensive repairs down the road) is the wear of your chain. This can easily be done with a chain checker tool, a useful tool to have on hand if you’re serious about bike maintenance.

This tool will tell you the percentage that your chain is worn. As a general rule, you should start keeping an eye on your chain once it’s 0.50% worn and replace it at 0.75%.

Another quick check that you can do to catch any potential issues is a bolt check. First, gently drop your bike from a low height to see if anything rattles. If it does, start there and tighten down any bolts that may have come loose.

If nothing immediately comes to your attention, start at the front of your bike and make sure that all of your road bike’s bolts are torqued to spec, including stem bolts, thru-axles, seat post bolts and bottle cage bolts.