How to Clean a Race Bike

by John · 18/10/2013

If you do not approve of chain cleaning machines, then Fenwicks offer a good alternative which I now consider to be an essential bit of kit. It’s a very rough, coarse sponge which can be combined with the Fenwicks Foaming Chain Cleaner to great effect on very dirty chains. Far from being the poor relation of the chain cleaning machine, this is a great product in its own right. It works particularly well if used prior to using a chain cleaning machine on extremely muddy, gritty days or when you’ve left your chain for a while and its a bit clogged with dirty lube. In particular if you race off-road, I strongly recommend you give one of these a go.

As an alternative Fenwicks have this clever chain cleaning sponge

Fenwicks Chain Cleaning Sponge

Fenwicks Chain Cleaning Sponge works on the dirtiest of chains

Once you have your chain clean you can start thinking about getting the rest of the bike clean. You can add a product like Fenwicks FS-1 Bike Cleaner Concentrate to your bucket of water to make up a great cleaning solution which cleans more effectively and is better for your precious components than washing-up liquid. FS-1 promised not leave a powdery residue when dry and didn’t disappoint. The manufacturers claim that it is totally safe for you and your bike, including carbon or anodised parts and we’ve had no issues. Plus it is environmentally friendly even though it’s strong enough to be used as a degreaser, which means you could use it in your chain cleaning machine if necessary…