Road Muck

[blackpuddinonnabike]

One thing I did notice when riding in Londonshire was that when it rained my bike remained clean. This was something of a shock to me, because in Edinburgh the roads seem to be paved with grime, grot, dust, muck and mank that, when it gets wet, is just waiting to cling to a bike.

I cleaned the Peacemaker last weekend. This is what it looked like this morning.



It's getting a clean and service again this weekend. God I hate this weather... 

[nuttycyclist]

Well if you will run it without mudguards 







 

[blackpuddinonnabike]

Well if you will run it without mudguards 







 

Hah! Well, there's one on the back (and you can just about make out the layer of crud on the seatstays and seat tube).

 

[Mrs Pingu]

Well if you will run it without mudguards 

And a white bike at that!

[blackpuddinonnabike]

Well if you will run it without mudguards 

And a white bike at that!

Granted not the best colour for a daily commuter...

[clarion]

I had a white bike.  Once.*  Perhaps white isn't the best colour for an off-road bike.

I had a white car.  Once.**

* Never again.

** Never again.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

One thing I did notice when riding in Londonshire was that when it rained my bike remained clean. This was something of a shock to me, because in Edinburgh the roads seem to be paved with grime, grot, dust, muck and mank that, when it gets wet, is just waiting to cling to a bike.

That's because in London all the grime is inhaled before it reaches bike level, allowing the formation of London bogeys.

[rogerzilla]

The stuff you get in rural areas is sometimes called "Belgian toothpaste" - an unholy mixture of water, gritty mud and cowshit.  It's probably quite good at removing smoker's tartar if the E. coli don't get you.

[TimO]

The light blue of Sid my Pomp isn't a terribly good colour for a commuter either, but On-One didn't give me a lot of choice.  Alice the Brompton is a much better British racing green, which shows dirt less.  At least the mudguards on Sid are black, so they show less effect from the grime.

[bobajobrob]

I think I cleaned my fixed once. Bikes look better with some dirt on them IMHO.

[rogerzilla]

I find it doesn't take long before the chain starts to sound unhappy, and then there's the grinding of the rear rim (I'm going to need a new one for the tourer very soon, assuming the wear indicators are accurate).

[Maffie]

I had a white bike.  Once.*  Perhaps white isn't the best colour for an off-road bike.

I had a white car.  Once.**

* Never again.

** Never again.

hmmm I like white, love my white bar tape, well loved the whiteness before it went manky after 2 minutes

[mattc]

Well if you will run it without mudguards 

Hah! Well, there's one on the back (and you can just about make out the layer of crud on the seatstays and seat tube).

 

You could try a proper mudguard.