Cleaning spoked wheels - there must be a better way?

Right, I've had the husky with it's super-bling gold wheels for a while now and there's a big problem...

The wheels get caked in chain fling and crap from the road, especially at this time of year.

I clean the bike religously every week including those wheels, which is not only a royal pain in the a%$e, but also removes the skin of most of my knucles in the process.

Just as the skin is growing back, I am ready to clean the wheels again and lose the skin again!!!

So how can I avoid this? (apart from not washing the bike)

Bike spray cleaner and a jet wash, or failing the jet wash, a good soft brush.

The bike cleaner will get most of the main crap off tbh.