How do you clean your chain?
I've just acquired one of those Park Tool chain cleaning thingo's and you have to fill it with some degreaser then spin it around...
I'm interested to give it a go but anyone got any recommendations on some sort of non toxic, relatively environmentally friendly, citrus or similar degreaser? All the bike specific brands seem uber pricey.
How do you normally clean your chain? Must admit I've never degreased before, just a good wipe and re-lube...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tim B on -
just be careful spraying any kind of degreaser onto your drivetrain as it can get into the bottom bracket, wheel bearings and freewheel and wash out the grease.
I just lube and wipe with White Lightning every week and completely strip the drivetrain including pedals cranks and bottom bracket, rear deraileur pulleys every 6 months and give complete lube job
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Permalink Reply by Rob (Chewbacca) on -
Usually not good to degrease the pins and rollers of the chain unless you can adequately relube it properly...(that is my opinion for what its worth).
Usually I use a product like prolink or rock and roll and lube lightly and wipe with paper towel to clean then reapply lube lightly and spin the pedals for a few minutes forwards and backwards to ensure good application of lube inbetween the pins, roller and sliding plates of the chain. Basically i avoid degreasing and using that wet lube which I tried once which turned into grinding paste and stuffed my chain within a week (when I rode from Melbourne to Adelaide). That Park tool chain cleaner is pretty cool if you want to keep your hands clean and clean a chain quickly. Wonder how long it lasts for before the brushes wear out? Maybe someone out in AC land may know?
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Permalink Reply by Dstone on -
Citrus degreaser with a tootbrush or nail brush for me. Rinse with clean water. I like rocknroll gold for all year round and never lube a wet chain..
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Permalink Reply by Andrew M on -
I use something called Rock n Roll Miracle Red Bio-Degreaser. GREAT for washing hands too. I used a whole bottle in about 6 months and have just opened bottle #2. Truly great stuff.
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Permalink Reply by Martin Turner on -
I'd probably put a bit of moisturiser on your hands after degreasing them......degreaser is a good way to really dry out your skin.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew M on
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the Miracle Red is marketed as a hand washer too ... been using the stuff for hands for over 6 months and no sign of dry skin. Really highly recommend the stuff.
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Permalink Reply by Gus K on -
Pro Link Gold is a cleaner and lube in one. Really good stuff but if you want to get stuck in try some diesel either in your cleaner of by taking the chain and cassette off. I think the canned de greasers are very good be perhaps too good and cause chains to wear faster even if you lube them.
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Permalink Reply by Rob (Chewbacca) on
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Spot on Gus because the degreaser removes the lube from between the pin and roller of the chain and it is very hard for lube to penetrate the space properly
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Permalink Reply by Richard on -
This thread is a disgrace - we haven't had a punch up yet and I've seen enough of these threads on yank sites to know that they're like tossing a flare into a fireworks factory ... or should be. Maybe us Aussies are different to them Septics.
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Permalink Reply by Justin V on -
Summer - Wax lube (Finish line ceramic) every second ride after rubbing the chain to remove excess grime with rag. Never clean chain.
Winter - Remove chain once per month, place in jar of turps, slosh around for a couple minutes, wash with dishwash detergent, dry, reinstall chain, lube with Wet lube (Finish line ceramic). Once per week wipe down chain with rag and reapply lube.
I have one of those chain cleaner things - yes it works but not nearly as well as removing the chain and washing in turps
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Permalink Reply by Paul King on -
It would be interesting to hear how many km's you chain degreasing guys/girls get. I have used Rock n Roll Gold for years & consisently get around 10,000k's out of a chain. I have never removed a chain to clean. I cant see a good reason to remove a chain to wash good grease out of a chain & potentially wash dirt in.
My chain clean regime consists of once every week maybe 2 weeks if dry weather. Wet the chain liberally with said product, run thru gears several times. Clean chain off by holding chain with a rag & running backwards against ratchet. Bike stand makes this easy. Keep running thru rag until rag cannot remove any more black muck & is basically dry & clean. The biggest problem you will have is finding enough clean rags.
The next step is put the bike away for 24 hours for the wax to set, if you ride staight away it will go black & attract dirt. When lubing air temp should above 24 degrees for best results to allow the lube to work its way into chain & allows for it to set best. If you look at rock n roll in the bottle in cold temps you will see the wax separates & doesnt mix well.
Chain cleaning takes 5- 10 mins that includes taking front wheel off to fit frame to stand & pulling back wheel off to clean cassette after waxing. When im getting the km's out of my chains i cant see why you would spend longer than this & you can run with a clean, dry, quiet chain every week. More time for riding! And by the way i have a shimano chain wear checker to monitor the wear. Chain wear checkers are another can of worms.
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Permalink Reply by Rob (Chewbacca) on
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LOL....chain wear gauges can be real basic or you can buy a digital one :)
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