What's the best chain cleaner & degreaser?

Daniel Kelly \(AKA Jack\)

Hi,

Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning mountain
bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me having to take
the chain off.

Is the Finish Line Chain Cleaning Kit the best? And how about the
degreaser? Is it worth spending money on an expensive de-greaser or will
white spirit / washing-up liquid to the job?

And does anyone have any cunning trade secrets they'd like to give away
regarding cleaning the rest of the chainset? Or does everyone just use
de-greaser and a tooth brush?

Many thanks,
Jack


PS - Sorry if this message appears twice - problems with Outlook Express!

Cat Dailey

"Daniel Kelly (AKA Jack)" <d.kellyNOSPAM@NOSPAM.ucl.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:c4e41f$28sq$1@uns-a.ucl.ac.uk...
> Hi,
>
> Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning
mountain
> bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me having to
take
> the chain off.
>
> Is the Finish Line Chain Cleaning Kit the best? And how about the
> degreaser? Is it worth spending money on an expensive de-greaser or will
> white spirit / washing-up liquid to the job?
>
> And does anyone have any cunning trade secrets they'd like to give away
> regarding cleaning the rest of the chainset? Or does everyone just use
> de-greaser and a tooth brush?
>
> Many thanks,
> Jack
>
>
> PS - Sorry if this message appears twice - problems with Outlook Express!
>

Go to Home Depot and get some Orange Zep. It's about $8 gallon (way cheaper
than buying bicycle branded citrus cleaners.) Dilute it with water in a
spray bottle for most of the bike, and use it straight up for the chain...

HTH,
Cat

Ron Abramson

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:47:29 +0100, Daniel Kelly (AKA Jack) wrote:

***
> Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning mountain
> bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me having to take
> the chain off.
>

Orange cleaner in a Pedro's Chain Machine, though if it's real ugly I
prefer to remove the chain (Powerlink) and use lacquer thinner followed by
a thorough re-oiling. Sometimes, though, a fresh chain is the answer.

Dave W

Ron Abramson <ranyc2000@yahoo.com> had this to say
newsan.2004.03.31.13.30.38.677741@yahoo.com

> On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:47:29 +0100, Daniel Kelly (AKA Jack) wrote:
>
> ***
>> Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning
>> mountain bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me
>> having to take the chain off.
>>
>
> Orange cleaner in a Pedro's Chain Machine, though if it's real ugly I
> prefer to remove the chain (Powerlink) and use lacquer thinner
> followed by a thorough re-oiling. Sometimes, though, a fresh chain is
> the answer.
>
>

I have yet to find any citrus based cleaners that get the job done on my
chain, without scrubbing the hell out of it.
>

Dan Connelly

Daniel Kelly (AKA Jack) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Please may I ask your advice?


Not to every freakin' cycling group on the 'net.

Dan

Martha J. Retallick

I'm a longtime user of Citra-Solv. The local food co-op sells it, and
I think you can also buy it at hardware stores.

As for scrubbing the chain clean, I prefer to use that special Park
Tool brush. The brush part is removable, which is a good thing because
the brush doesn't last very long.

Hope this helps!

Martha Retallick
Tucson, Arizona, USA

Bicycling postcards, notecards, coffee mugs,
lunchboxes, tile boxes and more!
http://www.CafeShops.com/Postcarder

S o r n i

Daniel Kelly (AKA Jack) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning
> mountain bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me
> having to take the chain off.

I hardly ever "clean" my chain. Run it thru a dry rag (backpedaling) and
then add White Lightning.

Meets your criteria of cheap and easy.

Bill "no ex-wife jokes, please" S.

crazy6r54@webtv.net

WD 40 the muck just runs off. Wipe the chain down real
good by back pedaling and a rag.Now lube the chain up with what ever you
lke.

I MTB 2004

jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org

Daniel Kelly writes:

> Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning
> mountain bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without
> me having to take the chain off.

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8d.2.html

> PS - Sorry if this message appears twice - problems with Outlook Express!

But it appeared in too many newsgroups!

Jobst Brandt
jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org

Werehatrack

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:47:29 +0100, "Daniel Kelly \(AKA Jack\)"
<d.kellyNOSPAM@NOSPAM.ucl.ac.uk> may have said:

>Hi,
>
>Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning mountain
>bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me having to take
>the chain off.

This has been discussed endlessly. May I suggest that a few hours
spent Googling the prior threads should either leave you completely
confused or extremely well-informed, or somewhere between those two?
(The result will be little different from Yet Another chain cleaning
thread, in that regard.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Tom Arsenault

"Daniel Kelly \(AKA Jack\)" <d.kellyNOSPAM@NOSPAM.ucl.ac.uk> wrote in message news:<c4e41f$28sq$1@uns-a.ucl.ac.uk>...
> Hi,
>
> Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning mountain
> bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me having to take
> the chain off.
>
> Is the Finish Line Chain Cleaning Kit the best? And how about the
> degreaser? Is it worth spending money on an expensive de-greaser or will
> white spirit / washing-up liquid to the job?
>
> And does anyone have any cunning trade secrets they'd like to give away
> regarding cleaning the rest of the chainset? Or does everyone just use
> de-greaser and a tooth brush?
>
> Many thanks,
> Jack
>
>
> PS - Sorry if this message appears twice - problems with Outlook Express!


Just buy a new chain. It's probably worn out anyway. $20 will get you a new one.

Greg Estep

"Cat Dailey" <catdailey@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cZmdnbAm7b3VJvfd4p2dnA@comcast.com...

> Go to Home Depot and get some Orange Zep. It's about $8 gallon (way
cheaper
> than buying bicycle branded citrus cleaners.) Dilute it with water in a
> spray bottle for most of the bike, and use it straight up for the chain...

FYI, the Zep citrus degreaser is not recommended for use on aluminum. I
imagine that the chain isn't made of Al, but if your bike has any Al drive
train components you may want to be careful. I admit that I do occasionally
make use of it when I do an on-bike chain cleaning, but use it mostly when
the chain has been removed. I tend to use kerosene from a spray bottle for
the occasional on-bike chain cleaning.

--
Greg Estep

SMMB

"Werehatrack" <rault00@earthWEEDSlink.net> a écrit dans le message de :

> This has been discussed endlessly. May I suggest that a few hours
> spent Googling the prior threads should either leave you completely
> confused or extremely well-informed, or somewhere between those two?

Well, perhaps he did (look) and did (get) confused. Perhaps he wanted to
get some answers here, evaluate them, and act.

Googling is neither obligatory nor necessary in a discussion group. What a
snotty reply that got nowhere. Not even your own meagre offering.
--
Bonne route,

Sandy
Paris FR

Jonesy

"Daniel Kelly \(AKA Jack\)" <d.kellyNOSPAM@NOSPAM.ucl.ac.uk> wrote in message news:<c4e41f$28sq$1@uns-a.ucl.ac.uk>...
> Hi,
>
> Please may I ask your advice? What's the best device for cleaning mountain
> bike chains? I'd like it to be cheap and to work without me having to take
> the chain off.
>
> Is the Finish Line Chain Cleaning Kit the best? And how about the
> degreaser? Is it worth spending money on an expensive de-greaser or will
> white spirit / washing-up liquid to the job?
>
> And does anyone have any cunning trade secrets they'd like to give away
> regarding cleaning the rest of the chainset? Or does everyone just use
> de-greaser and a tooth brush?

As has been said, use Google to get info on this. It has been
discussed to death, and there really is no point in hashing it over
yet again.

SMMB: Googling is not obligatory, but it certainly is a good way to
get a baseline set of data. From that data set, one could then ask
focused questions for clarity.

Back to topic: I also have had poor luck with citrus-based solvents.
They are good for degreasing clothes, or removing glue residue, but
not for chain cleaning. I use good ol' paint thinner in a soda
bottle. Put in the chain. Shake. Pull the chain out and wipe. Let
dirt settle out. Pour off clear (no dirt particles) supernatant to a
new bottle, remove dirt from old bottle. Put chain in new bottle.
Shake. Rinse, lather, repeat until no dirt comes out of chain. Dry
thoroughly, such that NO solvent is left in the chain. Soak in
lightweight motor oil overnight. Pull out, let drain, wipe down with
solventy rag. Install, let sit, wipe it down again. Ride for three
minutes until it's dirty again.

After having seen at least one experiment in r.b.t., I think the "wipe
real good, re-oil, wipe real good again" is the best method for chain
lubrication. Skip the cleaning, and replace the thing when it gets
really filthy.

I run oil in the winter, drier lube (wax-based) in the summer. Seems
to work OK. Then again, whenever I pull the chain for cleaning, I
pull the cassette too. While I'm waiting for some of the steps, I
clean the chainrings and jockey wheels.

But if you Googled, you might have got all that already.
--
Jonesy