Cleaning cassette cogs

jeeez my method is much more primitive, I remove the rear wheel and hold over the garbage can and
spray the cogs liberally with simply green. I then take a nylon brush and a tooth brush and go to
town, usually within a minute or two you start to see the gear nomenclature, I finish by cleaning
with an old sock or something like it. Annnnddd, well, that's about it. The simply green leaves a
nice gleam as well. Why go to the trouble of removing from the hub?

"John Black" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... I've seen some excellent discussions on this
group on chain cleaning, but never on cog cleaning. After a cleaning this morning, I am looking for
a better way to get it done.

My method is to remove the cogs/spacers from the freehub and agitate with solvent in a cylindrical
plastic container. But, they never get as clean as does the chain from similar treatment. Each cog
require brushing or wiping with solvent (wearing gloves of course). This is really labor intensive.
Someone on this group must have found a better way!

Back in the freewheel days I would leave the freewheel on and scrub the gears with a brush. But the
freehub 'guts' seem more vulnerable to contamination with solvent than the freewheel, so I don't
want to try this. And the wheel ends up needing a cleaning itself due to the spray from the brush.

I'd appreciate any better ideas!

Thanks,

John

I clean a cruddy cassette on the bike by mounting in a workstand, and spinning the wheel backward
while "flossing" between the cogs with the edge of a shop towel or rag lightly dampened with
solvent. The teeth don't get perfectly clean, but for God's sake, what does it matter? I don't
understand the obsession some people have with insisting that the chain and cassette be sterilized
like surgical instruments. I mean, how anal can you get?

Quoted message said:

My method is to remove the cogs/spacers from the freehub and agitate with solvent in a cylindrical
plastic container. But, they never get as clean as does the chain from similar treatment. Each cog
require brushing or wiping with solvent (wearing gloves of course). This is really labor
intensive. Someone on this group must have found a better way!

I do your method once a year or thereabouts on the cassettes that are disassembleable. On my
press-fit cogs, I let it be. It's on my commuter anyways.

Pedros or someone will soon find a way to market a on-the-bike cog-cleaner device like they've done
with chains.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

John Black said:

I've seen some excellent discussions on this group on chain cleaning, but never on cog cleaning.
After a cleaning this morning, I am looking for a better way to get it done.

My method is to remove the cogs/spacers from the freehub and agitate with solvent in a cylindrical
plastic container. But, they never get as clean as does the chain from similar treatment. Each cog
require brushing or wiping with solvent (wearing gloves of course). This is really labor intensive.
Someone on this group must have found a better way!

Back in the freewheel days I would leave the freewheel on and scrub the gears with a brush. But the
freehub 'guts' seem more vulnerable to contamination with solvent than the freewheel, so I don't
want to try this. And the wheel ends up needing a cleaning itself due to the spray from the brush.

I'd appreciate any better ideas!

Thanks,

John

Remove the wheel and sit down with the wheel in your lap with the cog facing up. Take a sturdy rag,
pull it taut on one edge and slide the edge between the largest and second-largest cog. Slide the
rag to your right to remove some crud. When you get all the way to the right, keep the rag's edge
between the cogs and slide left. The cogs will "backpedal" and you can repeat. Once you get the
hang of it this goes quickly and the ratcheting of the cogs will soon present the entire surface
for cleaning. Remove the rag and use the same procedure for the next set of cogs (2-3). This method
is quick and easy, cleans well and requires no solvents (unless your road dirt is vastly different
than mine).

Mike Krueger said:

The teeth don't get perfectly clean, but for God's sake, what does it matter? I don't understand
the obsession some people have with insisting that the chain and cassette be sterilized like
surgical instruments. I mean, how anal can you get?

Further, what difference does it make? They'll be dirty very soon after cleaning; you'll need to
replace them on nearly the same schedule either way; and I can't believe that efficiency suffers
that much and can be saved for the short time that the drivetrain is clean.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: I can spend $30 per year on cleaning supplies and many
hours cleaning, then spend $50 every two and a half years replacing cassette and chain; or I can
spend the $50 every two years and near no money or time cleaning.

For my money and time, a quick and rough general cleaning when it's excessively dirty is enough.
Squirt some chain cleaner on the chain and cassette, hose it off, dry / let air dry, grease up.

This happens maybe once a year while cleaning the mountain bike, and hasn't yet happened for my road
bikes...the Giant is pretty new, only a couple hundred miles on it yet, and is staying very clean on
it's own; and the Peugeot has it's original drivetrain which I would like an excuse to replace.

--
Rick Onanian

[email hidden] schreef ...

Quoted message said:

Remove the wheel and sit down with the wheel in your lap with the cog facing up. Take a sturdy
rag, pull it taut on one edge and slide the edge between the largest and second-largest cog. Slide
the rag to your right to remove some crud. When you get all the way to the right, keep the rag's
edge between the cogs and slide left. The cogs will "backpedal" and you can repeat. Once you get
the hang of it this goes quickly and the ratcheting of the cogs will soon present the entire
surface for cleaning. Remove the rag and use the same procedure for the next set of cogs (2-3).
This method is quick and easy, cleans well and requires no solvents (unless your road dirt is
vastly different than mine).

Precisely the way I clean cogs. If necessary, you can use a small screwdriver first to get chunks of
crud out (mainly with mountain bike cogs).

--
Regards, Marten

"Rick Onanian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike Krueger said:

The teeth don't get perfectly clean, but for God's sake, what does it matter? I don't understand
the obsession some people have with insisting that

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

chain and cassette be sterilized like surgical instruments. I mean, how anal can you get?

Further, what difference does it make? They'll be dirty very soon after cleaning; you'll need to
replace them on nearly the same schedule either way; and I can't believe that efficiency suffers
that much and can be saved for the short time that the drivetrain is clean.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: I can spend $30 per year on cleaning supplies and many
hours cleaning, then spend $50 every two and a half years replacing cassette and chain; or I can
spend the $50 every two years and near no money or time cleaning.

For my money and time, a quick and rough general cleaning when it's excessively dirty is enough.
Squirt some chain cleaner on the chain and cassette, hose it off, dry / let air dry, grease up.

This happens maybe once a year while cleaning the mountain bike, and hasn't yet happened for my
road bikes...the Giant is pretty new, only a couple hundred miles on it yet, and is staying very
clean on it's own; and the Peugeot has it's original drivetrain which I would like an excuse to
replace.

Geez, Rick, how can you go through life without shiny cogs?

--
Robin Hubert <[email hidden]

Rick Onanian said:

Mike Krueger said:

The teeth don't get perfectly clean, but for God's sake, what does it matter? I don't understand
the obsession some people have with insisting that the chain and cassette be sterilized like
surgical instruments. I mean, how anal can you get?

Further, what difference does it make? They'll be dirty very soon after cleaning; you'll need to
replace them on nearly the same schedule either way; and I can't believe that efficiency suffers
that much and can be saved for the short time that the drivetrain is clean.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: I can spend $30 per year on cleaning supplies and many
hours cleaning, then spend $50 every two and a half years replacing cassette and chain; or I can
spend the $50 every two years and near no money or time cleaning.

For my money and time, a quick and rough general cleaning when it's excessively dirty is enough.
Squirt some chain cleaner on the chain and cassette, hose it off, dry / let air dry, grease up.

This happens maybe once a year while cleaning the mountain bike, and hasn't yet happened for my
road bikes...the Giant is pretty new, only a couple hundred miles on it yet, and is staying very
clean on it's own; and the Peugeot has it's original drivetrain which I would like an excuse to
replace.

I found that lube holds grit on the cogs which I can hear if I don't clean 'em. Like the others: I
put mine in a stand, spray liberally with simple green, use the pedals to drive the chain, and hold
a small stiff brush against it and then the DR idler pullies, spray with water until it runs clear.

David

Robin Hubert said:

Geez, Rick, how can you go through life without shiny cogs?

It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I guess I'm just a dirty-cog kind of guy!

I don't, however, like dirty dogs. They tend to smell rather bad. Shiny dogs tend to smell bad too,
cuz the shine is often a result of fur oil...

Quoted message said:

--
Robin Hubert <[email hidden]>

--
Rick Onanian

David Kunz said:

I found that lube holds grit on the cogs which I can hear if I don't

I don't seem to have that problem, or I'm just used to it. How _often_ do you clean, though?

Quoted message said:

clean 'em. Like the others: I put mine in a stand, spray liberally with simple green, use the
pedals to drive the chain, and hold a small stiff brush against it and then the DR idler pullies,
spray with water until it runs clear.

That's a reasonable way to do it, and doesn't take much time. You might find it even quicker with a
bicycle degreaser; I just spray it on then rinse it off and find I barely need to brush at all.

Quoted message said:

David

--
Rick Onanian

Rick Onanian <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I don't, however, like dirty dogs. They tend to smell rather bad. Shiny dogs tend to smell bad
too, cuz the shine is often a result of fur oil...

What kind of oil do you use on your dog that doesn't smell? I just use WD40 on our black lab but
unfortunately it doesn't make her any quieter.

Mike Latondresse said:

What kind of oil do you use on your dog that doesn't smell? I just use WD40 on our black lab but
unfortunately it doesn't make her any quieter.

I've tried everything on my girlfriend's daschunds.

Nothing makes them any quieter than, say, a jet airplane.

--
Rick Onanian

Rick Onanian said:

David Kunz said:

I found that lube holds grit on the cogs which I can hear if I don't

I don't seem to have that problem, or I'm just used to it. How _often_ do you clean, though?

Every time that I clean the chain (about every 200-300 miles, unless I get in sand, lots of water or
mud 🙂). It's so fast, that it's a habit -- now that I'm using a drier lube, I could get away with
doing it less.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

clean 'em. Like the others: I put mine in a stand, spray liberally with simple green, use the
pedals to drive the chain, and hold a small stiff brush against it and then the DR idler pullies,
spray with water until it runs clear.

That's a reasonable way to do it, and doesn't take much time. You might find it even quicker with
a bicycle degreaser; I just spray it on then rinse it off and find I barely need to brush at all.

Simple green doesn't seem to take much more scrubbing than the bike degreasers that I've used and
it's a lot less expensive 🙂.

David

My preferred procedure as well.

"John Albergo" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Black said:

I've seen some excellent discussions on this group on chain cleaning, but never on cog cleaning.
After a cleaning this morning, I am looking for a better way to get it done.

My method is to remove the cogs/spacers from the freehub and agitate with solvent in a
cylindrical plastic container. But, they never get as clean as does the chain from similar
treatment. Each cog require brushing or wiping with solvent (wearing gloves of course). This is
really labor intensive. Someone on this group must have found a better way!

Back in the freewheel days I would leave the freewheel on and scrub the gears with a brush. But
the freehub 'guts' seem more vulnerable to contamination with solvent than the freewheel, so I
don't want to try this. And the wheel ends up needing a cleaning itself due to the spray from
the brush.

I'd appreciate any better ideas!

Thanks,

John

Remove the wheel and sit down with the wheel in your lap with the cog facing up. Take a sturdy
rag, pull it taut on one edge and slide the edge between the largest and second-largest cog. Slide
the rag to your right to remove some crud. When you get all the way to the right, keep the rag's
edge between the cogs and slide left. The cogs will "backpedal" and you can repeat. Once you get
the hang of it this goes quickly and the ratcheting of the cogs will soon present the entire
surface for cleaning. Remove the rag and use the same procedure for the next set of cogs (2-3).
This method is quick and easy, cleans well and requires no solvents (unless your road dirt is
vastly different than

mine).

Quoted message said:

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I use a long thin strip of cloth torn from an old T-shirt or towel, soak it in solvent and "floss"
between the cogs. I dont even have to remove anything, except te wheel from the bike.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

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