Chain cleaning

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Denis Rivest
I'd like to know what you benters out there use to clean their chains.

When I was a kid, I would dismantle (break?) the chain and let it soak in Varsol for a few hours
before using an old tooth brush to remove anything left over on it. While I was at it, I would
remove my freewheel and do the same to it also.

Then I would reassemble it and lube it thoroughly.

This seemed to work OK, but I've heard since from other sources that this might be harmful.

Please give me your advice (If there's anything we benters like to do, it's give advice)

Denis Rivest, Stratus rider in Montreal

I did mine today. I used Gunk engine degreaser, sprayed it liberally, along with the chainrings, and cassette. Then put the old toothbrush to work and rinsed it thoroughly. Sprayed with gunk again, scrubbed and rinsed. Then I had to clean the bike and let the chain dry for several hours.

Now for the possible bad news. I was at Sheldon Browns site and took his advise to heart and purchased some of Phils Tenacious oil and I sparingly lubed each pivot of the chain. Real tacky stuff. I think that it is gonna be a gunk nightmare. I worked it all in and recleaned the bike and wiped the excess off of the chain and chainrings and cassettes and rollers and wheels, etc. This stuff is like STP. Too bad I bought two bottles of it. It is gonna take a while to use it up.

🙄

Park Tool (and others) have neat gadgets that hold solvent, have internal brushes and clamp around
the chain. You fill the gadget with a chain cleaner - some non-nasty stuff like Park's chain
cleaner, or just Simple Green. You crank the pedals, the chain is pulled through the gizmo and the
internal brushes do the work. Then you rinse the chaine with the hose, dry it with a rag and
lubricate. The lube will chase out any remaining water.

The chain never leaves the bike. I've found this works particularly well for recumbents - removing
and cleaning that huge length of chain by hand is like mud-wrestling an anaconda.

Yes, the Phil Woods oil is tenacious stuff, hence the name. Not sure why Sheldon would be
recommending for chains, today.

I agree with using the Park Tool gadget. My question is how often to clean the chain? Do most of us
base the interval on mileage (I've heard 200 miles suggested), or??? I'd image that the cleaning
interval would be a function of mileage, plus how dusty the road is.--george

--
The Hamiltons 707 Randolph Ave. Huntsville, AL 35801 USA "jim h" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Park Tool (and others) have neat gadgets that hold solvent, have internal brushes and clamp around
the chain. You fill the gadget with a chain cleaner - some non-nasty stuff like Park's chain
cleaner, or just Simple Green. You crank the pedals, the chain is pulled through the gizmo and

the

Quoted message said:

internal brushes do the work. Then you rinse the chaine with the hose, dry it with a rag and
lubricate. The lube will chase out any remaining water.

The chain never leaves the bike. I've found this works particularly well for recumbents - removing
and cleaning that huge length of chain by hand

is

Quoted message said:

like mud-wrestling an anaconda.

Yes, the Phil Woods oil is tenacious stuff, hence the name. Not sure why Sheldon would be
recommending for chains, today.

About once a month or thousand miles I again wipe the exterior of the chain, while still on the
bike. Then pop it off - SRAM power link - and into the dishwasher. The spare/alternate chain goes on
the bike. The cleaned chain is dried, lubed and put in a plastic bag and into the bike bag as spare.

"Denis Rivest" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'd like to know what you benters out there use to clean their chains.

When I was a kid, I would dismantle (break?) the chain and let it soak in Varsol for a few hours
before using an old tooth brush to remove anything left over on it. While I was at it, I would
remove my freewheel and do the same to it also.

Then I would reassemble it and lube it thoroughly.

This seemed to work OK, but I've heard since from other sources that this might be harmful.

Please give me your advice (If there's anything we benters like to do, it's give advice)

Denis Rivest, Stratus rider in Montreal

Hi All,

Just yesterday I used my Park chain cleaner filled with Simple Green and I just followed the
instructions that came with the Park tool. Guess what? The chain is really silver, not black like it
used to look. It was an amazingly simple process. I did need to wash the bike afterwards, but it
needed cleaning anyway. After a towel dry, I let the bike sit in the sun for a couple hours, making
sure the chain was always in the sun, and then relubed the chain with Boeshield T-9. Good as new.

It took all of about 5 minutes to clean the chain, and about 30+ minutes to clean the bike. There
are a lot of small places to clean on a RANS V2 XL.

--
Rob Rudeski Trenton, GA RANS V2 "jim h" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Park Tool (and others) have neat gadgets that hold solvent, have internal brushes and clamp around
the chain. You fill the gadget with a chain cleaner - some non-nasty stuff like Park's chain
cleaner, or just Simple Green. You crank the pedals, the chain is pulled through the gizmo and

the

Quoted message said:

internal brushes do the work. Then you rinse the chaine with the hose, dry it with a rag and
lubricate. The lube will chase out any remaining water.

The chain never leaves the bike. I've found this works particularly well for recumbents - removing
and cleaning that huge length of chain by hand

is

Quoted message said:

like mud-wrestling an anaconda.

Yes, the Phil Woods oil is tenacious stuff, hence the name. Not sure why Sheldon would be
recommending for chains, today.

"The Hamiltons" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'd image that the cleaning interval would be a function of mileage, plus how dusty the road
is.--george

Dusty? You obviously don't live in the Great Lakes area. Relube every time you get rained on
(daily). :-(

I use a Parks chain cleaner (chain on bike system) with a citrus solvent. Dry overnight, then lube.
When I get really lazy, I put a bunch of newspaper on the garage floor, park the TE over them, and
just liberally apply Tri-Flow to the chain using the little plastic pipe applicator. Just aim at one
spot on the chain and turn the pedals backwards. Tri-Flow contains a solvent, so it will dissolve
dirt and grease. Wait a couple of hours for it to soak it, the wipe off excess with a fistful of
paper towels. Then wipe the bike frame clean too!

"Rob Rudeski" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

Just yesterday I used my Park chain cleaner filled with Simple Green and I just followed the
instructions that came with the Park tool. Guess what?

The

Quoted message said:

chain is really silver, not black like it used to look. It was an

amazingly

Quoted message said:

simple process. I did need to wash the bike afterwards, but it needed cleaning anyway. After a
towel dry, I let the bike sit in the sun for a couple hours, making sure the chain was always in
the sun, and then

relubed

Quoted message said:

the chain with Boeshield T-9. Good as new.

It took all of about 5 minutes to clean the chain, and about 30+ minutes

to

Quoted message said:

clean the bike. There are a lot of small places to clean on a RANS V2 XL.

--
Rob Rudeski Trenton, GA RANS V2 "jim h" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Park Tool (and others) have neat gadgets that hold solvent, have

internal

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

brushes and clamp around the chain. You fill the gadget with a chain cleaner - some non-nasty
stuff like Park's chain cleaner, or just

Simple

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Green. You crank the pedals, the chain is pulled through the gizmo and

the

Quoted message said:

internal brushes do the work. Then you rinse the chaine with the hose,

dry

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

it with a rag and lubricate. The lube will chase out any remaining

water.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The chain never leaves the bike. I've found this works particularly

well

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for recumbents - removing and cleaning that huge length of chain by hand

is

Quoted message said:

like mud-wrestling an anaconda.

Yes, the Phil Woods oil is tenacious stuff, hence the name. Not sure why Sheldon would be
recommending for chains, today.

[email hidden] (Denis Rivest) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'd like to know what you benters out there use to clean their chains.

Remove the chain from your bike. Drop it into a plastic bottle. The sports drink bottles with wider
mouths make removing the chain easier. Add cleaning solvent of your choice to the bottle till it
covers the chain. Cap and shake vigorously for 1-2 minutes. Remove the chain by using a broken spoke
or wire and blow dry with compressed air. Let sit on a shop rag or paper towels for 30 minutes. You
can omit this step if in a hurry but it does help to let it sit for a while. Replace chain on bike
and relube. After the bottle of solvent ytou used for cleaning sits for a while, to let the dirt
settle out, you can pour off the solvent into a clean bottle and reuse it the next time.

Harry Jiles

Just an update on my cleaning of the chain and my bike yesterday and the use of Phil's T.O.

The oil is like STP so when you ride it "Angle Hairs" all over the place. Now I only used one drop per roller on my vrex chain. I had spent a couple of hours cleaning the chain, chainrings, cogs, and overall bike, rims, etc. Rode really quiet!

You cannot tell that I cleaned the bike after a 3 mile ride at about 14mph. What a discusting mess. 😠

I will be back in the barn tonight recleaning the bike and chain.

PS I order the park chain tool and cog brush today.

😄

Now I need to decide on another lubricant. Suggestions for a dummy please.

I do the same and I use diesel to clean the chain. let gunk settle down and reuse the upper portion.

J Gaerlan - Gaerlan Custom Cycles gaerlan.comgaerlan.comOpen ↗ "home of travel bikes and bike travels"
(415)362-3866: (415)677-8943 fax [email hidden]

This is what I use to really get my chains clean.Three or four steps
A:remove chain and place it in the pot ,pour in simple green ,turn on and let run for about 10min.
B: pour out used simple green[now simply black] C: refill with HOT water and turn back on for
4min D: repeat
B. This links shows the low down community.webshots.com61364592XEKnkcOpen ↗
PS this setup really gets into the insides of the chain just look for The fine grit at the bottom
of the pot

[email hidden] (Denis Rivest) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'd like to know what you benters out there use to clean their chains.

When I was a kid, I would dismantle (break?) the chain and let it soak in Varsol for a few hours
before using an old tooth brush to remove anything left over on it. While I was at it, I would
remove my freewheel and do the same to it also.

Then I would reassemble it and lube it thoroughly.

This seemed to work OK, but I've heard since from other sources that this might be harmful.

Please give me your advice (If there's anything we benters like to do, it's give advice)

Denis Rivest, Stratus rider in Montreal

For years I've been using a Finish Line degreaser thingy with the 3 wheel brushes and side scrubbers
and Pedro's Orange Peelz degreaser. Last week, however, I tried removing the chain and swirling it
around in a milk jug with kerosene. Sheldon Brown and others have recommended this method over those
on-the-bike chain scrubbers because the greater solvent volume and total immersion of the chain
yield a chain that is cleaner on the inside where it really counts. On takin the chain out of the
solution it looked fairly clean except there was still some grime on the narrow side parts of the
links. No big deal. I air dried it but did not rinse with water. Later I re-lubed it with Pro-Link
lube. I was very pleased by how smooth and quiet the chain runs now. Down side: I keep the bike
indoors and the kerosene smell is a bit strong. Next time I may give it a second bath with Pedro's
followed by a rinse. Other down-side, the used kerosene is technically toxic waste and ought not to
be dumped in a landfill. But it can still be used to start a charcoal grill.

Bill Anton 2001 Vision R-40 SWB OSS Lubbock, TX, USA

[email hidden] (harryo) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Denis Rivest) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'd like to know what you benters out there use to clean their chains.

Remove the chain from your bike. Drop it into a plastic bottle. The sports drink bottles with
wider mouths make removing the chain easier. Add cleaning solvent of your choice to the bottle
till it covers the chain. Cap and shake vigorously for 1-2 minutes. Remove the chain by using a
broken spoke or wire and blow dry with compressed air. Let sit on a shop rag or paper towels for
30 minutes. You can omit this step if in a hurry but it does help to let it sit for a while.
Replace chain on bike and relube. After the bottle of solvent ytou used for cleaning sits for a
while, to let the dirt settle out, you can pour off the solvent into a clean bottle and reuse it
the next time.

Harry Jiles

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

For years I've been using a Finish Line degreaser thingy with the 3 wheel brushes and side
scrubbers and Pedro's Orange Peelz degreaser. Last week, however, I tried removing the chain and
swirling it around in a milk jug with kerosene. Sheldon Brown and others have recommended this
method over those on-the-bike chain scrubbers because the greater solvent volume and total
immersion of the chain yield a chain that is cleaner on the inside where it really counts. On
takin the chain out of the solution it looked fairly clean except there was still some grime on
the narrow side parts of the links. No big deal. I air dried it but did not rinse with water.
Later I re-lubed it with Pro-Link lube. I was very pleased by how smooth and quiet the chain runs
now. Down side: I keep the bike indoors and the kerosene smell is a bit strong. Next time I may
give it a second bath with Pedro's followed by a rinse. Other down-side, the used kerosene is
technically toxic waste and ought not to be dumped in a landfill. But it can still be used to
start a charcoal grill.

This is essentially what I do too, except that I use naptha from the local hardware store rather
than kerosene. The kerosene does stink, and it takes forever to evaporate, though it is quite safe
due to a very high flash point. The naptha is odorless, but it does have a lower flash point. Note
that naptha is usually higher in flash point than mineral spirits or paint thinner, so it is a bit
safer to use. Still, I always keep a fire extinguisher close by, and I never use it indoors, only in
the garage or out on the driveway.

Steve Christensen

(Denis Rivest) said:

I'd like to know what you benters out there use to clean their chains.

I have an on-the-bike chain cleaner but I've found that using wax lube I don't need to clean the
chain half as often as in the old days of oil, so when I do I tend to do a proper job and use the
"Sheldon Shake" <http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html> - just cleaned mine this afternoon, in
fact. Bright shiny chain, runs quieter than a quiet thing which is being particularly quiet.

Guy
===
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