What's the best chain cleaner & degreaser?

[Gilster]

"Daniel Kelly \(AKA Jack\)" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> 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 I use a 'carwash' type chain cleaner
> filled with 'Purple Power',
a product available at department stores and auto parts
stores. It is about 5 dollars for a gallon jug. Works great
on whitewall tires also; much cheaper and just as effective
as other products.

m

 

[Taywood]

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.

So where do you ride? Riding around the park or the city car
parks gets a lot less **** on the chain than riding on a
volcanic sandy beach or a moorland track with black peaty
boggy stretches full of granite particles.

People who ride on the latter tend to alternate two chains
every couple of months, one which is cleaned on the bike
after every ride and a second which gets the full monty of
degreasing and relubing off bike ready for the next
changeover. Removing chains these days is so simple with the
removable links. TW

 

[Jonesy]

"SMMB" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "Jonesy" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message
> de :
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Googling (or some other archive search) serves to
> > EDUCATE. It requires no additional input from any other
> > source. And it shows that one is willing to do a
> > research before requesting to be spoon-fed. A courtesy,
> > if you will.
>
> I would have let it drop, but...

...there was less to say about chain cleaning, and more
to whine about responses that don't meet your
politeness criteria?

> The necessary implication of your argument is that for all
> questions, there are already answers, and so there is no
> need to ask anything, here.

Wrong. The logical fallacy of a false dichotomy. Discussion
does imply discussion, after all! But some questions have
been thoroughly covered. Both in USENET, and in particular
group FAQs. Why on earth should there even be such a thing
as a FAQ, if the Qs were not FA?

In other words, the implication is not at all necessary.

> And I'm not sure that opinions are "data".

The set of them are the data that is going to be available.
Being pedantic does not improve your positiion.

> You may have noticed the OP did, indeed, research before
> asking, even with your favorite search engine. Sounds
> exceptionally prepared to me.

Your lame attempt at condescension aside, the OP did not
indicate originally, even by implication, that he had done
anything other than rush to USENET. Regardless, I don't take
issue with that as much as with your idea that folks should
be spoon-fed any info they desire, especially on subjects
that come up over, and over, and over, and over, and over...

> Hope he got a right answer.

How could he possibly? After all, there are only "opinions"
here, right?

> And my use has varied by the countries I have lived in and
> what products are available, so I did not reply directly.

What, chemistry is different in other countries? Mineral
spirits are mineral spirits EVERYWHERE, even in France.
Medium petroleum distillate, kerosene, paint thinner,
Stoddard Solvent, etc, etc.

Even as such, you STILL have not provided anything other
than complaining. Do you have anything of value to offer, or
are you just polishing your King Whiner badge?

> I imagine when you get together with your friends for a
> ride, and they ask you how your week went, you query them
> why they didn't look at your blog.

I don't have a blog, and the situations are not analogous.

> Chide away - you may just be able to alienate those who
> just simply want to ask a question, not reading or having
> read the FAQ, the encyclopedias, the journals, et c.

Or I could alienate the likes of you - officious jerks who
have no courtesy outside of "what can you do for me?" That'd
be fine by me.
--
Jonesy

 

[Steven M. Schar]

"Jonesy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Steven M. Scharf" <[email protected]> wrote
> in message
news:<[email protected]
nk.net>...
> > "Jonesy" <[email protected]> wrote in message ne-
> > ws:[email protected]... .
> > > 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.
> >
> > This is about the same as using a chain cleaning device,
> > again, the key
is
> > "rinse, lather, repeat."
>
> Less expense, and less fiddling with the bike as a whole.
>
> > > Dry thoroughly, such that NO solvent is left in the
> > > chain.
> >
> > Which is why you shouldn't use water based solvents.
> > It's very difficult
to
> > dry it. You have water mixed with old lubricant inside
> > the links. I
guess
> > that a torch would accellerate the drying process. OTOH,
> > a little
petroleum
> > based solvent left inside is not a problem.
>
> My drying times are usually on the order of days to a week
> - I have more than one chain.

Yeah, I didn't think of that. If you let the chain dry for
several days after using a water based solvent then that
gets around most of the problems, though a more volatile
solvent eliminates the need for long dry times. I think
that many people that use Simple Green or other water
based solvent may not let the chain dry for several days,
as you do.

 

[Kenny Lee]

Steven M. Scharf wrote:

> Yeah, I didn't think of that. If you let the chain dry for
> several days after using a water based solvent then that
> gets around most of the problems, though a more volatile
> solvent eliminates the need for long dry times. I think
> that many people that use Simple Green or other water
> based solvent may not let the chain dry for several days,
> as you do.
>
>

To get the chain dry quickly, after the chain goes through
the clean and rinse cycle spool the chain up tight into
itself. The spooled chain is then laid flat onto a flat
surface. Next use a hair dryer. Because all the links in the
chain are close together in a tight spiral shape this
spreads the heat throughout the chain very quickly. To be
really thorough, flip the chain over and blow dry the other
side. With the hair dryer set on high the drying process
takes about five minutes.

Kenny Lee

 

[Shaun Rimmer]

"S o r n i" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Shaun Rimmer wrote:
>
> > So, who's advice did you take in the end?!?!?
>
> So to speak, Gracie?
>
> Bill "lubes, indeed" S.

He's here again ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

 

[basilkies]

For two years I used to use Simple Green and a brush to
clean my chain. This got it very clean even a clean rag
would come off with hardly any stain. I would then wipe it
dry from the water rinse and oil it right away. Then the
next day I would wipe and re oil the chain then wipe the
excess oil. The chain lasted less than a year ( I ride a lot
of steep hills all the time so year isn't bad for me).

For the last two years I have done nothing but wipe the
chain clean with oil then reoil and wipe, My chain has
lasted two years.

Bottom line, if you use water it will cause some rust, maybe
very little every time but that's wear. If you use kerosene
or a solvent it will dry the oil out of the inside of your
chain which causes wear until the new oil is worked in.

Say your system is perfect and doesn't contribute to the
wear of your chain. The first mile on dirt will grit your
chain up like it has never been cleaned. In fact it is
reasonable to think that the oil you put on the dry chain is
moving into the rollers carrying dirt with it. Moral, don't
wear your chain out cleaning it.

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:47:29 +0100, "Daniel Kelly
\(AKA Jack\)"
<[email protected]> 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.
>
>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!