Degreaser

[stokepa31_mk2]

Hi All

I have gotten fed up with paying silly prices for water soluble degreaser to clean my chain and cassette with. 600ml of finishline is about £13. just ordered 25l off ebay for £30 inc delivery that can also be used for lots of other uses including running throuh my pressure washer and cleaning oil stains in the garage etc. I will let you know if its any good when it arrives.

What do others use for chain and parts cleaning?

 

[flecc]

What do others use for chain and parts cleaning?

Avoidance.
.

 

[WALKERMAN]

I was planning to clean all the filth off my ProConnect chain this weekend and have been looking at cleaners.

Is this any good?

Muc Off Chain Doc Chain Cleaner
Cat. code: 805572-0
The Muc Off Chain Doc banishes grime from bicycle chains with minimal effort

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

I was planning to clean all the filth off my ProConnect chain this weekend and have been looking at cleaners.

Is this any good?

Muc Off Chain Doc Chain Cleaner
Cat. code: 805572-0
The Muc Off Chain Doc banishes grime from bicycle chains with minimal effort

Muck off is very good and will do a good job but as with all the named brands I think it is just standard citrus degreaser with posh packaging.

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

Avoidance.
.

I know you dont mean that Tony ill wager your bikes are clean as a whistle and regularly maintained.

 

[Mussels]

Muck off is very good and will do a good job but as with all the named brands I think it is just standard citrus degreaser with posh packaging.

Is the stuff you got from eBay citrus?
I can use that but the smell of standard stuff upsets SWMBO.

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

Its certainly yellow but I must confess I didnt ask. will let you know when it arrives.

 

[flecc]

I know you dont mean that Tony ill wager your bikes are clean as a whistle and regularly maintained.

Lost bet, honestly no! I haven't washed my Q bike since I built it in May 2007, but it still looks ok, the rain having done a reasonably good job. I don't clean chains and sprockets, just grease on hub gear chains and oil on derailleur chains and let the surplus weather off. I've never washed or oiled the T bike since creation in June 2007 either. I even buy low loss innertubes to avoid pumping.

The small town car (Chevrolet Matiz 1SE) that I bought January 2008 stands outside all the time, has never been serviced or washed except by rain, nor have the tyres been pumped or the engine oil checked and they still seem ok. I did go mad and top up the windscreen washer bottle once though.

I'm very much a user only, too many years maintaining and repairing vehicles professionally to want to do it as a hobby.
.

 

[WALKERMAN]

I was planning to clean all the filth off my ProConnect chain this weekend and have been looking at cleaners.

Is this any good?

Muc Off Chain Doc Chain Cleaner
Cat. code: 805572-0
The Muc Off Chain Doc banishes grime from bicycle chains with minimal effort

I should have been a bit clearer on this question.

This Cleaner thingy is an enclosed brush which must revolve when the pressured cleaning stuff is activated. It is fitted over the chain and then you operate the pedal and the chain must go through the 'thingy' and comes out lovely and clean without any mess,
Lubricant can then be applied in the same way.

What I want to know is, does it work? Has anyone used it?

 

[flecc]

My brother who isn't at all mechanically minded has one of these and tells me it works moderately well. He finds it fiddly to use, but that could just be him.
.

 

[Mussels]

I should have been a bit clearer on this question.

This Cleaner thingy is an enclosed brush which must revolve when the pressured cleaning stuff is activated. It is fitted over the chain and then you operate the pedal and the chain must go through the 'thingy' and comes out lovely and clean without any mess,
Lubricant can then be applied in the same way.

What I want to know is, does it work? Has anyone used it?

Ah, it looks like a standard chain bath with a bespoke connection that only their fairly expensive cleaner will work with. BikeRadar gives it a reasonable writeup but I can see it costing a lot to use regularly.

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

I should have been a bit clearer on this question.

This Cleaner thingy is an enclosed brush which must revolve when the pressured cleaning stuff is activated. It is fitted over the chain and then you operate the pedal and the chain must go through the 'thingy' and comes out lovely and clean without any mess,
Lubricant can then be applied in the same way.

What I want to know is, does it work? Has anyone used it?

I have the park tool chain cleaning machine and its superb. just chuck in the degreaser and bif baf bosh, clean as a whistle. It takes a bit of getting use to but its far better than a rag and tooth brush approach. Have also started using dry chain lube and it seems to attract a lot less crap meaning cleaning is required less often.

I've managed to get out for a ride three times this week and plan a big one tomorrow. isnt it great that the weather is finally on the turn.

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

Lost bet, honestly no! I haven't washed my Q bike since I built it in May 2007, but it still looks ok, the rain having done a reasonably good job. I don't clean chains and sprockets, just grease on hub gear chains and oil on derailleur chains and let the surplus weather off. I've never washed or oiled the T bike since creation in June 2007 either. I even buy low loss innertubes to avoid pumping.

The small town car (Chevrolet Matiz 1SE) that I bought January 2008 stands outside all the time, has never been serviced or washed except by rain, nor have the tyres been pumped or the engine oil checked and they still seem ok. I did go mad and top up the windscreen washer bottle once though.

I'm very much a user only, too many years maintaining and repairing vehicles professionally to want to do it as a hobby.
.

I owe you a pint must confess it is very easy to get distracted with maintaining instead of riding. I now have five bikes in my garage to practice my mechanic skills on so look out for 5 semi assembled bike on ebay soon with various bits broken or missing

 

[Andrew harvey]

My rules for cleaning bikes.

No1. Never use degreaser on chains or any thing that is meant to be greased.
No 2. Never ever use a jet wash on any thing that is meant to be greased.
No 3. Never use a wet oil or spray lubricant on any thing that needs greasing if it is exposed to dirt, grime, road salts an so forth.

Chains that are lovingly oiled every other day with 3 in1 or WD40 grow fatter and fatter every time they are used, all those lovely salts and rock particles that make up winter road surfaces make a particularly fine grinding paste.

If you manage to wear out your chain, then when you replace it you should also consider replacing your chain ring and rear gearset as they all bed together, leaving little change from £100, just for the sake of the wrong oil.

To clean your pride and joy, no sorry just the bike, an ordinary hand brush and a bucket of soapy water is all that is needed, provided you observe rule No 3, (I will permit a gentle hose down).

When the bikes particularly the chain, and rear gears are dirt and grime free use a dry lubricant, such as TF2.
A what?
Dry lubricants such as TF2 come in an aerosol can, you spray them liberally all over the business end of the bike wait 10 minutes and they have dried, leaving the bits lubbed and protected for another week or several.

 

[musicbooks]

Hi Folks,
Thought I'd pose the question... why degrease?

If our Guru doesn't bother, is it really that necessary?

BW
musicbooks

p.s. sorry, that's 2 questions

 

[flecc]

Hi Folks,
Thought I'd pose the question... why degrease?

If our Guru doesn't bother, is it really that necessary?

I'm happy to accept the slight increase in wear that some degree of neglect entails, the difference really being very small. As Andrew Harvey rightly says, some maintenance work can do as much harm as good.

However the best word he uses repeatedly is "never".
.

 

[Caph]

I should have been a bit clearer on this question.

This Cleaner thingy is an enclosed brush which must revolve when the pressured cleaning stuff is activated. It is fitted over the chain and then you operate the pedal and the chain must go through the 'thingy' and comes out lovely and clean without any mess,
Lubricant can then be applied in the same way.

What I want to know is, does it work? Has anyone used it?

Yes, I use the Barbieri Tornado Chain Cleaning Machine which cost about a tenner and sounds very similar to what you describe. I just open it, clamp it around the chain, spray for a second or two then wizz the pedals round for a while. Job done and all the muck stays in the plastic housing rather than going on you. The chain looks great afterwards even after long muddy rides where my chain looks like it's made more of mud than metal!

If you don't apply oil after then you're going to get a rusty chain pretty quickly with all this snow/rain and salt on the roads. I use a dedicated chain lubricant by IceToolz which also contains PTFE.

By the way, I've just checked and Decathlon sell the Tornado for £12.95 with a replacement aerosol costing £5.95. Not too expensive.

 

[The Maestro]

Hi All

What do others use for chain and parts cleaning?

Hose pipe. ohh every 6 months. If I wanted to fiddle with the chain alot I'd get a fixie.

 

[Mussels]

My rules for cleaning bikes.

No1. Never use degreaser on chains or any thing that is meant to be greased.
No 2. Never ever use a jet wash on any thing that is meant to be greased.
No 3. Never use a wet oil or spray lubricant on any thing that needs greasing if it is exposed to dirt, grime, road salts an so forth.

Chains that are lovingly oiled every other day with 3 in1 or WD40 grow fatter and fatter every time they are used, all those lovely salts and rock particles that make up winter road surfaces make a particularly fine grinding paste.

If you manage to wear out your chain, then when you replace it you should also consider replacing your chain ring and rear gearset as they all bed together, leaving little change from £100, just for the sake of the wrong oil.

To clean your pride and joy, no sorry just the bike, an ordinary hand brush and a bucket of soapy water is all that is needed, provided you observe rule No 3, (I will permit a gentle hose down).

When the bikes particularly the chain, and rear gears are dirt and grime free use a dry lubricant, such as TF2.
A what?
Dry lubricants such as TF2 come in an aerosol can, you spray them liberally all over the business end of the bike wait 10 minutes and they have dried, leaving the bits lubbed and protected for another week or several.

Have you any idea what mileage you get out of a chain?

 

[Mussels]

What do others use for chain and parts cleaning?

I try and keep clumps of mud off as they will promote corrosion, other than that things get cleaned just before I'm working in that area. Apart from the chain which is cleaned weekly using a solvent bath machine.