Chain cleaning devices zzzzzzzzzz

galatzo

Hi

Any clip-on chain cleaner recommendations ?

Such a dull topic to research so rather than trawl the web I thought I'd ask you lot for a few suggestions to quickly narrow it down so I can order one and get back to looking at good stuff like frames and wheels !


Cheers

noiseboyfeetman

Not got one but these get good reviews: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-cg-2 ... leaner-set

keef66

Just get the Park one. You can get replacement brushes for them. And get gallons of cheap degreaser.

(I'm not speaking from personal experience though; I'm a shake it in a bottle of white spirit man myself)

Bar Shaker

Lidl were selling them for £3.99 last week. Might be some left.

I bought one and was amazed how much shyte it got off a chain that I had cleaned 150 miles earlier.

anyuser

+1 Park Tools has lasted years, whereas the previous Finish Line one didn't.

bearfraser

"Edinburgh Bike Coop" do a reasonably priced one on their "WEB Shop"

father_jack

No need to spend £25 on a park tool, think my Barbieri was about £6. This looks like a clone of the Park Tool one, £20 cheaper

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bike-Hand-Bike-Cy ... 45fa738945

jwindeatt

I got the lidl one and its actually a Barbieri cleaner with degreaser and chain oil for £3.99! can't vouch for the chain oil as I normally use finish line.

rolf_f

anyuser wrote:

+1 Park Tools has lasted years, whereas the previous Finish Line one didn't.

I have the finish line one. Hasn't deteriorated in any way I can see in 3 years and 14000 miles of chain cleaning........

andybott

dont use thinners if you run out of degreaser. the chain looks awesome, but the plastic of the degreaser goes soggy.

hubcap

Have you got a chain with a removable link like a KMC? If so, just whip the chain off, put in in an empty plastic milk container with some white spirit, give it a good shake around for a few minutes and it comes out like brand new!

A darn site cheaper than chain cleaning tools.

father_jack

Shaking it in white spirit in a jar does not clean it as thoroughly as a clean cleaner, the bristles go inside each link. For cleaner chains jar is ok but if it's caked on grime then the chain cleaners do a better job.

BrianTrousers

Father Jack wrote:

Shaking it in white spirit in a jar does not clean it as thoroughly as a clean cleaner, the bristles go inside each link. For cleaner chains jar is ok but if it's caked on grime then the chain cleaners do a better job.

Just put some sea urchins in the bottle at the same time.

rolf_f

Father Jack wrote:

Shaking it in white spirit in a jar does not clean it as thoroughly as a clean cleaner, the bristles go inside each link. For cleaner chains jar is ok but if it's caked on grime then the chain cleaners do a better job.

And slower - which discourages bothering. Which increases chain wear and costs. I do take the chain off occasionally and heat it up in degreaser which softens the cack and it does come up very nicely but, for the most part, the chain cleaner does the job.

ShutUpLegs

Oh come on, just buy a new chain when it gets dirty

designman

For me its a tin of spray degreaser & a tooth brush

Cycloslalomeur

Do it properly:
1 Place chain into plastic bottle with desired solvent, shake vigorously
2 Dry
3 Place chain into dishwasher (hot cycle) along with chainrings and cogs
4 Dry
5 Place chain into marmalade jar with synthetic engine oil, bake in oven at 100-120 degrees Celsius for an hour or so
6 Drain and wipe off excess oil while chain is still warm

This will result in a virtually silent drivetrain with long chain service life.

tremayne

+1 to plastic bottle.

Method;

1/. liberate any empty pllastic bottle from recycling bin.
2/. add chain
3/. add small qty white spirit (petrol does a nice job also)
4/. add lid
5/. shake violently
6/. dispose contents in most environmentally acceptable way possible
7/. attack bottle with v. sharp knife in order to remove chain
8/. hang chain for drying
9/. oil
10/. admire shiny 'as new' chain!

No offence to fella with 27 step method, including 1hr oven bake - but clearly you have too much time on your hands! Are you single or just retired?!

bearfraser

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM "Castrol" flavoured Pizza anyone ???

jswba

REminds me of this:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

Good old Sheldon.

Herbsman

toothbrush and degreaser.

Cycloslalomeur

tremayne wrote:

+1 to plastic bottle.

Method;

1/. liberate any empty pllastic bottle from recycling bin.
2/. add chain
3/. add small qty white spirit (petrol does a nice job also)
4/. add lid
5/. shake violently
6/. dispose contents in most environmentally acceptable way possible
7/. attack bottle with v. sharp knife in order to remove chain
8/. hang chain for drying
9/. oil
10/. admire shiny 'as new' chain!

No offence to fella with 27 step method, including 1hr oven bake - but clearly you have too much time on your hands! Are you single or just retired?!

Married and have a toddler attached to my leg most of the time actually... But seriously, the argument against the plastic bottle with solvent -method is that it removes the oil from the places it is most needed. Hence the need for some heat to put it back in there after cleaning.

Cycloslalomeur

bearfraser wrote:

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM "Castrol" flavoured Pizza anyone ???

I prefer Texaco-Havoline Energy 5W-30 actually.

Bar Shaker

Cycloslalomeur wrote:

But seriously, the argument against the plastic bottle with solvent -method is that it removes the oil from the places it is most needed. Hence the need for some heat to put it back in there after cleaning.

It will also remove dirt bearing oil from these places too.

Getting oil back in between the link bearings is simple if you have the £3.99 machine.