Best Degreaser and Lube?

Gunnsie

What is the best degreaser to use on the chain and gears? Don't wanna spend loads of money, but would like something that is gonna get all the gunk off that I gained from doing a very very wet mucky ride recently. I have flossed the cassette, but there are still some stubborn bits.

This is the first time I have tried to thoroughly clean these parts, so am a bit of a novice as to what to use and how to do it. Any advise would be great.

Thanks, Chris

Wirral_paul

I buy 5L containers of Swarfega Drive and Patio Cleaner and dilute this down pretty heavily. It's pretty cheap and does the job nicely. A container will last for ages too - i get mine from B&Q

chatlow

was advised to stay away from solvents as will eat away at grease. After a wet ride,I tend to use gt85/wd40 on my cassette followed by a good lube (finish line wet for me). For a more thorough clean I will remove the cassette and clean it in soapy water, use wet wipes on the chain followed by the chain cleaning tool (but I will keep an eye on this thread to find out what's best to put in this)

BillyMansell

I use Jizer which dissolves oil and grease on contact and is water soluble but as chatlow has suggested you need to be careful with such products as they will beak down any grease they touch so use carefully.

I tend to use some in a chain cleaner first and then use sparingly on a paint brush to clean the cassette, chainring teeth and gear rollers before washing the bike with soapy water, avoiding going anywhere near the hub and bottom bracket bearings with the Jizer.

For lubes I tend to use Finish Line wet or dry just because I bought a few bottles cheap a couple of years ago and am still working through them and have no complaints.

sungod

fit the chain with a kmc link so you can remove/refit for easy cleaning/maintenance

running the chain through a cloth (old linen is good, doesn't snag and isn't fluffy) will take off a lot of crud, then oil liberally, leave to soak in, then a final wipe and ready to go

remove rear wheel, then you can scrub the cassette with a stiff brush without spraying greasy stuff all over the frame and rear mech

for deep chain cleaning use search, there are many threads on it and everyone has their own preferences, avoid agressive cleaners that may affect the surface, if you do use degreaser make sure you get it all out before lubing

Gunnsie

Thanks everyone... I will see what I can get hold of on the weekend and give it a go.

Cheers!

Chris

smidsy

Parrafin is the cheapest and most effective degreaser ever

Not Another Hill

smidsy wrote:

Parrafin is the cheapest and most effective degreaser ever

Agree with this. I use it to degrease my motorbike chains. Very effective. Not biodegradable though.

sniper68

I use the same stuff that shifts literally everything on the mtb..Fenwicks F1.
1ltr(about a tenner) dilutes to make 11ltrs.I use it a bit stronger for chains/cassettes,sometimes 50/50 in a chain cleaner(mtb) and 1ltr will last about a year or so cleaning 2 mtbs(after every ride) and the road bike(as and when) 8)
Lube is Finishline dry.
Personally I don't let WD40/GT85 near any of my bikes.

keef66

I just wipe the chain / relube each pin sparingly for a couple of months, then I come over all OCD and take off the chain and cassette for a more thorough clean. Few things more satisfying than getting the cassette components all clean and sparkly by scrubbing in white spirit.

spanner239

Not Another Hill wrote:

smidsy wrote:

Parrafin is the cheapest and most effective degreaser ever

Agree with this. I use it to degrease my motorbike chains. Very effective. Not biodegradable though.

What do you do with the dirty parrafin once it has been used, is there somewhere you can take it for disposal/recycling?