Degreasing Drivetrains

cookdn

Bought some of Finish Line Speed Clean Degreaser a couple of weeks ago on the recommendation of the LBS for cleaning chains etc. They didn't have any suitable liquids in stock for my Park Tool chain cleaner.



While it literally blasts through drivetrain muck like nothing I've seen before, the can only lasted for two bikes :shock: so is an expensive way to clean drivetrains.

Been doing a bit of research and an industrial citrus degreaser seems to come up frequently called Virosol. Available online for 10L delivered at £20. The recommendation I read was a 1:2 dilution with water for chains using a cleaner such as the Park Tool CM2, 1:10 for general cleaning. Thought that I could use it in an empty Muc Off spray bottle for cassettes etc.

Does anybody have any experience of this product or better recommendations?

captainwheezy

Just use Parafin or White Spirits. Great for dunkning chains in and you can re-use it loads of times, just filter the crap out afterwards.

smokey_bacon

Damn, how much degreaser are you using? I use the same spray and it lasts a couple of months washing one bike once a week.

cookdn

Smokey Bacon wrote:

Damn, how much degreaser are you using? I use the same spray and it lasts a couple of months washing one bike once a week.

I probably took the instructions on the side of the can 'use generously' a little too far ..... but it was quite impressive how it blasted the cassette, derailleur and chain clean.

Don't get me wrong, it did an excellent job, but I would much rather use a liquid in the chain cleaner than something that has to be sprayed from a can.

ic.

I use Virosol. I bought the 10l for £20 lot a few years back. I use it as a general bike cleaner. As in, bit in the bottom of a bucket of hot water. I also have some diluted in a spray bottle for more targeted cleaning, or to spray on straight after a wet dirty ride.

I don't actually use it as a drive chain degreaser on it's own cos it's a bit pants to be fair. I use Morgan Blue, £9ish a bottle, but applied sparingly with a paintbrush and it lasts a fair while. I then use the diluted Virosol hot soapy water in a Park Tool chain cleaner to wash off the Morgan Blue and all the cr*p it has loosened off the chain/cassette. Result is a sparkling drivetrain, everytime

keef66

If you've blasted half a can at the rear mech and cassette, you might want to check you haven't also washed all the grease out of the hub / freehub bearings.

I've given up on intensive chain cleaning; now it gets a wipe down, sparing application of lube followed by another, even more thorough wipe down. Same thing for the rear mech only less often. Then periodically I'll take the cassette off and give the individual sprockets / spacers a proper clean with a drop of WD40 on a cloth.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I used my Muc Off X3 cleaner for the first time last weekend, a quick spray on the cassette and ~66% fill of the top well was enough to get my Wazoo's chain looking all clean again, don't think I even used 10% of the sample drivechain cleaner bottle. I bought a 500ml bottle of the cleaner at the same time, looks like it is going to last me quite some time!

Sportiveman

CaptainWheezy wrote:

Just use Parafin or White Spirits. Great for dunkning chains in and you can re-use it loads of times, just filter the crap out afterwards.

What do you use to filter the white spirit or paraffin with afterwards ? Can you soak a chain overnight in white spirit?

Thanks

bigmitch41

A couple of liters of parafin from your local petrol station, an old paint brush and old rag or cloth to wipe down after with.

This should do multiple applications, ive had my paraffin bottle for a couple of years.

Sportiveman

Is white spirit ok? I was gonna leave it in old paint tray to soak over night then dry off with rag/blue roll !

keef66

Sportiveman wrote:

CaptainWheezy wrote:

Just use Parafin or White Spirits. Great for dunkning chains in and you can re-use it loads of times, just filter the crap out afterwards.

What do you use to filter the white spirit or paraffin with afterwards ? Can you soak a chain overnight in white spirit?

Thanks

Bit of kitchen paper in a funnel and pour it through. The white spirit will still be grey, but you'll get all the grit out of it. Works pretty quickly, but a very dirty chain is a bit easier to clean if you leave it marinating in it overnight. Alternatively use an old 1 litre coke bottle and give it all a good shaking.

steve55

I used to use the ParkTool cleaner but found the internal parts and then the plastic handle broke.

I've had better results using Finish Line Citrus Degreaser and then re-lubing. One tip, I have found baby wipes to be hugely useful for this job, they don't rip up, I've never been able to get rags I used for this task usable again after one application so I was chucking them anyway.