chain cleaning

what product cleans the chain of a bicycle the easiest and without doing any
harm to the rest of the bicycle.

Well it sounds as though you want to clean the chain on the bike? I
would recommend something along the lines of simple green and a brush
of some sort. Spray it on wait a minute or two, brush it, rinse and
repeat a few times.

Ken M

I just can't understand these people who are so frigging obsessed about
cleaning their chain!! Just wipe the damned thing off with a rag
soaked in paint thinner and then oil it with good old motor oil. It's
only a chain!!

TomCAt wrote: what product cleans the chain of a
bicycle the easiest and without doing any harm to the rest of the
bicycle.

This isn't a substitute for cleaning, but in my experience it's a good
thing if your chain doesn't get so dirty in the first place. I spray my
chain every two or three weeks with STP silicone spray lubricant, which I
purchase (Heresy Alert!) from a local auto parts store.


Bill


--------------------------------------------
| As long as people believe in absurdities |
| they will continue to commit atrocities. |
| --Voltaire |
--------------------------------------------

"it's a good thing if your chain doesn't get so dirty in the first
place."

Yes, I like to hermetically seal my bicycle and then view it through
the glass walls of its enclosure. It stays just like new that way!

Good point but a bit of care keeps the chain and drivetrain in better
working order.

Ken

TomCAt wrote:
what product cleans the chain of a bicycle the easiest and without doing any
harm to the rest of the bicycle.



A rag.

TomCAt wrote:
what product cleans the chain of a bicycle the easiest and without doing any
harm to the rest of the bicycle.


The orange based degreasers seem to work pretty well, that and the park
scrubbing brush, once it's pretty clean (don't forget the sprockets and
chainring), simply rinse off the whole bike with water, check for chain
stretch (12 full links should be 12" if it exceeds that by 1/16th inch
or more, it's worn out, replace the chain, ASAP. Then use a good bike
chain lube, or motorcycle chain lube, apply to the inside bottom of the
chain, not the top.

Good things to check while your at it, brake pads, cable adjustments,
deraileur operation, and paint nicks and scratches. If you have paint
issues, visit an automotive supply store, they often have dozens of
colours to choose from. Fix up those nicks and scratches.....

One more thing, check the tire pressure, top up the tires while your at
it.

There are ways to super clean a chain, by removing it and soaking it in
degreaser, then soaking in hot wax instead of using chain lube, unless
your bike uses a special super expensive chain, it's usually not worth
the time and effort, just give it regular maintenance every week or two,
and when it wears out, toss it.

It's one of the nice things about bikes, you can do a lot of your own
maintenance, and keep a bike going for many years, there are a couple of
things that require special knowledge or expensive tools, but those can
be left to your LBS.

A couple of good links:

www.sheldonbrown.com
www.jimlangley.net

W

But you forgot to address the questions of which brand of paint thinner
leaves the least residue, exactly how much paint thinner to put on the
rag, how big and what type of rag to use, how do you prevent lint from
the rag from getting on the chain, what brand and weight of oil to use,
whether it should be detergent or non-detergent oil, exactly how many
drops of oil I should put on the chain, what to do if some of the oil
gets on the frame, and doesn't the oil attract more dirt? These are
very important questions and they are very troubling to me. Please
discuss all of them in stupifying detail. Thank you.

"TomCAt" wrote in message
...
what product cleans the chain of a bicycle the easiest and without doing
any harm to the rest of the bicycle.

What matters is that you flush the grit out. I find it much easier and more
effective just to use SRAM chains with their PowerLinks, so it's a snap to
remove the chain and drop it in a jar of paint thinner (which can be re-used
indefinitely). Shake it around, rinse it off, dry it, put it back on the
bike, lube it with something light that doesn't sludge up, like ProLink.

If you don't flush the grit out, the chain will wear faster and cause
premature wear of the cogs.

There are people who advocate simply putting a new chain on every 1000
miles, but they don't ride 5000+ miles a year, I don't think.

There are other people who keep the same chain indefinitely, don't worry
much about cleaning, and then just replace both the chain and the cassette
when they become too worn to use. I rode a guy's bike once who followed that
strategy, and its performance was less than stellar. I suppose it was
acceptable for low-speed riding around town. I ride a lot harder than he
did, for longer distances. He was lucky I didn't break his chain.

RichC