Road Cycling - Chain cleaners...

The various chain cleaning devices sound good; how do they work in practice? Which ones should I be looking at?

I'd use it on a Gary Fisher MB, a Cannondale tandem, and a Felt road bike.

Resoman

I'm happy with the Park brand. It is simple to use, easy to fill and clean, and does a great job. Since Park is such a well known brand, it is also easy to find.

I just picked up the Park chain cleaner as well. I use it with Pedro's orange peelz degreaser. I have to admit, this combo is amazing! I dont know why i didnt buy one a few years ago. Once you have a clean chain, it only takes about 5 minutes to clean w/ the chain cleaner and re apply the chain lube.

Another note with that Park cleaner -- I finish off with a few rounds of soapy water in the cleaner, is that a good idea ?

Seems to clean really well, and it means I am not using so much degreaser.

Thanks for the input regarding the Park cleaning machine. Is the Park model a better choice than Pedro's Chain Machine Kit?Nashbar has a good price on Pedro's right now...

Resoman

Chain cleaners generally just make a mess, while doing a poor job of cleaning the chain. I used to use a Bibox unit, but all it did was clean the outer surface of the chain, not the innards.
If you really want to clean your chain, get one with with a quick-link (such as SRAM), and put it into a 2-litre bottle filled with a citrus solvent. Shake. Rinse twice with hot water. Dry. Do not use Simple Green-it contains detergent!!! Detergent residue will remain inside your link pins and attack the lubricant!

While D*Alex is right, and there's no better way to clean your chain than removal, soaking and agitation, removal is not always an option. I find that the Park machine does a better job than most -- as long as you use it fairly frequently and observe all the other rules of chain hygeine.

I've used the Park machine on all of my bikes, but particulartly on my Campy-equipped road bike. I can't get the chain off and there's no 10-speed quick link available. Yet, with regular cleaning with the Park machine, I get 5,000-6,000 km on every chain and more than 15,000 km on a cassette.

One thing the Park machine has is a magnet at the bottom of the reservoir that does a pretty good job of attracting ferrous grit and pulling it out of the way of the brushes

I use SRAM chains. Remove them and shake them up in a bottle of diesel. Then I filter the diesel through a coffee filter to reuse. That orange peelze stuff is nice but WAY over priced. I used to work in a steel mill and we used buckets of citrus cleaner that came in a 55 gal. drum. I know the mill wasn't paying $8.95 a quart. You guys may be wise to check around some industrial supply houses, you might have to buy a minimum of 5 gal. but at a steep discount compared to Pedro's. I'll stick with my filter method, works well for me....

Good info above. In a previous thread I mentioned that i remove my chain once a month for cleaning (soak over night & shake in a 2 ltr bottle.). I may continue to do this, but for maintenance cleaning, I'll use the park chain cleaner weekly.

Paige, Thats a great tip, I'll look around for bulk citrus cleaner.

If you are riding the new Campy stuff, don't remove the chain.

I also have successsfully used the Park cleaner, and agree that citrus degreaser is too expensive.

I use a degreaser found in the automotive aisle at Wal-Mart. It's called purple something. Anyway, it's about $4-5US per gallon. I bought a little spray bottle at the dollar store, too. This stuff is particularly potent, better than diesel, kero or citrus. Take your bike outside and spray the degreaser on the drivetrain, cranks and chain. Let stand for a couple of minutes. Crud drips off the chainrings, back of the cassette and chain - all the hard places to get clean. I also spray around the BB, in that hard-to-wash place. Wash with soap and water and your whole drivetrain looks like new - including the chain.

Pros. . . whole drivetrain is clean and gleaming bright; cassette, chainrings, chain, jockey wheels. Chain stays on bike. Easy. Inexpensive (I've used about a pint - 500ml - this season, it doesn't take much). No harm to paint.

Cons. . . an outside job only. Very potent degreaser is not ecologically friendly.

Since going to SRAM chains with a PowerLink and using this method of cleaning, I've retired my Park cleaner. BTW, this stuff works great using the 2 litre bottle method.

After cleaning, what lubricant do you all recommend for general, all-purpose (not wet) road riding? There seems to be a lot of options aout there.

I've used about everything, but have settled on Pedro's Ice Wax. I put a small dab on each roller, turn the cranks 5 or 6 times and let it sit for at least a 1/2 hour. I lube about every 2 or 3 rides.

I like White Lightning, too, but it's so liquid that it gets all over the floor. I feel like I'm lubing the ground more than my chain. Ice Wax is thicker, the consistency of pudding, and clings to the chain.

I buy it in the 16oz. bottle, which lasts months.

I like Finish Line Teflon. I find Ice Wax a bit gunky and White Lightning gets squeaky. Both have to be applied long before your ride -- like the night before -- for best effect, and I'm just not that organized. The problem with Finish Line, though, is that it requires frequent application.