Bicycle Mechanics - Live and learn

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dazco
03-09-03, 01:06 PM
Being new to MTB'ing i just learned that many of you were correct in 2 things i read here....

1)-simple green is great

2)-chain cleaning machines and fluid are a waste of money !

For ME at least. I know some of you like those things. But the park tool i bought is probably gonna be a storage item for now on. That and the chinbrite was messy and time consuming, while a toothbrush and simple green was fast and thurough and leaves no chemical residue to clean up. SG also cleaned the whole bike fast and thuroughly. Great stuff. Now i gotta see if they sell a gallon bottle so i can refill the spray bottle and save. (the squirt bottle was $5, and a suppose a gallon will probably be much cheaper per oz)

khuon
03-09-03, 01:35 PM
Originally posted by dazco
toothbrush and simple green was fast and thurough and leaves no chemical residue to clean up. SG also cleaned the whole bike fast and thuroughly. Great stuff. Now i gotta see if they sell a gallon bottle so i can refill the spray bottle and save. (the squirt bottle was $5, and a suppose a gallon will probably be much cheaper per oz)

Home Depot and Costco have pretty good deals on Simple Green. If your chain doesn't have a quick and easy way to disengage a link, you might also want to consider buying a SRAM PowerLink to replace one of your links. This will allow you to simply take the chain off the bike for easier and a more thorough cleaning of both the chain and the gears. In addition to using the brush, I stick my chain in a cheapo sealable lid tupperware-like container (you can buy a 4-pack of Glad disposable ones for a couple of bucks at the grocery store although I don't throw mine away) with a 70/30 mixture of Simple Green and water and shake it about. Then I rinse the chain off (this is important as detergent will prevent lubricant from penetrating back into the chain), dry it completely (whipping it around helps shed the water out of the tight spots in the links), replace it on the bike and drop a dabble of lube on each link while spinning the cranks backwards and wiping off any excess.
D*Alex
03-09-03, 02:51 PM
SG is great for cleaning the outside of the bike, but since it contains detergent, it's a poor choice for cleaning chains, bearings, etc.

khuon
03-09-03, 02:54 PM
Originally posted by D*Alex
SG is great for cleaning the outside of the bike, but since it contains detergent, it's a poor choice for cleaning chains, bearings, etc.

If you rinse and dry the chain then it shouldn't matter should it?