Fifty Plus (50+) - chain washing machine?

I'm making my Christmas list, and came upon cleaning supplies in the bike catalog. One thing that sounds intriguing is a washing machine for my drivechain. Anybody have one of these, and do you think it's worth having? Thanx!

I've had two chain cleaning "machines" over the years. However, I'm back to cleaning the chain with lubricant and a rag once or twice a week. It takes less time, keeps the chain clean and functioning. And, there's been no difference in chain wear. Part of the reason I'm back in this simple mode of chain cleaning comes from watching a guy operate a rather large bit of machinery that runs a drive chain about 30 feet in length. He cleans it with a rag and oil. I asked him if he ever did a complete job of cleaning the chain. He looked at me and said, "I ain't worried about how it looks. I'm worried about how it works." As I thought about that I realized I didn't need a spotless chain, just one that was relatively clean and worked well.

Think it depends on your type of riding. Offroad and clean the chain every trip- thoroughly in the cleaning machine. On the trails with all the dust, and use a dry lube to stop dust collecting on the chain, and clean frequently. On the road in perfect sunny days with no rain and road muck and when the cassette starts getting dirty from the excess oil on the chain and clean the chain. Out on a filthy day on the road with plenty of puddles to go through and mud and muck. Clean the chain afterwards.

I am a believer in keeping the chain clean- preferably with a cleaning device- or if you use a quicklink- take the chain off and clean by agitating in the detergent. And I am a believer in keeping the chain oiled after cleaning and working the oil through the chain and letting it "Drip Dry" and then wiping before the ride to remove excess.

I like my machine. It's a mess, but I think those little brushes get dirt that wiping teh outside doesn't get.
I don't do it often, maybe once =a month or fewer times, but whan I do and I see what omes out I'm sure it's a good idea.
My roadie has 3000 miles on the chain and is still in fine shape, shifting well and not stretched (though the not stretched doesn't have much if anything to do with clean)

My roadie has 3000 miles on the chain and is still in fine shape, shifting well and not stretched (though the not stretched doesn't have much if anything to do with clean)

Something I have been thinking about and I have just got a chain stretch guide.

MTB-XT chain fitted about1,000 miles ago- cleaned after every trip and still good. (The mud does knock out MTB chains)

Giant- Cheap KMC chain- 1,500 miles and knackered

Boreas- Ultegra chain- 1,000 miles and still plenty of life left.

Although cleaning a chain before it gets the grinding paste of of Mud and road dirt working on it will prolong the chain- The quality of the chain has a lot to do with it.


Edit- Tandem- Crossover chain is an XT 8 speed- has done about 4,000 miles and only minimal stretch on it. The drive chain has about 500 miles and is 9 speed XT and not long before that has to be replaced.

I'm making my Christmas list, and came upon cleaning supplies in the bike catalog. One thing that sounds intriguing is a washing machine for my drivechain. Anybody have one of these, and do you think it's worth having? Thanx!

Yes...I use the Park Tool chain cleaner as well a MEC chain cleaner with Bio Cycle cleaning fluid. Riding on sandy trails as well dirty city streets, the drive train picks up a lot of dirt which when combined with lubricants becomes an abrasive, similar to sandpaper or a grindstone...

...the tool cleans deep into the links

A can of Brake Klean, a towel, and some pipe cleaners works way better. Easier, less mess and a perfectly clean chain. The trick is to do it often, so the chain never gets grungy. My park chain machine has been in the cupboard for years. bk

A can of Brake Klean, a towel, and some pipe cleaners works way better. Easier, less mess and perfectly clean. The trick is to do it often, so the chain never gets grungy. My park chain machind has been in the cupboard for years. bk


"Pipe cleaners" and "easier, less mess " don't really go together.

My chain washing machine is a quick link, a pint mason jar and mineral spirits. I use a brush and the same mineral spirits for chainrings and cassette. This method works and is really not much trouble at all.

I have a Park cleaner and I use it mostly for my mtn. bike. For my road bike I use a rag and brush with bio stuff.

Pipe cleaners work well, IF you don't let the chain get grungy. I use one pipe cleaner, bent in half, to clean my 9.5 foot recumbent chain. Over lubing can make a mess of things too. bk

Im pretty sure that the cleaners don't get inside the roller/pin interface so your just cleaning the outside of the chain. Keeping dirt out of the inside of the chain will better its performance. If you wash the chain and the brushes chase dirt into the inside then you are loosing the battle.

Use a relatively dry lube (unless you ride in very wet conditions) and brush the dirt off. Chains are ment to be replaced before they eat your more expensive chain rings and cassettes.

The one I had years ago was the most effective method I've ever found to get black, greasy gunk all over my wheels and tires.
+1 on T-man's jar and mineral spirits method.

The one I had years ago was the most effective method I've ever found to get black, greasy gunk all over my wheels and tires.
+1 on T-man's jar and mineral spirits method.You need to take the back wheel OFF and put something there for the chain to run around. I have a dripp catching tray under the bike also.
Been doing this for over 15 years. Just have to be smarter than the DIRT.:D

You need to take the back wheel OFF and put something there for the chain to run around. I have a dripp catching tray under the bike also.
Been doing this for over 15 years. Just have to be smarter than the DIRT.:D

Where's the convenience in that? Might as well take the chain off and clean it. Which is what I do once in a long while.
Whatever works. The machine didn't work for me. YMMV

Pipe cleaners are meant to clean between the links. It's the NAPPY towel with brake kleen or mineral spirits that gets the crap out of the rollers and pins. Capillary action does the trick. It gets the old lube out, and puts the new lube in. Works great on road and paved trail bikes. MTB chains get too dirty.
It doesn't put ANY WATER or acidic degreaser into your chain, either. bk

I bought a Pedro's cleaning machine, the kind where the top locks with a lever that hooks around the rear derailleur, and the lever broke on the first usage. I replaced it with a Park machine that has a handle that protrudes from the side, and the top is held on with two spring clips.

I personally think the Park machine is more durable - at least I haven't broken it yet - but YMMV.

I'm surprised that no one has brought this one up- the best chain cleaning system around:

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

Those chain cleaning machines are one of those things you need to own at least once in your life. They're messy, they're inefficient, they drive you mad, but they do work up to a point. Maybe they're right for you, maybe they're not. We're all different (for instance, I still can't understand why people think removing the chain is a good idea) but you'll never know until you buy and try.

I've got one. I don't care about the mess because I'm about to assault the cogs and the like with kero and a brush anyway. For me, they give a good initial clean that you'll want to touch up with the toothbrush. But I don't get out there and scrub the bike down too often anyway, only when it NEEDS it. Most road riding only needs a wipe with the rag. On wet roads, particularly if there's sand around, it needs it more often. Mud? What? Get dirty? :eek:

Wait till you see one on special. Buy it and try it. If it's brilliant, you're laughing. If it seems to do the job but isn't built well, you can then justify spending a bit more on a good one. If it's rubbish, at least you have the satisfaction of being able to point to it in the shed and say 'it's rubbish', not to mention being able to join in threads like this.

Richard

Those chain cleaning machines are one of those things you need to own at least once in your life. They're messy, they're inefficient, they drive you mad, but they do work up to a point. Maybe they're right for you, maybe they're not. We're all different (for instance, I still can't understand why people think removing the chain is a good idea) but you'll never know until you buy and try.

I've got one. I don't care about the mess because I'm about to assault the cogs and the like with kero and a brush anyway. For me, they give a good initial clean that you'll want to touch up with the toothbrush. But I don't get out there and scrub the bike down too often anyway, only when it NEEDS it. Most road riding only needs a wipe with the rag. On wet roads, particularly if there's sand around, it needs it more often. Mud? What? Get dirty? :eek:

Wait till you see one on special. Buy it and try it. If it's brilliant, you're laughing. If it seems to do the job but isn't built well, you can then justify spending a bit more on a good one. If it's rubbish, at least you have the satisfaction of being able to point to it in the shed and say 'it's rubbish', not to mention being able to join in threads like this.

RichardI used to belong to the remove and clean school back when pushing out a pin and reusing it was the practice. Until the day my chain snapped on a steep climb right where I had reused the pin on my rohloff chain.. From that day on, which was just as the shimano chains requiring special pins came out, I use the pin furnished and don't take the chain off until time to replace.
Don't like the reusable links that some use. I figure that Shimano designed it to be used a particular way.
Haven't had an issue since.
Works for me, probably not most here.:)

Standing by for flames...

I've got a Shimano chain with the special pin. My method, used about monthly, is to spray/soak the chain, idler, cassette, &c, with degreaser and hose off with a jet nozzle on the hose. Let dry and re-lube with spray white lithium grease. Works for me but then I'm not a competition racer, just an older guy who like tooling around the local (mostly unmade) trails every morning.

My chain washing machine is a quick link, a pint mason jar and mineral spirits. I use a brush and the same mineral spirits for chainrings and cassette. This method works and is really not much trouble at all.

+1

I use a pedros chain cleaner. I spray WD40 on the chain. The WD40 is used as a solvent. I put simple green (a degreaser) in the cleaner. I run the chain through the cleaner. I then run it through water to get ride of the degreaser. I then dry the chain with a rag and grease it.

The remove the chain and mason jar trick would work every bit as well and I am sure the rag and solvent of choice would work fine too.

Here is a tip though. I have a cheap little chain gauge that I can put on the chain and it will tell me instantly if the chain is worn. That way I can replace the chain before it starts to wear down the cassette (or at least wear it down much).

Pat

I use the remove and clean method when the chain gets really nasty. but that does not happen often. Mostly I squirt on an excessive amount of Prolink, let it sit overnight and wipe as much as I can off the next day by running the chain through a rag in my hand. Adding solvents and water and then relubing without getting all of it out doesn't seem like a good idea.

I use the remove and clean method when the chain gets really nasty. but that does not happen often. Mostly I squirt on an excessive amount of Prolink, let it sit overnight and wipe as much as I can off the next day by running the chain through a rag in my hand. Adding solvents and water and then relubing without getting all of it out doesn't seem like a good idea.

+1 on the Prolink. The stuff does a really nice job of forcing all the dirt and grit out of the inner workings, and it seems to last for a respectable period of time.

Im pretty sure that the cleaners don't get inside the roller/pin interface so your just cleaning the outside of the chain. Keeping dirt out of the inside of the chain will better its performance. If you wash the chain and the brushes chase dirt into the inside then you are loosing the battle.


While it's true that cleaning might drive some grit into the chain, it's SURE that any grits on the outside of the chain will be carried to the inside by lubes!

I think that it's a gooood idea to have the outside clean before dripping solvent laced lube on there.

I don't like the brushboxes because of mess, and, the cleaners I use rinse with water, and water on the bike is not a good idea.

Oh yeah, the masterlink thingey is a good thing, IMO!

Oh yeah, the master linkey thing is required, IMO!

I like rinsing the chain with cleaner first, so surface grime is removed, before applying any brushing actions.

By the by, my final rinse is alcohol, to speed drying...

I don't know, I'm seeing all these "ultimate clean" strategies for an item that gets replaced every year. It sounds; oh so obsessive. You would think I'm doing a mediocre job of it, yet people marvel at how clean my drivetrain is. So I'll officially withdraw my obviously inferior method. Won't stop doing it, though. bk

"ultimate clean" strategies for an item that gets replaced every year

?

Solvents, like brake cleaners, ARE "ultimate clean!"

I use simple green chased by water chased by alcohol, retaining the first&last, pouring off after settling to use again, because I'm a cheapaiz, don't like solvents, (and didn't think of brake cleaner...)

maddmaxx, how often do you clean your chain and what kind of riding do you do, that you need to go 'ultimate' in your cleaning? bk

maddmaxx, how often do you clean your chain and what kind of riding do you do, that you need to go 'ultimate' in your cleaning? bk

Sorry, I think you mistook me for some other post. I use very little in the way of chain cleaning. I leave the original factory lube on for as long as possible, use a paintbrush to knock off the bulk of the dirt and drip a teflon dry lube onto the links as necessary. (use the Sheldon Brown method of oiling one drop only into the inner pin/sleeve joint so the oil moves toward the outside and is eventually expelled.)

The only time I change this routine is when limestone dust or other fine abrasive begins to make the chain feel gritty. (this happens most at this time of year when frozen trails thaw at the top 1/4" and coat your bike like a sugar doughnut as you leave a rooster tail of fine mist and dirt in your wake). This stuff is bad because it arrives wet and dry's like concrete. At this point I join the take the chain off crowd. If you cannot clean the grit out of the chain at this point it is probably headed for the scrap heap soon.

Dry dirt just lays around on the outside of the chain and eventually falls off. I grew up on a farm and used to watch chain style machines like potatoe sorters run forever in a dirt environment. Unlike chain saws, speed and heat are not a factor for bicycle chains.

Because of the environment above, I usually install a new chain on the MTB in the spring after the freeze is over. The road bike gets a new chain about every 1500 miles.

If it matters, I use relatively high grad SRAM chains with nickel plated links. I think that the plating sheds dirt faster.

Prompted by BD- Chains get dirty. You can see the state of the Tandem and you can guess what the chain is like. Then from my ride this morning. If I used a quicklink then I would take it off and wash by agitaing in detergent. But I don't and have to use a chain cleaner. OK Brushes do clean the outside but How do you get the Mud out from inside the chain. You Keep the cleaner topped up with detergent and when it runs low- You empty the dirty stuff out and start afresh. That plenty of detergent will get inside the chain and get everything out. May take 3 or 4 attempts but that chain will be clean. Same on the road bikes- A dirty chain may take a couple of refills to get a clean chain- but just wiping the outside of a chain is not doing any good on saving the wear on it.