Tub O Towels & bike chains
#1
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Tub O Towels & bike chains
I've been seeing this product advertised on the Velocity channel & it got me thinking: "this sounds perfect for a quick chain wipe down before riding, much simpler than my current system".
I have never used these (yet) so it is an unknown what solvent these disposable wipes are soaked in. Or how durable or "scrubby" the cloth is. But: it looks like a potential winner of a product if it enables a rider to get out the door & into their ride quickly with a cleaner chain, one that you could then apply your favorite chain lube to before embarking on your journey.
I have never used these (yet) so it is an unknown what solvent these disposable wipes are soaked in. Or how durable or "scrubby" the cloth is. But: it looks like a potential winner of a product if it enables a rider to get out the door & into their ride quickly with a cleaner chain, one that you could then apply your favorite chain lube to before embarking on your journey.
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I've been seeing this product advertised on the Velocity channel & it got me thinking: "this sounds perfect for a quick chain wipe down before riding, much simpler than my current system".
I have never used these (yet) so it is an unknown what solvent these disposable wipes are soaked in. Or how durable or "scrubby" the cloth is. But: it looks like a potential winner of a product if it enables a rider to get out the door & into their ride quickly with a cleaner chain, one that you could then apply your favorite chain lube to before embarking on your journey.
I have never used these (yet) so it is an unknown what solvent these disposable wipes are soaked in. Or how durable or "scrubby" the cloth is. But: it looks like a potential winner of a product if it enables a rider to get out the door & into their ride quickly with a cleaner chain, one that you could then apply your favorite chain lube to before embarking on your journey.
#4
Optically Corrected
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I've never used them on my bikes but I do use them to clean the grease off my tools. Good stuff,IMO. And yeah, the commercial on Velocity sold it for me. lol
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Baby wipes are also great at grease removal for bike and hands and half the price of TOT. Get the unscented version if you value your relationships with your riding buddies.
#8
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Just an update: I bought a 90 count container of these @ Home Depot for about $12.50. My first reaction: awesome product. I got all kind of forgotten grunge off my front & rear dearaulleurs, my frame, hubs, rims, spokes, tires even. They come out of the tub nice & wet. I started with a clean towel & wiped down my frame or things not quite so filthy. As the cloth picked up more black dirt, I used up the towel by wiping down much more dirty things like my chain.
I pre-cleaned my chainrings a bit to remove build up before dropping the chainrings into my ultrasonic cleaner.
I pre-cleaned my chainrings a bit to remove build up before dropping the chainrings into my ultrasonic cleaner.
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Another thing I noticed. The towels have a nice fragrance & the cleaner in the towel worked well on grease but did not seem overly harsh if I got it on my skin.
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Now we need scented towels to clean our bikes.
This is great.
-Tim-
This is great.
-Tim-
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I've had good luck with just the regular blue Scott's shop towels. They are cheap, available and any hardware store, and robust enough that I can wad one up in my hand and run the chain through it without getting lint all over the chain. They also soak up oil and grease like a sponge.
#14
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Whatever you do, don't waste money on those packs of red shop towels you see at some auto parts stores (I have some from Advance Auto Parts). The lint they throw off is ridiculous. I would never use them anywhere where cleanliness is really important, like wiping down bearing surfaces. As a bonus, they're not very absorbent either. Just garbage.
#15
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#16
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Other than feeling that one has done something by making the exterior look better, and perhaps reducing leg tattoos, I don't see what good it does to wipe down a chain. Please explain how one can possibly avoid pushing contamination into the chain, which could not only increase wear but block the penetration of lubricant. Yes, a long time ago I used to wipe my chain, lubricate it, and then run it several rev's around to wipe off the excess. But logic prevailed after a while.
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Other than feeling that one has done something by making the exterior look better, and perhaps reducing leg tattoos, I don't see what good it does to wipe down a chain. Please explain how one can possibly avoid pushing contamination into the chain, which could not only increase wear but block the penetration of lubricant. Yes, a long time ago I used to wipe my chain, lubricate it, and then run it several rev's around to wipe off the excess. But logic prevailed after a while.
#19
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#20
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A roll of Blue disposable shop towel is like a heavy paper towel ,
You can put the same towel roll holder on the shop wall if you wish..
There is a box pack too, those unwind from the center, you just pull up a fresh one.
..
You can put the same towel roll holder on the shop wall if you wish..
There is a box pack too, those unwind from the center, you just pull up a fresh one.
..
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I've been using Orange Goop Ruff Towels for cleaning up things in the garage. Just tried them on the drivetrain of a particularly poorly kept mtn bike (a co-worker's who thought all he needed to do to maintain the bike was oil the chain) and I was quite happy how well they worked. It only took 2 of them to cut through the sludge on the drivetrain enough to evaluate how bad it was, and a third to clean-up the rest of the bike. And my hands actually stayed clean during the process. Good stuff.
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I've used both and I find the T-O-T to be much more effective.
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@cny-bikeman --- You must have spring fever and are searching the forum for methods to clean your bike or something and ran across this OLD discussion?
#25
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@cny-bikeman --- You must have spring fever and are searching the forum for methods to clean your bike or something and ran across this OLD discussion?