epnnf

Bicycling mag says to use corrogated cardboard to clean rear cassette. I tried it, but pieces of cardboard were left round the sprockets. A friend told me never use cotton (Q tips, pipe cleaners), for the same reason.
sup?

demoncyclist

Either take the cassette off the hub and clean the cogs individually, or use the "edge" of a shop rag, folded in half, to get between the cogs.

capwater

old toothbrush

grinningfool

I give mine a good spraying with degreaser, then scrub using a cheap scrub brush from the dollar store. Clean the chain at the same time, then when dry, lube with a good chain lube.

Longfemur

For an effective on-bike cleaning:

Spray something like WD40 on it to loosen all the gunk (cover whatever you need to avoid spraying with newspaper).

Use an old toothbrush on the teeth

Get a piece lace or other kind of string that won't fall apart, and run it through each of the spaces between the gears. With the bike hanging from a stand, or even just upside down, you can turn the pedals and the string will rub everything off. It will end up very clean.

Personally, while I like mine clean for the sake of appearance, I don't think cleaning the cassette makes much difference for your chain.

bkaapcke

It's simpler than all that. Costco has white, nappy shop towels that come in a pack of 60. Once a year my ride buddies split a pack and get 20 each. Put some solvent on the edge and use it to floss the cassette. I do it once with solvent and once with a dry edge. 5 minutes, 2X a month and your cassette is always clean. Dirt/mud runners can forget this method. Won't work for you. bk

Silent Otto

Please do not use degreaser on your cassette, that includes wd-40. You sure don't want your freewheel spinning greaseless. Dry flossing is best, and use a small flat screwdriver if you need gunk scraping. Watch your fingers!

EatMyA**

Butterknife + rag

Best way I have found out.

use Demoncyclists rag method if you cant find a butterknife. The butterknife just makes things so fast though.

tellyho

+1 on no degreaser. Just get the edge of a rag in there to get out the serious gunk.

DaveSSS 

Using a 1" paint brush dipped in mineral spirits should not hurt a thing. The solvent should not get into the freewheel mechanism, if you don't get carried away. I use this process frequently and never had any ill effects. You will need to use paper towel to catch the drips coming off the cogs. It's faster and does a better job than any dry method.

If I take the cassette off for a real thorough cleaning, I still use mineral spirits. I use an old plastic cool whip container for a wash pan and enough solvent to cover the cogs. I finish up with a hot soapy water bath.

operator

Bicycling mag, rofl what a joke. Pull the cassette apart and clean it with a rag.

operator

This is such bad advice my eyes are hurting.

Psydotek

Take the cassette off if you can for a thorough cleaning. Drop the whole thing into your favorite degreaser and let it soak while you're working on the rest of your bicycle.

DMF 

If I'm not going to take the cassette off (and apart), I use a Pedro's cleaning brush designed for just this purpose. (Park Tool has one too.) Then wipe the exposed teeth with a rag.



Then clean the #%^ brush...

RickLafayette

Use a cotton rope slightly thicker than the cog spacing if you are going to clean it on the bike. At some point you should disassemble the cassette and clean the cogs individually.

Al1943

Fold a rag over and floss between the cogs. No need to take the cassette or freewheel off.
WD40 or a grease solvent will not hurt a cassette or freewheel as long as you don't get it into the internal working parts. But generally it's not needed to clean the cogs.

Al

bkaapcke

What's wrong with using a towel edge that has been soaked with degreaser? How is it going to get into the freewheel? bk

zacster

I just use a rag edge with citrus cleaner, and a toothbrush on the stuff that it doesn't get. You don't have to soak it in cleaner, just enough to loosen the crud.

tellyho

Rag soaked with degreaser = no problem. Spraying degreaser or WD40 willy-nilly = problem.

People actually take their cassettes off? Seems like overkill to me.

keisatsu

I find in the end the best way is to remove the cassette, takes a few seconds to take off, but is MUCH faster to clean.

Though if you don't want to take it off, I've never had a problem with spraying wd40 directly onto the cassette, just don't spray it where it'll get into bearings.

milnerpt

I submerge the bike into my 500 gallon tank of WD40, use a pressure washer aimed at the rear hub, then tighten EVERYTHING down until the screws round off.

either that or just take it off. thats the ONLY way I get it super clean, and its actually faster than fiddling, flossing, cursing.