chain cleaning machine and other ?
 

I am considering commuting to work once or more a week soon, brought in work clothes and shoes today, but it's 23 miles each way bike path wet sand gravel etc...we will see. I am mechanically impared but am considering a chain cleaning device. Performace has a whole kit pretty chepa or is park that much better?

How do you use it? unsnap it and snap it back around the chain?

how to reaply lube on cleaned chain? is it horrible to use a clean tshirt dab with lube and hold against chain lightly but firmly as I turn the crank.

at least I stopped a co-worker from a "even more bob" move than me. My wife had an old sears MTB, unused and purchased prior to us knowing each other. She still doesn't ride, but I had found an old Sc-30 for her, better at least. Anyway, had a co-worker who had no car and no bike so I put some new pedals (old one's stripped) and she took it home yesterday. She said it had some rust and she was going to WD-40 the whole bike so it would be lubed. I explained the diff between lube and solvent and I hope she can get good use out of it, maybe she will like it and save for a real bike. I told her, happy mother's day don't pay me, spend her money on a helmet and lock. I was shocked when she said it was the nicest thing anybody ever did for her. As she is a mom of 4 and a multi grandmother and has at least three x husbands that statement made me a little sad but I was happy to bring some joy in her life. If anone has an old back rack they may want to give her I would pay shipping, I am not financially well off but am reminded that I have it pretty good! It's an old bounty hunter FS or something like that as far as what rack would fit. Thanks for your input and have a good day

Yeah those things open up and clamp around the chain... my experience though is that they are pretty messy and do not do all that good a job.

Best thing to do is install a master link so you can easily get your chain off and then follow Sheldon's method:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

+1 on the master link approach. These types of chains make it *much* easier to clean up the drivetrain. I replaced all the chains on my family's bikes for better maintenence.

/s

I use the one by Pedro's. It works very well, but is a bit messy. To lube I just put a drop on each link while back pedaling by hand.

I swear by just wiping the chain down, lube, wipe again, repeat as necessary. When I was taking my chain off and washing it, I found that it drove grit INTO the rollers and caused my chain to wear like CRAZY. Now that I'm just lubing it and riding, it seems to be lasting just fine, or at worst no worse than it did when I was wasting all the time cleaning the chain.

I also use the pedros one, definitely something you'll want to do outside :rolleyes:. But it works well. It helps if you shift it into different gears to get the chain moving across the different chainrings / cogs, clean 'em all somewhat.

I just put the tip of the bottle of lube against the top of the chain, then spin the pedals backwards at a nice rate and squeeze the bottle... since the chain is moving past, the lube gets on all the links.

I have a park chain cleaner machine, it cleaned my chain back to silvery brightness. But the 'bio-friendly' solvent also killed all the grass it touched on my lawn.

Mechanics at my LBS recently told me that I should use the 'lube wipe repeat' method, running the chain through a cloth until little or no dirt comes off as it passes. I've done this a few times and am happy with it. Much faster, much less messy.

I used to take my chain off and clean with simple green and a tooth brush, but now I hear that the act of removing the chain repeatedly will weaken the links. Don't know if this is true, but I've had chains snap while riding and I don't want to repeat that.

I use the Performance cleaner gizmo but don't recommend it. Very clunky to assemble around the chain and doesn't keep the solvent within itself all that well. It does clean the chain though. Just looking at the design of the Park ones I'd have to guess they are better.
As far as lubing up after cleaning, I've stumbled upon a new method I like. I'd always done the 'drop on each link' method before and been annoyed by overspill dripping right off onto the floor. Then I got a new workstand that allows you to rotate the bike. As I played around with it I realized that if I put the bike fully nose up, the chain lube would just drip down to the next link. No more waste and a nice even coverage. Works like a dream!

-Don

I use the Park Tool chain cleaner every week or 2 on my bikes.
Then just drop one drop per link onto the cleaned chain.
Use wax based lube so the chain stays dry and doesn't pick up dirt.

For the really really gross chains [when working on a friends bike], I'lll skip the sissy "bio" cleaner and spray WD-40 into cleaner until it's full.
-Use this to clean the chain.
-Wipe chain off with paper towels.
-Next step is spray the chain off with brake clean while spinning cranks backwards. Yeah, this is messy. I do it over an old cardboard box to catch the goop.
-Dry with paper towell or 2
-One drop of lube per link.

May or may not be the "Approved" process, but it works great for me. 2000 miles on current chain and it's only at .5 .

Disagree. 1+ on the Sheldon Brown method, though I use a Nantucket Nectars bottle, which is a little bigger with a bigger opening than Coke or Pepsi bottles. The key is giving it a good 2 minute shake to get the degreaser throughout the chain and get all the grit out. Feels great back on the bike. Smooooth.

With all the rain we've had, though, there's no point in taking it off the bike just to get scuzzed up on the next ride. I'm using your method, IJM.

Hmm, I guess I'll be the minority here, but I love my chain cleaner. Seems pretty damn fast and efficient.

I put some mineral spirits in a tin can and go at my chain with a toothbrush. Second step is to let it dry after it's clean. Third step is to put some lube on there.

Me too. Once I bought mine I started cleaning my chain much more frequently since it's so quick + mess-free.

Quit breaking the chain... get a master link and you won't have those problems anymore.

I have the Park chain cleaner and it seems to work pretty well although it can be a little messy. I run my chain through it about once a week using Simple Green as the cleaning agent. If things are really grungy you will probably have to change the solvent 2-3 times and keep running the chain through it. It will get the chain nice and shiny. You will definitely want to wipe the chain down afterward and let it dry before relubing. About once a month I take the chain off and soak it in mineral spirits to really clean it thoroughly.

I still do the drop on each link method to relube. After I've backpedaled for a while I wipe the chain down to remove any extra lube. It really does make the chain run smoother and wear longer.

I vote for the little cleaning machines. Park or other. Instead of the Bio cleaner I tried using paint thinner. This is cheap and seems to get more off than the far more expensive degreaseres bio or other. It took all the gunk off and I then ran the chain through a rag. Can't remeber the brand I have, but it has a magnet on the underside that really collects metal particles well. I remove it and clean the thing well after use. It is messy, but it works.

Choose a lube based on the environment: Wet / Dry
I use a dry lube in this area since we don't get much rain and run it across the top of the chain as I spin the crank. Then I wipe it down with a clean rag.

Don't forget to clean the cogs really well and the chain rings and DO NOT miss the guide wheels on the derailer.

I found that automobile brake cleaner does a great job of blasting away months of black, slimy chain gunk. However, I'm hesitant to recommend it because it is fairly costly. I used up almost a whole can just to clean my chain and rear cassette. Heh, mind you, the chain on my trike is about 9-10 feet long...

Watch what you get it on as well. Some of those can melt plastic.

It's true, I removed the chain before spraying it, and protected the rim and tire from overspray when I cleaned the cassette.

I cleaned the drivetrain of my cargobike (big panniers and such for shopping) and it had gone without serious cleaning (except the rag spin and add drops to links) for about 1500 miles. Of course, the only lube it had seen was 3-in-1 oil, which is crap. Removed the chain with my chain tool, the front rings, and the sprockets on the derailleur. Took it all to the bathtub (apartment living, wall to wall damn carpets everywhere,) and went to work with citrus cleaner and brushes. Damn that was a job and a half. At some point I was playing with the idea of getting a hammer and chisel to get the damn oil and crud off, sat like cement. After several hard cleaning nights, redoing over and over to get it really good, the sprockets are red again, and the chain is if not bright and shiny, at least clean. I could have filled a car engine with the oil, and a family size litterbox with the sand and grit.
Once the cleanup was done, I used Tri-Flow on the chain, and it's like new. I am thinking of getting a chain cleaner gizmo and use it every week just to snazz it up instead of doing another dismantling job. Oh, and I'd sooner put my noogies on the table and bash them with my mallet before I put another drop of oil on my bikes, it's all Tri-Flow from here on out.
Sverre.

This is what I love about this forum. Yesterday I didn't know that there were such things as master links. Then again a few years ago you would have seen me riding my bike on 10 psi with a very rusty chain. Thanks all.