Fish are a-jumpin'
And the cotton is high.
Your Lycra's tight
And your bike is full carbon,
So hush, little bk
Don't you cry.

Thanks for the tip. I didn't know about this tool. I'm going to get one. A tool for a tool-free job. What a concept. :rolleyes:
http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.aspx?PART_NUM_SUB='2500-00'

I'd consider buying one of these. Those wonderful Sram masterlinks can sometimes be a bear to undo.

Ah yes...a good reason to buy another tool.

:roflmao: I got freakin tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard.

I put a SRAM link on my shimano chain for easy on/off, however, I never take my chain off. :rolleyes: I wash the drive train along with the bike every couple of weeks or so. I use a brush and Finish Line Eco Tech degreaser spray and then lube with Finish Line Teflon Dry lube. I can certainly tell a big difference between a clean and dirty drive train, I love the day after a wash, silky smooth just like Jet's legs.:D

My chain cleaner consists of a 20 ounce Gatorade bottle (wide mouth screw cap), some Pedro's citrus degreaser, and an old spoke.

Remove the chain, and place it in the bottle with a few ounces of undiluted degreaser. Screw the cap on firmly, and shake away. Up and down, circular motion, etc.

Now the tricky part: using the spoke, fish the chain out of the bottle. It will probably ball up on you, but a few attempts should get it out. Rinse the chain thoroughly. This is best done outside, either in a can of clean water, or use the garden hose.

Yee-hah! A very clean chain indeed. If you have space, you can keep the bottle of degreaser for several more cleanings.

Credit: Sheldon Brown. It's on his site somewhere.

I've been using the Park Tools cleaner, but I recently put on a Wipperman chain with the connex links. I'm looking forward to seeing how the "take it off to clean it" thing works. The Park Tool cleaner works pretty well, but I agree it's messy.

+1, with a modification.

If you substitute a plastic jar—like a large mayo, peanut butter or Ragú jar—for the plastic bottle, you can completely skip step 7 and can reuse the jar too.

I use the 45 oz (2lb 13oz) size Ragú jar. It has nice grips molded in the side which makes shaking it safer and easier. It's just the right size to use with a mixture of ¼ cup of Simple Green automotive degreaser and 2¼ cups of water.

Actually, I think for Campy chains you have to use a Ragú jar...

Clean it more often and you won't have to take it off the bike. Brake Kleen, a shop towel and pipe cleaners. It couldn't be any easier. bk

I'm going to try this method first. It appeals to my non-mechanical reptilian brain. Where do I get Brake Kleen -- at an auto parts store?

Most auto parts stores will have it. Use Brake Kleen instead of carb cleaner because it won't damage your paint. Carb cleaner will toast your paint in no time. Ream 'n' Clean pipe cleaners have a raspy wire in the middle that really does the job. Fold them in half to do a chain. Get them at tobacco stores and some wal marts have them. BTW, it will take 3-4 cleanings to get all that sticky crap that comes on a new chain off it. bk

The key to 'on bike' chain cleaning is to do it enough that the chain never gets really groady. I do it after every ride, and it only takes 10-15 minutes for a 9 1/2 foot recumbent chain. This is overkill for most riders, who can get by on once a week. bk