True, however, lacquer thinner may do a number on a plastic chain cleaner or derailleur pulleys; My dad used to use it to clean everything in the shop, and it was pretty nasty stuff back then, possibly containing MEK, things I now know to keep off my skin and don't breathe. It's less volatile now due to regs. That said...

As I mentioned, I use tiki torch fuel which is 98% mineral oil, as tame as baby oil, and once the chain is clean, even with no wipe, that will evaporate over several days, quicker with a wipe.

So I got to ask, what’s the big deal about rinsing with water?

Remove the chain. And put it in a jar of thinner. Take it out and let it dry before installing the chain on the bike. That way you avoid any risk of damaging plastic parts or paint on the frame.

In practice, absolutely nothing. I’ve been doing it for decades, and have never seen a single spec of rust on a bike chain. Now, if I had an advanced degree in chemistry, I might come up with a whole bunch of theoretical reasons, why it’s a bad idea.

Ah, yes. Because I studied chemistry in a college setting, spent 40 years practicing chemistry in a research lab, published many papers on that practice of chemistry which were reviewed and accepted by other chemists as valid, and had said papers cited many times in other papers, I must be dumber that a post and know far less about a topic than someone who has worked out of their garage.

That's not at all what I wrote, nor what I intended to convey. I am positive that you know more about chemistry than I (and most other posters on this forum) do.

As a scientist, I presume that you understand the need to revise a theory when contradictory evidence is presented; I am presenting that evidence: you wrote (Post #28, above) that rinsing with water "rusts chain," and I'm telling you that that hasn't happened to my chains even though I've been rinsing them with water for decades.

Before you suggest that I should stop believing my lyin' eyes, perhaps you should re-examine your theory.

A 1-gallon plastic paint bucket from Home Depot, a gallon of mineral spirits and a stiff brush. A one gallon empty paint can from Home Depot to store the used mineral spirits so it can be re-used.

I don't know how many chains can be cleaned with the chain cleaning tool I described above, but it's a lot! If you really want to get the chain clean, pour some mineral spiritis in a cake pan and put it on top of the clothes dryer for 10 minutes. Lookie how much grit comes off!

I've always considered them more of a gimmick than anything else. A shortcut, and not a very good one at that.

That’s certainly what you wrote and conveyed. May not have been what you intended but that’s the message you sent.

Before you go telling me what I should do as a scientist, you should understand that one example does not data make. Unless you have X-ray vision, you can’t tell if the water is promoting rust at the point where it matters…in the chain where you can’t see. Avoiding water in the pin/plate interface where it takes longer for the water to evaporate is a good idea to avoid rust production there, especially after using a product that is designed to remove the oil that is preventing rust in the first place. That’s a product, as I’ve pointed out, that isn’t particularly good at doing its job. Mineral spirits works quicker, better, and avoids the need for that rinse step in the first place.

​​​​​​​I’m good, thanks.

I've got the Finish Line chain cleaner shown in the video. No complaints -- it's a quick and easy way to clean muck off the chain. I use Simple Green, rinse with water, let it air dry, and then re-lube. No problems with rust, and chain life is good.

Awesomeguy's Original Post: Which chain cleaning device is better?
Some replied to the question, but likely only a few have had experience using both. Others commented that the chain cleaning device is not needed. They are correct. The OP may know of and already use a method of cleaning a chain when it is remove off of the drivetrain, using a container and solvent/degreaser.

This weekend I will be stripping off the factory grease from a new chain using solvent and degreaser in a jar before installing and lubing. But I will continue to use my PT cleaning device for my chains while they are on the bike. It takes 15 minutes to clean and lube the night before a ride, and I do not have to remove the chain and compromise my quicklink. Also, my road bike has a 10-speed Campy chain with a pin, so that would be a bit of a hassle to remove, clean and reinstall, compared to using a chain cleaning device.

I was searching online for the difference between the ParkTool CM-5.3 and previous CM5.2 device...I didn't find the answer. But I came across this video showing one person's attempt to show one type of comparison between the two methods used for cleaning a chain - device v. jar and solvent:


Happy pedaling y'all !

This is a very predictable response -- precisely what I expected.

You love to flaunt your credentials -- but good scientists -- real scientists -- are never 100% sure of their conclusions.

Why would I have to rinse it with water?

I just soak the chain in a bowl of degreaser, hit it with a tooth brush on all sides then wipe it down with some shop towels.

Haven't had any issues doing it this way.

Anecdotally, at least, my chain cleaning machine is one of the ones that's in the bottom of the box of bike stuff as described above. Getting it out and using it does seem like too much work. It's at least thirty, maybe 35 years old, because I got it from my dad who also did not use it.

If you melted the dip wax and then applied it with the chain cleaning machine, then you might be onto something new to talk about

If I had a nickel for every time he posted about his background in chemistry, I could buy one of those kids chemistry starter kits.

I ride fixed. I have 2 chains. when I want to clean my chain I take it off the bike and drop it into some solvent. in the meantime i put my clean chain on the bike until it's time to switch again ... i have never used a chain cleaner device because a few weeks in solvent does the trick :)

I have the same bought from AliExpress
2 of them. They work great !!

On bad osteoarthritis days I use a recumbent trike that takes almost three conventional chains to run so use a Park Cyclone for the trike, it works fine but would never use it on my two wheelers.

My dad worked in defense/aerospace. If I recall correctly, they would get certain screws shipped in oil because they would fail inspection if any rust was visible under 10x magnification. Just because you can't see rust doesn't mean it's not there.

Regarding the video: Like he said, the on-bike cleaners are great when you don't want to remove the chain. I've never had to clean a badly mudded chain, only due to lube pasting up after 700 miles or so of riding. The scrubber wheels may work a bit on the exterior, but do nothing for the interior of the chain, thus, their main function for that is to push the chain into the solvent bath, not much different from chain off in a jar of solvent, the latter of which he indicates that a "soaking" in solvent is superior for cleanliness. But I call false technique on that; When I use my Park cleaner (with mineral oil), I crank the chain though a couple times, then leave the cleaner hanging on the chain and walk away for 30-60 minutes, crank it another couple times and walk away again for a while, then do a final cranking of a dozen or more passes, then remove the cleaner and wipe the exterior of the chain dry. *This gives the mineral oil TIME to dissolve the pasty lube inside the chain. Like any mild chemical reaction, more time improves the reaction.* Note that this does not increase labor time, as I go do other things while the solvent soaks on the chain. However, a larger amount of solvent in a jar will result in less concentration of dissolved oil for a given chain. That said, a second cleaning with fresh solvent, with either technique, will result in a cleaner chain as well. An intermediate step would be a magnet in the solvent to pull out the metal sludge, that seems to work better than the magnet on the Park device.

Waterbased degreasers are not one thing. Some are alkaline based and may rust the chain, and do damage to surface finish, some not. Chains are also not one thing. Some have a protective coating and some are bare metal and more prone to rusting.

Imo, waterbased degreasers are a pain, mainly because they add the additional step of cleaning the out the degreaser and water takes a long tome to dry unless you force it, adding yet an other step.

That said, I cant even be bothered rinsing the chain in a solvent jar anymore. The local supermarket often have disc brake cleaner on sale. Big can $3. Spray on chain and cassette, wipe, done. Evaporates in a flash and you are ready to relube. Obviously not cleaning the inside of the chain very well. However longevity is good enough I just replace it. Decent chains are just not that expensive.

Because, if you are not, you are leaving cleaning agents in the chain that will break down your lube or rust the chain. Man not be a big deal, but certainly not best practice.

I post about chemistry because people know so little about chemistry and post a lot of crap that isn’t supported by science. 99% of the stuff posted about chains in particular is useless information presented with far more confidence than they deserve. And trust me, you aren’t the first to imply that I’m a brainless dolt because I have a degree in chemistry. It’s kind of an American/internet thing to say that knowledgeable people know far less than someone with no knowledge of a subject.

I will add that oil does provide some protection to the metal against rust. Degreasers remove that protection and if you allow water to stand on that metal while it dries, it can promote rust. That’s not even something that requires a chemistry degree or, for that matter, any chemistry knowledge at all. It’s been known for millennia.

I will say, again, that I never clean chains nor drivetrains. I haven’t since the late 90s. My chains don’t need it. My drivetrains don’t need it. I clean the chain of the factory lubricant with mineral spirits, install, and use a drip wax. I remove the factory lubricant because I’ve found over the years that it results in a dirtier drivetrain than without it. I don’t even remove the chain again until the chain is ready to be replaced.

I believe, and advocate, keeping chain cleaning as simple as possible. And, yes, my cleaning regime is based on sound chemical thinking and knowledge of the chemicals being used. I have used Simple Green and other degreasers for chain cleaning and found them lacking.

Exactly.