Tide for cleaning a drive train?
 

Curious if anyone else has tried this, and with what success/failure: My drive train was FILTHY this weekend, when I decided to finally clean it. By filth, I mean the chain was covered in what can only be described as sludge, the derailleur sprockets were covered in more of the same, plus some grass; the cassette chain rings had turned from silver to black, and the front derailleur was covered in so much mud, all I could see was the chain guide component! I started cleaning it with fresh water and degreaser, the kind you find in the LBS, but I ran out of that stuff. With nothing on hand, I thought to myself, "self, let's try some tide detergent." All said and done, a hard bristle brush and a bucket of tide and water cleaned everything up in a hurry.

Anyone else here clean their drive train with a detergent like tide? What has been the outcome of using this kind of detergent?

BTW: the bike is an '05 Iguana, mainly stock, but with a new LX RD, so if anything needs to be replaced as a result of my cleaning, I can consider it as a forced upgrade :)

Soap and water combined with elbow grease will clean damn near anything...

+1

Tide and other laundry detergents make pretty good degreasers, and good greasy hand cleaners too.

A nice hose down, followed by some Simple Green is all for me.

So, you think Tide is a safe choice?

I don't know about whatever is in Tide, and whether it's harmless to your parts... I suppose if you compared your parts to the inside of a washing machine, you might find out. Anyway, as mentioned, Simple Green does a great job and it's cheap. My kid likes to use that teflon tub cleaner stuff as a final touch after cleaning his bike, and the mud does seem to fall off......

I use Dawn, it really does cut grease fast. I usually throw some Simple Green in the mix also.

Tide is just a detergent. It should work just fine without damaging anything on the bike. Simple Green will also work but it's more caustic and, if used full strength, could damage aluminum parts or at least the finish on those parts. But, as with all water based materials, it would be best to get the water away from any iron parts on the bike - i.e. the chain - as quickly as possible. You want to relube the chain to prevent rust and the dreaded squeekies;)

I use simple green (full strength) as well as some soapy water. Does the job.

Man, could I save you some weight...:D

Stay away from Tide. I used it and it caused my paint to fade. You need Cheer with color guard, it makes those whites whiter and preserves the colors.

It's probably best just to use Palmolive, it softens hands while you do...bike cleaning.:p

I didn't know they made chains out of iron, and I'm being completely serious about this: I have no idea what will and will not rust from exposure to water on the bike, with the obvious exception of aluminum. The cleaning went well, but I messed up the alignment on my rear derailleur such that when on the smallest chain ring on the rear cassette and the largest in the front, the derailleur will try to downshift onto a larger ring, but it can't get all the way up. The end result: it feels like chain skip. I knew I should have gone for a small cage on the RD!

...maybe you should try palmolive :rolleyes:

Whatever dude. I learned that trick from a WC wrench back in '94.

I guess it was around the same time your bike was built, no? :D

I usually use wet and dry paper towels. Maybe some finishline degreaser(I think thats what I have) if I really want to get something clean.

I did :D

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/9...8resize9po.jpg

works great ;)

sure....take a cheap shot at the Schwinn

:D

i think i am going to use Dove....

classic...photographic proof to boot
;)

Any kind of detergent for the laundry used on your bike is very concentrated. Just make sure that you get all of the residue off. A rinse is nice but then I would re-scrub with the brush and clear water after. You will be amazed at how much detergent was actually left behind. I betcha leftover dried detergent might not make your bike too happy.

I thought I already said that.:rolleyes:

my bad...i didn't read everything

Detergents have a polar end, so they are soluble in water and a non polar carbon chain, so they dissolve oil and grease. Its not going to hurt anything if you rinse it off.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3.../detergent.jpg

Check your high gear limit screw adjustment, you may need to let it out just a tad. If shifting into all the other gears is working OK, then it really sounds like a shift limiting issue.