I am fanatical about my drive train cleanliness.

I rotate two chains and cassettes on my bike and always have a sparkling clean drive train ready to go. On group rides I have literally gotten compliments on the condition of my drive train.

For the last few years I have tried different degreasers, soap and water, and even once convinced my wife to let me try using the dishwasher to clean my gear. Don't try that one, it doesn't work that well and she wasn't happy.

I've meant to try Simple Green as some on here have recommended, but never got around to it. Last night I was in Lowe's and remembered that I wanted to try it, so I finally bought a bottle.

I got home, removed the chain and cassette from my bike (which was fairly dirty), and put it in a container with 1/3 Simple Green, 2/3 water, and let it sit overnight.

Tonight I went to clean the cassette and chain. Normally when I remove them from whatever liquid they are in, I need to still rinse and scrub them down. Tonight, a quick wipe from a damp cloth, the slightest rubbing of a toothbrush on stubborn spots, and my drive train looks literally brand spanking new.

So, if you are looking for something to clean your drive train, please, don't wait like I did, try Simple Green, it works extremely well.

To those that recommended Simple Green over the years in here, thanks.

One more thing, for those spending money on cleaning solutions, Simple Green costs about $15 for a Gallon, I used about 3-4 ounces to clean my drive train.

"Natures Orange" is better,

How long you gonna' wait this time?

still looking to get my hands on some. Thanks for mentioning Lowe's, I'll look there next.

Two words, Mineral Spirits

I use Kerosene but my wife hates it because of that petroleum smell. I take the chain off and soak it but am considering getting a chain cleaner and using Simple Green.

Simple Green is good, nature's orange with orange-peel oil is biofriendly. Kerosene works, charcoal lighter fluid works. Trichloroethane was super effective for gunk-degreasing, but now banned.

I use Simple Green to clean everything on my bike, in my apartment, laundry etc. It leaves a nice shiny finish on my bike.

I dilute it 1 to 10, however I have diluted it to 1 to 30 and it works fine.

I don't soak my chain (I hear you're not suppose to), but I do soak my cassette, which really cleans it.

128 ounces / 4 ounces = 32 drive train washes, or about two years, or until the Simple Green runs out

Seriously, for the life of me, I cannot imagine what is "better". Would you care to elaborate?

Yep, just wait until you try Mineral Spirits. I like Simple Green, but I feel like it does lead to rusting. Not failure inducing rust, just surface rust that looks ugly.

Also, Simple Green is still pretty bad environmentally. Of course Mineral Spirits aren't that nice either, but I can get a lot of cleaning out of it before I dump it in with my used Oil.

I go for the gusto and use Simple Green at full strength when I clean my drivetrain.

Yes, citrus cleaners are more effective than Simple Green, *but* Simple Green is harmless to plastics and rubber.
The same cannot be said about citrus cleaners.

I used STP degreaser on my chain and works very well. Haven't tried anything else to compare it too but it gets the job done just fine.

On a semi-related note, how do you go about taking your chain off? Do you have a master link? Break it and insert a new rivet? If you have a master link, do you find it causes undue roughness?

Both Simple Green and Nature's Orange are environmentally friendly and non-toxic, but the crap you're washing off your bike and into the cleaners is not. So it really doesn't matter either way, beside the fact that you, the user, are not harmed.

You can soak your chain in Simple Green, but it doesn't need to be overnight. I typically put mine in undiluted SG for about five minutes, swush my wash pan around really well (making sure that the chain moves around and that the grim is coming out -- you'll see when it happens), take the chain out, rinse it with just water, use an air compressor to dry and then finally, apply Chain-L to every roller (as is directed) and let it sink it, then wipe off the excess and go.

I do this about once every two months or so, which is give or take 600miles for me.

As for taking my chain off, my Campy ten speed chain has a master link. Smooth as butta.

Fail. But I will try the Simple Green!

You use Simple Green for laundry?

I touched on this in my previous post, but I just want to leave this here:
https://www.simplegreen.com/pdfs/MSDS...leaner-Pad.pdf

Simple Green is totally harmless to humans and the environment. It's what you're cleaning off you're bike that's bad for both.

It says you can add 1/4 a cup (in addition to your detergent) in your laundry for tough stains. I'll use it if i get grease on my pants, or if I'm washing something really dirty. It doesn't affect the smell of my clothes and actually works pretty well.

Now all you need is an ultrasonic cleaner to finish the job properly

Read this if you really want to soak your chain in Simple Green:

https://velonews.competitor.com/2005/...e-green-2_9216

Just oil the chain. A bike chain needs to be oiled for it to perform well and reduce wear on parts.

I see bikes being ridden whose chains are almost dry. Oil is a good thing. Wipe the crud away with a rag and add more oil. This excessive bike cleaning is a cycling culture cancer. Besides, everyone knows that dirty bikes are faster.

You undoubtedly are doing more harm than good trying to keep you chain and drivetrain looking "sparkling clean." I learned this by keeping track of my chain life with different cleaning methods. The more compulsive I was about chain cleaning, the more frequent I had to change my chains.

This would be like obcessively cleaning the inside of your car engine and transmission. These are the parts that are supposed to look "dirty."

I use a Nashbar chain cleaner filled with 90% isopropyl alcohol. Dries quickly and leaves no residue.

I use a KMC chain with their Quicklink, have never had a problem with it.

Fair point. However, I wash my stuff when it starts affecting the shifting. I don't take my chain and cassette off just because they are dirty. I do want it sparkly and pretty before it goes back on.

Be careful with Simple Green cleaner. It will pit aluminum if left on the surface. It takes a really good rinse procedure to get this stuff off. It is not allowed on aircraft anymore because of this. A friend that owned an aircraft got the surprise of his life when an FAA inspector made him take an inspection panel off a wing and showed him the pitting. The Navy won't allow its use any longer.

Bill