I now clean my chain with Lestoil.
08-06-08, 07:58 AM
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I now clean my chain with Lestoil.
I got a flat on my way home last night (furniture staple through my tire!?).
My chain hadn't been cleaned in about three weeks, so i took the opportunity.
Unfortunately, i was out of park tools chain cleaner AND simple green. The closest thing the bodega down the street had was Lestoil. The words "powers through grease" were on the bottle, so i figured it was good enough; i could always get simple green over the weekend.
Wow.
After only thirty minutes of soaking my chain in a splash of lestoil (maybe 1/5 cup? less?) and a liter or so of water with a few periodic shakes, the solution was black. i shook it around a bit more and let the chain sit for another thirty minutes. PERFECT clean. rinsed the chain off in water and let it hang dry in front of a fan as i normally do; the chain looked, literally, brand new. I was quite impressed.
I'm using this stuff from now on. I don't remember how much the Lestoil cost, but it was very cheap and it appears to work better than the park stuff OR simple green.
I highly recommend it.
My chain hadn't been cleaned in about three weeks, so i took the opportunity.
Unfortunately, i was out of park tools chain cleaner AND simple green. The closest thing the bodega down the street had was Lestoil. The words "powers through grease" were on the bottle, so i figured it was good enough; i could always get simple green over the weekend.
Wow.
After only thirty minutes of soaking my chain in a splash of lestoil (maybe 1/5 cup? less?) and a liter or so of water with a few periodic shakes, the solution was black. i shook it around a bit more and let the chain sit for another thirty minutes. PERFECT clean. rinsed the chain off in water and let it hang dry in front of a fan as i normally do; the chain looked, literally, brand new. I was quite impressed.
I'm using this stuff from now on. I don't remember how much the Lestoil cost, but it was very cheap and it appears to work better than the park stuff OR simple green.
I highly recommend it.
08-06-08, 08:05 AM
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I've been using some degreaser (forget the brand) I bought in the auto department and it works incredibly good.
08-06-08, 08:35 AM
#4
Shiftless bum
Yeah, Lestoil contains Stoddard solvent, a mixture that's used for cleaning/degreasing, paint thinner, drycleaning etc. https://www.temarry.com/chemicals/stoddard_solvent.htm
Material safety data sheet from Clorox is here:
https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/prod...utycleaner.pdf
Like lots of cleaners, they better they work, the more harmful for the environment they appear, so I tend to use the green solutions.
Material safety data sheet from Clorox is here:
https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/prod...utycleaner.pdf
Like lots of cleaners, they better they work, the more harmful for the environment they appear, so I tend to use the green solutions.
08-06-08, 11:48 AM
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I thought fully degreasing your chain is a bad thing. Are you able to get grease back into the nooks and cranies of the chain?
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I'm not one for fawning over bicycles, but I do believe that our bikes communicate with us, and what this bike is saying is, "You're an idiot." BikeSnobNYC
08-06-08, 11:53 AM
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anyone?
08-06-08, 03:58 PM
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spOOki, what did you lube the chain with afterwards? I know this has been covered, but always with a million answers. Anything you would recommend?
08-06-08, 04:21 PM
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I usually remove, degrease, regrease then reinstall. It can be done with the chain on or off the bike though. I never apply new lube to a chain that hasn't been degreased.
08-06-08, 04:24 PM
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Unfortunately, i was out of park tools chain cleaner AND simple green.
My heart fell into my stomach like I'd just been snake-bit! I react pretty severly to this stuff, and I knew I was in for some serious trouble. Well, in my workshop was my bike cleaning bucket, complete with Simple Green degreaser. Poison oak and poison ivy get you by leaving an oil on your skin that's easy to spread through contact, so I figured why not 'degrease' my legs!
Guess what? Not even a hint of a rash 2 days later!
Simple Green! I wonder if it tastes good on steak, too!
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08-06-08, 05:18 PM
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08-07-08, 07:52 AM
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