That is exactly the cleaner I have - but I have never used the sticky out handle, just hold the body of the thing with my left hand and turn crank with my right.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Chain Maintenance
(48 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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Get some of the 'Toujours' brand from Lidl - not the bumwipes, which are much thinner and easier to rip as they're meant to be flushable.
"Meant to be".
Speaking as someone who picked 150 wet wipes off the beach in three hours at Cramond, two days after another beach clean party had visited, I would urge you not to consider any wet wipes as flushable. Flushed wet wipes go into the foul sewer, the foul sewer overflows into water courses during storms (or blockages caused by wet wipes and fat), and water courses drain into the sea.
If they contain polyester, they will not biodegrade in any reasonable length of time.
I use the Park Tool Cyclone chain cleaner, with Dirt Wash degreaser, rinsing it with plain hot water before lubing the chain. I also do the washing part outside, then bring the bike back inside to blast the water out with my hairdryer.
Uncle Sheldon prefers paraffin and a jam jar, if I remember correctly.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@Arellcat, uncle Sheldon dons a lab coat and dismantles every single piece of the chain cleans then reassembles, a biting satire to my mind
Posted 5 years ago # -
Cyclone chain cleaner, whatever degreaser I happen to have lying around, and cheap Ikea dish-washing brushes for the cassette and jockeys...
Posted 5 years ago # -
Just for Ian's friend's sanity I'll note that mechanics by and large do not like to be asked to clean things.
They see themselves as mechanics, not cleaners.
Posted 5 years ago # -
The EBC once complained that my bike was lucky when it was in for something. Can't think what it was that I'd have left the bike with them to do, unless it was about twelve years ago when the relatively new crank started making a honking noise under load.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Cars seem cheaper to clean. (And I am sure my neighbours mutter about me spending all my time cleaning/maintaining my bikes rather than cleaning the car like a good neighbour should)
Posted 5 years ago # -
Cars have a weight penalty to keep their drive chain covered up so that any dirt is superficial.
I'm sure Arellcat finds it simpler to keep a drivechain clean than most of us.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@acsimpson, yeah but arellcat's drive chain is bigger than our drive chains
Posted 5 years ago # -
If you get our Classic or Grand Tour service they include a full drive train degrease. Won't change a chain unless it needs it.
Can do a simple degrease for a tenner or a full bike wash for £15. Swing by some time.
And if you fancy doing it yourself, the pro technique is as follows:
Cut an old water bottle in 2/3 or half. Fill with degreaser of choice (Morgan Blue Chain Cleaner in my case), place it in your seat tube bottle cage (if you have one) and use an old paint brush (or specific chain brush) to dunk in degreaser and then brush onto chain/cassette/chainrings/derailluers. Leave to work in for a while and the rinse off, dry and relube.
Morgan Blue lubes and cleaners avaialable in store :-)
Posted 5 years ago # -
And if you still hate all that, then buy a bike with a full chain case. (Hint: my daily bike has a full chain case, only my sport bikes have naked drivetrains...)
Posted 5 years ago # -
someone advising me to let chain sit in diesel for an hour or so - takes everything off - any thoughts ?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Use white spirit it's less toxic (marginally)
Posted 5 years ago # -
Wouldn't a degreaser work better than random fuel or paint-stripping substances? Or have you got some unused diesel just waiting to be decanted inside the flat?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Petroleum is a very strong degreaser.
White spirit is a slightly more stable distillation than gasoline and has less additives than modern diesel fuel. Best thing about white spirit is that is very very reusable. Let the crud settle out of suspension filter it and chuck another chain in.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I've used diesel for years. Quick release chain link, chain off, swirl round in a sealed jar (can be brushed if really bad) then rinse in a jar of clean diesel. Both can be reused a few times. I then soak the chain in oil (automatic transmission fluid currently as I got a gallon of it cheap). You can just dry the outside then put back on the bike without soaking as while diesel really removes dirt, unlike other cleaners it leaves an oily film rather than stripping everything off.
Best idea is to have two chains on the go so you have one ready to put on and also thereby extend sprocket life as the transmission has a "good" chain on for twice as long.
Can be done indoors if careful (use a large plastic drain tray?) as diesel does not give off highly flammable vapours.
But Harts is right - commuter bikes should be sold with chaincases.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I'm sure Arellcat finds it simpler to keep a drivechain clean than most of us.
It does stay remarkably clean. It does accumulate a bit of dust, because it's going through seven feet of chain tube, but really all I do is I squirt on some lube every thousand miles or so. My last chain lasted about 7000 miles, although the wear was slightly uneven; some sections were less than 0.7% elongation, some were just over 1%. Never got on with KMC chains all that well, to be honest.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Quest Velo rear mech with hatch off.
Agree that chainguards or belt drives should be the ideal for commuting bikes. Full guards need hub gears which raise the cost for entry level cyclists though. If you balance the cost of possibly wrecking ordinary clothing versus extra for a nice bike (eg Gazelle) then it might make sense.
Posted 5 years ago #
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