Univega

Can you use brake cleaner instead of a degreaser soap? Let it dry overnight and lube the next day?

GlennR

Sure but it will remove all the lube, even the lube inside the rollers.

mstateglfr 

Using brake cleaner has never occurred to me.

Wd40 in tough to reach spots with grime, then let soak while prepping the rest and wash off. Spray bottle with some soapy water covering everything, then brush caked on areas and wash off. Dry the bike. Lube the chain and call it good.

It takes not even 10min and is quite simple so I haven't thought of shortcuts before.

Univega

But if you re-lube the next day (I have Tri-Flow) inside the rollers is where it counts. Which is why I wipe off the excess on the outside of the chain.

Troul 

I brake parts clean the chain when I remove it from the bicycle. The BPC can negatively impact other areas if enough of a concentrated amount of the spray comes in contact with those other unwanted areas.
It works better on the chain if you wipe the chain down prior to spraying with the BPC. I've found that I use approximately 25% less of it compared to not prepping the chain with a wipe.

sirjag

I use the spray cleaner from Auto Zone.
https://www.autozone.com/brake-and-p...4oz/209578_0_0


Remove chain (using quick link) about every 60-90days, fill a little cup up with the cleaner and dunk for 10min or so, then use air compressor around 40#s and dry and relube with some synthetic dry wax. Seems to work like a charm. When i have the chain off, i spray some a micro fiber and gear floss with the cleaner and wipe down the sprockets and derailleur sprockets...

Any comments on my process guys? would hate to be doing something harmful and just not know it yet...

JAG

SVTNate

I just throw my Roubaix up on my Park Tool stand in the driveway, fill one of my Meguiar's car wash buckets with car wash soap. Blast the drivetrain with Simple Green, scrub with nylon brush. Let it soak a bit, hose it off, wash the bike with car wash soap. I use a microfiber towel, plus a soft brush on the wheels, and a cone-shaped brush in hard to reach areas (but never brushed on the frame or fork). Blast dry with my electric leaf blower, including my stand, then a microfiber with some Griot's Garage quick detail spray on the frame, lube the chain, done.

What I've found is that no bike-specific stuff is needed, other than lube. I wash my bike every couple hundred miles. If it gets done on a regular basis, Simple Green is more than enough to get the cassette, jockey wheels, chain, etc. sparkling clean. I just make sure to spray the drivetrain first, on a dry bike, then I get my hose set up and fill my wash bucket. That gives the Simple Green a few minutes to dwell, and do its job.

Path of least resistance IMO. Use the least aggressive thing possible to get the job done. Simple Green won't hurt your paint, hubs, or the environment.

I've been detailing cars (my own, not professionally) since I was a kid, so I just use that experience and apply it to bikes. I'll even use a mild paint polish and hand-polish the frame once in a while, then apply a synthetic sealant.

I also have the mindset that a clean chain is as important as a lubed chain. This is from my sport motorcycling days, when I used to ride a Triumph Speed Triple through the mountains and canyons of SoCal. I remember seeing online 20K mile tests where sealed chains with regular lube lasted barely longer than a chain that was kept clean, but never lubed at all.

If you're going to use brake cleaner, make darn sure it's non-chlorinated.

GlennR

I take my chain off every 1000 miles or so and put it in a heated ultrasonic parts washer with some Dawn dish soap. I then rinse it off and use a air compressor to blow off most of the water. i then hang it for a day and then oil each roller one at a time.

I get about 3000 miles until it needs to be replaced.

Excessive... yes it is. But drivetrain parts are expensive and I already had everything I use.

sirjag

This is a health concern or something else sir? The auto Zone stuff is non chlorinated, i actually scratched my head at that...didnt see any other bottles advertising chlorine...

JAG

dedhed

You can get both chlorinated and non chlorinated at most parts stores depending on your locale.
https://www.berrymanproducts.com/chl...brake-cleaner/

Troul 

chlorinated degrades rubber faster, & bleaches plastics [size=13px]aggressively[/size].

SVTNate

Chlorinated brake cleaner can also ruin painted and bake-on finishes.

Luckily, at most big auto supply chains, or Wal Mart, etc. if you randomly pick up some brake cleaner, most likely it'll be non-chlorinated.

Just make sure.

sirjag

Thanks guys!

Univega

Think ozone layer too.

frogman

For a final touch after cleaning my bike and drying it I spray Lemon Pledge on a rag and wipe down the frame. Nice and shiny and has a lemony smell

NoWhammies

I do pretty much the same thing on my bike. Only I use Pledge multi-surface. Leaves a nice shine and smell too.

Univega

Back to the chain and clusters..... So nobody has a real reason it can't be used, I used to use WD40 to clean, wipe dry and then add Tri-Flow the next day. Let it sit a bit and then wipe off the excess.

If not using car soap and water, detailing spray like Zaino Z-6 (https://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-6.html) works good on the frame. After all, I have it for the car. Non-greasy.

Rides4Beer

Brake cleaner can also mess up your paint, I wouldn't use it on my bike, maybe if the chain was off the bike, that's about it. But as another poster mentioned, I've never had issues just using Simple Green on the drivetrain. Altho, I also don't let anything get caked up on my bike, so even my deep cleans are pretty easy.

msu2001la

I have no idea what's in brake cleaner, but would be really leery of spraying it around carbon fiber.

I just remove the chain and cassette and soak them in bike-specific degreaser for 10 minutes or so, scrub and rinse. I like the stuff from Pedro's.
The rest of the bike and drivetrain get cleaned with soapy water and a sponge. If there's a lot of grime on the derailleur pulley wheels or chain rings, I'll scrub them with a brush and then rinse everything off with a hose.

I haven't used Pledge yet, but might give that a try. My glossy finish on my bike gets smudges on it really easy, so maybe this will help.

Reflector Guy

Plastic, rubber, carbon fiber, polished aluminum, paint.... I wouldn't want to learn the hard way that brake cleaner stains or etches those surfaces.

I have several tools with plastic handles that have spots on them from brake cleaner. I keep waiting for the spots to wear off but they never do. I think it etches the surface.

BoraxKid

So, about the use of brake cleaner on bike parts; here's the Wikipedia entry on composition:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_cleaner#Composition

"Chlorinated brake cleaners (often sold as non-flammable) use organochlorides like tetrachloroethylene.[2] Historically 1,1,1-Trichloroethane was used, sometimes together with Tetrachloroethylene. it was phased out due to its ozone-depleting nature.[3]Non-chlorinated brake cleaners use hydrocarbons as a main component; it will either be a low boiling aliphatic compounds or higher boiling hydrocarbon mixtures are used. aromatics like benzene, toluene or xylene may also be used.[4] The hydrocarbons used are sometimes made by hydrogenation from naphtha. The lipophilic Liquids dissolve fat-soluble lubricants or oils. Some products also contain polar solvents such as ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, and acetone in order to dissolve non-lipophilic substances. Many formulations are incompatible with various materials, especially plastics."

That last sentence would make me think carefully about how I'm using brake cleaner around a carbon fiber frame. The resins used to make the CF bikes are a type of plastic, so I would make damn sure not to contaminate my bike frame with brake cleaner. I would be especially cautious around critical areas of the frame, i.e. seat stays and chain stays. Otherwise, if you want to clean your chain with brake cleaner, go nuts with it and see what happens. You can always buy a new chain if you prematurely wear yours out.

T.W.O.

If I need to do a quick chain cleaning, I'll use a Park chain cleaning tool and mineral spirits, dry the chain and lube with Boeshield T-9. More often than not though, I'll pull the chain and put it in a jar of mineral spirits and then put the jar in an ultrasonic cleaner and let it run for an hour or so. After that, wipe the chain dry and give it a second cleaning in Dawn dish soap and water, then dry and lube with Boeshield T-9. That is a bit more than most people would consider reasonable but I believe that a clean chain greatly extends the life of your drive train and new chain rings are not cheap! If the cassette cogs, chain rings and derailleur jockey wheels are looking cruddy pull them and either clean by hand or in the ultrasonic.

Toespeas

easiest thing to use is dish soap cheap and easy

after dish soap to completely strip the chain use lamp oil or gasoline , that will take everything off for a deep clean

last you can dry clean your bike with coconut oil or shea butter and a micro fiber rag

if you just want to clean chain the bike , a hard bristle dish brush and wd10 lube will take most of the grit and old lube off.

msu2001la

I have no idea why someone would use gasoline as a cleaning product. I'm sure it works great, but there are much safer and less toxic alternatives.

Roadlizzard

Mineral spirits and a park chain cleaner,paint brush on the cassette and other parts, Catch the mineral spirits and store in a container the solids will settle into the bottom of the container and clean on top but a little dis colored but fine to reuse, parts won't rust went using mineral spirits. The wife makes sure I have plenty around the house she uses it all the time for things on her shoes or just to get stickers off.