BirdsBikeBinocs

I recently got a Park Tool chain cleaning tool. It's great.

Can anyone recommend a cleaning solution that is less expensive than what Park Tool cleaning products cost.??

What are you using for cleaning agents when it comes to the chain and cassette.??

dddd

Long ago, I used to put the cleaner into a settling "tank" (any tall container, secured so it won't tip over.

I must have re-used the solvent many times over in the interest of minimizing environmental impact.

With cleaners, the trick is to follow up with the right amount of lube, most easily applied with a continuous stream as the cranks are turned.

Then take a cloth and wipe down the moving chain of all the diluted lube. You can't wipe too much lube off of the chain, and it helps to apply a twist to the rag (about a vertical axis) that you are gripping the chain with, one way then the other, so as to squeeze excess lube and solvent from between all of the sideplate interfaces as excess lube in the rollers replenished those interfaces.

These days I refill my lube squeeze bottle with dry spray lubricant from a larger aerosol can, to which I add about 20% motor oil (quantity seasonally adjusted). This cleans the chain as I am lubing it so no need for a dedicated chain-cleaning operation.

shelbyfv

When I used a gadget like that I filled it with diluted dish detergent or orange cleaner. Now I dunk the chain in a jug of OMS, FWIW. Someone gave me some Park spray de-greaser once and it worked great! I'll be interested to hear if anyone knows what's in it.

Hokiedad4

I use Simple Green in my chain washing gadget. But I've found that if I'm washing my bike, a soapy rag does wonders degreasing a chain.

canklecat

Cheapest that actually works? Besides gasoline? LA's Totally Awesome oven and grill cleaning spray. Costs a whole dollar at Dollartree.

It smells like strong ammonia, with some surfactants. Works great on greasy dishes too -- I spray and wait up to an hour. Breaks up the stuff.

BTW, works great on white rubber brake hoods too.

So I tried it on my chain a couple of days ago. Normally I use wax on my road bike chains, but a couple of months ago I got lazy and started touching up the chains with Boeshield T9. Boeshield isn't as bad as most wet lubes but it will still pick up grime.

I had a chain with a year on it so I figured I'd sacrifice it to the gods of cheapskate experimenters. Worked great.

Be sure to rinse the chain thoroughly in water and re-oil it pronto before it rusts. I'm back to waxing, so I quickly air dried the chain (I may have used a hairdryer), then dunked it into my new not-so-secret blend of Gulf wax and scented candle wax in a Little Dipper crock pot.

Scented candle wicks almost always burn out leaving some wax behind. It's softer than pure paraffin due to the additives, and I discovered it's great for smushing between crossed spokes on my one bike with black spokes that tend to squeak when dry. The wax quiets them for about a month.

After soaking in the hot crock pot overnight, any residual grime floated out and presumably was replaced by the wax. I took a 20 mile ride. Much quieter with smoother shifting. The excess wax peeled off by itself while riding. I just brushed the flakes off the bike later.

caloso

I don’t clean my chain. Lube, wipe, ride, repeat.

John_V 

I also use Simple Green with the Park's Chain Scrubber. I get it at Sam's Club in a concentrated form. Cost is $8.93 for 140 oz (plus it comes with a 32 oz spray bottle already diluted to a 1:1 concentration). Mix it 1:1 with water and it cleans the chain just as good as the Park Tool Chain Cleaner. I use the bottle that the Parks Tool cleaner came in and mix 4 oz or water with 4 oz of solution. For really greasy chains, decrease the amount of water. The last time I bought one was in April of 2017 and I still have plenty left in the container. Don't know how much cheaper you can get for something that really works great.