Cleaning your drivetrain.
#26
Senior Member
The final result is a drivetrain that remains clean to the touch, dead silent with looong lasting lubrication, unless i get caught in the rain.
#27
As for lubing a chain. I put in a couple of candles and some fine Teflon powder into a Hot Pot bring that up to temperature and cook the chain in it for 10 minutes or more - when you CAREFULLY remove the chain with tongs, it should be hot enough that the wax flows off of it like water. I then hang it from a finishing nail in the garage high shelf and allow it to cool and drain any excess wax off. Be very careful since the chain will burn you. Properly done the Teflon permeated wax will be in the rollers and very little on the exterior of the chain. It will last several weeks rides and there won't be any wax build up on the cassette. As soon as the chain starts making noise repeat. I have found that regardless of how much you pay for a chain they are rather short lived anyway so it is usually best to buy a Shimano 105 chain and change them as soon as they are worn rather than paying a small fortune for a Wipperman Connex which will last twice as long and cost four times as much.
#28
Senior Member
Thread Starter
#30
Senior Member
what dangerous about gas , wh is everyone on here a safety expert LOLOL , its just as flammable as any other cleaner , its usually the cheapest thing that will deep clean everything from a chain in less than 10 minutes at about 3 dollars per gallon , you can also use lamp oil thats 2 dollars more and you get maybe a liter , or dw40 thats 4 dollars more , im talking taking the chain off the bike soaking it in a glass jar , swishing it around an dreating 3 or 4 times !
#31
Senior Member
I use kerosene in a coffee can. Let it soak for an hour or so and then blow it out with compressed air( outside) and then wax , let sit for24 hours before riding.
#32
There is no need to use anything more powerful than Simple Green or similar degreaser on the powertrain unless you want to remove and ultrasonic once in a while.
I'm super anal about a clean powertrain and a few cheap brushes and some simple green in a spray bottle will keep your gear clean enough to eat off of. The Park Tool chain cleaner tool makes it a lot easier too. Bonus points for an air compressor to dry it off properly.
I'm super anal about a clean powertrain and a few cheap brushes and some simple green in a spray bottle will keep your gear clean enough to eat off of. The Park Tool chain cleaner tool makes it a lot easier too. Bonus points for an air compressor to dry it off properly.
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#33
Mad bike riding scientist
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y
what dangerous about gas , wh is everyone on here a safety expert LOLOL , its just as flammable as any other cleaner , its usually the cheapest thing that will deep clean everything from a chain in less than 10 minutes at about 3 dollars per gallon , you can also use lamp oil thats 2 dollars more and you get maybe a liter , or dw40 thats 4 dollars more , im talking taking the chain off the bike soaking it in a glass jar , swishing it around an dreating 3 or 4 times !
what dangerous about gas , wh is everyone on here a safety expert LOLOL , its just as flammable as any other cleaner , its usually the cheapest thing that will deep clean everything from a chain in less than 10 minutes at about 3 dollars per gallon , you can also use lamp oil thats 2 dollars more and you get maybe a liter , or dw40 thats 4 dollars more , im talking taking the chain off the bike soaking it in a glass jar , swishing it around an dreating 3 or 4 times !
Other hydrocarbon based cleaners don’t need to start cars and have much higher flash points, which is a measure of flammability. Mineral spirits, for example, has a flashpoint of around 120°F. Gasoline has a flashpoint of -40°F.
Using gasoline is just plain dumb when there are other, better options. Ask your local fire department about dealing with gasoline fires caused by some idiot cleaning parts with it.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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#34
Senior Member
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I thought Simple Green was not that great a cleaner, TBH. I found Pine-Sol worked great when I used it after using Simple Green and now continue to use it as my degreaser and deep cleaner.
Any downsides to using Pine-Sol?
Any downsides to using Pine-Sol?
#35
Senior Member
Pine-Sol is another one that can damage paint. It probably won't hurt the paint if you use it and then wash it all off quickly, but I wouldn't risk it.
#36
Full Member
There is no need to use anything more powerful than Simple Green or similar degreaser on the powertrain unless you want to remove and ultrasonic once in a while.
I'm super anal about a clean powertrain and a few cheap brushes and some simple green in a spray bottle will keep your gear clean enough to eat off of. The Park Tool chain cleaner tool makes it a lot easier too. Bonus points for an air compressor to dry it off properly.
I'm super anal about a clean powertrain and a few cheap brushes and some simple green in a spray bottle will keep your gear clean enough to eat off of. The Park Tool chain cleaner tool makes it a lot easier too. Bonus points for an air compressor to dry it off properly.
Someone mentioned tri-flow for cassette rollers? Seems thin for that, I use wet chain lube.
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#37
No, gasoline isn’t “just as flammable as any other cleaner”. It is far more flammable. Gasoline is formulated to ignite easily and quickly with minimal amounts of energy needed to ignite it. It also need to ignite at low temperatures so that you can start your car on a cold winter morning.
Other hydrocarbon based cleaners don’t need to start cars and have much higher flash points, which is a measure of flammability. Mineral spirits, for example, has a flashpoint of around 120°F. Gasoline has a flashpoint of -40°F.
Using gasoline is just plain dumb when there are other, better options. Ask your local fire department about dealing with gasoline fires caused by some idiot cleaning parts with it.
Other hydrocarbon based cleaners don’t need to start cars and have much higher flash points, which is a measure of flammability. Mineral spirits, for example, has a flashpoint of around 120°F. Gasoline has a flashpoint of -40°F.
Using gasoline is just plain dumb when there are other, better options. Ask your local fire department about dealing with gasoline fires caused by some idiot cleaning parts with it.
Otto
#38
Decided to clean my bike before going on a ride yesterday. Not sure I've ever cleaned a bike before, haha.
I sprayed down the cassette, chainwheel, chain, and derailleurs with a lot of Simple Green and let it sit a bit. Sprayed the bike down with a hose and put some dish soap in a bucket with water and wiped the whole bike down with a rag. Got a brush nice a soapy and brushed all the drivetrain parts. Hosed it all off again.It was hot out so it was all pretty dry by the time I was done, but got a can of air and sprayed parts out. I applied some of the DuPont spray wax stuff pretty liberally (maybe too much? IDK!?!).
After that I threw my bike on my bike rack and drove to the beach and road for a couple of hours (and drank for a couple more!). Between cleaning and lubing my drivetrain, my recently repacked front bearings, and pushing my seat back an inch or so, I had about the easiest ride I'd ever had. I do this same ride from Venice Beach to about Hermosa and back and it was SO much easier yesterday with a clean and lubed bike (duh). Eye opening for sure. I'll definitely be keeping my bike clean from now on! :-)
I sprayed down the cassette, chainwheel, chain, and derailleurs with a lot of Simple Green and let it sit a bit. Sprayed the bike down with a hose and put some dish soap in a bucket with water and wiped the whole bike down with a rag. Got a brush nice a soapy and brushed all the drivetrain parts. Hosed it all off again.It was hot out so it was all pretty dry by the time I was done, but got a can of air and sprayed parts out. I applied some of the DuPont spray wax stuff pretty liberally (maybe too much? IDK!?!).
After that I threw my bike on my bike rack and drove to the beach and road for a couple of hours (and drank for a couple more!). Between cleaning and lubing my drivetrain, my recently repacked front bearings, and pushing my seat back an inch or so, I had about the easiest ride I'd ever had. I do this same ride from Venice Beach to about Hermosa and back and it was SO much easier yesterday with a clean and lubed bike (duh). Eye opening for sure. I'll definitely be keeping my bike clean from now on! :-)
#39
Packers Fan
Probably picking nits here, but dish soap can dry out paint and clearcoats, a dedicated car wash soap is a better choice.
Apply to painted or clearcoated surfaces with a microfiber wash mitt or cloth, not cotton.
Rinse, and if you don't have an air compressor to dry the bike, an electric leaf blower works excellent. I use that myself. Top to bottom, then I'll hit the cassette really well, slowly rotate the chain while blasting it dry.
I follow up with a microfiber and spray wax on most of the bike, which is not necessary.
Apply to painted or clearcoated surfaces with a microfiber wash mitt or cloth, not cotton.
Rinse, and if you don't have an air compressor to dry the bike, an electric leaf blower works excellent. I use that myself. Top to bottom, then I'll hit the cassette really well, slowly rotate the chain while blasting it dry.
I follow up with a microfiber and spray wax on most of the bike, which is not necessary.
#40
Probably picking nits here, but dish soap can dry out paint and clearcoats, a dedicated car wash soap is a better choice.
Apply to painted or clearcoated surfaces with a microfiber wash mitt or cloth, not cotton.
Rinse, and if you don't have an air compressor to dry the bike, an electric leaf blower works excellent. I use that myself. Top to bottom, then I'll hit the cassette really well, slowly rotate the chain while blasting it dry.
I follow up with a microfiber and spray wax on most of the bike, which is not necessary.
Apply to painted or clearcoated surfaces with a microfiber wash mitt or cloth, not cotton.
Rinse, and if you don't have an air compressor to dry the bike, an electric leaf blower works excellent. I use that myself. Top to bottom, then I'll hit the cassette really well, slowly rotate the chain while blasting it dry.
I follow up with a microfiber and spray wax on most of the bike, which is not necessary.
#41
Senior Member
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My chain cleaning routine is pretty simple, cheap and easy. I wipe it clean with rags that are well past their prime as bike parts cleaners. Lube with TriFlow (summer and good bikes) or Finish Line wet lube (MTB) for winter. Let soak in and wipe clean again. Ride, Repeat as necessary. (Oh, and lube with drip bottles, a drop at each sideplate so two drops per pin. A little slow but minimizes waste, mess and rags.)
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#42
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I just pulled the chain off my old bike and it was horribly gunked up. I put it in a pan with some solvent and it cleaned all the crud off it. My chain has never looked cleaner. I may use it to clean my chain in the future whenever I need to re-lube. I may need to pour some into a spray bottle.
#43
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I use the Pool Tool chain cleaner with dish soap and that gets the chain and gear system super clean. Then I use a wax lube, which works super well because it doesn't collect small particles.
#44
Senior Member
No, gasoline isn’t “just as flammable as any other cleaner”. It is far more flammable. Gasoline is formulated to ignite easily and quickly with minimal amounts of energy needed to ignite it. It also need to ignite at low temperatures so that you can start your car on a cold winter morning.
Other hydrocarbon based cleaners don’t need to start cars and have much higher flash points, which is a measure of flammability. Mineral spirits, for example, has a flashpoint of around 120°F. Gasoline has a flashpoint of -40°F.
Using gasoline is just plain dumb when there are other, better options. Ask your local fire department about dealing with gasoline fires caused by some idiot cleaning parts with it.
Other hydrocarbon based cleaners don’t need to start cars and have much higher flash points, which is a measure of flammability. Mineral spirits, for example, has a flashpoint of around 120°F. Gasoline has a flashpoint of -40°F.
Using gasoline is just plain dumb when there are other, better options. Ask your local fire department about dealing with gasoline fires caused by some idiot cleaning parts with it.
i clean my chain for races and TT , as well as commute , so i have different levels of clean , for commute i barely bother , just spray it with wd40 and scrub , but that stuff is going into the environment so its less eco friendly , you are going to have to make a choice , de-greasers only remove oil , and barely do that , mostly just push it around , they dont break down the dirt and wax and oil at the molecules like gas does ,
the gas i use goes from one can into a glass jar and back into a car , if you are sir harry smokes a lot and not careful in general you could light any cleaner on fire , but swishing around some gas out side or in the garage is the same as pouring gas into your car or mower , its as safe or dangerous as anything in life , grow a pair !!
#45
Newbie
My chain cleaning routine is pretty simple, cheap and easy. I wipe it clean with rags that are well past their prime as bike parts cleaners. Lube with TriFlow (summer and good bikes) or Finish Line wet lube (MTB) for winter. Let soak in and wipe clean again. Ride, Repeat as necessary. (Oh, and lube with drip bottles, a drop at each sideplate so two drops per pin. A little slow but minimizes waste, mess and rags.)
#46
Senior Member
its not dumb , its the cheapest , easiest way to strip everything off a chain , there is nothing that comes close
but swishing around some gas out side or in the garage is the same as pouring gas into your car or mower , its as safe or dangerous as anything in life , grow a pair !!
but swishing around some gas out side or in the garage is the same as pouring gas into your car or mower , its as safe or dangerous as anything in life , grow a pair !!
#47
My chain cleaning routine is pretty simple, cheap and easy. I wipe it clean with rags that are well past their prime as bike parts cleaners. Lube with TriFlow (summer and good bikes) or Finish Line wet lube (MTB) for winter. Let soak in and wipe clean again. Ride, Repeat as necessary. (Oh, and lube with drip bottles, a drop at each sideplate so two drops per pin. A little slow but minimizes waste, mess and rags.)
Otto
#48
Mad bike riding scientist
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its not dumb , its the cheapest , easiest way to strip everything off a chain , there is nothing that comes close , maybe if you make your own vodka or something , you dont have the numbers to back up your argument , i use gas all the time , the only argument that can be made is its not easy to dispose of gasoline properly and for that you can recycle it in your old mower or just bring it to the local garage and pay a few bucks , brake cleaner sure isnt going to be properly disposed of when washed off the bike , and if you want a full strip nothing comes close for the price , anything that does come close will cost more and be just as toxic , lamp oil would be my next choice because it will strip everything but still costs more and take a bit more rounds to get the chain stripped ,
i clean my chain for races and TT , as well as commute , so i have different levels of clean , for commute i barely bother , just spray it with wd40 and scrub , but that stuff is going into the environment so its less eco friendly , you are going to have to make a choice , de-greasers only remove oil , and barely do that , mostly just push it around , they dont break down the dirt and wax and oil at the molecules like gas does ,
the gas i use goes from one can into a glass jar and back into a car , if you are sir harry smokes a lot and not careful in general you could light any cleaner on fire , but swishing around some gas out side or in the garage is the same as pouring gas into your car or mower , its as safe or dangerous as anything in life , grow a pair !!
i clean my chain for races and TT , as well as commute , so i have different levels of clean , for commute i barely bother , just spray it with wd40 and scrub , but that stuff is going into the environment so its less eco friendly , you are going to have to make a choice , de-greasers only remove oil , and barely do that , mostly just push it around , they dont break down the dirt and wax and oil at the molecules like gas does ,
the gas i use goes from one can into a glass jar and back into a car , if you are sir harry smokes a lot and not careful in general you could light any cleaner on fire , but swishing around some gas out side or in the garage is the same as pouring gas into your car or mower , its as safe or dangerous as anything in life , grow a pair !!
As for not having the number to back up my arguments, I already gave you the physical chemistry numbers. But if you don’t like those numbers, how about 60,000 (plus some change). That’s the number of fires per year started by gasoline per year in the US according to the National Fire Protection Association. If you don’t know, those are the guys who put out fires.
As for “growing a pair”, I don’t need to because 1. Already got a pair; 2. I’m not going to lose a pair because I’m not dumb enough to clean with gasoline; 3. I’ve got a brain that has studied chemistry and I learned a long time ago there are better solvents than gasoline...solvents that not only clean better but doesn’t require skin grafts.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#50
Live Healthy
after you clean and degrease everything I highly recommend using Squirt Chain lube and you will never have to degrease your bike again. Cleanest lube ever but your drivetrain must be spotless before you use it.