degreasing bike chain
#1
degreasing bike chain
Hi,
Has anyone used Zep heavy duty citrus degreaser for degreasing a bike chain? Is this too strong? It also worked wonders when I stripped the paint off my singlespeed
Dave
Has anyone used Zep heavy duty citrus degreaser for degreasing a bike chain? Is this too strong? It also worked wonders when I stripped the paint off my singlespeed
Dave
#3
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It will degrease a chain pretty effectively, but you have to use it right.
With any degreaser, you need to give it enough time to break down ALL the greases and oils. Then multiple rinses (with the same stuff) to flush the dissolved crud and dirt out of the chain, which takes more than you think, because it's well sheltered in small spaces.
Once you're getting clean rinses, then a citrus must be rinsed with water, which will take a few rinses, then the water has to be dried out. Then, because citrus/water can be acidic, I do a rinse with water to which a bit of baking soda was added.
So, citrus can work well, but a petroleum distillate is easier in the long run, and can be saved for reuse.
With any degreaser, you need to give it enough time to break down ALL the greases and oils. Then multiple rinses (with the same stuff) to flush the dissolved crud and dirt out of the chain, which takes more than you think, because it's well sheltered in small spaces.
Once you're getting clean rinses, then a citrus must be rinsed with water, which will take a few rinses, then the water has to be dried out. Then, because citrus/water can be acidic, I do a rinse with water to which a bit of baking soda was added.
So, citrus can work well, but a petroleum distillate is easier in the long run, and can be saved for reuse.
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WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
#5
Senior Member
I use Zepp both the Citrus and the Heavy duty stuff. Converted from solvent-based degreasers this year actually. I think it works at least as good as parts degreaser maybe better. It's certainly easier to deal with.
Previous posts are correct though, you need to use it properly. Let parts soak long enough, rinse THOROUGHLY with hot water and dry completely and quickly and re-lube as soon as it is dry.
Tips I have found that work pretty well:
- Put chain in 2 liter coke bottle with Zepp and shake like heII and let sit. It helps to start with warm water.
- Rinse and repeat
- Rinse THOROUGHLY with warm water.
- Blow part/chain off with compressed air - some advocate drying in a low temp oven. It's probably not a bad idea. I dry in the sun as it is hot where I live and the lube I use is water-based anyway (Squirt)
- Lube right away
Previous posts are correct though, you need to use it properly. Let parts soak long enough, rinse THOROUGHLY with hot water and dry completely and quickly and re-lube as soon as it is dry.
Tips I have found that work pretty well:
- Put chain in 2 liter coke bottle with Zepp and shake like heII and let sit. It helps to start with warm water.
- Rinse and repeat
- Rinse THOROUGHLY with warm water.
- Blow part/chain off with compressed air - some advocate drying in a low temp oven. It's probably not a bad idea. I dry in the sun as it is hot where I live and the lube I use is water-based anyway (Squirt)
- Lube right away
Last edited by drlogik; 09-28-16 at 07:21 AM.
#6
Senior Member
IMHO (with all due respect) you have to be nuts to put a water soluble detergent on a chain. It makes you have to clean it twice. Once to get off the grease and twice to get off the soap. Just dunk the chain in a can of diesel fuel or mineral spirits and be done with it.
#8
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The first step in degreasing a chain is to decide if it really needs that. A decent cleaning job is messy and time consuming, and in many cases totally unnecessary.
Whether it's necessary or not, degreasing chains often does more harm than good. Unless done thoroughly it doesn't actually get much dirt out of the chain, and can leave compromised lubricant inside, compromising any effort to relube after ward.
One thing that's rarely mentioned in these cleaning thread is how to get solvent and dirt out effectively. This is a key step in the cleaning process and often skipped. Imagine if your washing machine didn't have a spin cycle between wash and rinse, and between rinses. Your clothes may get clean, but they'll come out full of detergent residue and some of the dirt you were trying to wash away. Of course, if you rinsed them often enough, you might get the detergent and dirt out, but spinning removes most of the residue more effectively, leaving little to rinse off.
So, regardless of what you use to clean your chain, you'll get better results if you take it outside hold it in the middle and spin it like a windmill to drive the dirty solvent out, between wash and rinse steps.
Whether it's necessary or not, degreasing chains often does more harm than good. Unless done thoroughly it doesn't actually get much dirt out of the chain, and can leave compromised lubricant inside, compromising any effort to relube after ward.
One thing that's rarely mentioned in these cleaning thread is how to get solvent and dirt out effectively. This is a key step in the cleaning process and often skipped. Imagine if your washing machine didn't have a spin cycle between wash and rinse, and between rinses. Your clothes may get clean, but they'll come out full of detergent residue and some of the dirt you were trying to wash away. Of course, if you rinsed them often enough, you might get the detergent and dirt out, but spinning removes most of the residue more effectively, leaving little to rinse off.
So, regardless of what you use to clean your chain, you'll get better results if you take it outside hold it in the middle and spin it like a windmill to drive the dirty solvent out, between wash and rinse steps.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FB
Chain-L site
An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
#9
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+1 on the mess. be careful what is under your bike when you do it. some stuff kills grass, so if you like your lawn, don't use White Lightning Easy Clean aerosol (can be found at Walmart) without covering the grass ;-)
#11
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Give it time, the name calling is sure to start soon enough.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FB
Chain-L site
An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
#12
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LOL... no doubt .....
I'm too lazy these days.
1) Dribble some lube on every now & then
2) wipe off excess
3) ride.
I'm too lazy these days.
1) Dribble some lube on every now & then
2) wipe off excess
3) ride.
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#13
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Yeah, I'm not holding out much hope of a good outcome but your post especially about acidic degreasers and baking soda reminded me of what I had know but forgotten long ago.
I'm wondering if it isn't more cost and time effective or even easier on the environment to just use a couple of old bike bottles full of odorless mineral spirits, decanting the clean stuff off the top once in a while. That's what I do anyway and I typically take it all to the county dump/recycling center along with my automotive fluids when I happen to go once or twice each year.
I'm wondering if it isn't more cost and time effective or even easier on the environment to just use a couple of old bike bottles full of odorless mineral spirits, decanting the clean stuff off the top once in a while. That's what I do anyway and I typically take it all to the county dump/recycling center along with my automotive fluids when I happen to go once or twice each year.
#14
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So, citrus can work well, but a petroleum distillate is easier in the long run, and can be saved for reuse. [emphasis added]
There's lots of debate on the environmental question, but I'm one of those who believe that a bad product, well managed and reused or recycled, is better for the environment than a not so bad product flushed down drains.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FB
Chain-L site
An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
#15
degreasing
Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'll definitely have to try taking the chain off, it has a quick link, so that should be really easy. Probably going to try the zep/water rinse/compressed air method, though I have one of those park chain scrubber things too.
Dave
Dave
#16
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It will degrease a chain pretty effectively, but you have to use it right.
With any degreaser, you need to give it enough time to break down ALL the greases and oils. Then multiple rinses (with the same stuff) to flush the dissolved crud and dirt out of the chain, which takes more than you think, because it's well sheltered in small spaces.
Once you're getting clean rinses, then a citrus must be rinsed with water, which will take a few rinses, then the water has to be dried out. Then, because citrus/water can be acidic, I do a rinse with water to which a bit of baking soda was added.
With any degreaser, you need to give it enough time to break down ALL the greases and oils. Then multiple rinses (with the same stuff) to flush the dissolved crud and dirt out of the chain, which takes more than you think, because it's well sheltered in small spaces.
Once you're getting clean rinses, then a citrus must be rinsed with water, which will take a few rinses, then the water has to be dried out. Then, because citrus/water can be acidic, I do a rinse with water to which a bit of baking soda was added.
It really shouldn't be allowed to dry nor should heat be used to remove the water. Simple drying allows time for the oxidation of the metal to proceed at a slow pace. Using heat just increases the rate of the oxidation reaction. Heat doesn't change the fundamental process. If you really, really need to use a "green" solvent, you should chase the water off the chain with alcohol or acetone to dry the chain very quickly. But, as you pointed out, this increase the volume of the waste several fold which negates the "green" aspects of these cleaners.
Baking soda, by the way, is a completely unnecessary step. Citrus cleaners aren't very acidic. They are made from an acidic fruit but none of that acid gets into the cleaner.
As an added benefit, it works much faster, too. Less than a minute of agitation of a chain in about a cup of mineral spirits will completely strip any lubricant off the chain...including the factory lubricant.
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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!
#17
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I use that to start with ... but I really like 2 tooth brushes taped together facing each other. it's great on the chain, chain rings but especially the rear derailer rollers! I only clean my stuff like this rarely & only on a hot sunny day. this year everything dried really quickly. the more bikes you do the better you get at it. when I had to get my backup bike on the rd quickly I was much more efficient with my efforts, methods & time. it helps to have paper type shop towels + a couple small cloth towels for getting between the chain rings & rear cogs. remember you'll be cleaning your tires & wheels brake surfaces as a last step, well, drying & wiping the frame might come after wheel cleaning. this thing (chain keeper) makes spinning the chain without the wheel way easier. also these brushes are useful.
learned about this via the forum - so smart!
learned about this via the forum - so smart!
#20
Jedi Master
I agree with [MENTION=341663]Jarrett2[/MENTION]. Here's my simple three step process:
1) Remove old chain
2) Dispose of old chain
3) Install new chain
1) Remove old chain
2) Dispose of old chain
3) Install new chain
#21
Not quite dead.
Hey, hey, what about ultrasonic cleaners? If I'm going to be doing something unnecessary, I don't want to pass up the opportunity to buy an unneeded piece of equipment. Or are you all a bunch of luddites?
#22
Jedi Master
#23
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I wonder what kind of chain youre using if it only lasts 6mo!
I just took my 20+yr chain off my Huffy because it was gunky, nasty and just gross. I used Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush.
I just took my 20+yr chain off my Huffy because it was gunky, nasty and just gross. I used Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush.
#24
Non omnino gravis
My last chain lasted 13 weeks. Average 280 miles a week and chains have a remarkably short lifespan.
#25
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How much does Zep, air compressor, 2 liter bottle of coke etc. all cost. vs. a new chain?