Chain Cleaning
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bombertodd
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I have a friend that uses a Zep heavy duty degreaser (from Home Depot) and a ultrasonic cleaner. His stuff looks every bit as good as mine. I'd like to get one next. I think it would make cleaning cassettes and other items that much easier. If I ever get one I'll try to remember to post back my findings.
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[quote="dhendriksen"]So...last fall I built a new bike with Campy SR11.
I am anal about keeping things clean, and I am REALLY anal about this new bike.
I have a question for you guys on cleaning. Here are my plans...tell me what you think.
Once a week or so I will spray the ENTIRE BIKE (except the handlebars and saddle) with Simple Green. While that is sitting on their, run the chain through the Park Tools Chain Gang with Citrus Cleaner. Rinse the entire bike off with the hose. Lightly lube the chain while spinning the cranks backward.
Once every month or two, remove the chain completely (KMC Missing Link 11 just arrived, not yet installed) and soak it in Mineral Spirits for ~10 minutes. Let it dry completely, then soak it in a good chain lube (open for suggestions here). Remove from lube, wipe it off and reinstall on bike.
I'm a big guy and put a lot of power down (can get nearly 2,000 watts in a sprint) and snapping a chain is a real fear of mine. I want to make sure I don't do anything to compromise the integrity of the chain.
As a bicycle mechanic, I made an attachment for the parts cleaner that ran a feed line from the circulation pump to a hose that was attached to a park chain cleaner. All you did was clamp the chain cleaner onto the bikes chain while the bike was attached to a fork dropout clamp that I bolted to the edge of the parts cleaner. The constant flow of cleaner to the chain cleaner while I pedaled the bike backwards cleaned the chain incredibly well in just a few minutes. And you never had to disconnect the chain....which is the biggest cause of chains breaking while cycling...porrly connected links.
I am anal about keeping things clean, and I am REALLY anal about this new bike.
I have a question for you guys on cleaning. Here are my plans...tell me what you think.
Once a week or so I will spray the ENTIRE BIKE (except the handlebars and saddle) with Simple Green. While that is sitting on their, run the chain through the Park Tools Chain Gang with Citrus Cleaner. Rinse the entire bike off with the hose. Lightly lube the chain while spinning the cranks backward.
Once every month or two, remove the chain completely (KMC Missing Link 11 just arrived, not yet installed) and soak it in Mineral Spirits for ~10 minutes. Let it dry completely, then soak it in a good chain lube (open for suggestions here). Remove from lube, wipe it off and reinstall on bike.
I'm a big guy and put a lot of power down (can get nearly 2,000 watts in a sprint) and snapping a chain is a real fear of mine. I want to make sure I don't do anything to compromise the integrity of the chain.
As a bicycle mechanic, I made an attachment for the parts cleaner that ran a feed line from the circulation pump to a hose that was attached to a park chain cleaner. All you did was clamp the chain cleaner onto the bikes chain while the bike was attached to a fork dropout clamp that I bolted to the edge of the parts cleaner. The constant flow of cleaner to the chain cleaner while I pedaled the bike backwards cleaned the chain incredibly well in just a few minutes. And you never had to disconnect the chain....which is the biggest cause of chains breaking while cycling...porrly connected links.
veloflyte wrote:Once a week or so I will spray the ENTIRE BIKE (except the handlebars and saddle) with Simple Green. While that is sitting on their, run the chain through the Park Tools Chain Gang with Citrus Cleaner.
I like Simple Green a lot too, and for simplicity you should be aware that it works great as a chain cleaner too.
But be careful: it is such a good degreaser that it can wash the grease right out of your derailleur pulleys and bottom bracket. So I now try to using it sparingly and control where I spray it. Very diluted still works well for frame cleaning, and then just avoid spraying it on the pulley when chain cleaning.
I don't even use a chain cleaning "machine". Just spray on the SG (full strength) wait about 10 min and spray the chain off. Maybe repeat if very dirty. Then let dry and lube.
But I am NOT a fanatic about cleanliness. I just try to keep things "functionally clean".
So what sort of ultrasonic cleaner do you use? Amazon has a bunch of different models ranging from $40 on up to several hundred.
