Bicyclists: Recommend A Chain Cleaner

Any suggestions for a bike chain cleaning tool?

I had a very simple one for years and I loved it. It was blue, so I assume it was a Park. When it finally wore out, I couldn't find the same one and I replaced it with a Spin Doctors, which at first, I also really liked, but this morning it began shedding pieces of the plastic housing and now none of the brushes will stay in place. Upon examination, the housing was surprisingly frail.

The tool that Park sells now is nothing like my original and looks like a bit of a PITA to put together once it's filled with cleaning fluid.

let it soak for an hour (longer if your using paraffin). Rinse with mineral spirits or just let it air dry, reinstall, lube to flavor, enjoy.

Gun cleaning brushes work better than a toothbrush. There are both brass bristled and nylon bristled varieties. I have seen a motorcycle chain cleaning tool, but I use my gun cleaning stuff.

Put a quick link on your chain and get a plastic container with some simple green in it.

If the gunk is so bad that you prefer using a degreaser on it, then a quick link to make removing the chain is a must. Soak the chain and cassette off the bike and then reinstall and lube. If it's not that bad then I just use dawn and a long bristle scrub brush like a pot-scrubbing brush. Rinse and lube (no WD40).

"Serious" cyclist of 30+years and long time pro bike mechanic here...

A wrench for the Motorola Team (pre-US Postal) told me they use a 50/50 mixture of Diesel and Dawn detergent. Squirt on w/ an old water bottle, brush, hose off.

I swear by the use of a Wippermann Connex link in my chain - I do an annual removal of the the drivetrain and a thorough cleaning in the Safety Kleen sink (awesome Craigslist find) in the garage - a couple time a year I'll pop the chain off and give it a quick bath.

Lube makes a huge difference - I use White Lightning - apply and let dry before use. It attracts no crud. Wet lubes attract grit which makes a fine grinding compound.

When I was a messenger I'd keep a couple chains around which I'd clean and submerge in a pan of melted paraffin wax. Once they cool you flex them ;til they're soft enough to use. It's a great dry lube which is waterproof and attracts no filth.

It's the interface between the pins and rollers which need the lube - not the roller to cog/chainring.

You didn't say if you were road or off-roading it..........

I'm a roadie. I hear the hardcore roadies saying to clean and lube a chain every 100 miles. I think it's a little extreme -- I'd like to do something else like work on cars I try to do a full go-round of the bike once a month. Tightening cables, torquing bolts, detailing/cleaning, and chain cleaning/lubing.

I found this stuff at the Hotter n Hell hundred expo center and bought a bottle of the blue stuff. So far I've been impressed with how much dirt comes off of the chain, how quiet the drivetrain is, and how much better the shifts go off. Coincidence, but before using the stuff I would throw the chain at least once during a ride -- since I started using this stuff, not one thrown chain.

All I use to clean the chain is a deep nap terry cloth towel and an old toothbrush.

orphancars wrote: I hear the hardcore roadies saying to clean and lube a chain every 100 miles. I think it's a little extreme

That is so typical of the internet self-righteous/one-upper/extremists (in the detailing world, they clean up interior messes with microfiber towels and throw those same towels away if they touch the ground once). Sorry, I'm just not gonna clean and lube that often.

At work (and at home, for that matter) I use citrus degreaser (sprayed on and allowed to soak). If it's really caked-on, I'll use a Park chain scrubber to loosen everything up. Put wastebasket underneath chain, hold paper towel on chain and turn cranks. I'll go in between each link to get out the stuff trapped in between. Dry off any leftover excess and lube w/ a dry lube of some sort (as said, White Lighting is the nuts).

I'm mainly concerned with the mountain bike chain, since my road chain doesn't get too bad.

I try to clean the mountain bike chain after every 2 or 3 rides. I'm not motivated enough to remove the chain each time, which is why I was looking for something like the Park cleaning tool.

I'll have to check out White Lightening. I've been using silicone for years, which I'm sure is not the best, but it's always nearby.

Here's the only shot I have of the bike, but it gives you a good idea of the typical riding surface.

I think part of your fork is missing...

find a used sonic cleaner, place chain in it along with the prescribed amount of water, turn on, wait a bit, the chain is shinier than new, just need to blow off all the water and re-oil it