All about cleaning

WD40 was designed to prevent rust in the aerospace industry. The first use for WD40 was to prevent rust and corrosion on the skin of the Atlas missile. wd40.comour history.htmlOpen ↗

Maybe I'm wrong, though it is hard for me to admit! :p

klam said:

In a recent article writtin in Mountain bike magazine they say using WD-40 is not good as it actually attracts water. Aside from the usual bike lube you can buy, they say that using a lightest weight motoroil works excellent and is very cheap compared to bike specific lube.

As for cleaning, I use a biodegradable degreaser and a plastic brush. If you have a bike stand or stationary trainer, set your bike on them and its easier to clean. Either way you have to get down and dirty.

Just make sure you dry off the chain and wipe off excess lube after you applied a coat of lube.

Oil is about the worst thing to use IMHO (even tho lots of people use it.. I know). Dirt loves oil, which results in a fine, highly abrasive paste that greatly accelerates wear on chains and esp sprockets, even when you wipe it down (you can't wipe the inside of the chain).

Clean with whatever will get the job done (I don't think it matters, honestly), but lube with a "dry" wax-type lube.

[quote="sogood"]Taking Campagnolo 10 speed chains off for regular clearning is an expensive exercise. Each time you'll need to buy a link chain segment.

Why don't you use a wippermann chain link, it allows you to break the chain anytime without a chain breaker, makes it way easier to clean the chain

[quote="kleng"]

sogood said:

Taking Campagnolo 10 speed chains off for regular clearning is an expensive exercise. Each time you'll need to buy a link chain segment.

Why don't you use a wippermann chain link, it allows you to break the chain anytime without a chain breaker, makes it way easier to clean the chain

RickF said:

WD40 will break down greese, but so will Simple Green, mineral spirits, and just about anything else one might use to clean a chain.

Simple Green can be rinsed away and mineral spirits will evaporate prior to relubing, though. WD40 will remain for a long, long, time to screw up whatever you put on the chain when you're done.

One of the gentlemen here mentioned white spirits. Ahhh bad memories.
One time I used it to clean my rear hub bearings and two days later, towards the end of a bunch ride, some other riders said "What's that rumbling?- your bottom bracket has run out of grease? "
Turns out, the white spirit stripped the surface layer from the bearings and instead of being shiny, they were dull grey and not very round at all...looked a bit like gravel at the bottom of an aquarium.

So what was it Aussie Steve - the bottom bracket or the rear hub!!!!!!! I doubt it was the white spirit given it would have all but evaporated by the time you would have put the hub back together and greased it. Lack of grease may have been a more likely cause.

Winter bike - SRAM Power link chain. Take it off and shake it about in a plastic bottle of white spirit. Empty dirty liquid and replace. Repeat until white spirit doesn't get dirty. Wash chain in water and detergent and leave to dry. Lubricate with Purple Extreme as soon as it's dry.

Summer bike - Park Cyclone chain cleaner filled with white spirit. Empty dirty liquid and replace. Repeat until white spirit doesn't get dirty. Wash chain in water and detergent and leave to dry. Lubricate with Purple Extreme as soon as it's dry.

The Cyclone is really cool 'cause it's got a magnet at the bottom which attracts all the metal particles and stops them getting back into the chain...

Just to be absolutely clear: this "White Spirit" that everyone refers to...is that turpentine?

(or some character from "Dances WIth Wolves"?)

Bob Ross said:

Just to be absolutely clear: this "White Spirit" that everyone refers to...is that turpentine?

No. White spirit is what we in the US call mineral spirits. Mineral spirits is a highly refined petroleum distallate. Turpentine is a refined organic solvent that comes from pine sap. Turpentine is anything but oderless. Mineral spirits (aka white spirits) is nearly oderless. Both products are used as paint thinner (for oil based paints), and both will dissolve oils and grease.

I do not think it is the mineral spirits that destroyed AussieSteve's bearings. I agree that it was the lack of grease that did the damage. If you use mineral spirits (or turpentine or any other solvent or detergent) to clean the bearings, it is important to re-pack them in grease.

tumbleweed77 said:

After another thread of mine got turned into chain talk, i thought i'd just start a new one...

How do you guys clean your chains? with a brush or with one of those contraptions...? which brands are better (which brushes or which machine)? degreasers, grease....? what is "wax" for? I haven't heard of that before and found it bundled with cleaning kits... how much do you use? how do you apply it? how often?.... I want to know everything! (i'm a clean and organization freak)...please help the clean freak learn about yet another thing to keep clean... thx!!!!!!

I would only use wd-40 on a 99 dollar bike.Beside , I think spraying that stuff makes a toxic mist in the air. Dry lubes work the best for me.