Chain cleaners

Anyone ever used any of these?
If not, any suggestions on how to clean a chain without using a large container of petrol a la Sheldon Brown?

Petrol works for me. It's all I've ever used.

Looking for something that I can do without making a mess inside my flat, preferably outside in the street. That's why I quite liked the idea of a self contained thing. Just wondering if they work.

I was given one ages ago - didn't really get on with it. Bit faffy, and you can still end up dripping degreaser all over the place. Quite wasteful too, I reckon. You can be pretty mess-free with judicious use of newspaper, latex gloves, rag (ie. ripped up old t-shirt), can of GT-85, and some spray or dropper lube to finish off with... all without removing the chain, which is one of the main selling points of those contraptions.

Don't use petrol. I used to. It's carcinogenic and bad for pretty much everything.
Use citrus based cleaners instead.

hippy Don't use petrol. I used to. It's carcinogenic and bad for pretty much everything.
Use citrus based cleaners instead.

Good call. I'll remember that.

soak chain in bucket of white spirit........or boil it in oil!

^ kentucky fried chain

hippy Don't use petrol. I used to. It's carcinogenic and bad for pretty much everything.
Use citrus based cleaners instead.

Yep, a fair bit of benzene in it and other nasties.

Muck Off make a degreaser. It's quite expensive, about £7 but it's water soluble so easy to wash off and isn't bad for the environment like white spirit. I've had a big can of it now and it's lasted ages, good for loads of different parts.

Most hardware stores (in Oz at least) carry citrus degreasers. They aren't bike specific which means they cost 30% of the LBS-purchased ones for doing the same job..

Empty plastic bottle + citrus degreaser and washing up liquid.

Insert chain.

Shake hard. Repeat. Remove. Rinse. Dry. Replace. Lube.

Shiny chain.

Also, those self contained chain cleaners only work with a derailleur or a pretty slack single speed + chain tensioner. They rely on taking the chain through a S-shape of brushes. No use with a fixed or most single speeds.

Just looked a bit harder at the (broken) link. The funky ones that are mated with an aerosol can may work - they look like the chain goes straight through.

Having just spent about an hour, lovingly cleaning my drive train (slowly in front of the telebox) I might be up for one of them.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360024219&N=Muc-Off%20Chain%20Doc%20Chain%20Cleaner%20With%20400ml%20Aerosol

i've got one of them -it will work with a fixed gear, the chain goes through straight. They're ok, not bad.

on another note, the Mr Muscle citrus cleaning wipes are excellent for cleaning your whole bike - cuts through grease and anything, really easy and non-messy. pick up a pack today!

fucking landfill

what's the pint of cleaning the chain, if you don't clean the rest of the transmission at the same time?, as soon as you start riding again the chain will just pick up grit and dirt off sprocket / cassette /chainring.....take it all offfand clean it at the same time....why I use a hyperlink or whatever you wanna call it..

exactly.

chain cleaning devices are nick nacks for dick heads.

and those wipes are fucking landfill bollocks, worse than jam rags.

old t-shirts, white spirit, plastic bottles.

now you cunts, get to it.

I wanna see those chains gleaming like roberto's bling.

agreed. even makes more sense to buy a new chain than a chain cleaning device.

Good points about landfill and not cleaning sprockets / rings at the same time. I'll stick to taking the chain off.

How do you get the chain out of the plastic bottle - I always end up having to cut mine open to retrieve it. Which justs adds to the amount I have to throw away. Any tips?

Oh and by the way - I really should clean the drivetrain more often. Silky smooth and silent now :-)

if you use a plastic bottle with a narrow top, tie a bit of string to the chain and let it out the top of the bottle, should still be able to screw the cap on over it for the shakeage.

I use a plastic container that had soup in it (sainsburys finest I think) has a large cap. easy.

winston what's the pint of cleaning the chain

There's a Freudian slip if ever I heard/read one.

I don't clean my chain. The dirt protects the inner worsksings of the chainy bushyushings.

You can use a knackered old spoke to fish the chain out of the bottle too.

I'm still gonna clean it on the bike mind. I can wipe the worst of the cog/chainring while I'm wiping the chain, and a like a bit of residual crap on there to keep it running silently :)

Cheers for all the advice, I've got a half full bottle of white spirit that should do the trick.

Nooo, not white spirit!

shut it, I've been using white spirit for fuckin years.

wash chain off with detergent and water afterwards, let it dry completely then a decent lube.