GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Mickle method. I don't let any sort of degreaser near the chains on my road bikes.
Chain de-greaser
- Thread starter gb155
- Start date
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OP
OP
gb155
Fan Boy No More.
- Location
- Manchester-Ish
Why not?
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
3 reasons
1) unless you rinse all the fine crap out and end up with a sparkly chain the fine stuff will wear it out very very quickly
2) you wash all of the lovely luby stuf from the inside of the chain rollers out and away and its damn hard to get the lube back in to where it should be.
3) errrr 1 nd 2 again cos my brain has stopped
i will add that when i have gunked up my MTB chain i do use a degreaser called fairy liquid and elbow grease to clean it, and dry it in the oven 50C for 20 minutes then spend the saturday and sunday dribbling oil onto it copiuosly then mickle it to remove the excess.
i debated melting some vaseline down and steping it in that but i think thats taking my pyromania a bit far
Scilly Suffolk
Über Member
It strips all the lube, which has worked its way deep into the chain, out and if you don't remove it all, it will destroy the fresh lube.
Dave Davenport
Guru
- Location
- Hampshire
Works for me too.
scouserinlondon
Senior Member
- Location
- streatham, London
Since becoming a Mickle convert my Park Tools chain cleaner has sat unused in my shed. Would use it for a very gunged up chain, but don't allow my chain to get that dirty any more. Five mins per week rub down and a fortnightly application of a drop of new lube does the job.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Because the part of the chain you actually want to be kept lubed is the very part of the chain that doesn't get greasy, that is hardest to lube in the first place, and is the part that gets the lubed stripped off it by a degreaser.
I agree with the posts on the mickle method.
The most wear is on the inside which is where the lube stays when the chain is wiped.Degreaser will wash this out and more than likely leave them dry and open to surface corrosion which will in turn act like grinding paste especially if you dont lube straight away.
The mickle method leaves the chain clean and only takes minutes if done regularly.
Give it a try first and you will see just how easy it is
The most wear is on the inside which is where the lube stays when the chain is wiped.Degreaser will wash this out and more than likely leave them dry and open to surface corrosion which will in turn act like grinding paste especially if you dont lube straight away.
The mickle method leaves the chain clean and only takes minutes if done regularly.
Give it a try first and you will see just how easy it is
black'n'yellow
Guest
hardly - petrol is what, £1.35 per litre? How much is a litre of 'degreaser'..?
Anyway, as others have suggested - degreaser is for cleaning engine blocks. For bike chains, a rag sprayed with a bit of WD or GT is all you need...
Lien Sdrawde
Über Member
- Location
- Mancunia (Ashton under Lyne)
Mickle (lightly) <and not too often>.
If you want to go down the degreaser route, Cleaner's supply shops sell 5-litre heavy degreaser for about £10. It can be very heavily diluted.
I only use it rarely these days, on disassembled all-metal components that I can then rinse and dry thoroughly. Too much chance of getting into bearings etc. if I try using it on the bike directly, and to be honest that's unnecessary. It's also brilliant in a diluted spray for cleaning greasy kitchen cupboard tops, ovens, chain marks on SWMBOs best towels and that! Can't imagine it's much good for the environment though.
I only use it rarely these days, on disassembled all-metal components that I can then rinse and dry thoroughly. Too much chance of getting into bearings etc. if I try using it on the bike directly, and to be honest that's unnecessary. It's also brilliant in a diluted spray for cleaning greasy kitchen cupboard tops, ovens, chain marks on SWMBOs best towels and that! Can't imagine it's much good for the environment though.
