Steaming ........

[Saddle bum]

Anybody any experience of using a mini steam cleaner on chains?

Gunk the gloop off with a soluble degreaser and then steam clean.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I'd be wary of doing it on-bike, your paint might not like it.

TBH, I think all this TLC people heap on chains is a waste of time. A paintbrush and solvent to clean followed by some oil is the best method. It does the job and won't wash the manufacturers grease from the pins. I went through all those fancy cleaning methods on motorcycle chains and came to the conclusion that although they shone like a new pin they ended up knackered much more quickly.

 

[jashburnham]

Just give it a good clean with a rag (and some degreaser if you must) lube, wipe down thoroughly, relube, gentle wipe, done.

 

[Tynan]

deedy, OCD some on here

it's a chain, it's supposed to be oily, and it's a replaceable part

 

[RedBike]

I wouldn't of thought a steam cleaner would be much help. The lube shouldn't absorb the water or react to the heat.

If you want a snazzy cleaner for your chain you can buy a sonic cleaner for jewellery (used to be very cheap at Aldi). Personnely I would stick to using a rag, or a dedicated chain cleaner if it's very mucky.

 

[hubgearfreak]

for those few of you who haven't already seen it

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

it's only in the last week i realised it was a joke

 

[Tynan]

nice link hub and I think that shows what the mighty Sheldon thought

bless him

 

[TheDoctor]

Bang on Tynan.
Great guy, great site, great sense of humour. The world is a lessor place now.
May Sheldon always have a tailwind.