What do you use to clean and degrease your bike before adding fresh lube?
Degreaser
- Thread starter pv40
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Are you just referring to the chain? I use a a brush and just scrub off loose bits then relube. When I was switching over to wax, I used mineral spirits to really get a deep clean. For general frame cleaning, a dilute solution of simple green works good for me.
- Thread starter
- #3
I was referring to chain, cassette, all over. By bike has been sitting and I’m getting it up and going. I didn’t have simple green. So my wife gave me dawn power wash. It co my es in a spray bottle. It worked amazing. Foamed up and I scrubbed with a toothbrush and rinsed. Totally clean.
I use Pedro's Oranj Peelz for the drive train on bikes that use gear lube. It's citrus-based, biodegradable, and water-soluble.
I also like Dawn for general cleaning but have started using Silca's Bike Care Box Set (wait/look for a sale).
I also like Dawn for general cleaning but have started using Silca's Bike Care Box Set (wait/look for a sale).
when nothing else works: kerosene, followed by Dawn or your detergent of choice.
Use paint thinner or solvent to clean the chain. Keep an old chain to work the current chain off the bike. Place it in the solvent and work it around to loosen and remove the rust that build within the pins/joints. Heat a mixture of 50% 30w oil and Vaseline to liquid and place the chain into work it around, this re-lubes the pins/joints where spraying will not. Before you do all this, pull on the joints to determine if there is any play, if there is, the chain should be replaced, if you don't check, you'll be replacing chain and sprockets at some point. Several years as a Honda motorcycle mechanic.
You're welcome! Use a paint brush to remove the grime buildup on the chain and continue working it around until no more orange rust liquid comes out. Connect a piece of wire to one end of the chain so you can pull it out of the heated mixture after about 10 minutes and hang it up to cool before installing. It will have a white coating from the Vaseline and is messy to handle so wear some gloves. This process completed every so often will greatly extend the life of the chain and your sprockets. Happy riding!