The quickest, cleanest gear cluster EVER.
January 31st, 2008 by NoahI’ve been riding my hardtail through Kansas City’s wintry roads quite a bit lately. The singletrack is too sloppy to ride, but urban obstacles offer some fun and challenging alternatives to the local trails. I also commute a few miles to the bus. The past few days have been really salty and slushy, so it was time for a bath. I’ve tried a lot of stuff to clean off my sprockets and chain rings. Alcohol, simple green, purple power, expensive citrus cleaners, mineral oils, and many other cleaners. This evening, I got lazy and reached for an old can of automotive brake parts cleaner that I had laying around. It was below freezing outside, and this stuff evaporates pretty quickly at room temperature. I figured it couldn’t hurt.
I laid some newspaper out on the front porch and sprayed the sprockets off. After a quick spray-down, running an old rag between the cogs brought back a beautiful shine. Even at sub-freezing temperatures, the stuff had evaporated in under 5 minutes, ready to be re-assembled.
I am simply amazed. You want to be careful with this stuff, though. Use it outdoors or somewhere you can ventilate. It’s flammable and probably not too good on your lungs either. Since brake cleaner is a degreaser, I’d also try to keep it from getting into the freehub body itself, as it would likely dry out the pawls. A little bit goes a long way. If you’ve ever changed brakes on a car, you’ll know that the dirtiest sprockets don’t have anything on the brake dust and grime build-up that brake parts cleaner was designed to dissolve.
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Like Brakleen?
That’s exactly what I used, but for some reason I couldn’t upload the photos I took.
Bad for the atmosphere, but really good for cleaning up grimy cogs!
I’ve been using that for a while now. Powerful stuff. Does a trick on bathtubs too!
Oh man… I sprayed just a little while I was cleaning the rest of my bike in the tub. I had to get the hell out of the bathroom. Made me really light-headed — in a good way, until I started getting a headache.
Noah- the straw isn’t used used for snorting!
but for real, I found Tar-minator at my local auto parts store, for 4 months now it has kept a “silver” cassette, “silver”. and on the frame it removes road grim like a power washer.
Brake cleaner is some nasty stuff. Typical ingredients include xylene, toluene, and tetrachloroethylene. Such fun effects as cellular damage, liver damage, kidney damage, brain damage, cancer.
How about just apply some warm soapy water instead of unleashing that crap on yourself and those around you? Works for me.
Yeaaaay! A voice of reason!
Brakeleen sure does work, and work well — but is it worth the potential environmental/internal health damage? The other (safer) products you mentioned only require a hair more elbow grease, and using something safer does EVERYBODY good!!!
That’s easy to say from the front porch in sunny, warm Florida, isn’t it?
It was below freezing, and for what it’s worth, you don’t really breathe the stuff when you’re outdoors unless you’re trying to. In the spring, it’s relaxing to tear the bike apart on the lawn and tear into it. In the great plains, you try to get ‘er done as quick as you can when it’s cold outside, though. For that, brakleen is the hot ticket.
I’ve used that before, works great but it’s really toxic. Be sure to take the sprockets off of your freehub (unless you really want a new one) and keep it away from plants and wildlife. The grass still hasn’t grown back from where I over sprayed 2 summers ago.
You know, you can use it very, very sparingly. You don’t need to drench anything. Like I said, Brakleen is meant to remove stuff that’s so gunky there’s absolutely no way your bike’s grime stands a chance against the solvents. Also, I used newspaper under it to catch the overspray, but most of the solvent ended up getting wiped off of the cluster with the grime while I used the rag.
Noah, that’s not really true — I used Brakkleen on a grimy old freewheel fairly recently, and it wouldn’t touch the gummy, waxy residue that really old White Lightning leaves behind. A few minutes of scrubbing with a toothbrush and a shot of Park Tool’s non-toxic citrus chain degreaser made that freewheel clean enough to eat off! Even better, the citrus degreaser can go down the sink drain with little ill effect.
Also, much of the Brakleen solvent evaporates into the atmosphere before it ever drips onto the ground — and that ain’t good for anybody!
I guess I’m just saying that such solvents DO have their purpose for some chores, but it’s better for everyone involved (including YOUR liver and kidneys) to try safer products first. A little extra elbow grease with a safer product sure beats a malfunctioning liver…
Finish Line’s speed degreaser works just as well, and claims to be safer also. It’s more pricey at 12$ for 17oz, but it’ll last a good while.
I usually just use Dawn dish detergent to degrease my stuff. If I need something heavier duty I’ll break out the citrus degreaser or Simple Green.
There is a “California formula” Brakleen that has different chemicals, isn’t *as* toxic, and works just as well. I got my discs sparkly clean using that, and it worked great on my scummy drivetrain too.
Brake Cleaner precautions: Contains Perchloroethylene (CAS# 127-18-4) and carbon dioxide(124-38-9). Contents under pressure. Do not place can on hot surfaces or in direct sunlight which could cause can to burst violently and cause serious injury. Do not breathe asbestos, dust particles, or vapors. Use only in a well-ventilated area, open doors and windows to prevent vapor build up. NIOSH approved respirator recommended; may be required for professional users; consult MSDS for exposure limits. Mechanical ventilation may be necessary to prevent a hazardous concentration of vapors if more than one container is used in less than a 15-minute period. INHALING CONCENTRATED VAPORS, INTENTIONALLY OR OTHERWISE, CAN CAUSE PERMANENT ORGAN DAMAGE OR CAN BE FATAL. Avoid contact with eyes, skin or clothing. Remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Remove contact lenses before use. Skin absorption through prolonged or repeated contact can result in organ damage. Wear chemical goggles and solvent proof gloves and apron. Wash thoroughly after handling. This product is non-flammable. Do not use in confined spaces such as basements, engine compartments of boats and vans where vapors may collect. Adequate ventilation must be maintained under all circumstances.
This stuff will also dissolve any lubricant that it contacts i.e. wheel bearings derailed. It is hell on paint and other finishes. Rips your skin eyes, lungs, liver and might cause you to have one-eyed babies. Spray a big ol’ cloud in the air, breath deep… Who needs all those brain cells anyway?
So wait, this is posted on Blue Collar MTB, Blue Collar right? So using something that most blue collar people who do as much work on their own bike as they do on there cars, would have readily available in their garage, is now an horrible thing and an environmental issue?
Lets see, use a quick spray of the stuff that costs a few bucks, and oh looky there, its already on my shelf at home, or go buy some fancy Park citrus environmentally friendly degreaser. Who knows how environmentally unfriendly it is to produce distribute and package, but it costs more and it says its good for the environment, so that must make it the best solution huh.
Get over it, its cheap, extremely effective, and when used sparingly, or at all when used correctly, causes less harm that it did to produce the electricity to power my computer and house while I typed this, and all of yours while you read this.
I wasn’t going to say it, but there you go. Spending $12 for 14 ounces of uber-swanky eco-smug cleaner doesn’t seem terribly blue collar to me. Using the 16 ounce can of stuff I had laying around (and would eventually use next time I do brakes on a car anyways) made a lot more sense. And yes, it’s $2 at the local Wal-…. err I’d better not even say that word. The eco-roadies might beat me down.
I live in New England so I know a little about bad weather and dirty cassettes and chains and what I am about to tell you is by far the easiest and “CHEAPEST” way to maintain a cassette and chain. First of all go to a super market and buy a brass grill cleaning or pot cleaning brush, a smaller one not a huge one. Second step is to go and buy some White Lightning chain wax. The stuff is not that expensive and a 4 oz bottle last a six months. Now go ride your bike and get it dirty. Take it inside and let it dry. Get your brass brush and scrub your chain and cassette being sure to get all four sides of the chaln while pedaling the bike also be sure to shift to get under the chain on the cassette and don”t forget the chainrings. NO DEGREASER NEEDED (if your chain is gummed up with some type of oil or sludge you will need to degrease it ONE time and BTW the Brake Cleaner is great for this). You will now see that you have a nice clean dry drivetrain. Now apply the White Lightning to your chain, this is not oil it is wax so it will not attract dirt and grit it has just the opposite affect by shedding as it gets dirty. You will need to apply slightly more often than an oil based product but because you use the brush and it sheds dirt it will be much kinder to your drivetrain and prolong its life this is why it’s cheap. Have you priced a cassette, chain and chainring lately? I’d say about $100 minimum at a discount.
Now for the discaimer: No I do not work for white lightning and the regular White Lightning is fine you don’t need the bad conditions product that they sell. On wet dirty rides do this every one to two rides and in the dry conditions you can stretch it out to every four rides or so( when it is dry you will hear and feel your chain dry out, it gets louder… pay attention). Finally if you do this, and BTW it literally takes three minutes with the bike hanging from the rafters in your garage, YOU WILL DOUBLE THE LIFE OF YOUR DRIVETRAIN. And it will be clean and silky smooth until it is a stretched out shark toothed mess. Good Luck .
Fred
Dish soap is cheap, as are brushes. With the two I can get the meaningful gunk out of the way. I’ll deal with a less than rapper grill sparkly drivetrain if it means I get to skip caustic, carcinogenic fumes. I’m just sayin’.
How do you whiners clean your bathrooms? I hope where ever all of you that complain about this don’t work at any place that cleans their floors, or uses any kind of chemicals for any of their processes besides your precious enviro-friendly chemicals.
If you ever take your car to a dealership, or any garage and get it serviced, shame on you. You probably shouldn’t take it to a car wash either, better wash it yourself at home. There are probably thousands of everyday things you assholes do that are for more harmful than the miniscule amount of fumes that are given off by the small amount of brake cleaner it would take to clean a cassette.
It’s a cheap, quick, and incredibly effective tip, if you don’t like it, don’t do it, but none of the alternatives that have been posted have been as cheap, as quick, nor as effective.
This is one of the only things that I really hate about the mountain bike scene, the self righteous, pompous asses who think they are the cure for global warming.
This tip sure pushed a few buttons.
I just use a small amount of mineral turpentine and an old paintbrush in an ice cream tub.
Works well on chains and cassettes and no need for rags. The tub goes in the recycling bin afterwards to keep the greenies happy and I put the brush aside and use it next time.
I have been using White Lightning to oil my chain and all the other moving parts on my bike for a few weeks and before i get to attached to it i wanted to know - what do you (all) think about it as a product?
When i clean my chain i dont take the bike apart i just use some brushes with some degreaser and then rinse it all off regrease and then run it through all the gears.
(FYI- I use my bike (a Cannondale F5) at work. I am a Security Officer at a college campus in south Florida and we are near the water so we have to contend with salt water and sea spray)