''Other than the fact that this flys in the face of being "Green" - is there any reason why one should not do this?''

Yes there is. It's because it's really stupid! All you need is Simply Green and you'll clean your chain as well as anything.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

There are a lot of commercial chain cleaners that work as well (some better) and are less dangerous to deal with. Local bike shop can point you in right direction. I use mineral spirits (no exactly kool-aid, but better than gasoline IMO).

Awesome. Thanks. I knew I could find someone with a strong opinion one way or the other.

I'm with Sweeney - I use Simple Green. Big spray bottle used to lots of household chores. Cuts the grease awesome and is cheaper than bike shop stuff (although I love the smell of Pedros Orange Peelz citrus degreaser).

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

You are leaving out a key step. After you let it soak for awhile, you stretch it out in the open air and light it on fire. Burns off all the grease. And maybe the neighborhood.

;-)

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**************
Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

Bio Micro works great as well. Much better than Simple Green in my opinion.

Bio Micro:

Thanks, always looking for cheap, multi use degreasers, but never heard of it!

Is this a Viking only kind of preparation? ;-)

At least it has the "eco friendly" name part down like Simple Green

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

"I knew I could find someone with a strong opinion one way or the other."

Your liver has a strong opinion also and will thank you for staying away from gasoline. No matter what you use, keep your skin and lungs protected as well as possible.

Kerosene might have been a good idea in 1950. Gasoline never a good idea. These are fuels, not cleaning agents. Lots of less toxic, less flammable options now.

There's only one way to clean a chain. Brought to us by the revered master Sheldon Brown:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

I'm a no on simple green, far far far too weak and tedious. The chain wears between the pins and rollers, and if you want or think you need a really clean chain, you gotta get the grit out of there. Otherwise you are just doing cosmetics. Simple green just doesn't cut it for me, at least, not fast enough. It MIGHT look clean on the outside, but when you think you are done with the SG, go ahead and clean it again in something a ton stronger, like Pedros citrus or the kerosene or gasoline (once, just to prove it) if you REALLY want to see what SG left behind. You will have lots of black stuff, and probably ditch the SG.

Paul.

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ErgVideo.com

Nope - Simple Green works just fine (I also use Pedros Orange Peelz as I mentioned above). Use an old toothbrush to "work it in" after I run it through the Park Tools chain scrubber (with Simple green in there). Then I can just dump the SG wherever ;-) Clean as a whistle then - although I buy a new chain at end of each winter before Spring anyway. Broke a chain once in a road race and I'll never do that again!

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

that's classic stuff ! thanks for the link.....

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what means this word 'change'? .....
Rappstar

do I need 2 kits for a tandem ?

Wow! I started thinking to myself "Crap, I would just buy a new chain." Then I finished reading. Great post by the late great Mr. Brown.

Ditto, gasoline from the lawn mower can is a step above and beyond SG or Pedros, no comparison. The crap deep in the chain (where the real friction comes from) requires a solvent more than a "degreaser". I run the chain through a Park washer with SG, then take it apart and soak it in gas for about 5 minutes then scrub it with a brush. I really only wash my bike 3-4 times a year, usually before an IM.

I also use gasoline (from an open bowl with old toothbrushes) on my cassettes, chainring, cranks, and brake pivot points. Call me crazy, but my now 6 year old bike still Q's Kona a few times a year with just about all the original equipent and looks pretty good (after the washdown;-). Of course I wash it all down with SG (or Zed from HomeDepot) after the gas work to make sure the chemicals are off it.

As for environment, I simply let the pint of gas I use evaporate in its open stainless bowl container and wipe out the residue in the bowl with a paper towel and toss it. Not very damaging to the enviroment, about what happens when I mow an acre of grass with a 2-stroke.

Good question. I've recently started cleaning mine with white spirit or turps in my Pedros chain cleaner. Seems to get way more dirt out than the Pedros citrus clean stuff and is a fraction of the cost. I can get a 2litre bottle of either of those for about the same price as a tiny bottle of Pedros Citrus. As for the environment, well I think it is also more eco friendly as I'm not consuming loads of little plastic bottles like I would be with Pedros. After I've cleaned it I run the chain through soapy water in the chain cleaner, dry it then lube it.

A can of "Gunk" brand engine degreaser from Wally World works very well. Quick and clean.

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1*

I agree on not using SG. If you have a Wipperman chain, it could be a disaster.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1233169

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=989676

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Rich G.
Proud member of the Geritol wave!

The proper way to "gas" a chain is not with gasoline but with diesel fuel. Soaking it and letting it air dry will get your chain de-mucked and leave a light coat of oil (from the diesel) on the entire chain. Without a way to recycle it like a shop would have, it's not the way to go for the earth conscious home job.

I've been using simple green for years and it works great in combination with the Park Tool chain cleaner gadget.

What a lot of people do is cover their chain with so much lubricant that it mucks up really bad on the first ride. Take the time to clean a cahin and then lubricate every pin individually with a drop of lubricant. Sure it takes 30 seconds to do, but you don't end up with an oil covered chain that's asking for dirt to come hither.

Dave

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

Mineral spirits is probably a safer alternative to gas and kerosene. At harbor freight you can buy a solvent tank for around $30 that has an electric pump that circulates the solvent over your parts. A couple of gallons will last years if all you use it for is bicycle parts. Seems more environmentally friendly than washing all that stuff down the drain, even if it is bio-degradable. The stuff that washes off your dirty parts is not bio-degradable, as it's a mixture of heavy metals, petroleum products and dirt.

RichG wrote:
I agree on not using SG. If you have a Wipperman chain, it could be a disaster.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1233169
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=989676

Interesting info on Simple Green. Thanks for saving those links.

:) Pun intentional.

Wait, I have a better one ...

"Simple Green. It's neither."

Or perhaps ...

"Headline: Simple Green linked to premature chain failure."

Arrrrgh ... somebody shoot me and put me out of my misery.

Dan

Just don't soak your chain for a long time in Simple Green. There was a post about an article a while back on how it was caustic or something and the links broke.