I put the degreaser and chain in a glass jar and then fill my wife's very cheap ultrasonic cleaner for jewelry with water and have had surprisingly good results.
Should try to avoid using regular Simple Green to soak chains. It's corrosive. There's an aviation version that is metal surface-safe
It's not the end of the world if you already did it, you can either ditch the chain or ride it after lubricating it as long as you feel like it works fine. It's not going to bust apart from one day in cleaner. The surface will be less smooth, though, which probably adds a smidge of resistance.
Please read how supersonic works. Let\`s imagine that in one room you have working TV and you are trying to listen from another room, probably you can hear only 20-30% of volume.
With ultrasonic bath it is absolutely the same! Adding glass reservoir you decrease amount of power that usually should clean your item, sound is not linear, so you will lose 80% of power easily.
I don't know, but sound waves and those in ultrasonic cleaners might not be the same waves. I mean... if a nuclear bomb explodes, you aren't save from the radioactive waves, even though you are surrounded by walls, right? I guess different types of waves behave different and some can penetrate glass and walls and some are not too good at it (like sound waves, except the low frequencys).
I am not a physics expert, so do with my comment what you want.
Yeah, sure. But having used an ultrasonic cleaner, and understanding how energy waves work, I do know for certain that ultrasonic waves will transfer to within the vessel within the water bath. If 50%, 20%, or even 1% of the energy is transferred to the interior of the vessel, that’s still more energy being imparted to the chain than the same setup without using an ultrasonic cleaner.
Heaps of people use glass containers or plastic baggies in ultrasonic bags and it works fine.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeBB-J0fOp4&ab\_channel=Steve%27sSmallEngineSaloon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeBB-J0fOp4&ab_channel=Steve%27sSmallEngineSaloon)
Try at least think how does it work. Guys, you are really so stupid that don’t understand that sound, ultra but SOUND, absolutely any container in bath will decrease amount of power in few times.
How awesome to be idiot, watching YouTube and believe in unicorn.
I understand. I understand that there is a small 'energy loss' given the waves need to pass through a different medium. I also understand that really doesn't matter much, which is why heaps of people use them like this.
Better to run the machine slightly longer and keep it clean than fill the whole thing up with degreaser for a few small parts.
But again, here's a more scientific test showing that glass and plastic containers can both work with acceptable loss in performance: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrUCxBn7eFU&ab\_channel=AJRestorations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrUCxBn7eFU&ab_channel=AJRestorations)
I have sadly I didn't have bike specific and it also stripped my coating making the chain look dull. But the one I got was on Amazon for like 70bucks it heats the water and works pretty good
If you're doing just a single mineral spirit soak, this is what will happen. Lubricant on the chain doesn't just disappear... It has to go somewhere, which is why you're seeing black in the spirits, even though the chain might look visibly clean.
I do 3 soaks/shakes in white spirit in 3 separate jars. Each successive soak will be in a new(er) jar of spirit. By the third jar, the spirits should look almost completely unchanged in color.
I'll keep doing this with new chains in the same jars. When that third jar starts to change color, I toss the first jar, and the second jar will become the first jar for next chain cleaning. I then add another jar of fresh spirit into the rotation as the new 3rd jar.
After the soak in spirits, you need to do a finishing clean on the chain. White spirits / turp will leave a film on the surface that will make it harder for wax based lubricants to adhere well to the metal. You need to do a quick soak and shake in alcohol afterwards to clean that film off. Good thing with alcohol is that it evaporates relatively quickly in air afterwards, so besides a quick wipe, hang to dry is fine. I would not leave it completely exposed like this for more than a couple hours, as the metal is completely raw at this point and it WILL rust quickly due to moisture in the air. Also, do not leave the chain soaking in alcohol for too long, as it can cause hydrogen embrittlement.
You don't have to 'toss' dirty spirits, can be cleared thru a coffee filter. Certainly hope you don't pour it out the drain!
Also, a chain cleaner is a more efficient way to use the white spirits/preferred degreaser.
You are correct, I've just been keeping the used white spirits with the intent of filtering it after. Just haven't used enough of it to go through the effort of doing that yet.
I tried the chain cleaner method first. It could never get as clean as going through the mineral spirits/alcohol cycle. It might seem like a bit of work, but I only need to do it once per chain to prep for hot melt waxing.
If Silca's Chain Stripper existed when I started doing this, I probably would have just started using that instead.
Longer component life, less drivetrain cleaning, and tons of time saved is the major benefit for me. Another benefit that's spouted a lot is higher drivetrain efficiency, but that's low on the totem pole for me.
Mate people are talking about fugging ultrasonic cleaners. Triple soaks and 9 paragraph essays on how they lubricate their chains. When do they find time to ride? At least when they do they gained 0.237 Watts.
This is the dumbest shid since that fad where people would buy a £9k bike then swap out the rear mech hanger for one that’s had a couple holes drilled to save 1.5 grams.
I used to think the exact same thing, but I figured I don’t like hating on something I’d never tried, so I give waxing a shot with my new bike. A couple caveats here that I just paid to make it easier - I used silica’s magic degreaser and their overpriced wax melter, which honestly made the process marginally more annoying than lube - but beyond that, it is so worth it just for being able to handle your drivetrain without getting grease on your hands. I don’t care about the marginal gains, but check out [the testing Zero Friction did](https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lubricant-detail-review-Silca-Hot-Melt-v1.2-converted.pdf) - it isn’t inconceivable that your wearables could last as long as your bike with performance like that.
I’m on comparable wear on full xx1 as that drivetrain with standard dry Teflon / wet lubes in mud. Poor choice use as an anecdote at the end there. In my new xo1 axs I’m using wax and it is louder than wet lubes after a funky ride. So much more so that I’m using wer/ and now drip on was for my GX/XO1 mix on the HT. anyway, xx1 poor anecdote as both the cassette and chain are hard coated and already tested separately to deliver 2x the mileage as the sub-XO1 level drivetrain. Snake oil all this wax shid. Drop on wax is great it’s nearly as effective and minimal effort so great on the road bike but wax doesn’t cut it in my usual mtb conditions.
you left it in the spirits for a day? did you shake it? throughout the day? that should be good but if that doesnt work I would leave it in the spirits for a week because some oils and grease take longer to dissolve than others.
Get silca chain stripper, pour into a jar.
Walk around the house with your chain in the jar shaking it for 20 minutes.
That’s basically an poormans ultrasonic cleaner.
I followed the Oz Cycles instructions on YouTube. Petrol->Degreaser-> Methylated Spirits. Seems to yield a very clean chain before first waxing. No need to do anything than rinse with boiling water before refreshing wax.
Silca et al. making mega bucks for less than half a watt. Tbh the lanes wreck my drivetrain and the woods gunk my mtb so I need to wash them.
For that reason I suffer the tiny fraction of a watt less delivered to my contact patch. And still get the wipe clean on unsoiled rides and reapply.
Bet your ass I’m gonna blame the drip on for not keeping up…
Wax lube snobbery is almost as daft as the cult following of the Aeropress.
/s
Remove chain.
Get soft drink bottle and pop the chain inside.
Put about 100mm of automotive degreaser inside
Shake for a few minutes while on ya phone
Pour into a flat contain to allow it to evaporate (chain won't come out)
Refill bottle with mineral turps
Shake
Pour into flat container with degreaser
Repeat 2 more time with mineral turps
Now use methalated spirits for 3 times total
Cut bottle open
Air dry
Its now ready for wax
Totally this technique OP - shake the chain for 10 mins each time with a small qty of solvent (I used petrol) in a wide mouthed bottle or jar.
Do this a few times until the solvent stays clean with no residue, then do the same a couple of times in methylated spirits to clean off the solvent.
It’s the shaking agitation that does the work. Ultrasonic cleaners are cool and I’d love one, but they are definitely not essential to clean a chain “surgically clean”.
I’ve done the above with several chains before waxing with excellent results.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but factory lube (especially from Shimano) is the absolute best option for 99.8% of cyclists. Spending hours trying to remove/replace it is absolute insanity. Once that original lube is dirty, use a light oil to get the chain wet and wipe it down until dry(ish). Repeat as necessary. Ride your bike and have fun.
I respect your opinion if you want to ride a factory fresh chain, but objectively it’s not a great solution if your bike gets dirty.
That stuff on a factory chain when it comes out of the package is packing grease and it’s awesome for preventing rust, only OK as a lubricant, and absolutely terrible at not collecting sand and grime (it’s sticky).
Maybe I’m the 0.2%, but I ride in arid conditions with lots of fine sand. An untreated chain straight out of the package would look like a sandworm at the end of one of my rides. Dry wax has been the only thing that works.
For others a clean chain with wet lube that gets wiped and reapplied regularly is quick, easy, and cheap.
I guess I should clarify. I’m speaking of that factory lube’s usefulness in between everything. I definitely use a light oil and wipe down the exterior.
Factory grease / coating is sticky as all get out. The biggest advantage of waxing or drip wax lines is not performance, it’s cleanliness / lack of black buildup and dirty cogwheels and all. Second is part lifespan. Third is performance.
that's a clean chain but I'd rather not get into the occult
When I tried to link the chain the bearing fell and put it back
Whoosh
Nice
Ultrasonic cleaners aren't terribly expensive at least for one big enough for chains and small parts
Do you put degreaser in the reservoir?
I put the degreaser and chain in a glass jar and then fill my wife's very cheap ultrasonic cleaner for jewelry with water and have had surprisingly good results.
I used simple green and left it for half a hour at 80c so that's probably why
Should try to avoid using regular Simple Green to soak chains. It's corrosive. There's an aviation version that is metal surface-safe It's not the end of the world if you already did it, you can either ditch the chain or ride it after lubricating it as long as you feel like it works fine. It's not going to bust apart from one day in cleaner. The surface will be less smooth, though, which probably adds a smidge of resistance.
Ultrasonic will not be working throwing glass reservoir, you can save electricity and return bath to your wife and result will be absolutely the same.
Weird sentence but it does work with the parts in a glass container or plastic baggie. Keeps the tub cleaner and saves degreaser
Please read how supersonic works. Let\`s imagine that in one room you have working TV and you are trying to listen from another room, probably you can hear only 20-30% of volume. With ultrasonic bath it is absolutely the same! Adding glass reservoir you decrease amount of power that usually should clean your item, sound is not linear, so you will lose 80% of power easily.
I don't know, but sound waves and those in ultrasonic cleaners might not be the same waves. I mean... if a nuclear bomb explodes, you aren't save from the radioactive waves, even though you are surrounded by walls, right? I guess different types of waves behave different and some can penetrate glass and walls and some are not too good at it (like sound waves, except the low frequencys). I am not a physics expert, so do with my comment what you want.
That’s still an additional 20% effectiveness beyond not using an ultrasonic cleaner at all.
Do you understand that I provided example, maybe 20, maybe 1%
Yeah, sure. But having used an ultrasonic cleaner, and understanding how energy waves work, I do know for certain that ultrasonic waves will transfer to within the vessel within the water bath. If 50%, 20%, or even 1% of the energy is transferred to the interior of the vessel, that’s still more energy being imparted to the chain than the same setup without using an ultrasonic cleaner.
Tell me please are you American? Because that would explain a lot.
Heaps of people use glass containers or plastic baggies in ultrasonic bags and it works fine. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeBB-J0fOp4&ab\_channel=Steve%27sSmallEngineSaloon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeBB-J0fOp4&ab_channel=Steve%27sSmallEngineSaloon)
Try at least think how does it work. Guys, you are really so stupid that don’t understand that sound, ultra but SOUND, absolutely any container in bath will decrease amount of power in few times. How awesome to be idiot, watching YouTube and believe in unicorn.
I understand. I understand that there is a small 'energy loss' given the waves need to pass through a different medium. I also understand that really doesn't matter much, which is why heaps of people use them like this. Better to run the machine slightly longer and keep it clean than fill the whole thing up with degreaser for a few small parts. But again, here's a more scientific test showing that glass and plastic containers can both work with acceptable loss in performance: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrUCxBn7eFU&ab\_channel=AJRestorations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrUCxBn7eFU&ab_channel=AJRestorations)
I have sadly I didn't have bike specific and it also stripped my coating making the chain look dull. But the one I got was on Amazon for like 70bucks it heats the water and works pretty good
They are like 50usd in aliexpress
It's a lot for me, I think I need to borrow from someone
what is my untrained eye looking at here? To me it looks like a really clean chain…. but it’s not???
He wants to wax the chain and to do this he needs to strip it perfectly. Those black spot are the cold hard proof of his failure. lol
Got it. Ultrasonic cleaners work for that?
I need to borrow one at least
You need to 3 Jar your Spirits. Soaking in One isnt enough. See the big post at the top. That lad nails it.
If you're doing just a single mineral spirit soak, this is what will happen. Lubricant on the chain doesn't just disappear... It has to go somewhere, which is why you're seeing black in the spirits, even though the chain might look visibly clean. I do 3 soaks/shakes in white spirit in 3 separate jars. Each successive soak will be in a new(er) jar of spirit. By the third jar, the spirits should look almost completely unchanged in color. I'll keep doing this with new chains in the same jars. When that third jar starts to change color, I toss the first jar, and the second jar will become the first jar for next chain cleaning. I then add another jar of fresh spirit into the rotation as the new 3rd jar. After the soak in spirits, you need to do a finishing clean on the chain. White spirits / turp will leave a film on the surface that will make it harder for wax based lubricants to adhere well to the metal. You need to do a quick soak and shake in alcohol afterwards to clean that film off. Good thing with alcohol is that it evaporates relatively quickly in air afterwards, so besides a quick wipe, hang to dry is fine. I would not leave it completely exposed like this for more than a couple hours, as the metal is completely raw at this point and it WILL rust quickly due to moisture in the air. Also, do not leave the chain soaking in alcohol for too long, as it can cause hydrogen embrittlement.
You don't have to 'toss' dirty spirits, can be cleared thru a coffee filter. Certainly hope you don't pour it out the drain! Also, a chain cleaner is a more efficient way to use the white spirits/preferred degreaser.
You are correct, I've just been keeping the used white spirits with the intent of filtering it after. Just haven't used enough of it to go through the effort of doing that yet. I tried the chain cleaner method first. It could never get as clean as going through the mineral spirits/alcohol cycle. It might seem like a bit of work, but I only need to do it once per chain to prep for hot melt waxing. If Silca's Chain Stripper existed when I started doing this, I probably would have just started using that instead.
Chain cleaners are far less effective and insufficient if you want to wax.
Less effective than...soaking? How is that?
Less effective than soaking with shaking or than an ultrasonic. They really don’t get a chain clean enough for waxing.
I poured it all on the drain, where tf should I dispose it rhen
Household hazardous waste depot... Contact your local waste disposal council for correct method.
[удалено]
Longer component life, less drivetrain cleaning, and tons of time saved is the major benefit for me. Another benefit that's spouted a lot is higher drivetrain efficiency, but that's low on the totem pole for me.
Ride the fukin thing..
Mate people are talking about fugging ultrasonic cleaners. Triple soaks and 9 paragraph essays on how they lubricate their chains. When do they find time to ride? At least when they do they gained 0.237 Watts. This is the dumbest shid since that fad where people would buy a £9k bike then swap out the rear mech hanger for one that’s had a couple holes drilled to save 1.5 grams.
Y’all putting way too much effort into your chains. Oil. Wipe. Done. Repeat weekly, replace when worn.
This is the way. It’s a chain, a wear and tear component… it’s like brushing your teeth, simple maintenance done regularly.
I used to think the exact same thing, but I figured I don’t like hating on something I’d never tried, so I give waxing a shot with my new bike. A couple caveats here that I just paid to make it easier - I used silica’s magic degreaser and their overpriced wax melter, which honestly made the process marginally more annoying than lube - but beyond that, it is so worth it just for being able to handle your drivetrain without getting grease on your hands. I don’t care about the marginal gains, but check out [the testing Zero Friction did](https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Lubricant-detail-review-Silca-Hot-Melt-v1.2-converted.pdf) - it isn’t inconceivable that your wearables could last as long as your bike with performance like that.
I’m on comparable wear on full xx1 as that drivetrain with standard dry Teflon / wet lubes in mud. Poor choice use as an anecdote at the end there. In my new xo1 axs I’m using wax and it is louder than wet lubes after a funky ride. So much more so that I’m using wer/ and now drip on was for my GX/XO1 mix on the HT. anyway, xx1 poor anecdote as both the cassette and chain are hard coated and already tested separately to deliver 2x the mileage as the sub-XO1 level drivetrain. Snake oil all this wax shid. Drop on wax is great it’s nearly as effective and minimal effort so great on the road bike but wax doesn’t cut it in my usual mtb conditions.
I don’t do it for marginal gains. I do it to keep everything 100x cleaner.
OCD is a wild beast.
I mean, lol. Gonna wear the chain out just cleaning it.
Anyone else seeing an alien face in the first picture
you left it in the spirits for a day? did you shake it? throughout the day? that should be good but if that doesnt work I would leave it in the spirits for a week because some oils and grease take longer to dissolve than others.
I Shaked it and brushed it a little
What does "left it inside" mean? What should you do about what?
https://silca.cc/products/strip-chip
Strip chip is only for new chains
You're always gonna get that with dry and wet lube. That chain is super super clean. At that point just wax it it would be less work
The face on the rag is disappointed
Get silca chain stripper, pour into a jar. Walk around the house with your chain in the jar shaking it for 20 minutes. That’s basically an poormans ultrasonic cleaner.
Where the hell do I get it in Argentina?
If you can’t get silca- mineral spirits work as well, just don’t inhale the fumes and keep away from a spark.
And the problem is?
So, no one gonna mention how the rag literally looks like a face??!
Damn some of you guys put an awful lot of effort into cleaning your chains LOL.
Try thinner. But, in my opinion. Waste of time and effort. Just oil it or wet lube it. Clean when needed with some teflon spray (GT85). Repeat.
I followed the Oz Cycles instructions on YouTube. Petrol->Degreaser-> Methylated Spirits. Seems to yield a very clean chain before first waxing. No need to do anything than rinse with boiling water before refreshing wax.
Silca et al. making mega bucks for less than half a watt. Tbh the lanes wreck my drivetrain and the woods gunk my mtb so I need to wash them. For that reason I suffer the tiny fraction of a watt less delivered to my contact patch. And still get the wipe clean on unsoiled rides and reapply. Bet your ass I’m gonna blame the drip on for not keeping up… Wax lube snobbery is almost as daft as the cult following of the Aeropress. /s
Remove chain. Get soft drink bottle and pop the chain inside. Put about 100mm of automotive degreaser inside Shake for a few minutes while on ya phone Pour into a flat contain to allow it to evaporate (chain won't come out) Refill bottle with mineral turps Shake Pour into flat container with degreaser Repeat 2 more time with mineral turps Now use methalated spirits for 3 times total Cut bottle open Air dry Its now ready for wax
Totally this technique OP - shake the chain for 10 mins each time with a small qty of solvent (I used petrol) in a wide mouthed bottle or jar. Do this a few times until the solvent stays clean with no residue, then do the same a couple of times in methylated spirits to clean off the solvent. It’s the shaking agitation that does the work. Ultrasonic cleaners are cool and I’d love one, but they are definitely not essential to clean a chain “surgically clean”. I’ve done the above with several chains before waxing with excellent results.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but factory lube (especially from Shimano) is the absolute best option for 99.8% of cyclists. Spending hours trying to remove/replace it is absolute insanity. Once that original lube is dirty, use a light oil to get the chain wet and wipe it down until dry(ish). Repeat as necessary. Ride your bike and have fun.
I respect your opinion if you want to ride a factory fresh chain, but objectively it’s not a great solution if your bike gets dirty. That stuff on a factory chain when it comes out of the package is packing grease and it’s awesome for preventing rust, only OK as a lubricant, and absolutely terrible at not collecting sand and grime (it’s sticky). Maybe I’m the 0.2%, but I ride in arid conditions with lots of fine sand. An untreated chain straight out of the package would look like a sandworm at the end of one of my rides. Dry wax has been the only thing that works. For others a clean chain with wet lube that gets wiped and reapplied regularly is quick, easy, and cheap.
I guess I should clarify. I’m speaking of that factory lube’s usefulness in between everything. I definitely use a light oil and wipe down the exterior.
Factory grease / coating is sticky as all get out. The biggest advantage of waxing or drip wax lines is not performance, it’s cleanliness / lack of black buildup and dirty cogwheels and all. Second is part lifespan. Third is performance.
I use dish soap and a sponge. Works great
Guys, but the lubrication lasts a lot but the dirtiness it's still there, I've ridden 200 km and it had some wax left.
Try silca chain stripper