Cleaning the chain

[oldbikah]

One handy thing I learned from my bike mechanic son is to take an old t-shirt or similar thing and tear off strips about 1-2 inches wide and about 12 inches long. (easier to use than a big rag or towel). Then slip the strip in between the rings on the cassette, and pulling back and forth gets out an amazing amount of stuff. Doing this occasionally makes it much less necesary to to the liquid cleaner thing very often. At that point, spraying the rags a little also helps. All this is easiest on a bike stand!
In really nasty cases, removing the chain and soaking in a big old coffee can before brushing is a lot nicer than doing it in dishpans or sinks!

[yellow]

Lise, the Park Tool website has really good info on bike maintenance. I use it all the time. They have a tutorial on how to clean your bike.

We also got the Park Tool Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair. I just looked and it has a whole chapter on cleaning!

I use oldbikah's trick too, 'cept I usually take the wheel off so I don't have other things in the way. It's a really good way to clean the casette.

[SadieKate]

Routine cleaning is outside. Spray down the drive train with Simple Green or something similar and then wash with soap (Lemon Joy) and water - NO PRESSURE and do not aim directly at openings.

Deep cleaning is done with the Park chain cleaner thingie and Park chain cleaner or the Pedro's equivalent. These cleaners is not as environmentally friendly as Simple Green but do a far better job.

Park Tool's website is great for directions and recommended tools. Ditto what yellow said.

All this is best done in your driveway on a sunny day with a friend. One washes bikes and one fixes and serves the Gin and Tonics, perferably Bombay Sapphire.