gb506
06-14-2003, 08:46 PM
I was at the bike shop today getting some spark plugs and I saw a product called The Grunge Brush on the rack. It looked like a specifically designed solution to the unpleasant and perhaps dangerous (depending on how you do it) task of cleaning your chain. So I plunked down the 15 bucks and brought it home. Fifteen dollars is about 50% more than you'd pay online, but what the hell, you gotta support your local shop when you can.
I clean my chain every time I wash my bike, which is usually after every ride. I let it slide once in a while, but not often. I used to use a bristle brush and simple green, but the bristles on the brushes would not get all the gunk. There was always some left over dirt/grease residue. I like to be able to use my drying towel on the whole bike without getting any grease or dirt on it. Anal? Yeah, probably. But what else do I have to do...
Anyway, The Grunge Brush is great because is cradles the chain from any direction you want, so you can effectively clean the whole chain from one spot. The bristles are stiff enough to get all the grime but not hard enough to harm the o-rings.
I used some of the "environmentally friendly" degreaser that is included with the brush and the combo worked perfectly. The frickin chain came out sparkling - no dirt or grease left in the crevices, and the rear sprocket was clean as hell. No dirt ring around the sprocket, nothing. Excellent.
I wholeheartedly recommend The Grunge Brush for chain cleaning. It makes the task easy and the results are superb. Now your chain can look brand new all the time, too.
BTW, the pic below shows my chain after I cleaned it with The Grunge Brush. The chain has 11,700 miles on it, about half of them in winter/spring salt/dirt conditions.
Later.
Product:
http://homepage.mac.com/brickl/tgb.jpg
And my chain post cleaning:
http://homepage.mac.com/brickl/tgb-c.jpg