Best stuff for getting oil off chain ?

Minusorange · 8 Mar 2018 at 16:49

Trying to give my bike a clean but everytime I clean near the chain I'm somehow managing to smudge the black oil onto the white paint and it's ******* me off as my bike is looking less clean than before I began.

Preferably stuff that's safe to use on the frame to get rid of the new smudges too, I'm thinking to take the whole chain set off so I can clean the frame properly, clean the chain set then put it all back together fresh and clean or is this a bad idea ?

Minusorange · 8 Mar 2018 at 18:59

I'll have a look for a citrus cleaner then as I'd rather avoid the solvents with them not being bio friendly seen people suggest this stuff https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-heavy-duty-degreaser-5ltr/88668 doesn't say whether it's citrus based or solvent though

Minusorange · 8 Mar 2018 at 21:39

Bear said:
You can see what’s in it in the COSHH sheet under specification. Whatever is in it is nasty, warning that it is seriously damaging to eyes, don’t let it reach water course or the sewage system

None of them are toxic though, I just googled the ingredients they are found in household detergents, laundry detergent, shampoo, beauty cosmetics and strangely.... chicken nuggets, cat food and toothpaste so I'm assuming it's safe to wash down the drain, just not splash in my eyes or drink

Minusorange · 9 Mar 2018 at 17:41

Cheers for the responses, ended up going with https://www.screwfix.com/p/swarfega-oil-grease-remover-5ltr/20817 will post how it worked tomorrow when I use it, hopefully it'll do the job

Minusorange · 10 Mar 2018 at 01:23

Got an empty coffee jar I was going to use for holding it so I'll mix with some water, also bought a box latex gloves and a paintbrush to get it on as I don't fancy spraying/splashing it everywhere if it's only the chain set I want degreasing and the little part of frame/bottle holder I've managed to coat in oily residue from trying to clean without degreaser :confused:

Never knew cleaning a bike would require such research though, always in the past a rinse with soapy water seemed good enough but that was only for £100 cheapo bikes so didn't really care as much I do my more expensive one just got to hope the rain holds off long enough for me to get the chain sorted

Minusorange · 10 Mar 2018 at 21:50

Well the Swarfega stuff worked a charm, started off with diluted but ended up just using it neat as the gears needed it, now got a completely clean chain and gears, only thing I was missing was a crank removal tool so I could get at the part of the frame covered by the crank which is the most oily/dirty so I'll have to come back to that Monday when my tools arrive.

It's certainly been a great learning experience

Minusorange · 11 Mar 2018 at 14:02

jpaul said:
gears - you mean rear block / chainwheels - what utensil did you apply it with ?

The whole drivetrain, I've always called the cassette and crankset gears though, used a paintbrush to put the degreaser on

Minusorange · 14 Mar 2018 at 18:08

jpaul said:
ok this seemed a reasonable video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf80DnCgHRQ

I'll maybe get a dummy hub, unless I can think how to contrive one with an old skewer and roller of some kind.
I guess Morgan blue degreaser is not too noxious, given the bare hands, versus swarfega.

The dummy hub is really useful, I bought that same one he's using by Morgan Blue.

You can make your own too if you fancy saving a couple of £

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCP_A88wAqM

The swarfega stuff isn't noxious either, got some on my arms and they didn't peel or melt

Minusorange · 18 Mar 2018 at 18:08

A week and a bit later and I'm still working on this damn bike with moments where I've wanted to kick it and just buy a new one

Seems to be some issue with my hub it's no longer smooth spinning so looks like I need to get some more tools and grease so I can dismantle the hub to service it as I might have accidentally degreased the hub :confused:

hoping the bearings and cone are okay

Still at least I've got a clean bike and clean disc brakes and perfect indexing, hopefully the hub will be the last thing I need to service and at this rate I'll be able to open my own bicycle repair shop with the knowledge gained and tools I keep buying

Minusorange · 19 Mar 2018 at 17:45

Tried following this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PViSlroA1wc because it's the same hub

Ended up being not great and same gritty feeling as before I took it apart and cleaned so I've just gone with the easiest option of taking it to the local bike shop to see if they can do any better. I've probably just done one of the bolts too tight or not enough grease, but better to let the experts have a look

Minusorange · 22 Mar 2018 at 12:18

I'd put the axle back in the wrong way and tightened the cup screw too tight, still have a little resistance on the free hub part but nothing I can do about that as it's non serviceable.

Managed to get out last night and the bike feels so much better after the deep clean and service, switching from Wolverines to Hybrid travel contact tyres also made it a hell of a lot more speedy and responsive on the gravel/paved surfaces I go over on my current daily route

Minusorange · 22 Mar 2018 at 14:36

jpaul said:
hopefully they did not fleece you -

no oil hole ? maybe that's only on my older freewheel, just run oil through till clean - nothing better than the click of a newly saturated pawl

Nope no way to get at it unfortunately

The bike works better than before I took it all apart and cleaned it though so it's not something I'm going to worry about