ok so the guy i got my bike from says he's always used brake cleaner to clean the chain with.....I've heard this is not right but thought i'd ask in the best place to get good answers...here. So thanks for your help once again

 

I wouldnt use it. The best thing I have found is SimpleGreen. Just duluet (sp) it and spray it on let it set about a min. use a scrub brush to get the hard stuff then just spray off. I use it on my wheels , chain , sprocket, rearsets , undertail, the stuff works and its cheap.

 

I clean the chain and serious road gunk with WD-40, scrub it off, wipe it off, clean itm then lube/wax the chain. Works for me.

 

+1 on Simple Green, I use it on the entire bike!!!

 

Honda makes a Brake and Contact Cleaner that they recommend using to clean the chain. It is a special formula that doesn't corrode rubber.

 

Its totally fine to use. We cant keep enough of it in the garage. Simple green is good also, biodegradable and all. But, nothing cleans grease like brake parts cleaner!!

 

I have an epoxy painted garage floor, this is what brake-parts cleaner did to after 1 brake job on my car.




Brake parts cleaner eats paint and can destroy rubber. - Therefore I don't use it for anything other than "brake parts".

The best stuff ever (and you can quote me on this) is WD-40 and a tire scrubber. Spray it on, and scrub away. You're chain is going to look like bling. lol. I always clean the chain before I wash the bike (so overspray and gunk will be washed off later).

Simple green is freaking awesome and is safe for the environment, I would use that in the fully undiluted dark-green state (quicker penetration of gunk and grime).

 

Ive never seen it eat rubber, what about the rubber brake lines?

The stuff evaporates within a minute of being sprayed. I watch mechanics spray it all over an engine compartment to clean and look for a vacuum leak. Never once seen it do any damage of the sort.

 

look on the side of the can. there's a warning about rubber.

 

Anyone ever used denatured alcohol? Good for grease on metal, but no surfactants for dirt. Not sure on rubber.