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Degreasers that are safe for chain guides?

Fraz

Chimp
Jul 3, 2011
9
0
So its come to my attention that the use of certain chain lubes and citrus degreasers on the polycarbonate plastics we find on our chain guides from E.13 and MRP are forbidden. Embarrassingly I have been using Prolink ProGold chain lube and weldtite citrus degreaser. :doh:

Learn something new everyday i suppose. Anyway, It looks like Ill have to change to an approved chain lube which is no problem. But can anyone recommend a safe degreaser that i can use with my Park tool chain scrubber?
 

roel_koel

Monkey
Mar 26, 2003
278
1
London,England
in our workshop we have a Rozone "green cleaning" machine that uses enzyme based environmentally friendly degreaser, does not seem to have any adverse effects on plastics.

at home I just use washing-up liquid (for the kitchen sink) and have been using this on chain-device based bikes for many years, with warm water and an old toothbrush, never had any issues and always have a nice clean drivetrain using this method!
 

staike

Monkey
May 19, 2011
247
0
Norway
I've been using Prolink and Dirtwash, never had any kind of problems with the chainguides (E.13 LG1 and MRP G2) due to that. What was "supposed" to happen when you use the "forbidden" stuffz?
 

Fraz

Chimp
Jul 3, 2011
9
0
Its not like my e.13 guides have gone brittle, cracked, melted, or completely failed under use or anything. But I have spotted a small crack around some of the bolts, which at first I thought was from over tightening (being plastic i figured that would be easy to do) but after seeing these articles about approved and unapproved lubes and so on, on both the MRP and E.13 websites has got me thinking otherwise. Good to hear that some of you guys are using anything and even the same stuff as i am on your guides and not having any problems. Maybe its just my overuse of the Allen key.
 

vikingboy

Monkey
Dec 15, 2009
212
2
my mate has exactly the problem you describe, cracks around bolts but his is really bad, cracked through the whole plastic and he had to replace. He was using a mucoff.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
I used Prolink progold for a while and it led to me needing a new bashguard and parts tree for my E13 SRS about 6 years ago. Its the mineral spirits in the lube. Cracks formed around the bolt holes and the wear plates started disintegrating.
I've never seen any problems from citrus degreaser use though.
 

NoahColorado

Chimp
Nov 23, 2008
2
0
I worked as the main warranty guy at MRP for about 9 months (still work there, just focused on marketing/sponsorship now) - so here's what I know. I would always ask for pictures of failed guide pieces, and surprise-surprise, 99% of the time they had similar cracking around bolt holes - a tell-tale sign of caustic lube/degreaser degradation. I think the bottom line is: be careful when you're applying lube/degreaser to your bike, stay away from spray stuff, don't let lubes or degreasers "sit" on parts - wipe them off, and try to keep it off parts that don't need it. We have some more detailed info on our site here.

We recently started to test the guide parts with various lubes/degreasers. We're testing bike-specific lubes and cleaners as well as readily available stuff from general stores. We douse the part in the product and then let it sit.

This is the worst offender so far. This is Jig-a-loo.....just say no.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
The biggest killers are mineral spirits / mineral oils and loctite. So as long as you are using simple / gentle biodegradable degreasers (like someone above, I too use washing up liquid), I doubt you'll have a problem. Loctite will actually eat away at plastic, best case is significant weakening - so it is best to avoid it.

For chain lubes, I think it's worth consulting the e.13 recommended lubricants list - I'm using Pedros SynLube off that list. In a pinch, any fully-synthetic oil will probably do the trick, but better safe than sorry.

As for bolt holes cracking, I have seen this happen from impacts only (all lubrication and torque guidelines followed). But in general, overtorquing is a common cause - just as likely a culprit as cleaners / lubricants.
 

PhilipW

Monkey
Mar 13, 2007
311
0
Leominster, MA
The biggest killers are mineral spirits / mineral oils and loctite. (...)

But in general, overtorquing is a common cause - just as likely a culprit as cleaners / lubricants.
I agree completely, and Noah hit things spot on. Watch your torque specs, and keep to good techniques when lubing/degreasing and you'll have a better experience overall. With intentional contamination and repeated direct impact, it could be a matter of days (worst case scenario). On average, issues would start to show later down the road, usually in a month or two...again in my personal experience.
 

dhmtbj

Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
467
1
Boston
I'm a bit late to the party but came across this thread and wanted to offer some information related to Pedro's offerings. I've been using Pedro's products and e13 bashguards since 2002. I believe my current bashguards are from 2005 or 2006 so they've seen plenty of abuse and exposure. Without trying to be overly spammy, I'm happy to report that I have used the entire Pedro's bike care lineup on my e13 bashguards without any issues. This includes all of the current lubricants (Syn Lube, Chainj, Go!, and Ice Wax 2.0), our Green Fizz bike wash which is a mild detergent based cleaner, Bike Lust polish, and Pro J and Oranj Peelz degreasers. The only one I would be careful using is the Oranj Peelz, as it does contain a small amount of mineral spirits. That said, I've used Oranj Peelz without issue making sure to rinse it off immediately. Hope this info is helpful!
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
I do believe Synlube is the only approved Pedro's chain lube on the current e13 list (I've been using it with no problems). Perhaps there are petroleum / mineral oils in the other chain lubes? Or perhaps just not tested - either way, to be safe I'd stick with the known good product.