More Information
 On: 2005-12-31
The typical tool for cleaning your bikes drivechain is old toothbrushes, and rags or paper towels for your frame. Its time consuming but worth it for the performance difference and the look of the bike.
But if you want to be done with this task in no time, and do a better job of it besides, get this brush set.
Ive bought a bag full of special brushes, and always went back to toothbrushes, until I bought this set. I no longer use toothbrushes at all and even in this set I rarely use the toothbrush style scrubber.
Brush by brush:
Frame brush--the most useful of all. Not only does it allow you to clean the whole bike easily during big time cleanings, its great for when you just arrived home from a dirty ride. Hose or bucket and just brush down the whole bike--spokes, rims, bar, cranks, rims, tires and all. Particularly for those who have roommates, parents, or spouses that complain about keeping the bike inside--living room in my case--because its dirty, now theyll have nothing to complain about.
Fro Brush (dont know what else to call it)--reach behind that set of front sprockets and scrub-scrub-scrub. Easy clean. Then do the back of the derailer, and between the chainstays--bottom, hard-to-reach part of the frame. Instantly grime free.
Toothbrush sort of brush--Good for the derailers if theyve got baked on mud, but Id rather not have that brush used on finished surfaces. For your chain, Finish Line also makes my other favorite brush--the Grunge Brush, nothing better.
Spiral straight brush--the second most useful brush. Go ahead, shove it in those little places no other brush can reach; those spots that have always been grimy until now. Makes them clean as the day the bike was made.
Straight, Chinese caligraphy style brush--cant say Ive found a use for this one, but you never know. Seems every other brush you buy for cleaning bikes comes with one of these, so it must have some kind of purpose.
I think thats all of them.
And since kids in particular wonder what to clean their bike with when theyre parents wont buy that expensive degreaser from the bike shop, heres a tip.
Use what the professionals use--Simple Green or just plain Dawn Dishwashing Liquid. The degreaser from the store can be too harsh if not diluted but dish soap will do the same job on the rest of the bike. You can also dilute plain kitchen degreaser--a 50/50 mix with water.
For shining the bike up and protecting it from sticky grime--particularly the frame--nothing beats bike frame wax from the store or particularly Finish Line Pro Detailer (which you can even use on shoes), but plain car wax or pre-waxed car wipes will do the job just great.
One can of Pro Detailer will last you a year though and you can spray it on absolutely everything--even cables. Since its both clear and slick, it works kind of like Scotch Guard (only better) and lube for the cables in addition to preventing any build up of mud during a truly dirty ride.
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