The Pontificato

Just received a Finish Line Chain Cleaner (their 2nd gen. model) and thought I'd share my experiences.

Very easy to use. Very little "drippage" and got the chain clean in short order. Unit fits easily over the chain and requires very little tension to make it work.

The only thing I had problems with was the "ergo handle". It only fits onto the chain cleaning unit a certain way and there were no directions nor pictures in the user's manual. There is an arrow on the handle itself but I didn't see it until after I tried to attach the handle the wrong way and broke off most of both the attachment bracket rails. No big deal. You don't really need the handle (directions say it's optional) and I used some gap-filling superglue (Zap-A-Gap) to permanently attach it.

Kit comes with a 4 oz. bottle of Eco2 degreaser (good for 8 cleanings) and a 2 oz. bottle of Teflon Dry Lube.

I used the degreaser first, then used water mixed with Dawn dishwashing detergent. Finally, plain water. (the "Dawn treatment" helps clean out the chain cleaner). dry chain with a shop rag and a little compressed air, then lube and wipe off excess.

Other than the minor issue with the handle, very pleased with the product. I'll be interested to see how it holds up against heavy, regular use.

Lurker1999

Does anyone have any long term experience with this Finish Line Chain Cleaner? I'm thinking of picking one of these up and then using it with simple green. Basically I don't want to mess with taking the chain off the bike since it'll likely deter me somewhat from frequently cleaning the chain.

Will it work with Triflow lubricant?

How does it compare vs. the Park chain cleaner?

froze

I've been using the FinishLine product for years, both the cleaner and the Teflon Dry Plus. I have never used any other solution to clean out the Chain Cleaner fluid off the chain because it evaporates! And if there is some residue left it doesn't hurt the chain or the way the Teflon lube works.

The Chain Cleaner works very well and is biodegradeable. I use the cleaner in FinishLines chain cleaning machine which also performs very well, in fact I now only remove the chain once a year for deep cleaning but even then very little comes off. I have used other cleaning methods and products and mostly these products are all the same. I use their solvent because I use their cleaning machine and not sure if using straight solvent would damage the machine; but regular solvent, even though very strong, is not biodegradeable and can damage paint thus I would have to remove the chain to clean it and I'm old and too lazy to want to that much anymore!

The Teflon Dry Plus lube is one of the best out there. When you apply it though you need to wait about 12 hours for it to dry on the chain before using the bike; this is true of most bike lubes though. The lube lasts longer then any other product I've tried, though I admit I haven't try every lube on the market; and it way outlast any wax based lube on the market.

mcoomer

The only problem that I've ever had with chain cleaners is the sponges that wipe the chain down as it's leaving the chain cleaner. Those foam pads always get shredded after being used for awhile. I wish they would just put bristle brushes there.

froze

FinishLine doesn't use any foam sponges thus nothing sheds unlike the Park; mine is 4 years old and still going strong.

This is an update to my above comments. Unfortunately BOTH Park and FinishLine have gone to sponges when they "updated" their products. I'm not sure why they did that, especially FinishLine when the older model that I have works great and lasts a long time; maybe these companies want us to buy replacement stuff more frequently. I did not see any replacement sponge pads on either web site, so I can only assume they want you to buy a whole new chain cleaner when the old unit is worn out.

I sent FinishLine an e-mail concerning this.

Al1943

I've used the Finishline cleaner for one year and like it. I had one of the earlier Park cleaners and threw it out after two tries. The Finishline solvent worked fine but I switched to paint thinner due to availability (gallon can in my garage) plus I prefer using oil based products on my chains. The sponge material quickly wore out but this only caused some dripping which I considered inevitable anyway. The bristle brushes do the cleaning and are holding up well. This doesn't look like a product that will last forever but I feel like I've already got my money's worth and it's still working very well. I like it.

Al

billallbritten

My Pedros doesn't have sponges.

Bill

lsits

I have the Park Cyclone. I use Simple Green. It works ok I guess. It's definitely better than what I was using before (an old toothbrush). I run simple Green through once, and then fill the cleaner with water and run it again (three times). Then I wipe it down with a clean rag and let it air dry for about 45 minutes. Then I lube it up with Boeshields (sp?). It's gotta be better than what I see on quite a few bikes. I was on a club ride yesterday and saw some drive trains that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in years.

froze

After studying this subject further, I wouldn't use any product that used foam to clean the chain, because after time the solvent and the abrasion of the chain will degrade it to a point where it would leave behind particles of foam on the chain...this is not acceptable.

I looked into the Pedros Chain cleaning machine and it appears not use any foam. Having no experience with the actual unit however it does seem to be better then either the Park or the Finish Line at this point. When my Finish Line breaks I'll be looking into the Pedros. Not sure if their solvent is as good as Finish Lines though, but it is biodegradeable like the Finish Line.

https://www.pedros.com/frame.aspx?url...kits.html?shop