Any Ultrasonic Cleaner Users In The House?

Wow.....0-0, I hope you left a similar AMZN review.   As Pilot Pete has given write up on the longevity of Smoovelube, I'll add a few lines on the Silica Super Secret.  Once your chain is clean, it's pretty easy to apply to each roller using the tube it comes in, or by tipping the lube into a plastic container and immersing the chain in it.  

Then you have to let it dry overnight. Once it's on the chain runs very quietly and the lube last 300-400 km easily (unless it's wet).  You'll hear the difference as it starts to wear out and then I just add a drop to each roller...and let it dry.  For this reason you'll get in the habit of doing this once you've finished your ride rather than before (which is when I used to do it). 

It's a faf compared to using oil, but I prefer having a clean drive chain. It's supposed to be more efficient too, but probably not in the real world. 

You should, it's valuable information. If someone had been altruistic enough to leave a review saying that the product didn't work, you'd have saved £80, no?  I should emphasis that wet weather seems to wash off the SSS wax.... 

I would imagine that if the cleaner doesn't clean an object in 45 minutes then there must be something wrong with it, no? Unless the chain was caked in Belgian toothpaste (a mix of oil and grit).  

Generally, with the smaller cleaners you still have to clean the chain first - and then use the cleaner to finish it off.  

A pity. Bad luck. I thought about one a while back. Pleased I didn't get one now.

Get a decent one - I got one from these people, who gave great advice:
https://www.allendale-ultrasonics.co.uk/

It doesn't work miracles - you'll still need to scrub a dirty cassette first - but it's brilliant for making things really squeaky clean in hard to reach places. The OH does her glasses in it - it gets dirt out of the edges which she can never otherwise shift.

I've looked at these previously and whilst I clean my drivetrain regularly and use Silca wax rather than oil I'm not overly convinced that:

a) you can buy a decent one for reasonable money (i.e. a multiple of the components you're trying to extend the life of - say £300);

b) that you can't clean your chain and cassette properly without an ultrasonic cleaner;

c) that spending sufficient on a decent cleaner appreciably extends the life of the equipment you're cleaning; and

d) that you can amortize the day one outlay against any cost savings over time (versus say throwing the components in a plastic bottle and giving them a good shake).  

I've scoured YouTube for proof and would love to be wrong, but as far as I can see it's marginal at best....

Hi 0-0, if you did order the £80 one from AMZN and it works, please let us know: £80 is a bearable cost.... £300 is less so.  I know that the larger industrial ones work as I used them in a previous career, but they are massive and expensive.

Nothing that can't be done with degreaser, a take away tub, an old paint brush and 10mins of effort. £8.99 for 5ltr of Screwfix No Nonsense Degreaser, nothing for the tub and the old paintbrush. Has kept my chains and cassettes spotless for years.

Even at £80, thats 45ltrs of degreaser. I find 5ltrs lasts me almost two years. That's 18 years worth of degreaser for the same cost. Plus, I don't have to remove the chain (with Shimano quick links you are not supposed to keep breaking and rejoining them), so don't get filthy and don't risk the joining link failing, or have to keep buying new ones. And it only takes 10mins.

I looked into ultrasonic cleaners but eventually decided they just weren't worth the outlay, the faff and weren't going to get my drivetrain any cleaner than I can with my method.

I instead spent my money on a pet dryer which blows hot air under high pressure and completely dries my bike after washing, including driving all the water out from the pins and links in my chain and around the cassette, which means it can be lubed with dry wax immediately after washing and doesn't get any rust spots.

Here is an 'after' picture.

Sorry for delayed response, not been on the forum for a few days.

Im using https://www.smoovelube.com/ which is best applied to a scrupulously clean chain and left overnight to dry. Once dried it's pretty much invisible. I get many comments about having 'the cleanest drivetrain I've ever seen' from seasoned cyclists. 

In my experience it is good for about 150 dry miles. I don't use it on my winter bike which I use in wet/ foul conditions so can't comment on its efficacy in those conditions, although the manufacturer says it is good for all conditions.

I find after a long ride (most of my rides are 70+ miles, many over 100) that it does start to appear as waxy bits as it is forced out from the pins and rollers. It's still working at that point though, but I degrease and wash it off and start again before my next ride. You don't just add more and more, you need to apply to a clean drivetrain. For some that would be burdensome and put them off, but like I say, it only takes 10 mins using degreaser and a paintbrush to get the drivetrain really clean without removing the chain, so to me it's simple enough to do thoroughly after every long ride.

If I do a short ride, I'll just not clean it and add more miles on up towards the 150ish before repeating the process. On the rare occassions when I haven't washed my bike and get a short notice ride I'll just add a drop of 3 in 1 oil to each roller, which will lubricate the chain for the ride and prevent squeaking, but makes it black and oily. I will then degrease it after that ride.

matthewn5 wrote:

Get a decent one - I got one from these people, who gave great advice:
https://www.allendale-ultrasonics.co.uk/worktime

It doesn't work miracles - you'll still need to scrub a dirty cassette first - but it's brilliant for making things really squeaky clean in hard to reach places. The OH does her glasses in it - it gets dirt out of the edges which she can never otherwise shift.

This cleaning solution feels slimy when I've cleaned flux from boards after use. Did you notice this?
I keep think of one to clean PCBs and carburettors. 

I used to follow PilotPete's approach of scrubbing the chain on the bike with Screwfix no nonsense degreaser (which is great and less noxious to water life than white spirit).
I now use an ultrasonic cleaner off ebay for £50 on the chain, which removes more dirt from the links. 5 mins each side of the chain, 50C, 50/50 degreaser/water.
Dry in the oven at 100C afterwards, then Rock and Roll lube.
Yes, it's a faff, so I do all the house bikes at the same time with new solution per chain.
PP's approach is defo. quicker and cheaper and probably fine