Cycling in Waterloo Region

[jamincan]

I can't recommend this device anymore.  I've gone through two now and both have the same failure mode - the plastic cracks around the handle, leaking the fluid out all over.

MEC's stopped selling them in their stores, so I suspect I'm not the only one who's had issues.  I picked up MEC's knock-off version today, and hope it's more robust.  The plastic seems much stronger - I'll be using it without the handle!

I'm curious, are the two different models you have had different?

I have a similar model but I find it inconvenient and cumbersome to use, so I rarely ever clean my chain.  How do you clean the degreaser off your chain afterwards?  And then re-lube it?  I'll fully admit I have terrible chain maintenance, and probably should improve.

It's also worth noting, since I'm in a condo parking garage my facilities are limited.

Degreaser is probably overkill unless the chain is really dirty. Just run a mixture of Dawn and water, wipe it dry with a rag, and then reapply the chain lube the normal way. You should be able to do all of this in a parking garage.

I had the same cleaner crack on me as well. My typical approach now is to just spray some degreaser on a rag, run it over the chain to get the worst off, and then relube as necessary. If the chain needs better cleaning, I just remove it entirely (I use quicklinks) and use degreaser and a toothbrush to get it properly clean. This also lets me get at the jockey wheels/cassette/chainrings and clean those too, as they can often be worse than the chain, especially on my cx bike.