thewashingmachinepost




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green oil chain degreaser and dry chain wax

green oil chain degreaser

i have made no secret of my desire always to ride with a perfectly clean, shiny chain, disappointingly, a characteristic that has so far refused to spread to the rest of the bike. but rather than being a totally spurious quirk, there is a smidgeon of method in my madness. during the second year of my attempts on rapha's festive 500, while cleaning the chain at day's end, i discovered a cracked side-plate, which, knowing my luck, would have disintegrated at the furthest point from home, in wet, windy and freezing conditions.

never one to shy away from pragmatism, i have since almost religiously fettled my chain either after each ride, or prior to the next, keeping an eagle eye open for any potential mechanical disasters.

green oil chain degreaser

and then, of course, there is the aesthetic; advice has long been to ensure that the bicycle is in the big ring when left unattended at the coffee stop, if only to convince any innocent bystanders, that its owner must surely be possessed of unrivalled power. and if the chain is going to sit on the teeth of that big ring in full public view, all the better that it shines in the sunlight (a little hebridean humour there).

and anyone watching the low flying camera shots of the professional peloton on tv will surely have noticed just how dirt-free are their chains. having mine look similar is merely another outward sign of a pretentious wannabe.

i believe i may have admitted once before to making use of the ubiquitous wd40 as my chain cleaner of choice, a job at which it has proved more than equal, even imparting a modicum of lubrication in better weather, but the composition of wd 40, however, effective, is largely based on petrochemicals, described on the spec sheet as aliphatic hydrocarbons. as a fully paid up member of the greener than green cycling community, surely there ought to be something less invasive of similar benefit? that's pretty much where green oil's products enter the fray.

green oildry wax chain lubricant

i am a long-term user of green oil, the very lubricant placed on my chains, following that dousing in wd40, but the company is hardly a one-trick pony.

encased within a handy, individual bottle, green oil's chain degreaser now features carefully designed pictorial instructions for use. having cut a milk carton in half and found a stray paint brush, it's a simple matter of dripping the degreaser onto the chain links in similar manner to applying oil. the bike should then be ridden a short distance, prior to cleaning off the degreaser with a water-loaded paintbrush, then drying with, in my case, a handy bath towel that mrs washingmachinepost doesn't realise i've pinched.

the pictorial advice would advise that the chain should be left for several minutes following the process, before application of any lubricant.

in this instance, however, instead of reaching for my usual bottle of green oil, i opted for a similarly sized bottle of green oil dry chain wax. you would be forgiven for thinking, based on the description, that this might be in the form of a block of wax, but in fact, it exits the bottle as a dull grey liquid. however, once in place, it leaves a semi-dry coating that is reputed not to find itself magnetically attracted to trouser legs, while continuing to offer at least a partially shiny chain. following my painstaking cleaning of the chain, it always registers as something of a disappointment to find it ultimately liquidy-black with other lubricants.

green oildry wax chain lubricant

made from sustainable ingredients, including natural alcohol, plant extracts and beeswax, green oil founder, simon nash, said that the product, while not consumable, is in fact vegetarian, if not vegan. for some reason, i find that strangely comforting. and lest you think that mr nash has a singular vision of a pollutant-free cycling society, it's worth my mentioning that the information sheets arriving alongside a range of green oil products (about more of which in the near future), apparently contain a percentage of sterilised elephant poo (yes really), helping fund conservation.

whether you harbour aspirations towards more ethical cycling pursuits or not, these products just plain work; the fact that they are also environmentally neutral and biodegradeable is simply a major bonus.

green oil chain degreaser is priced at £6.99 for a 100ml container. green oil dry chain wax costs around £14.99 for 100ml.

tuesday 19 july 2022

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................