Clorox Wipes – Perfect to Clean Dirty Chains

Clorox Wipes OVERVIEW

I am always looking for products that make it easier to clean the bicycle (and especially the drivetrain). As you can see from these photos, there is a lot of dirt and grime that comes off a chain, even after a few miles. To maximize chain life, I lube the chain before each ride with ProLink (please see earlier review –

https://biketestreviews.com/progold/ ) and, so far, this has proven to be the best lubricant I have found to keep a chain running smooth, friction free and long life. The downside is that I need to clean the chain more often, so it’s been a trade-off between sparsely lubing the chain (wears out quicker but stays cleaner), or slightly over-lubing a chain (longer life but dirtier).

I have found these wipes are not only perfect for cleaning the drivetrain, but work well as a disinfecting wipe on the handlebar tape and brake lever hoods.

After 2 years of using these daily on the bicycle, there has been no harm to the finish of any component, nor have these wipes damaged the paint/clear coat of the frame or even the decals on the wheels.

CLEANING THE CHAIN (and the rest of the bike)

One day, I had been using some Clorox wipes around the garage and thought, since these things work so well, why not try them on the bicycle. Since they come pre-saturated with a grease cutting formula, they should work well.

So, I pulled a wipe from the plastic container, grabbed the chain and ran the chain through the wipe. After 6 or so revolutions of the crank, I couldn’t believe how clean the chain was. The grease and grime came right off leaving a chain that looked brand new!

To really test these wipes, I waited for a rainy day, and, after several hours of riding in the pouring rain, my bike had about 3 pounds of road grit, sand, gravel, you name it on it. When I got back home, I pulled out the hose and sprayed down the bike. Next, I put the bike in the stand and wiped it down with a dry cloth.

I then used a Clorox wipe and cleaned the chain, jockey wheels and cassette, chain rings and crank. I took a new wipe to quickly clean the rims, hubs and spokes. One fresh wipe to clean the frame and fork. Three wipes and the bike was spotless.

Closeup of the chain after a quick wipe down with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.	Scrubbing a dirty cassette with a clean wipe.

OVERALL SUMMARY:

I never thought that such a simple solution could exist. I have used these for over 2 years and they have not harmed any part nor paint on the frame. They clean and disinfect extremely well and are a low cost solution to keep your bike in tip-top shape!

The Clorox Wipes get a 5 star rating!

Rick Schultz

I have always enjoyed bicycling and, through a series of coincidences, became a Bicycle Industry Consultant and Product Tester. I test prototype products for companies and have published only off the shelf production products on biketestreviews.com.