When it comes to proper mountain bike maintenance, taking care of your chain is a top priority since without it, you are not going anywhere… unless maybe downhill if you are lucky. For the most part, bike riders are pretty good at keeping their chains clean except for the few that you see with rusty non-lubricated chains riding around from time to time. There are plenty of chain cleaning solvents on the market designed to get the dirt and grime out of your chain but if you can't get into those hard to reach places they can only do so much.

Finish Line Chain Cleaner Tool Reviewed by Preston Mason Review Date: 05/08/2013 Product Ratings

This is where a chain cleaning tool comes into play. With a chain cleaning tool you can get deeper into the chain than you can by hand and it also makes for a faster cleaning process. These tools have multiple brushes that run through your chain cleaning it from all directions while cutting down on the mess on your garage floor. You use a cleaning solvent with these cleaners as well to help get the grime out.

There are a few brands of chain cleaners out there but Finish Line is one of the more popular ones and they also make a wide variety of bike cleaning products. Their Shop Quality Chain Cleaner tool is very effective and fairly easy to use. Plus it won't cost you too much to purchase which is always a good thing. You can buy the cleaner by itself for around $25 or as a kit which includes the degreaser and chain lube for around $35. You don't need to use their brand degreaser when using this cleaner but make sure to use a solvent that is made for chains to avoid damage to your chain.

The Shop Quality Chain Cleaner has some nice features that will do a good job of cleaning your chain. It's made from a strong plastic resin to avoid cracking and has a magnet at the bottom to collect any metal shavings that may get cleaned away. We don't see how you would really get too many metal shavings off of your chain but they say you will see them there. The cleaner has 3 rotating brushes to get inside the chain links as well as outer scrubber pads to clean the outside of the chain. The outside handle lets you keep a firm grip on the cleaner while using since the brushes have a pretty firm grip on the chain.

We have been using the Finish Line Shop Quality Chain Cleaner Tool for some time now and it does a good job of cleaning the chain but can take some getting used to when it comes to using it. You need to make sure your bike is in the right gear to allow for the right amount of slack on the chain otherwise it's hard to get it in the right position so it fits right. Depending on how you have it attached pedaling the bike to get the chain to pass through the brushes can be difficult as well since it has a tight grip on the cleaner and sometimes wants to take it for a ride on the chain itself.

To use the tool you simply pour some cleaning solvent into the bottom of the cleaner and then attach the top and bottom pieces in between your chain and then attach the clamp to hold it all in place. Then keep a firm grip on the attached handle and pedal your bike so the chain passes through the cleaner. It doesn't take too long to get the chain clean but you can make as many passes as you feel are necessary for how dirty your chain is. When you are finished give the chain a wipe down with a rag and apply your favorite chain oil.

For the most part it will be a pretty clean process but you will get your hands dirty taking it on and off the chain as well as finding a place to dispose of the dirty degreaser. After a few uses it will be quite a mess on the inside of the tool and on the brushes but that doesn't seem to stop it from doing a good cleaning job each time. So to summarize it does a really good job of cleaning your chain but it would be nice if it were a little smoother when operating it and had an easy way to clean the cleaner itself once in a while. Once you figure out what gear your bike should be in and how to position the cleaner you should really not have any problems using it.

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