Cassette cleaning

I thought is was doing a decent job cleaning my cassette but I realised I was missing a lot of much behind the teeth, and especially in this lovely mud. I had previously sprayed mucoff yellow stuff on it, which strips the gunk off but that fairly ruined the clutch, so I’m try to be a bit more careful. I have tried all sorts of cloths and brushes but it never really works very well and is a proper faff, so I hoped you folk might have found a better method?

Dishwasher 🙂

I find it depends on what lube you’re using. If you’re hot waxing, or using Smoove, it takes nothing more than warm water although I add a squirt of washing up liquid

If it’s bad I’ll take it off and use screwfix degreaser and a paint brush. Otherwise, oily rag between sprockets and a bit of GT85.

50p washing up brush.

I found cheap dustpan brushes with coarse plastic bristles are best for cassettes and a bit of washing up liquid.

I suppose nothing would beat an ultrasonic washer if you wanted to get the cassette spotless? 

The trouble with ultrasonic is that by the time you’ve bought one big enough for a cassette, the Watts per litre has started to drop off. At least for the affordable ones.

Hope bike cleaning stuff and a very cheap tooth brush. Sometimes resort to a cassette cleaning brush which has an end for raking between the cogs.

50p stiff brush indeed. Perfect result. I can’t believe the price of “specialist” brushes that do the same job. Similar to frame sealant sprays 😂.

Baby wipes

If it’s bad then I’d generally remove the cassette and soak it in degreaser. Brush to clean (I have a bike cleaning kit from Aldi that includes a thin brush that reaches between cogs).

Ultimately, I find it easier not to get it in a state in the first place. Since using Squirt lube I’ve not had to do any of that. Quick 10 second brush with soapy water and it’s shiny again. That black gunk is the reason I can’t see myself going back to a wet lube, it’s awful.

Cassettes have to be pretty clogged to stop functioning well, and most of the time, cleaning in between the teeth is mostly pointless (other than it looks nicer) and when the mud dries, it’ll fall off anyway.

When it gets really bad I take it off and throw it in the parts washer at work and give it a good clean.

I use a Park tools chain cleaner bath thingy and i use Virosol floor degreaser neat in the washer. Then i use an old toothbrush to scrub the cassette, jockey wheels and chainrings. Its about £8 for 5l container and so lasts ages. It makes areally good job of getting all the crap out and with a decent lubing routine my chains and the rest if the drivechain last ages.

Fenwick foaming chain cleaner & a Park Tool gear brush.

Old T-shirt or similar to clean between the cogs.
I never use degreaser on it while it’s on the bike – too much risk of it getting into the hub or brake. Once it gets really bad I take it off and clean it in the sink with Hope Shit Shifter and an old toothbrush.

That said, since I started hot waxing the chain, the cassette has stayed pretty much spotless.

I use a dry wirebrush.

I suppose nothing would beat an ultrasonic washer if you wanted to get the cassette spotless?

I’ve got an ultrasonic cleaner in the garage that’ll fit an Eagle cassette and it’s not great TBH.

Personally, I’d be looking at a parts washer/bath with a decent brush if I were cleaning them often. If not then just an old washing up bowl with warm water and degreaser in it along with a stiff brush and a pair of heavy duty marigold type gloves.

Don’t follow any of the above advice if it’s a TDK D90.

Save the 30 mins and go and ride your bike, you can’t see it while riding and you’ll feel much better afterwards 😀

Re record not fade away.

Used to – Peatys Foaming cleaner + narrow cassette brush.

Now I use Effetto Flowerpower drip-on wax, just a quick splash with water while cleaning the bike.

I find my ultrasonic cleaner (a reasonable one with heating, not just a cheapo jewelry plastic one) is no good on the cassette. There’s just too much gunk to come off.  I’ve tried !

I now keep the ultrasonic bath for the chain cleaning – and that’s after soaking the chain in some white spirit and agitating (I’ve a few old Douw Egberts coffee jars as the push-on lids seal well).

I use some white spirit and a stiff-bristled brush for the cassette.  Then rinse with water then squirt for IPA (not the beer) to get it to dry quickly.

Save the 30 mins and go and ride your bike, you can’t see it while riding and you’ll feel much better afterwards

This

One of these with some soapy water

Park Tool GearClean Brush

Also run the chain through a chain cleaner, with soapy water. I don’t bother with fancy degreaser, good old fairy liquid does the job well enough.

I use Squirt so the cassette cleaning is pretty easy – stiff bristled brush seems to do the job and if I’m feeling particularly posh, I’ll give the brush a quick spray of pink muc-off. Cassette always cleans up suitably.

Putoline user and rarely need to bother beyond the hosepipe squirt to get mud off, unless I’ve left too much on the chain and it can start to accumulate between cogs. Hot water from a kettle sorts that out quite well.

Since switching to drip waxes i’ve never really noticed the cassette getting dirty – a wonder really with the conditions we’ve had. Can’t see myself ever returning to dry/wet lubes

I use shoe laces between the cogs, using rags can leave bits of cotton thread in there, cheap washing up brushes and toothbrushes or denture brushes or good for cassettes and jockey wheels.

I used to faff about flossing the cassette between each cog, but then I bought a few cheap washing up brushes from ikea which give the same result. Spray it with degreaser, leave it for a couple minutes, spray it again and go to town scrubbing hard all around it. whilst rotating. Blast it with those and it comes out clean and shiny without that annoying flossing. I would maybe only do that now if I was gonna sell it.

Another vote for cheap brush and washing up liquid

Melt it down and re-cast the thing in your pizza oven.

People clean cassettes?

I sometimes give mine a bit of brush once the mud has dried. Nothing beats being ready to get caked again 30 seconds into a ride!

I take mine off every-so-often to clean it.

Shoe laces worked a treat to get in between the 12 cogs. Thanks folks!

Shoe laces worked a treat to get in between the 12 cogs. Thanks folks!