Chain cleaning sits at the intersection of necessary maintenance and tasks that never quite happen as often as they should. The Park Tool CG-2.4 Chain Gang Cleaning System removes most of the friction from the process—both literally and figuratively. Instead of removing your chain, scrubbing it in a parts tray, and dealing with solvent everywhere, you fill the reservoir, clamp it onto your chain, and backpedal. The rotating brushes do the scrubbing while the solvent does the dissolving, and you end up with a clean chain without the mess spreading across your workbench.

The system works with any drip or wax lubricant your chain is running, and handles the accumulated road grime, dried lube, and embedded grit that builds up over hundreds of miles. Three rotating brush assemblies attack the chain from multiple angles—side plates, rollers, and inner link surfaces all get scrubbed as the chain passes through. The reservoir holds enough solvent to clean multiple chains before you need to dump and refill, and the transparent housing lets you watch the grime come off in real time. There's something satisfying about seeing just how much filth was hiding in those rollers.

Park Tool includes a 2oz bottle of their CB-4 Bio ChainBrite concentrate with the system, which mixes with water for a biodegradable cleaning solution. You can also run other degreasers through it if you have a preferred solvent. The handle design keeps your hands clear of the mechanism while you're cranking, and the whole unit disassembles for cleaning when the brush assemblies eventually need attention themselves.... Read More