Muc-Off X-3 Dirty Chain Machine - Review

 dont forget the wheels. they look shined as well.

 That chain cleaner did an amazing job on the Tires! Amazing =)

 It must be a chain reaction.

 dazzling powers

 I use some hope shifter cleaner a nail brush a sponge and a dirty rag and some times a cassette brush

 I don't know about you, but if I was cleaning my chain I would be cleaning the rest of my rig also... also - if you look at just the chain you can notice a difference.

 I'm not saying it doesn't but it consumes way more time to reach the same effect. What I'm also not saying that I would spend £30 on it. I haven't gone mad. 30 quids is so much money that I'm getting excided thinking of how I'm not spending them on that device.

 I dunno, i find that using a good amount of aerosol solvent gets my chain, rings, and cassette as clean as when they were new

 two words.. grunge brush

 Nope. Sorry. I was a toothbrush/rag/solvent guy for years (decades actually). I picked up one of these selfcontained roller brush things (from MEC here in Canada for about $10) plus a 4L jug of citrus degreaser from Home Depot (another I think about $10) and it is well worth it. Faster and simpler; a much easier clean up (just hose out the roller thingajigger and let dry on bench) and it can only do a far superior job.

With today's drive trains incorporating more alumimum (like the new sram cogsets or even just having one of the new big 42t etc cogs on there) flushing out the aluminum debris from your links is paramount. Nothing causes wear faster than that aluminum mixes with your lube working away as you ride. From Sheldon Brown (check out his site and 'chain maintenance), " Some of the grit is metal wear particles from the sprockets and from the chain itself. Aluminum oxide from chainrings makes chain dirt black -- and it is very hard and abrasive. Grinding wheels are made of aluminum oxide"

I want to get as much life out of my single NW ring up front and my One-Up out back before having to replace them. Drive trains are expensive and if a simple blast through a cleaner is going to be far more effective than a rag and some WD40 or most of the other methods, i'll do it.

 Exactly. No need to do excessive cleaning. Wipe off the stuff on the outside, leave the stuff that is not reachable. If you degrease too much you'll just make it easier for the dirt to get inside. There is a good reason why factory lube is sticky as Sh*t

 I have no clue what you are trying to say? It cleans the chain. It doesn't clean cassettes. Sorry

 I think what @nicolenotavailable is trying to say is, that the degreaser agent gets everywhere else as well - like the bearings in the jockey wheels and chain device rollers. Degreaser and bearings are a bad combo, unless you are going to take them apart, clean them thoroughly and apply new lube.

 i have got Karcher, not only chain is cleaned but all bikes!

 That's perfect method for cleaning the chain. Only downside is that you need to put the chain off the bike everytime you do that. And if you don't have a QR link on your chain that's really bad idea.

 I heard (open for debate) that if you put chain in degreaser you actually shorten chain life by removing the factory grease. It's then difficult for then live to reach these areas of the chain thus resulting in increased wear. I just use a rag and a bit of degreaser while cleaning then apply a chain lube after

 @sewer-rat, that is probably true. The factory grease is the best grease and it's the best applied grease, but at some moment you just need to clean your chain completely and you cannot do that with just a rag and soap water (even if that will give you good result also). To remove dirt that is sticked to the grease of the chain, you need to remove the grease itself. What removes your grease from the chain will remove all the grease - fabric or extra applied. That's my logic.

 I do something similar. I put my chain in a tupperware container with degreaser and shake. I then rinse, air dry for a bit, then lube and reinstall, wiping excess lube after it has dried. I probably do this twice per season.

There are arguments for and against using machines like this, or cleaning the chain at all. I think most of it is just based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence.
The bottom line is: If you aren't breaking your chain OR experiencing premature wear on your rings/cassette, whatever you are doing to maintain your chain must be working.

 @sewer-rat where you live can have an impact too: if you live someplace dry & dusty, the last thing you want on your chain is something as sticky as factory grease, even on the inside, as dust can easily be fine enough to penetrate inside the links. One of the reasons I like synthetic lubes so much is that they generally dry to film on the outside, instead of remaining sticky, while still staying wet enough to lubricate the moving parts.

 Ah fair enough, as I said just what I heard and open to debate. My own experience / method works for me

 @thrasher2 just reread your response, quick tip: degreasers can leave a residue that can mess with the lube. I find it better to rinse with water after degreasing, then dry, then lube. It's worked better for me.

 @groghunter Very true about dry conditions. I started riding in West Texas before moving back to Oregon and anything (chain or otherwise) that wasn't perfectly dry would get thick coats of grinding dust. That dust gets EVERYWHERE. The windows of my house, which seemed to block air just fine, would get little piles of dust building up inside on the windowsill, regardless of how often I cleaned.
Rust and Dust are bad for chains. I say use a wet lube if you aren't sure if the ride will be wet or dry. The only chain I have ever lost to bad maintenance was after using a dry chain lube and a surprise rain.

 if a chain needs lubrication, the factory lube has deteriorated in places where it counts...which is why you need to lube. there is no point in protecting the original lube when friction has already eaten away at it in contact points. thats like never changing your car's oil because the factory one is the best. bottom line, removing some factory lube and re-lubing (not to perfection) is a whole lot better than not getting all the crap off that increases friction and wear.

 Am I the only one who uses the power link and air compresser method? Take the chain off with the $9 tool. Blow all the crap off reinstall. Also blow off the cassette and jockey wheels. Before I had the power link I'd just cover the brake remove the wheel and blow it all off. Got the bike dirty though. You can hold a rag under the chain as you blow it.

 @sewer rat, I did experiments with degreaser versus rag/brush only. The more thoroughly I cleaned with degreaser the shorter the life of the chain. One lasted a fifth as many miles as the next non-degreased chain.

 Thanks , that's what I heard and kind of stuck with being honest- it works for me but not my mate who regularly degreases and had gone through a chain SRAM 11 speed power plate in just over 1000 miles. Personally I think that's low for a chain like that, I have the same and it's still in great condition , albeit with slightly less mles over the same terrain, the LBS actually told him to run 2 chains now to prevent wear to his drive train, again never heard of that one but you live and learn

 Yep, I only got a thousand miles out of a chain using degreaser. If he still uses degreaser he'll still get few miles from a chain. Once you use degreaser on any chain it is too late. Using two chains is a good idea because it wears the teeth less when you the chain elongates as it wears.

 "The X-3's design allows the dirt and grim to collect at the bottom of the unit along with the used degreaser, which prevents it from being picked up by the cleaning brushes and flung back onto the chain."

 Thats not new. The park one did that also.

 No, no it didn't. You are wrong.

 Park's also has a magnet to help collect any metal that has been worked free.

 Yes...it did, the original park chain mate had that feature. I owned one. I might still own it, its probably buried in a bin of useless tools.

 The park cyclone has the handle and magnet but the original chain mate had neither.

 6. Replace cassette because running an old worn out chain

 7. Replace chain because you flushed the factory grease from between the links and shortened the life of the chain when you tossed it in the degreaser for 12hrs while you got paid

 8. repeat. a chain is still a lot cheaper than that cleaner thingy. haha

 these are jokes, kids

 It's just.

 Yeah my "clean" chain looks like the first one

 Alls you do is wipe, lube and ride. Love the stuff! Lowest friction lube on the market, and it's biodegradable!

 Did you clean yourself at least once in your lifetime ?

 I take a bath once a week, whether I need it or not...