How do you clean your chain

[yenrod]

:its something that Ive never got the hang of...

I can practically do the dirty work BUT how do you actually clean it - de-greaser/ soap and water / a tooth brush with some WD40 on it...

How ???????????

 

[Milo]

Just a rag although you will never stop the black crap you will go mad before then.

 

[Joe24]

A rag. I wipe it, spin the pedals back, wipe it, spin the pedals back wipe it......
Till its clean then its all nice and shiny. But it has to be with a clean rag and not a dirty one.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Remove it, soak it in paraffin, push it around a bit with an old paintbrush, hang it up to dry, put it back on and oil it. Once or twice a year I do this to the whole drivetrain.

 

[hubgearfreak]

always worth re linking, incase you haven't seen it

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

 

[yenrod]

Mmmmmmmmm interesting!

 

[Dayvo]

Rhythm Thief's tip is a good idea, but if you can't be bothered haven't got time, clean the cassette and chainset first, then on a stand, or upside down, turn the chain and hold a washing-up brush against it that's been in hot soapy water.

Or try this:

http://www.nuttycyclist.co.uk/cycling/cleaning_chain.htm

 

[Dave5N]

Get a Park chaincleaner. They're excellent.

 

[LLB]

Paraffin and an old toothbrush

 

[mickle]

Don't let the bastard get dirty in the first place.

Wipe, lube, wipe, wipe, wipe, lube, wipe, wipe wipe, ride it and wipe.

It takes seconds to do and if you do it regularly the black gunk never gets a chance to develop.

Degreasers certainly remove the gunk but they also remove the lube inside the chain and if you don't remove it it will destroy any new lube you apply.

 

[domtyler]

Plenty of wet lube, spin the wheel then wipe down with kitchen roll. Repeat. Wipe down after the next few rides too.

Soaking in paraffin will strip out all the grease from the internal rollers in the chain and destroy the lifespan of the chain.

 

[LLB]

Plenty of wet lube, spin the wheel then wipe down with kitchen roll. Repeat. Wipe down after the next few rides too.

Soaking in paraffin will strip out all the grease from the internal rollers in the chain and destroy the lifespan of the chain.

Hence using a toothbrush than soaking

 

[MichaelM]

Fit a powerlink (or the KMC equivalent for 10speed).

Take off chain. Put in an old food box. Spray with Shitshifter or similar. Rinse in bucket of water.
Wipe off, give it a good spray with lube, let that dry off while i'm fettling the cassette/rest of bike, refit.

 

[walker]

I cleaned my chain only last night. I normally just used a couple of clean rags, I use the edges of the rag to clean the cassette, if you do it correctly you can spin the cassette and clean all the way round.

then with a damp cloth/sponge clean the chain with warm soapy water, preferably washing up liquid as it has a de-greasing effect. Have bike off the floor and lightly hold the chain while spinning the pedals, hold for several revolutions on the top of the chain, then swap for the sides.

this only gets rid or general muck, if you want to get right down and dirty your best of taking the chain of completly and cleaning like others have said

 

[swee'pea99]

Soaking in paraffin will strip out all the grease from the internal rollers in the chain and destroy the lifespan of the chain.

Is there anything in this? I'm not disputing it, just asking. I've always sworn by removing, cleaning in paraffin, drying, putting back, lubing thoroughly with Progold Prolink, running thru' a rag to remove excess. I've never felt my chains were wearing out unreasonably quickly. Never kept a record, but I'd guess I must get something like 5-10,000 hard-ridden miles out of a chain, which seems pretty fair.