[Closed] Chain cleaning must die

Chain cleaning. Twice a year maybe?

Mmm. Can be an issue and a faff.

This is how I personally deal with it - MTB and road...

Never use a chain cleaning tool (as directly recommended by KMC). Oil rollers on the chain regularly with Finishline Red. Wipe outside of chain with a babywipe after almost every ride to remove debris from the outside. On a semi-regular basis clean any excess build up off chainring teeth and jockey wheels.

I get more life than ever out of this method as I never fully clean all the grease/ oil/ wax build up out of the chain by using a chain cleaner and heavy solvent. Total time for chain maintenance is 90 seconds. But I use a light lube sparingly and keep on top of things regularly to make it easy. Once in a blue moon I crack out the wet lube for long, wet days and it does take a bit more cleaning.

Ducksmart black stuff?

It's a gel. Apply, leave a while, hose off.

I did ours this morning, I hate it too, it's a crappy job. I just take them off and soak/shake them in a jar of premix to get the thick off then dry them and stick them back on the bikes with a waft of 2T oil on them. I suppose it takes longer to get my backside into gear to do it than actually doing it though!

edit- I'm going to get some Putoline wax and do them this week.

Shermer Sed: "Is there a machine that makes this hateful task any easier?"

Microfibre cloth (I prefer blue), a little GT85, relube in moderation if necessary.

Soapy wash with a sponge. Let it dry. Relube as necessary. Easy 5 mins, don't overcomplicate it

A quick hose down and then leave to dry. #muchsmugness

https://www.flickr.com/photos/146501625@N06/26016720438/in/album-72157675288722774

Jet washer is one option.  Don't listen to the fearful about gouging grease out of bearings.  Just get a small cheap washer, and keep it 8" or so away from the bike and it'll be fine.  I've been doing it 15 years and my bearings seem to last far longer than everyone else's.  The only time you put the nozzle right up to the bike is on the chain where it goes over the block. 30 second blast and your chain is totally grit free (test it by twisting it in your fingers and listening for grinding sounds).  Then either lube straight away or I put WD40 on whilst the bike is in the garge then next ride I lube it before going out.

However my jetwasher is broken now and rather than repalce it I've been using muc-off and a normal hose to blast it out.  I've been using Shimano wet lube or Weldite TF2, and they are so durable  the muc-off doesn't strip it all off but it's enough to get the grit out.  Works nicely.

Rubbing the outside isn't going to get any grit out of the rollers though which is where you really need to clean.  Hose or jet washer is the only way to blast it clean.  Even if you remove it and shake it in paraffin it'll still be gritty and fail the twist test cos you're shaking it up with the same grit that was already in it.

Takes me 5 mins to do mine with a hose, I do it as soon as I get in.

I enjoy it.

I use the Park but I have a different method, which makes it easier and better than the normal way.

A light lube means a wash down with plain water is usually enough.  I've used White Lightning  Epic for years,  summer & winter.

I run the chain backwards through a rag at the end of every ride and apply fresh lube.

^^

As above ..the chain is the one thing I give attention to before packing the bike into the back of my car ..wipe down with an old towel ..lube back at home ..

I've got one of those Muc Off gadgets that you clip onto the lower chain and run the chain through it backwards.

Drove me nuts last year, because the chain always came off the 34T On One Ringmaster. But when the chain stays in place, it's great, makes it a 5mins tops job to clean and re-lube.

I should have done a clean since swapping back to the 38T chainring back in November (so I could use the 24T granny again), but I'm ashamed to say I've not done a clean... Just applied fresh C3 Wet Ceramic lube several times on top of the old stuff.

I take mine off, throw it in a tub of paraffin to soak for 10 minutes, give it a shoogle, throw it in a tub of cleaner paraffin for 10 minutes, give it a shoogle, voila, it is as clean as clean gets. But you have to really relube it right as you've also cleaned all the lube off the rollers where it really counts. So I use proline wax which melts right in, and as a result I need to clean/lube my chain about 1/10th as often as I would otherwise. It's more of a faff each time but it adds up to far less bother, and more chain life

Before washing the bike use paintbrush to lightly coat chain in degreaser, hose off, run chain through microfiber sponge loaded with water and then apply lube once bike clean. Job done.

What are you lubing your chain with that it's picking up all shite of the day

As for using the pressure washer.....that's just silly.

Good quality lube wiped back after applying and not just globbed over everything ready to act as a dirt magnet and create a lovely grinding paste...

I know I'll get "but my area is very muddy" but have ridden all over the country and many places round the world....and never found more than a rag is required to keep the chain clean if you do it straight after the ride religiously and never apply new lube over old without cleaning it (it does more harm than good anyway )

Certainly never used those chain scrubber machines , more faff than it's worth and seem to be only good at creating land fill.

Chain cleaning gadget is a piece of piss?

Fill to the line with mucoff type stuff, pedal backwards, wash it off, run through a dry cloth, lube.

Piece of piss like.

Flaerguard from Scottoiler.

Water soluble chain lube. Just use tap water and a soft brush to clean the chain after a ride, re-apply and park.

Or just re-spray and park if you're feeling lazy.

My bikes are famous for being as muddy mess but the drivetrains are always immaculate.

https://www.scottoiler.com/us/products/ultimatebikesolution.html

I am with trail rat - converted to Widers and Sodstrom chain lube no 3. Work brilliantly as the ,muck seems to fall off - a quick rinse with water after each ride and then when its really claggy ad your bike cleaner of choice. First few uses you will be amazed at what comes out of the rollers but after a while it just gets cleaner and cleaner. Not had to use degreaser/chain cleaning tool or make any serious effort since using it.

A ha. Can't see any problem with that :rolleyes:

I never degrease my chain, ok very occasionally a bit of muc-off on the very rare occasion I use it to clean the bike. Use 'clean' lubes (squirt, W&S, prolink, RnR blue) and rag chain after ride and relube. If the bike is really mucky and gets hosed off so do the chain. Hose pipe and a washing up brush from Ikea.

I like a nice clean drivetrain, and hate cleaning/degreasing it, so stopped using finish line wet and changed to the lubes above.

Finish line chain cleaner device with whatever degreaser I have around. Fill to the line, clip to chain, whizz the pedals around backwards 20-30 times and hey-presto, clean chain. The work of a couple of minutes.
Leave to dry then lube up.

Have squirt sorted out their onions yet.

Despite starting with an immaculately degreased chain from the parts washer

I could never get it to last more than a couple hours....

Prolink and rnr blue are good though and currently using the mucoff dry lube.

When it's new, don't degrease it - all the insides are full of wonderful grease which will last a long time.

A wipe with an oily rag, possibly with some degreaser to clean the outside of the chain only and that's the lot.

I think this will make the chain last a long time before it finally needs a thorough degreasing (chain cleaner device / remove and soak in a jar etc). Once this has been done, the inside of the chain is now dry and the problems keeping it lubricated internally start which I think is a lot of what's being described above.

I've never tried the putoline approach, but it sounds like it works well and goes some way to replicating the "new chain" grease state (new chains are greased before assembly).

Another Putoline user here. In a deep fat fryer.

Get home do nothing, ride bike again next time. Chains still last about 3x longer than anything else (not exaggerating!) despite the almost complete lack of maintenance.

On the odd occasion (circa 500miles off road) the wax wears off or gets washed out the chain comes off and goes in the fryer, 10min and a few shakes of the basket later to flush grit out and its done. Lift chain out, allow to cool and refit to bike later.

It is slightly more faff than just oiling it but no more than any other cleaning method.

My other option is an oil can filled with bio chainsaw oil, just apply that liberally to a hosed off chain, spin cranks backwards to work the oil in and the grit out, and wipe clean. There's nothing special about chainsaw oil, its no better than cheap wet lube but its really cheap so using a lot isn't a bother.

putoline.  chuck dirty old chain n the tine, boil until like new

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px; background-color: #eeeeee;">Have squirt sorted out their onions yet.</span>

I'm was happy with squirt in the summer, lasted well enough, unless it was very wet. Hence changing lube since autumn. I might try smoove this summer as it's getting good reviews or just stick with W&S or prolink if they don't attract too much dust (only been using them in the wet so far).

Only running RnR blue on the 9 speed hardtail to finish off the bottle I have as I've not been so impressed with the latest batches after it came back from sabbatical.

Re the comments on Putoline (thisisnotaspoon and tjagain) - just take off chain and chuck into tin / fryer.

I assume that they are cleaned / degreased / flushed out etc first - they don't go into the molten wax dirty do they?

+1 for clean lubes. Squirt in the summer and Rn'R extreme or holy cow for winter.

Ride bike, get it filthy. Hose off, including the chain.  Apply drop of oil to each roller, spin chain, then wipe the chain with a rag (old cotton t-shirts are best). Fold 'rag' and run between sprockets and wipe chain rings. Done.

Never use de-greaser as it strips the lube out of the inside of the rollers - this is where oil is needed.

An old rag is all you need, no chain cleaner devices.

markwsf - yes the chain comes straight off the bike ad into the molten wax.  Its not filthy like with standard lubes and any grit just goes to the bottom of the tin

As TJ, just straight in, its over a litre of wax so even after many (8 or 9) years there's only a bit of grit in the bottom of the fryer under the basket. If it was a problem I could always decant it like you would liquid paraffin for chain cleaning (just hotter).

Only thing to take care with is its not too wet with water otherwise it boils over.

I don't clean it (apart from a few wipes with a rag if it starts getting clagged up) and since I've stopped measuring the bloody things for 'stretch', my chains last absolutely ages!

I have only used a chain cleaner once. Total waste of time. Wipe off excess crud oil and ride. Makes no difference to how long the chain lasts.  If anything cleaning all the dirt out of the barrels and links makes it worse.

Nothing wrong with degreasing chain every now and again so long as you re-lube afterwards. Leaving old stuff in there indefinitely is not the best thing to do as it gets contaminated with grit and small abrasive debris which you want to flush out occasionally. I'll remove and soak mine in paraffin give each link a wiggle until any grittiness goes away the clean off with a microfibre cloth and relube afterwards. It is a bit of a faff so only do it a few times a year, but seems to work OK for me.

Chains are cheap anyway. Buy cheap and replace often. Treat them as a sacrificial item to protect the more expensive items of your drivetrain.

Scotoiler UBS or as it is now called Flaer Guard.

Spray on chain. Ride bike.  It’s it’s hugely wet - relube using a small dropper bottle - not really needed to yet.

Get home rinse chain, chainrings and cassette, use a hose without nozzle or watering can - that is sufficient.  It will all look like new - it really cleans off that easily and well.

Spray on and ready to ride immediately.

"markwsf- Member

When it’s new, don’t degrease it – all the insides are full of wonderful grease which will last a long time."

I had a disaster with a brand new KMC, went very sticky on the first ride and chainsucked itself to death. When i got the warranty replacement they told me in future clean it thoroughly before the first ride and relube with "something more suitable" than their factory grease

Sheldon would not approve though

Clean rag. Keep wiping until no more dirt comes off. Apply fresh lube. That's it.

Do those removing their chains for cleaning just keep reusing single use links?

clean chain: remove chain, place in lidded container with solvent of choice, shake, make tea...drink tea, come back to chain, wipe done, fit back on bike

Use a non clinging chain oil like Juice Lubes Viking or Squirt. Don't apply just before you go riding. do it the night before, then the solvents in the lube have a chance to evaporate away and leave lube, chain won't pick up and get covered in crap

Wickens & Soderstrom no.3, applied to a wiped clean chain after every ride. Putoline and squirt didn't ever work for me, and putoline is, up front worth as much as 3 botttles of No.3, plus you have to add the faff of heating up really smelly wax. If you want to systemise putoline application like some of the boys on this thread, you need to throw the cost of a chip fryer into the mix too. I found it messy, made shifting sluggish and it left plenty of residue on the chain and chain rings, before being promptly being ground out of the links in the sandy clay on the Mendips. 2 wet 20 mile rides and it was gone.

WIckens No.3 doesn't last as long in the wet as some of sticky lubes, say, like Much off wet, but its super easy to clean and seems to increasingly build up a 'stay clean effect' as you use it. You can douse the chain in muddy filth and its sounds graunchy and horrid like all the lube has gone, but ten minutes later, you realise that the chain is running free an silent again.

This is the only lube I've ever encountered in 19 years of mtb that does this. I used to run multiple chains in solvent baths and all sorts, but now all I do is blast the chain clean with a hose whilst its still on the bike, wipe it down to get the excess water off and reapply a drop per link. Since I'm a bit of a twitcher, I do actually check my chain wear with some regularity and I pretty confident that chain wear is considerably slower over this winter too.

Great stuff.

Hate cleaning chains? The solution.

Chain is over 50 years old.

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Shame with all our modern superlight technologies we can't do something as simple and taken for granted 90 years ago.

Dedangler gears (8/9 spd, re-usable KMC/SRAM quick links): when crud builds up wipe off, running chain backwards through rag, relube and wipe off excess with clean rag. Once chain lube is stripped out (noisy) or clagged up internally (stiffening up that does not recover with a relube), usually caused by road salt or heavy grit contamination, remove chain & brush sideplates & rollers clean in bath of kerosene/paraffin with tooth brush, until no stiffness and rollers turning freely, then 'swish' vigorously in fresh white spirit bath and hang up to dry. Also thoroughly clean cassette, jokey wheels and chainset. Re-install chain once dry and lube in situ, with a drop of lube on the top of each roller of the bottom run of the chain, run chain backwards slowly for a couple of full revolutions then through a clean rag to remove excess. Chains last me about 6000 miles on road, a year off road, but this is changing them good and early as per Sheldon Brown, so that cassettes last through 2-3 chains,and chainrings last a couple of cassette lives. Full mudguards, especially with deep mud front mudflaps, help a lot, but obviously have their downsides with sticky mud or on technical stuff.

Hub gears (£5 KMC B1S 1/8" bushed chain with trad 3 piece split pin link): if chain gets noisy wipe off crud and relube heavily, wipe off excess, ride on. Maybe once a year remove and clean thoroughly as above. In mixed on/off road use chain lasts forever (10000 miles-ish?), £5 1/8" Sturmey Archer sprocket (fits most hubgears including most SRAM hubs, all Shimano Nexus/Alfine, but not Sturmey 8spd) lasts two forevers and chainring (reversible Thorn 7075T6 alloy or Surly stainless steel) lasts a number of forevers not yet known to science.

My preferred lube is also chainsaw oil, much cheaper than bike chain lubes and sticks well in all conditions, however might try Putoline, which sounds just like the old Linklife for motorcycle chains before they got o-ring chains. Only thing with Linklife was horror stories of it catching fire on the cooker hob, is Putoline less flamable somehow?

Best not do it on the hob, it also smells a bit!  Cheap mini deep fat fryer FTW.

nigglenoo - thats the stuff.

I've had a look at Puteline and there is all kinds of different types. Which one to I need? And I book it in the Puteline before I put it on the bike?

Edit: wow, blockquote doesn't work yet then!

Quote: Hate cleaning chains? The solution. Chain is over 50 years old.

Just don't take it anywhere near a bike shop, some of them tell you to replace a perfectly good chain and cassette after about 10 miles...

It's not only the weight of the chain but they are also narrower and in contact with softer material.

I'm sure a SS would last as well but expecting a 10-12 speed chain to shift reliably and not fall off on "50 something cogs" with narrow spacing between isn't the same.

Today we take for granted the possibility of 10-12 cogs on a cassette...

Decades ago I restored an old 2-speed Sturmey bike that I literally had to dig out of a garden.  I don't think I actually replaced the seized chain...

It got me about basically across SW London... was non-stealable etc. but not really what I'd like to be riding up or down anything steep.  (The rod brakes were worse than the gearing)

Nobody mentioned Fenwicks foaming chain cleaner and sponge yet? Its my go to chain cleaning method, does the job quick and well with minimal fuss.

[i]When it’s new, don’t degrease it – all the insides are full of wonderful grease which will last a long time.”[/i]

Oh, no, don't agree with that. The "grease" on them when new is for storage, not riding conditions - picks up all the crap if you use it without cleaning first.

My chains get rinsed with the hose then squirted with GT85 after rides. Hardly ever put chain lube on after that, if it do it's something thin, like Fenwicks Dry.

Back in the day we used that Finish Line Green muck and had to spend ages cleaning chains. It was pretty much all that was available though. Can't believe folk still use that rubbish!

[i]Shame with all our modern superlight technologies we can’t do something as simple and taken for granted 90 years ago.[/i]

OK, you do your mountain biking on that and I'll use my mountain bike and spend a bit on chains.

I have the Park Tool chain cleaner machine and it has changed my life. A bit.

I used to hate cleaning chains even though I have a decent parts cleaning tank in my shed, I always ended up using an old toothbrush and getting covered in crap.

I use general bike cleaner in the Park Tool machine and it works a treat and takes minutes. The degreaser that came with the tool is nasty stuff and stained the patio for a while but just using bike cleaner does just as good a job.

I have had SRAM 1 x 11 for 3 years now after using Shimano forever. The fear of the cost of replacing my cassette helps me keep my chain clean and in good nick

I tend to wet the chain then paint on (using a small brush) some concentrated mud-off.... leave for 5 mins then use diluted muck-off in the park tools cleaner.... hose it down (usually twice cos the fist time I leave the chain cleaner on) ..

Do the wiggle the chain and feel if it feels gritty .... if so repeat but usually it's fine at the point.

Then take out of bike stand and drop on the floor a few times and get rid of a lot of water... spin cranks a bit and drop again.... stick on some water displacer and spin ... remove with paper towels then add some light oil to the links only... give it a spin and wipe off any excess.

It sounds a lot longer than it is really and mostly its part of the overall wash. e.g. the rear mech gets cleaned at the same time.

"Back in the day we used that Finish Line Green muck and had to spend ages cleaning chains. It was pretty much all that was available though. Can’t believe folk still use that rubbish!"

This might be where I'm going wrong lol

"Do those removing their chains for cleaning just keep reusing single use links?"

Absolutely, I live life on the edge. Quite a lot of links say not to but I've never had a problem with it. It can be hard to separate some of the newer designs though.

I'm one of those who keeps their bike very clean. To the point where it's expected of me and I'm mocked if people see dirt on my bike. However, the whole well lived/cleaned chain dichotomy seems to have been simplified by the use of Smoove lube.

Hose off, wipe down, relube. Of all the stuff I've tried, this is noticeably better than other stuff.

This might be where I’m going wrong lol

🙂 You don't still scrape that black residue off your cassettes?? Oh man!

I don't mind cleaning mine - the Park Tool makes it really easy. I tend to run the lightest lube that I can get away with to avoid the black, sticky mess that Finish Line wet lube creates. I normally use Squirt in the summer and R'n'R in the winter (although that seemed to get used an awful lot last year).

I also degerase new chains because the stock lube is so damn sticky. My chains seem to last really well and I typically ride three times a week. I might make more effort to change chains now I'm on 11 speed, but I guess that I'll just end up running a chain / cassette combo until its shagged.

Morgan's blue chain cleaner, brush on lightly leave 5 minutes then gently hose it, clears everything out and then relube. It's basically diesel.

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12px; background-color: #eeeeee;">I have the Park Tool chain cleaner, but I still don’t do it, mostly because the degreasing fluid slops out and makes a mess as well as having to be refilled too many times</span>

Really? Refilled? Yes it slops out, but i can generally clean two manky chains with one fill........

Just knock the mud off first of course, then run it through.

Simple solution, go single speed.

I use Finish Line green, I must have had it well over 5 years...just getting to the end of the bottle I think 🙂

Will replace with something 'cleaner' as I'm well known for having oily chainrings imprinted on my legs!

"Simple solution, go single speed."

I am, chain still gets mucky

Another +1 for Putoline here. Can't think how I managed before!

Used it for circa 2 years now and have never looked back.

Bought a £20 deep fat fryer. Maintenance has never been easier.

1. Remove chain from bike via quick link 2. Chuck the still dirty chain in the wire basket and switch fryer on...leave for 5mins. 3. Remove wire basket from now molten oil and give it a wee shake. 4. Remove hot chain and leave to cool...another 2 mins. 5. Reattach chain to bike.

I do this maybe twice month at the most. I usually commute circa 60miles a week then at least once  or twice in the woods at the weekend or evenings.

Simples

Is it Puteline wax that you are using? The stuff that comes in tins designed to go on an oven hob?

So I went for the Wickens & Soderstrom No.3 Chain Lube. It's 1/3 the price of Putoline Chain Wax and there seems to be more of a consensus on its effectiveness. Let the savings commence! lol

 Wickens & Soderstrom No.3 Chain Lube. It’s 1/3 the price of Putoline Chain Wax

What? Putoline is less than 25 quid for a 1 kg tin. W&S is about 8 quid for 150 ml, so around 65 quid for equivalent volume. So Putoline less than half the price. And the way it's applied a tin will last considerably longer than the equivalent volume of W&S.

True, but a tin of Putoline is £25 and a bottle of W&S is £8. So a 1/3 (less than on fact..)

If the W&S doesn't work out I'll try the Putoline, but id rathwr that then the other way round because then I'd be £25 out if pocket, not £8.

I've moved over to W&S, and can confirm that it is superior to Squirt so far after about five filthy rides. Stays on the chain, and there is no drivetrain noise, even after 20 miles of horrible Dales slop.