[Closed] Cleaning after Ride - Best Practice - Chain Cleaner

If it's gloopy mud then a quick hose off and a splash of lube, if I forget or don't have any handy I'll do it before I ride again (or forget if it's not looking too bad)

Not bothered cleaning a chain with anything other than a hose for years now

avoid mucoff wetlube it'll make your chain black if you dont keep washing it,

for winter i'm more than happy with weldtite TF extreme £13-15 a litre,

as others have said a good hose down works but i tend to use a wilko washing up brush and run it up and down the chain with degreaser or regular bike cleaner.

I've started using my compressor to air dry it and then lube, not had a sign of rust since..

Mike what Lube are you using and what kind of frequency?

What you doin is this the product  https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/weldtite-tf2-extreme-wet-lube/rp-prod7215

Thanks

Was rock n roll extreme but that ran out so a collection of whatever was in the box. I've had decent longevity out of kit.

Finish Line wet, cheap and effective.

Jet washed along with rest of bike,towel dried then lubed with finish line green-'if' you want to coat the whole chain an old  toothbrush is good quick little tool for this.

Finish line wet here. Bike gets a clean and lube every 3-4 rides. Only had to replace a chain once in 4 years.

I replace my bikes every three years so nothing really gets too worn out.

Use a Hardtail from October 21st till March 21st then full suss rest of the year.

Squirt lube all winter. Splash down the drivetrain with a low pressure hose, run the chain through one of those cleaner gizmos if really messy. Rag to dry it a bit. Top up the Squirt when proper dry to each chain roller. NEVER touch muc-off or similar products. Wet lube likewise, it just attracts mud. Squirt works fine for 2-3h rides anything longer in heavy wet might need another solution.

Hydroshot rinse, a bit of degreaser with paint brush, rinse. Hot soapy water with sponge. Rinse.

Dry off with them big yellow car towels.

Spray with TF2 or GT85 type stuff on chain and rear mech area. Wipe excess.

Leave to dry for a while.

Then use squirt.

Tip: don't cross contaminate towels. Have one for drying and one for wiping lube off. Even separate towels for polishing.

Towels/cloths are cheap and easy to wash, always have plenty on hand.

Yep that’s it, I used to swear by the blue rock n roll, but distributors changed a few years ago and it was never the same again , I keep reading squirt is a good one so will try it one day

the finishline and the weltite wet lubes are very similar imho, I don’t think you could tell the difference

It's very much going to depend on your type of mud but I try not to over-clean my bikes. I prefer to wait until any mud has dried then just brush it off. I use MucOff Wet Lube most of the time. Just apply sparingly to the inside of the chain every couple of rides.

My wife normally comes mountain biking with me, so any cleaning process is double the effort. I used to fully degrease, then re-oil the chain every ride but that got silly.

Squirt was better in the summer, putoline melt in wax in the winter.

A while back, I switched to Smoove in the summer. It was noticeably better then squirt in terms of performance and longevity. It worked so well, I didn't switch to putoline in the winter and now use smoove all year round.

The chain just needs a rinse and dry most of the time. I'll some times use a baby wipe on it. But the days of spends hours decreasing the drive after each ride are long gone.

Someone came up with a great tip on here last winter. Instead of bike specific de greaser buy a 5l bottle of patio/mono block cleaner for about a fiver from screwfix.. Dilute it for 1/5 with water. Use in a spray bottle.

Every couple of rides I spray the chain set, leave it for 5 min, quick brush, hose it, dry it, then finish line wet lube.

Squirt lube applied as per the instructions IE allowed to dry on the chain works for me. It doesn't attract any clag onto the chain. If I get back and the chain isn't filthy, I top up the Squirt. If it's grotty I use the Park tools chain scrubber with dilute bike wash and compressed air to dry the chain completely then reapply the Squirt. All the wet lubes I've tried attract dirt, after which it turns from lube to grinding paste.

Squirt lube all winter. Splash down the drivetrain with a low pressure hose

Another Squirt lube after a hose down and dry with old towel.  Only ride on weekends but do ride both days all year round.  In winter I wash the bike on a Sunday and lube the chain so a weekly lube, In summer if dry I don't touch it for weeks.

I swopped from Squirt to Smoove on one of my bikes and have found it lasts better in wet manky conditions. Easy to apply as long as you start with a properly degreased drivetrain. Just needs a wipe down and reapplication every few rides, depending on conditions.  Also using W&S no 3 on a couple of bikes, with similar results but better longevity in all conditions. As Scotroutes says, vey dependant on the type of mud and trail conditions.

In sloppy winter mud, I try to hose it off while still wet, dry off with a couple of rags, and re-lube the chain with Juice Lubes Viking, the stanchions may get a spray of silicone if it's particularly bad.

Putoline chain wax in an Aldi fat fryer.

I just use GT-85 on my chain now.

I found that if I used thicker oils and waxes I would just end up with copious amounts of sticky gunk on my drive train.

This is a bike that sees a lot of mud on the TPT. Thicker oils and waxes just adsorb the filth.

Years ago my road bike would stay really clean cos it only saw the road.

+1 Squirt. Barely mucky even in a mud fest and just wipe off or brief rinse if it needs it. Chain cleaner maybe if it's really got bad and I left it mucky, but wipe after the ride and it's rare.

I just use GT-85 on my chain now.

I found that if I used thicker oils and waxes I would just end up with copious amounts of sticky gunk on my drive train.

Wet lube is worst. It really isn't something that should go near a mountain bike unless you like riding in rivers. Thick gloop that sucks in all the dirt. Plain "dry" lube will do all year round. Wax stuff needs to set but importance is inside the rollers where it needs the lubrication. The surface doesn't need to be oily at all. That's what sucks dirt in. Wipe off excess. Or use Squirt which doesn't suffer from muckiness if left on the surface.

p.s. GT-85 is practically useless as a chain lube, IMO. Evaporates to near nothing. Also needs care with any spray to avoid it getting near the brakes.

Those of you using Squirt in winter, how does it last on wet rides ?

I stopped using Squirt in winter as I wasn't getting a full ride out if it.

^^^ that was my experience also

Wait for mud to dry and brush it off. Of course, you need a few days in between rides.

dry lube, if it don’t last, take some with you in a small bottle

I’ve washed my new bike more in 7 months than my previous bike in 7 years. The beauty of single speed. Give it a bounce to knock off the worst of the dried on mud, wipe the chain with a  Amberclene soaked rag, apply whatever wet chain lube to chain. Dry lube in the summer.  Job jobbed.

dry lube, if it don’t last, take some with you in a small bottle

What actually happens if you 'run out of lube' mid ride?

Pretty much never ever clean chain. Use rock n roll extreme, wash with hose from hot water tap, while mud is still wet, and occasionally give the cassette a brush too if it sounds gritty.

Life's too short for degreasing, or that putoline nonsense.

Thanks for all your advice I think I am going to try Squirt as seems the popular choice on thread and also going to try the Muc Off x3 Chain Cleaner Tool which seems slightly easier for cleaning of course I could be wrong.

RRP of Muc Off X3 is a joke £30 but got a price match with evans for £17 so will try that option, unfortunately I can only find squirt online so placed an order today.  All needed now is a gear brush type thing for that area of bike, I presume keeping chain clean will reflect in cassette?

Thanks All

If you want to try Squirt then try Smoove instead, it's Squirt on steroids. Lasted a totally gopping 30km off piste ride yesterday, no way would Squirt have lasted in those conditions.

I found smoove wouldn't clear peak district bog, but it does ok with the occasional spray in the lakes.

The lowest friction wet lube is white lightning wet ride, so i now use that in the dead of.

Hi all just wanted to thank you for the advice on lube I decided to go with Squirt and I could not of asked for anything better works like a dream. I cant believe my chain is not making me dirty anymore, I have just degreased and going to reapply for ride this afternoon. Its so easy to work with and looking forward to the summer hopefully will be able to use all year round.

Thanks for the advice.

Wet lube - I find the dry wax lubes to really get grubby. I put a drop of lube on each roller only. Let it soak in, then wipe the excess off. Just use a tiny amount. If your chain is going black, you are using too much.

On coming home, I'll hose the chain and wash the bike. Once dry, lube and wipe excess off.

Fossy do you lube after every ride and what lube do you use may I ask.

Thanks