Touring - Clean or not to Clean that is the question

When I put the question of proper chain maintenance on tour to the local bike shop guru, his answer was surprising - dont clean it. His reasoning? When on a long extended tour, especially in harsh/off road conditions, his theory is to only lube the chain and let it build up a coating of dirt and grime, which will actually act to protect it. Supposedly this worked well for his then boss who did a tour of india and SE asia over 20 years ago.

comments? Ideas? Is he way off base or anyone agree?

I never clean my chain on tour. Too messy. Lube & wipe every other day.

its bad luck to wash your ride on tour....

When I put the question of proper chain maintenance on tour to the local bike shop guru, his answer was surprising - dont clean it. His reasoning? When on a long extended tour, especially in harsh/off road conditions, his theory is to only lube the chain and let it build up a coating of dirt and grime, which will actually act to protect it. Supposedly this worked well for his then boss who did a tour of india and SE asia over 20 years ago.

comments? Ideas? Is he way off base or anyone agree?

Protect it from what? Dirt and grime will cause the chain and other drive train parts to wear faster and shift poorly. It may also make the chain rust by trapping moisture. What would it protect?

Protect it from what? Dirt and grime will cause the chain and other drive train parts to wear faster and shift poorly. It may also make the chain rust by trapping moisture. What would it protect?

Yep, thats some very bad advice.

Chain should be cleaned and lubed regularly. More frequently if rain or unpaved roads.

A clean, lubed chain pays for itself many times over in extending the life of chain, cassette, rings, der pulleys, and reducing cost of food and beverages.

The only time I've had chain trouble was on a wet 8-day tour I didn't take chain lube on. The 1st few days were fine, but when things dried up - sqeak, squeak, squeak.

I think it's worthwhile taking along some all-in-one cleaner/lube (eg. rock-n-roll). Give the chainrings and jockey wheels a wipe too, or else the grime will get straight back on the chain.

Stainless steel chain and White Lightning wax type lube for me, no need to clean anything and no rust.

If you are touring an area with auto parts stores, you could get some Gunk to clean the chain if there was a problem. Otherwise I just oil as needed. I'm not overly concerned with chain life, but I don't like a chain to slow me down or muck up the works.

Greg, I bought some stainless chains, are they all reasonable quality or is there a special one you need to get?

We don't clean our bikes maybe as often as we could or should. We do try and at least take a clean rag to the chain fairly regularly and give it a new coat of lube as well as getting all the gunk off the derailleur and jockey wheels. We just cleaned and regreased the ball bearings in our wheels for the first time in a year the other day. I think this is good to do after a winter of riding. They were really gunked up! Other than that, we don`t really clean the frame of the bike, just make sure all the moving parts are well lubed up.

I love the wax products, they are clean fast and easy ( when I was single I looked for that in women too), some one who really cares would have a routine but I slop the wax on whenever we are hearing seeing or having issues with the chains. Wax is fast easy and I have found works very well.

After a month of the road with more than our share of wet weather I broke down bought a bottle of Pedros wax, a cheap 50 cent veggie brush and had a great time cleaning the drive trains on the fleet after dinner, the chains and cogs looked better but I am not really sure its required to do that good a job just wax em up every so often and you will have fewer problems.

If you are touring an area with auto parts stores, you could get some Gunk to clean the chain if there was a problem. Otherwise I just oil as needed. I'm not overly concerned with chain life, but I don't like a chain to slow me down or muck up the works.

Greg, I bought some stainless chains, are they all reasonable quality or is there a special one you need to get?


I had been wanting to try a stainless chain for a while and when Nashbar had a 50% off sale, I knew it was the time.

The brand is Wippermann Connex, but that's all I knew at the time or know now. Nashbar no longer carries them, must have been a close-out sale. They have done fine on the two bikes I put them on, and they perform no different from any other chain that I have had except for no rust.

My experience with wax based lubes is that they do not protect against rust as well as good old petroleum based products, but they are cleaner and easier. With a SS chain, all is good.:)

Stainless steel chain and White Lightning wax type lube for me, no need to clean anything and no rust.

I am sure it probably depends on how you apply it and how and where you ride, but...

We used White Lightning for a while on our recent transam and were VERY dissatisfied. The build up of waxy gunk was extreme and we wound up having the chain degreased and switched to Boeshield T-9 Lube.

We were much happier with the T-9. There was little or no build-up and we got tatooed less. We applied the T-9 every few days and spun the cranks for a bit before wiping it off. Everything then stayed clean and shiney.

I will definitely not go back to White Lightning.

I am sure it probably depends on how you apply it and how and where you ride, but...

We used White Lightning for a while on our recent transam and were VERY dissatisfied. The build up of waxy gunk was extreme and we wound up having the chain degreased and switched to Boeshield T-9 Lube.

We were much happier with the T-9. There was little or no build-up and we got tatooed less. We applied the T-9 every few days and spun the cranks for a bit before wiping it off. Everything then stayed clean and shiney.

I will definitely not go back to White Lightning.

Hmmmm.......... may have to give the T-9 a try. Yes you can get a wax build-up with WL, and application is the key. Sounds like you were applying too much and too often. Should last about 500 miles of non rain days. Apply to chain while spinning it backwards, spin for 30 second or so after applying lube and then wipe everything down good. I just hold a rag on the chain while continuing to spin it backwards. I also wipe down the chainring and sprocket the chain was on when I lubed it. If you are sparing with the lube, you should never have to clean your chain.

I use home brew on my chains -- 3 parts odorless mineral spirits to one part motor oil. It is so inexpensive that I don't on skimp on lubing my chains. Wipe them down regularly and oil liberally about once a week. I also use Connex superlinks on my chains and periodically remove them and soak in homebrew overnight. That gets all the gunk out and lubes at the same time.

Yeah! Another chain lube thread. :rolleyes: Say what you want, but a lightly, less frequently lubed chain, stays cleaner and lasts just as long as one you fuss over. Do what you want.

do yourself , chain ,and bike ,,a big favour,
and degrease that chain,use a good degreaser then clean with hot soapy water
dry it off,and lube.

here ended the lesson,,

Sounds like you were applying too much and too often.
I may have applied it too heavily, but I doubt that it was too often. I tried to follow the instructions from White Lightning:

Application Tips for White Lightning Original

Shake product to blend all liquids. On the first application, apply generously (10+ backward turns of the crank ). When reapplying, less product will be necessary 3-5 turns of the crank). Reapply after every ride or when drivetrain requires additional lubrication. Before riding, allow White Lightning Original to dry for at least 15-30 minutes.
I probably reapplied every 5-7 days and did not wipe it off. The reasons that I did not wipe it off were:
1. They did not recommend it.
2. They claimed that the mechanism for self cleaning was the wax flaking off.


When dirt makes it’s way to the lubrication film, release agents are activated and small particles of the wax film flake off, taking with it the contaminant. This technology allows parts to stay clean and work more smoothly. If used regularly, you may never have to clean your chain again!
This did not appear to be the case at all. If anything flaked off it seemed to immediately build up between sprockets, on jockey wheels, or on the skin of our legs if we bumped the chain or chain ring.

I bet you are right about the need to apply lightly and wipe off, but that is not what the instructions said. I may have liked it better if I had not read and followed the instructions :) I am not likely to give it another chance since I am now very happy with Boeshield T-9.