bariswheel

I noticed my chain has lots of dirt. What's the best way to clean it and start from scratch?

Panthers007

Here's a good place to start - and likely finish:

https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=24

dabac

Oh boy, couldn't you have chosen something less controversial to ask about - like who's the One True God or whether chunky peanut butter really is better than smooth?

Some'll tell you to soak, splash and rinse, others will tell you that rinsing only forces dirt further into the chain and that wiping it clean with a rag isn't only sufficient but actually better.
As far as I'm concerned frequency rather than method seems to be the secret to good chain life. Regular cleans and relubes will do wonders pretty much regardless of which method you use.

wmodavis

Chunky! Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't clean and oil their chain correctly.

TallRider

I'm just waiting to see how many varied responses this thread gets
People laugh about this topic because it comes up every so often (try the search) and generates long and inconclusive threads

Joshua A.C. New

I find that a Park Cyclone chain cleaner gets things done quick. I just ran out of the Official Park Chain Cleaning Gunkus, but it's the same stuff as Goo Gone. I bet mineral spirits or kerosene would work well in there, too. It has a magnet on the bottom to trap the (surprisingly many) little pieces of metal that wear down a chain and takes no more than a couple of minutes to scrub the whole thing down. If you use an oil-based cleaner, you can lube immediately.

Also, chunky peanut butter is the one true god.

Psydotek

Switch to an easily removable chain. Drop it into your favorite degreaser (i.e. simple green, paint thinner, mineral spirits, etc), let it soak and slosh it around for afew minutes while you work on the rest of your bike, remove and wipe it down, let it dry, then relube.

Eltanin

I follow Sheldon's method: https://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

miamijim

More than likely finish......

The controversy will last no more than a page.....

Enough to fill one page....

bigbossman 

Check this thread out for a really hot idea:

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/470515-i-set-my-rear-wheel-fire.html

bakerjw

+1

I considered a chain cleaner with the brushes. Then ordered a SRAM removable chain.

ogbigbird

most everyone has their way to clean a chain and as there are more than one right way to do it, there are more than a few wrong. (wow, hear it goes)

personally, i have a devise i bought im my LBS years ago that is meant for multispeed deraileur equipt bikes, but i forget who put it out. its about 12 inchs long, and mounts up under your rightside chainstay; drivetrain side. a lid opens up for you to run the chain thru this plastic device with scrubbers on the sides and scrubbing wheels mounted to the top of the lid, that closing it, runs the chain thru the device. the idea is as you pedel backwards with the bike stationary, it runs the chain thru all the wheels and scrubbers, cleaning it with the chain degreaser of your choice that you poured into the device. this works great for degreasing your chain as all you gotta do is pedel the cranks backwards for a few minuted as the device does all the work.

once the chain is cleaned, dry it off with a rag and i use either tri-flo or this stuff from back in the day "demon semon", dropping a drop over each and every link. don't over do-it. this is just by technique, and many others i've read in this thread work great too. just keep the wd-40 in the tool box and off the chain.

daintonj

Fire! As the chain is good an greasy the flames will be hot enough to burn away all the non grease dirt and if your remember to rub your frame with a good solvent like petrol it will also remove annoying blemishes like paint.

If you prefer a less destructive and more boring method then splitting the chain and putting it in a clean tuna can full of de-greaser tends to work quite well, just don't bathe it in lube before putting it back on as it'll just pick up dirt instantly - a little goes a long way.