Old Gammy Leg

I tend to use a chain cleaning tool like a Park CM5 or whatever. I use a basic citrus degreaser.

- Should I wash off the degreaser before I lube the chain?

Leaving the degreaser on does not seem a smart move as that would prevent the oil from taking. But washing with water seems bad too as obviously that will not mix with the oil and might rust the chain. I'm guessing maybe it's best to clean with degreaser, rinse with water and leave until fully dry before lubing?

leoh

I do that.

Old Gammy Leg

Bit of a pain though if ya riding very frequently & cleaning chain very frequently... must need to leave it overnight to dry properly

demoncyclist

Run 2 chains. One is always clean and ready to go.

Metro

I degrease chain with chain scrubber filled with citrus solution (sometimes I use Simple Green). Rince scrubber out with water, run chain through with just clean water. Hand towel chain lightly and let it air dry. (should not rust in that little time. Think about what happens when you ride in the rain and can't attend to your chain until you get home) Add one drop of lube to each roller, rotate chain a few reps. Let saturate overnight.

FLyBOy

Thanks Metro, I know this wasn't directed toward me, but I needed to know how to clean my chain. And I have one question:

Couldn't you use a hair drier on low heat to dry off the chain? It shouldn't do anything to it, because it's only a little heat, and the chain should be strong enough for that, right?

skydive69

If you leave it to dry you will assuredly find a rusted chain. I do what you do, but then I run the chain through a towel numerous times, and often use high pressure air to force water out of the links and the area between the cogs, When everything is dry, I lube the chain. I let it sit overnight, and then wipe off the excess lube off the sides of the links.