Garfield Cat

I got interested in this perhaps just like any other bike rider who rides a lot. So here's some of my take on this. Fast answer: use rubbing alcohol applied generously onto a disposable kitchen towel like the absorbent Kleenex Viva towels.

There's dirt that gets attracted to the petroleum based lubricants and then there's the lubricant itself. I spoke with engineers about this and some say that most petroleum based lubes have detergents in them and over time, that detergent will deteriorate resulting in less slick and more coloration...dark.

In the automotive applications, the industry is depending more on dry lubricants that are coated onto the metal. More of a permanent type of protection from friction. https://www.dynamiccoatingsinc.com/contactUs.htm

Will bicycle chains ever have a dry coating on them, inside the rollers and outside? Is that even feasible, cost-wise?

I recently used the LPS molybdenum disulfide product on my chain. First application, I seem to have over lubed it and the molybdenum is already a black color. Whole chain turned black after the first ride. I went back to the technical dept at LPS and they said to use simple rubbing alcohol, the type you can buy off the shelf at a CVS pharmacy. So I used that to soak a disposable kitchen towel (Kleenex Viva) and just carefully wiped the outside of the chain to get rid of the black film. Another thing the LPS said was that moly application is for high pressure and or high temperature applications. Bike riding is neither, at least not the way I ride.

I think all the consumer grade products sold in bike shops are probably ok, but if you're interested in this, just to learn more. Then you have to go to the industrial companies and engineers to learn more about lubes.

Kimmo 

IMO this is often a great way to rapidly shorten a chain's life. As Sheldon noted, there's no practical way to really clean a chain...

I'm pretty sure submerging the chain in solvent (or even spraying solvent at it) is going to wash abrasive crud into the chain, where much of it will stay.

I reckon the go is to use a brush and dust off as much crap as you can first (for a really dirty chain), and hit it with a rag damp with solvent while it's on the bike.

I usually clean the cogs, rings and RD pulleys before I clean the chain, because if the chain is super-filthy, it's worn and needs replacing anyway.

You can hold the crank and pull back on the chain from both the top and the bottom to go each way. After I've worked on the side plates I put the rag against the outside curve of each pulley where the chain wraps around it to wipe the top and bottom.

Then when I lube the chain I don't drag it under a stream of oil; I take the time to put a single drop on each pivot and then wipe it dry as thoroughly as I can be bothered.

Preferably again after a ride. And when fitting a new chain, wipe it in a solvent-damp rag too, so it's not sticky.

That's how you look after a drivetrain in my book...

Prevention > cure

IAMAMRA

This is what I do, using dawn dish soap and then using a toothbrush afterwords.

Ferrous Bueller

I never would want to fill the nooks and crannies in my chain with a solvent, cleaner, or anything else that's not a lubricant. I use a quick link, then a soak in a paraffin bath (which may have some Vaseline in it). Materials: candles people give me and and old pot.
Chain comes out grit free and relatively clean. Globs of wax or residual muck can be easily wiped off while the chain is warm. More worthwhile to do a few bikes at a time than just one. Chain can be re-oiled immediately after mounting or after another couple of rides.
I seem to get more life out of my chains than most.

Syscrush

As I was reading this thread, I became steadily more and more astonished that nobody had posted this yet. It may have taken 10 posts, but good on ya for coming through!

Personally, I think that most of what I'm reading in here is excessive - when my chain gets dirty enough to make me unhappy, I wipe it with a microfiber cloth (about $2/each and they last a very long time) then hit it with lube. If it's just making some noise, I do lube only.

I probably lube it every 200-300 miles and clean it every 1000. I certainly never pull it off the bike for cleaning.

mprelaw

Well, I imagine that if he was wrong, he knows it by now.

pdxtex

yeaah no. do not do this OP. its more hassle then its worth and those quick release links on most chain brands are not meant to be re-used. ie, you will need to buy a new one every time you take your chain off. in general, id think of drive train components as consumables, ie, they wear out and should just be tossed. you need 3 things for a clean chain aside from space and a understanding spouse should you make a mess. you need, a rag, a large can of wd40, and you lube of choice. ill leave that up to you. its like reading the back of the shampoo instructures. rinse and repeat. spray chain with wd40 to loosen gunk up. wipe off, reapply better lube. wd40 is still a lubricant but a very viscous one. for drivetrains, something like triflow works well. for the more DIY'er, homemade concoctions seem to work well. parafin based lubes in wet weather seem generally worthless, though the makers of boeshield will tell you otherwise. good luck. oh yeah, rinse and repeat as necessary.

vol

Question: when cleaning and lubing the chain, should one pedal the chain forward, or backward, or both? Does it matter?

caloso

Backward allows you to do it while the rear wheel is on the ground, assuming you have a freewheel.

rekmeyata

The easy way. I simply use a Park Chain Scrubber cleaning machine and fill it with solvent, pedal the bike backwards through it very slowly so as not to splatter and do that about 25 turns of the crank. Drain, wash the machine, and repeat. Cleans as well as the old school way of removing the chain and slosh it around in a solvent basin or a soda bottle without the hassle. Plus the Park machine has a magnet that attracts all the metal particles that shred off of the chain and gears.

I keep my chains clean enough that after I do one chain I don't drain the solvent and instead add a bit to top it off and use it again on another bike chain, then drain and clean and repeat for both bikes.

gregjones

Food for thought.................
"Do not use acidic or grease-dissolving agents on the chain or cassette cogs!"

Notice the quotation marks. Search the SRAM website. You will find it there......that's where I copied it.


Again..................
"NEVER EVER use a so-called ‘chain washing machine’ in combination with solvent. This is the one and only sure way to instantly ruin your chain."

Quote from kmcchain.us



Pick one of the dozen forum methods for chain maintenance.

Or, follow recommendations from people who know enough about chains to MAKE them, more to be found on their websites.

Free choice for everyone.

GeneO 

+=1 rekmeyta. And it is important with solvent to do it slow. I get pretty good mileage from my chains this way, and I have to clean them every ride as I ride on limestone trails the deposits a grinding limestone paste everywhere, especially the chain. 2300 mi so far this year on a new bike and chain with no stretch and it hasn't ruined my chain.

Shimano says not to use acid or alkalai based solvents as it may make the chain brittle and can cause it to fail. I don't think OMS is either is it?

I used to take them off and soak in simple green, but that took too much time and I don't think it fared any better.

vanttila

This certainly isn't scientific, but a quick, easy 3-step procedure I've found to clean my chain, without removing it:

1. Run chain through a chain cleaner to clean inside:

Get one or two of these: https://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-Cy...s-p-45964.html
for a total of $8. They're $16+ a piece elsewhere. You need one for cleaning, one for lubing (depending on the lube of choice).
To clean, do NOT use water and dish detergent. Instead, something like lamp oil or similar. Run it through, swap out the oil a few times, until no more crud comes out. Put the dirty oil in a bottle and by the next time the crud will have settled and you can reuse 90% of the oil.

2. Wipe off outside of chain with rag:

Wipe off excess oil with a rag, old sock, or similar. To get the outside of the chain shiny, spray some WD40 (or similar) on a rag/sock/etc. and spin the pedals while pinching the chain with the rag. You may wish to do this before using the chain cleaner.

3. Lube with the other chain cleaner (or bike-specific lube)
To lube, if you're using non-bike specific lube, use the other chain cleaner tool, but put the lube in it and run the chain through to get the lube inside the chain very effectively. Once again, wipe off excess. Something like sunflower oil may work depending on conditions, but I won't get into the sacred topic of bike lubes.
By having 2 chain cleaners, you can keep the one for lube clean and the one for cleaning dirty, and won't have to spend time cleaning them in between.

The whole process takes no more than 7 minutes.

rekmeyata

And one poster mentioned that a cleaning machine will ruin your chain...NONSENSE, I'm getting the same life out of my chains using the machine as I did using a solvent basin (I have a basin in my garage). The chain comes out just as clean as the basin does and since it's less hassle to use the machine I do it more often, which is why it comes out just as clean. Park doesn't sell stuff to ruin your components.

The cheap cleaner shown by another poster I have no clue about it and how good the thing actually works, I tend to trust major players more than some small company pushing a cheap product. Plus the cheap product doesn't have a magnet in the reservoir to attract metal and trap it instead of suspending it and redepositing it back onto the chain.

And you don't really need another chain machine to reapply the oil, what a waste and what a mess, you only need to oil the rollers NOT the side plates by simply putting one drop on each roller, some just drizzle a fine steady line of oil as they pedal backwards on the crank hitting each roller but doing this way waste some oil, though not as much as the chain machine would, and your bound to have a bit more drippage this way.

This chain business isn't rocket science, I know an LBS in town that takes a wet clean rag and then pour some Dawn for dishes on the rag and squish it around, then wipe the chain with the rag, then rinse; I'm not sure if I agree with that method but I'm sure it doesn't hurt anything either.

Regular WD40 does nothing for a chain, it doesn't clean as well as solvent and it doesn't lube so there's no sense in using it. WD40 has come out with a chain lube but I haven't tried it nor know anyone who has nor read about any long term use reviews about it yet, so I'm staying away from it until extensive reviews have come back.

G jeep

I have a access to a sonic cleaner and find it a poor chain cleaner for a really dirty chain. The park type on the bike clean machines work ok but are messy. What works is an old nalgene large mouth bottle, some degreaser and some hot water. I drop the chain in the bottle, add a little degreaser and fill about halfway with hot water. Close bottle and shake for about a minute. Pour out mixture and do again with just hot water. Blow off with compressed air. If the chain is really horrible it sometimes take two degreaser baths.

black771

Geez, WAY too much over-thinking of a chain. Take a rag with some kerosene and give the chain a good wipe every couple weeks. If it takes you longer then 20-30 seconds, you are over thinking it.

Between cleanings I just spray lube on the chain once a week and go. Its a $30 chain! Its not worth the 20 man-hours scrubbing it spotless to make it last another month.

eja_ bottecchia

It is a $75.00USD chain (on sale) at Competitive Cyclist.

BTW, spraying lube into a chain is not the best idea around.

black771

Its not the price of the chain thats the point. Its that the difference between spotless and 'good enough' doesn't drastically extend the life of the chain enough to warrant the extra effort.

And I really don't think my chains care how the lube is applied.

*EDIT** Let me add respectfully "IMHO"...

eja_ bottecchia

I have no life...cleaning my bikes' chains is the equivalent of staying home on a Friday night to wash my hair.

And my chains do care, if I try to spray lubricant into them, they yell bad things at me in Italian.

G jeep

A good wipe does not clean a chain. That is like washing your car when you need an oil change.

ThermionicScott 

Rather than go into great deal, I'll just say I prefer chain maintenance that allows long service intervals with no intervention, rather than frequent touch-ups. Each to their own.

caloso

I think some of you guys are doing 100% more work for a 10% cleaner chain. Knock yourself out, but I have better things to do.

Jed19

Yes, I spend so much time cleaning my chain that I can barely find an hour to ride. And even then, I immediately run back home to clean my chain again

I am holding out for this thread to go ten pages by the weekend! There is just something about fondling/lubing/cleaning.....bicycle chains that brings out the OCD in a lot of cyclists.

black771

+1

eja_ bottecchia

Nicely played...