Originally Posted by
Giant40
I just read an article regarding chain maintenance and at the point where it talks about drying the chain after cleaning it, it only mentions ways of evaporating or blowing the water off using compressed air. I’m a little confused by the absence of the seemingly most obvious way of drying it—wiping it off with a rag. The article doesn’t say anything good or bad about doing this, but since it’s not mentioned, I have to ask: Is it harmful to the chain to do this? Does it somehow force moisture into the inner workings of the chain?
I’ve always dried my chain after cleaning by wrapping a rag or paper towel around it and drawing the chain through. It dries it fast and scrubs off crud that was still there at the same time. But now I’m wondering if this is a good way of doing it. I always thought letting it air dry introduces rust.
My process is to give the chain a good scrub to get as much crud off the outside as I can, then soak it in whatever solvent I'm using to clear out the inside, then scrub it again but looking to get the bristles of the brush inside the links as best as possible, then rinse it thoroughly with tap water, then wipe the water off the chain, then leave it over a radiator to dry out. Then put it back on the bike and lubricate it.