+1 on WD40. I wipe down the chain, and I put it in a jar of WD40. I shake the jar a few times over the course of the day, and then I wipe down the chain meticulously when I'm done. Sometimes I use a nylon brush to do this, but I always use a rag on each individual link.
I think all the suggestions of an agitated solvent hit the mark. It's good to hear that there are many ways of skinning this cat, and it's good to hear what other people are doing.
I decant the WD40 into a separate jar when I'm done. The final task is wiping up the grit at the bottom of the jar, which I do with a rag or paper towel. The WD40/grit/rag mixture gets tossed in the bin.
Originally Posted by
nlerner
I've become much more hesitant to do the full on degreasing down to bare metal on chains after reading on the interwebs that getting rid of all of the original lubricant isn't a good idea (and iirc manufacturer's instruction caution against full degreasing). I'll spray with WD-40 while the chain is on the bike, run it through a rag to get off the worst of the gunk, and re-lube with whatever product I have on hand.
Yeah, I understand where your coming from, but I disagree with this. There's absolutely no way that a chain on a bike gets as clean as a chain off the bike. Sand, silt, and other road grit get in the links and act like polishing wax --- wearing on the chain.
Originally Posted by
intransit1217
Good grief ! Doesn't the act of disassembly and reassembly cause wear? But then, a chain is 60 bucks. 60 Bucks!? holy heck.
It depends on if you have a quick link. If not, then you'll change the tension on one of the pins, and it can stick. This will cause shifting problems. 60 bucks? Look on ebay. They run from $6 to $30 depending on what you want. NOS are more, however.