Originally Posted by
mfcity
Having just spent an unreasonable length of time trying to clean the old grime off a chain, I wondered if other people have a method other than this painstaking fuss with an old toothbrush, degreaser, bare hands, etc.
I’ve had to learn the lesson about not mixing lubricants more than once—I followed the advice to keep the chain lubed and just wipe off excess lube as a way of cleaning, but this chain had its factory lubricant overlaid with Green Oil, which ended up very sticky and dry, and did not dissolve much in degreaser. I even soaked it in water overnight to start trying to pre-soften the gunk.
Does anyone have a favorite chain cleaning machine that can scrub the chain all over? I plan to stick with just wax lubricants from now on, and never have to remove such a tenacious variety of muck again, but I’d appreciate hearing about anyone’s trusted approach to cleaning. Leaving the chain as it is now, with just the chain rings and jockey wheels to go (the cassette wasn’t so bad, relatively).
It took you an inordinate amount of time because you used the wrong cleaner and the wrong procedure. Soaking a chain with oil on it overnight in water does zero to remove the oil. They aren't miscible so it's a useless step.
A bottle (I use a wide mouth Gatorade bottle) with about a cup of mineral spirits in it will clean a dozen chains. Drop it in, shake it vigously for about 30 seconds and fish it out. Hang to dry. Total time is about 15 minutes including taking the chain off and putting it on. It doesn't need to be hard.
I agree with the wax based lubricant. I used Phil's Tenacious Oil for a while until White Lightning was introduced. I haven't used anything since nor have I had to do a whole lot of cleaning. The above pictures speak volumes.
Last edited by cyccommute; 01-03-18 at 09:20 AM.