Originally Posted by
feethanddooth
is it ok to take the chain off and place it in a tub of degreaser? if so, how long should you let the chain stay for? and what should you do next??
new to this so any advice is appreciated.
Yes, it is fairly common to remove the chain and degrease it in your favorite solvent. Some use a petroleum degreaser (like auto brake cleaner as mentioned earlier) or a water based solvent (like Simple Green). It is probably best to use a brush to scrub the chain or swish it around while it's soaking. Often, mechanical action is needed to move the crud off the chain so the solvent can attack the oils. If I use a brush and Simple Green, the chain is probably in the solution for 15 minutes. Afterwards, I rinse it with hot tap water, let it dry, reinstall it on the bike then lube it with my favorite lube.
Some place the chain into a 2 liter soday bottle with degreaser and swish the chain / solvent in the bottle. This is a neat, self contained way to clean it, and the capped bottle can also store the solvent for use next time. I assume you can fish the chain out of the bottle with a wire. I've never used this method.
As mentioned previously, if you have a chain with removeable masterlink, you don't need tools to assemble/disassemble the chain. Thus chain maintenance is easier. SRAM is probably the most popular chain with a masterlink (called the "Powerlink").