how do i know when my chain is clean? I have a chain cleaner gadget where there are spinning brushes in a pool of cleaner you attach to the bike. I ran it about 10 times, changing the liquid each time.
After a few chain rotations the cleaner used to turn black and opaque, now it turns just a milky version of the original color. Is this ok?

Yeah, it is clean. I don't know if you need to run it that many times though. I have, in the past, been really fastidious when cleaning my chain, including taking the chain off the bike and soaking it in mineral spirits... that chain was CLEAN! But then I'd put it back on and ride it a few miles and it would be dirty again. After a while, even clean chains stretch and need to be replaced.

So I try a different strategy now. I run it through those rollers a couple times every few weeks and that gets most of the gunk off. I also use a chain lube that runs through the rollers and leaches out even more gunk (oil the top part of the bottom length of the chain while you pedal so it drips out onto the ground), and that gets a little more out. Then I just wipe it clean. Whole process takes me about five minutes max. I also try to make sure that I don't leave much lube on the chain, because that is what attracts the dirt.

More importantly are you keeping it as well lubed? That's a bit excessive on the cleaning IMHO. The only time I degrease my chain is when it is excessively contaminated with mud/sand/grit sort of thing. I don't ride much in adverse conditions, though. Normally I just lube it frequently and wipe it down with a rag after allowing it to penetrate with several revolutions of the chain. A good lubing will keep the chain clean where it counts, inside the rollers...

yeah im not usually that crazy about cleaning my chain... and when i say not usually i mean I had never cleaned my chain before. I thought it was an annual thing... apparently not.

I never plan to be that crazy again just when i saw the think opaque black sludge come out i was a little suprised.

That's more than clean enough. I usually run my chain through the cleaner gadget 3 times max. The more important thing to do is to lube+wipe your chain often. This will keep it clean between the degreasings.

Some of the crud is cleaned off by the petro based solvent, some of the stuff is cleaned off by the citrus based and water, which is why I use both.

I use a water based cleaning fluid in my chain cleaner and I just run the chain though it for about 2 minutes and then get the hose on the chain to wash out the dirty fluid. Shake the bike to get rid of surpus water and then spray with a water displacement fluid (WD40 or the like) leave for a couple of hours- or days and then wipe the chain and relube thoroughly. I am not a believer in taking time on this so plenty of oil on the chain to make sure it gets through to the innards of the chain and leave for a couple of hours. Then wipe clean and go and ride.

But keeping that chain clean- after every MTB ride or about 200 miles on the road and I stop all the dirt acting as a grinding paste wearing out the chain, chain rings and cassette.

Buy two chains and alternate them.

Swap them over every 100 or 200 miles.

Gives you plenty of time to clean the 'spare' chain - and your cassette will last twice as long before it wears out.....

To be sure a chain is clean it is necessary to invest in the ShelBroCo Chain Cleaning System.

I recommend cleaning it twice with the late, great Sheldon's method.

OK, this is two threads that you've tried to derail.

Why not leave it to people who would actually like to answer the question?

My deepest apologies.

I will restrict my posts in the future to only include criticism without any productive input. Thanks for your example.

I'm convinced that a lot of the black stuff that comes out of the chains innards is something (teflon?) in the lube itself. I have super cleaned my chain, taken it for a short ride (10 miles) and cleaned it again. What do you know, more black gunk! And I ride a clean, paved MUP, so, It's not all dirt. It isn't ground metal either. If it was, chains wouldn't last very long. bk

Put it under a microscope - it's a suspension of many particulates from the surrounding areas you rode through. And broken-down oils and old wax and...The reason it's black is due to the refractive index of all these things in a suspension. A good scientist will tell you this is true for all things we perceive as having a specific color. Black is actually considered the absence of color, whereas white is considered all colors at once.

Oh - for some real fun, try viewing it under a longwave UV light.

I'm surprised that Sheldon didn't include that in his system.

To make the OP and Mr. Melman happy (if that is possible), cleaning a chain 10 times is a bit obsessive. Satisfy yourself in cleaning the chain once, twice if it's been neglected for a long time. It's a dirty world we live in...go roll in it.

It's just a chain and a quick wipe and re-oil is all that is needed. Sheldon's page was a tongue in cheek response to the lengths people go to to clean a part that is meant to be dirty.

So, after a ride yesterday, I super cleaned and relubed the chain. Today, without taking a ride, I cleaned the chain again. Guess what? A fair amount of the black stuff came out on the towel. About 70% of what was on the towel yesterday. A good deal of this black stuff is in the Pro Link lube. I'm going to repeat again tomorrow. I'll let y'all know. bk

When did the mods assign hall monitors?