chain cleaning

pe1ter

after how many miles should u clean your chain

Cheshire Cat

I never do, just wipe it down after every ride and apply some more oil if required. After a soaking I may spray some WD40 onto a cloth,wipe it down and then apply a drop of fresh oil on each roller, and that's it.

danlikesbikes

whereas I clean mine after each ride. Once a week through a chain cleaning device & after each ride with a sponge dipped in cleaning solution.

mallorcajeff

Once a week for me. Chain off soak in petrol, wash with water, loads of wd40 then once dry back on bike and lube it up. Once a week which for me is 200-350 miles

simon_masterson

Once a week, though I run the chain through a rag after a wet run. Apply Green Oil Clean Chain, ride to the end of the garages and back, scrub with stiff brush (thinking of getting a chain cleaner), flush through with water, leave to dry, relube. Absolutely brilliant.

wheelie-bin

dry rides - every other ride
wet/damp rides - wipe it down with a cloth and re-lube along with mechs and cables etc

danlikesbikes

Simon Masterson wrote:

Once a week, though I run the chain through a rag after a wet run. Apply Green Oil Clean Chain, ride to the end of the garages and back, scrub with stiff brush (thinking of getting a chain cleaner), flush through with water, leave to dry, relube. Absolutely brilliant.

I saw your post on Green Oil & will be buying myself some when it comes to needing some new chain cleaner.

As for the chain device have the park tools one and it works a treat & is simple to clean up with the brush & foam parts coming out for easy clean up if it gets really messy.

simon_masterson

Cheers Dan, that's good to know. That's the one I'd been looking at, and I like Park Tool stuff anyway...

charlie_potatoes

Danlikesbikes wrote:

As for the chain device have the park tools one and it works a treat & is simple to clean up with the brush & foam parts coming out for easy clean up if it gets really messy.

+1

I have just bought one of these. Good bit of kit.

jgsi

mallorcajeff wrote:

Once a week for me. Chain off soak in petrol, wash with water, loads of wd40 then once dry back on bike and lube it up. Once a week which for me is 200-350 miles

Jeff, when I see the word petrol, then I do think it is probably best said that it is not
recommended
oh it cleans well enough.
but
highly combustible and therefore dangerous
especially if people are tempted to do in enclosed spaces where it can take just one stray spark (perhaps from static) for the petrol fumes ... well leave to the imagination.

diy

I cant see the point of using wd40 as a degreaser its quite expensive. a bit of paraffin does the same job. Twist the chain in your fingers side to side and you'll hear how much dirt is in there. I would take the cassette of too and give it a soak in paraffin or white spirit every few months. Having a clean, lubed chainset can make a big difference to your enjoyment.

canny_lad

Simon Masterson wrote:

Once a week, though I run the chain through a rag after a wet run. Apply Green Oil Clean Chain, ride to the end of the garages and back, scrub with stiff brush (thinking of getting a chain cleaner), flush through with water, leave to dry, relube. Absolutely brilliant.

How long is your garage Simon?

animal72

I've used paraffin to clean chains (motorbike, mtb and road) for years. Just as good as any chain cleaner I've ever come across, and not as dodgy as petrol.

simon_masterson

Canny lad wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

Once a week, though I run the chain through a rag after a wet run. Apply Green Oil Clean Chain, ride to the end of the garages and back, scrub with stiff brush (thinking of getting a chain cleaner), flush through with water, leave to dry, relube. Absolutely brilliant.

How long is your garage Simon?

A little forward to ask the length of a gentleman's garage?

simon_masterson

diy wrote:

I cant see the point of using wd40 as a degreaser its quite expensive. a bit of paraffin does the same job. Twist the chain in your fingers side to side and you'll hear how much dirt is in there. I would take the cassette of too and give it a soak in paraffin or white spirit every few months. Having a clean, lubed chainset can make a big difference to your enjoyment.

I concur, but I don't think anyone - in this thread, anyway - is actually suggesting using it as a degreaser, but for water dispersal. I can't say I condone this practice if it can be avoided. (for environmental reasons, aside from the cost of the stuff)

That said, cleaning cassettes (or freewheels in my case) and chainrings is definitely necessary as well. I scrubbed a huge amount of muck from my chainrings just yesterday; amazing how much was on there. No point having an immaculate chain on a transmission that's still filthy...

ricey155

Clean it every ride whether its 25 miles or 70, waterless cleaner remove the dirt / crap and then GT85 the chain

then every 2 weeks muc off LUBE chain is 4300 miles in and just replaced (going on the MTB next for Cannock to kill it off)

simon_masterson

Only 4300 miles? That's pretty dismal chain life.

diy

why would you want to kill your mtb off? I cant imagine a falser economy than sticking a part worn chain on a different cassette and chain rings. it will wear them out and suck like buggery the first sight of a muddy hill.

goonz

diy wrote:

Having a clean, lubed chainset can make a big difference to your enjoyment.

I can vouch for this after just finishing my bike cleaning, its taken a good few hours to do but its so worth it. I didnt take off the chain fully but cleaned it up pretty well and the casette too. Can still see a little dirt right at the bottom of the cogs but not confident enough to remove it just yet. If I had I know it would have been sparkling.

Now off out tomorrow to ruin it all again!

ricey155

MTB is only a GT aggy 2 so who cares I've been lazy with MTB its got a rusty chain and sits in the corner unattended

Cannock grit kills chains specially when you don't clean them WHOOPS

4300 bad mileage lets hope my 1070 lasts a bit longer then

diy

I take it, it runs a 10 speed?

barrie h

Has anybody tried this ?

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ula-36424/

Barrie