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OPINION
Clean but not Squeaky
Thu, May 07, 2015 12:56
54
Why bother cleaning your chain? Easy; even if you don’t buy the argument that it saves money – and, depending on how you cost the time put into extending the service life of a chain by, perhaps, 10 per cent, it may not – riding with a filthy chain is asking for a ‘fourth cat tattoo’ down the right calf. Perhaps more importantly, a correctly cleaned and lubed chain that is still within its wear limit runs almost as smoothly and efficiently as new. And it looks nice.
When cleaning a chain, the primary aim is to remove the abrasive grit that finds its way inside the bushings. This stuff has an astonishing capacity to find its way into the smallest spaces, as can be seen when removing a spoke nipple from a used wheel. The thread will be found to be caked in fine silt, which is a good thing in this case as it helps seize the nipple to the spoke. It’s not a good thing to have between the moving surfaces of a bike chain.
Complicating matters, the grit is kept in place inside the chain’s inner workings by the residue of whatever lube was used last time it was lubed. A ‘wet’ lube of the sort preferred by most road cyclists readily picks up and hold on to grit particles, with which it then combines to create an effective abrasive paste.
Most such lubes won’t mix with water and resist being washed out by it. The quick and easy way to address the problem is to dissolve the lube/grit paste using a water-soluble de-greaser and then use water to flush the resulting solution out of the chain’s links.
Before going any further, check for chain wear; if worn close to its limit, the chain may not be worth cleaning before it is due to be binned.
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Apply the de-greaser – a good example is Morgan Blue Chain Cleaner - to the chain and work it in by using a brush to agitate the rollers. Go around the inside and outside to ensure complete penetration. At the same time, use the brush and degreaser to soften dirt on the cassette sprockets and rear mech jockey wheels.
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Next, rinse the chain. If one is available, use a hand-pumped pressure washer to flush out the degreaser with clean water while rotating the crank.
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An alternative is to load a sponge with car wash shampoo (diluted, obvs) and wrap it around the chain, squeezing while running the chain through it. Follow this with clean water. Use similar procedures to rinse dirt off the sprockets and jockey wheels.
Now apply a water-dispersing product such as WD40 to the chain; this will disperse the water now inside the chain bushings. Wipe the chain dry of dispersant and apply your favourite lubricant before heading off for a well-deserved – and highly efficient – ride.
How often should this be done? As often as ‘necessary’…
Richard spends most of his time making bikes, writing about bikes and riding bikes in the hills of west Wales, while imagining how much more of the above he’d be able to do if he only had more time…
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54 comments
KMC just want you to buy more new chains. I'm guessing the markup on chains is huge hence their farcical suggestion that using a chain cleaner with solvent will ruin the chain.
Oh my goodness, I see what you mean.
They destroyed their credibility right there.
Impeccable logic.
- manufacturer provides guidelines on product maintenance.
- the guidelines contradict the opinion of some bloke on the internet.
Therefore manufacturer must have zero credibility.
Perhaps you work for a chain cleaning / solvent company
A tip: if you buy a car don't EVER read the book in the glove compartment.
Well to be fair, reality would sort of indicate that their statement is, at best, a bit of melodramatic over-generalisation...
Using solvent is stupid for a chain because the chain bearings will be scraped by friction while being moved to clean them, on or off a bicycle and the abrasive bits may still not be flushed out, especially off a bicycle, whereas a detergent will at least provide some protection and may capture more dirt and abrasive bits, and not leave a harmful degreasing residue behind to allow more friction after cleaning!
I use a muck off chain cleaner and neat Fenwicks FS1 cleaner, rinse the chain loads while it is moving with little load, then put on new Finish Line wet or dry ceramic wax lube, so that most of the debris is shed during use, not tunneling into the bearing when a stupid light oil is used. I put the wax lube on a new chain to better protect the bearings, and change it as needed.
So far my KMC chain seems much better than my previous SRAM ones.
Who said anything about replacing it with grease? Paraffin wax for me. Choo Choo.
Mine's just a good wipe, add Finish Line Dry, run through about 30 revolutions (of the entire chain), wipe off again...
About weekly.
Seems to work, takes 5 minutes at most.
Ok, this is kinda religious to me, so bear with.
Firstly, buy a 5L pack of Swarfega Degreaser from B&Q for £9. Fill an old bidon with it, so you've got a handy dispenser.
Use a plastic peanut butter jar or a cut-down bidon in the seattube cage, if you have one. Get a stiff brush - not a paint brush - not stiff enough.
Use a flat-bladed screwdriver to scrape the crap off the jockey wheels.
Then go to town with the brush on the chain, both sides and top/bottom. Likewise the rings and mechs. Also attack the cogset, keeping the wheel vertical so degreaser don't run into the hub.
Leave everything to sit for 5-10 minutes.
Go over it again.
Rinse the bejesus out of it.
Leave to dry, or use a dry cloth to hasten drying.
Apply lube one drop per link, properly OCD-like.
Wipe excess off an hour later.
Personally I'd be very hesitant to use anything like WD-40 before applying lube. WD40 is both a water displacer and a degreaser of considerable merit in its own right. Putting that in your chain before applying lube is counter-intuitive.
Noting I follow the above regime every 100-200km depending on weather. My £9 KMC9.93 chains last about 5,000km a go, and never miss a shift or squeak.
I've gone through maybe half a dozen 'chain cleaners' in my time. I'm not at all convinced that they got anything cleaner than a stiff brush. Saying 'oh look the fluid's still dirty after using a brush and then a chain cleaner' is nonsense - you could run a chain through one ten times and it would still come out black.
The law of diminishing returns and quick efforts says brush is best. You need it anyway for rings/mechs, it's 30 seconds tops to deal to the chain at the same time.
Here endeth the lesson
After doing this put the chain in a medium size jar with a rim wide enough to allow you to get the chain out again. I use an empty 907g Crespo olive jar. I understand there are people in this world who don't like olives
so they will have to find an alternative jar. Fill the jar with clear methylated spirits until the chain is fully submerged. Put the lid on and shake it for a few minutes. Observe how much gunk comes out of the chain that appeared to be clean. If your technique works the meths should be clear. If not the technique does not work.
Any advice for getting Green Oil Chain Lube off of a chain and everything else it has come into contact with? Even Green Oil's Clean Chain Degreaser doesn't seem to shift it. It is dreadful stuff and I wish I have never bought it!
I'm with wrevilo on this. IMHO Green Oil is the Devils chain lube. Hardens like 10 year old chip pan oil. Any environmental benefit is wiped out by the vast quantities of solvent needed to remove it. I can't believe the good reviews it gets. I did the environment a favour by binning mine.
Best value degreaser I know of is Screwfix No Nonsense Heavy Duty Degreaser. I have found nothing which removes Green Oil though.
Ultrasonic bath you mean? MTB-ing mate has one, he say's it's ace.
Anyone tried a parts cleaner? Toolstation do one for £50.
I've always struggled to understand cleaning a chain on the bike unless absolutely necessary. Get a chain with a quick link, then to clean you just remove and dump the whole chain in a container of degreaser (either a plastic bottle or leave it flat in a shallow dish). Agitate a lot, then leave to soak in the solution while cleaning the jockey wheels and cassette. Agitate the chain again, then decant and save the degreaser for reuse. Rinse a lot with water. Dry. Refit and lube
I tried soaking one in citrus degreaser once. I thought if I leave it for a few hours the degreaser will get into the chain then I can give it a shake and it will come clean. Big mistake. Citrus degreaser is powerful stuff. My chain came out rusted as if it had been in a salt bath for a week. Had to buy a new chain.
My tip is to use an old bidon, slice the top off and seat it in the bottle holder on the seat tube.
Looking at the Morgan Blue Chain Keeper, I will raid the shed for bits tonight and make my own. For the bling version, I'm looking for an 11t sprocket.
I recently used a chain cleaning tool filled with citrus de-greaser to clean the chain on my commuter. I ran the chain through the tool twice with clean de-greaser each time. I then ran it through a couple of times with water to get the de-greaser out. It looked nice and clean on the outside but...
I then put it in a large jar filled with methylated spirits (the clear type) and shook for two minutes. The meths turned black and I had to do it another three times before muck stopped coming out.
I don't believe the above instructions will get the grit out from the bushings and chain cleaning tools are only good for surface cleaning.
What about using a chain cleaner tool like the Park Tool Cyclone? It's much quicker than than emulating Picasso with a brush.
They're good but you'll still want a brush or similar for the jockey wheels, cassette and crank.
Cheers, Hadnt thought to use wd40 before applying lube, but suppose it makes sense
Where did you get the dummy hub?
It's a Morgan Blue chain guide. Perfect for when cleaning your bike.
It's a Morgan Blue Chain Keeper - available for about a fiver from your favourite online retailer... An awesome yet very simple device!
The method above is how I clean my chain (although I don't do the WD40 step - will try that next time) - very simple and effective, and far better the various "chain cleaners" that are available (which just seem to make a big mess ime).
Good advice
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