Remember to clean your chain

[TwoWheelsDC]

Yowza! Is there even any metal left? Looks like it’s a chain-shaped object made of sludge! I use the Park chain cleaning tool on my chains every few months, and just regularly lube and wipe down in the interim. The Park tool works okay and is super easy, but not as good as more time-intensive methods…but I’m lazy, so I use the tool.

[PotomacCyclist]

In addition to regular cleaning/lubrication, I always take care of the chain immediately after any ride in the rain. I wipe down the entire bike and look for dirt and grime everywhere else on the bike. (If you ride in the mud, it’s probably a good idea to clean/lube the chain right after that ride. Clean up the mud from the rest of the bike too.)

It’s not just derailleurs that will get worn down by dirty chains. Your cassette and chain rings will wear out a lot faster if you don’t do proper maintenance.

Another quick trick is to check your tires after every ride. It only takes a few seconds. Slowly spin each tire and look for cuts, pebbles, glass and other debris. Then, while wearing a good set of bike gloves, slowly spin each tire and hold a gloved palm on the tire, brushing off minor debris as you spin. Once this becomes second nature, you can go through this process very quickly. Just make sure you’re wearing gloves when you do this!

[Tim Kelley]

Wow–you make me feel good about my lack of chain maintenance!

[Terpfan]

I need to be better. I usually wait until I hear a noise or feel some slippage between gears, which is probably the worst method possible. But I do at least lube it 1.5-2x a month. Clean it, well, haha, that’s another story.

[krazygl00]

HOLY SHAMOLY! I’ve never seen a chain quite that gunked up. I’ve seen them rusted and worn but that is barely recognizable as a chain!

Usually when your drivetrain sounds like a bunch of mice in a meat grinder you are already long overdue for a cleaning. I will admit to getting to that point once or twice myself. My favorite cleaner these days is just mineral spirits…works great and is cheap. And you can re-use it. I follow that up with pro-link.

[arlrider]

I did this just two weeks ago! My chain bound up, snapped, and managed to shear off my rear derailleur and mangle a few teeth on a medium sprocket as well.

[GuyContinental]

Ahhhhhhh!!! Take it awaaaaayyyy!!! No more, I can’t stand it!!!

[Subby]

You should get a little kickback from Park because the day I read this I ordered the Chain Gang tool from Amazon.

[rcannon100]

I…. that….. ah…. GROSSSSSSSS! That was a chain once??? In what previously life???

Also think about changing your chain. You can get a very fancy tool to measure chain wear but in general think about changing your chain every 2000 miles (its a stick that measures 12 inches). Here is my blog post about this. According to different experts, if you change your chain regularly and before it wears out, you do not need to change your cassette (rear sprockets). If you let your chain wear out, you might be needing to change your rear cassette and your front gears.

[mstone]

Just think how fast you’ll go with a clean chain!

[Dickie]

I’m totally OCD about my bike maintenance so take everything I am about to say with a grain of salt. I generally give all my bikes a pretty thorough cleaning and lubing once a week, it has become a ritual I actually love. In regards to drivetrain, I prefer a clean/dry lubed chain. I usually clean my chain by hand simply by backpedaling through a dry soft rag, and then re-apply a dry lube. I have occasionally gone the boiled paraffin wax route, but not for a few years. I also take out the pulleys and remove all the crap that collects in there. Many will say that is time I could be riding, but riding a well tuned bike for me is far more enjoyable then worrying about every creak and rattle I could be hearing and all the damage occurring. I believe my bikes will love me if I show them some love back, and hopefully they will stay healthy for many years to come.

My OCD has also forced me to start designing a handlebar mounted chain-lube cannon so I can spray those squeaky, mind-grinding rusty chains belonging to riders I occasionally follow on the trail.

[mstone]

Since I switched to prolink I’ve found it much easier to keep the chain clean–just a wipedown the morning after applying more seems to do it. Note that I’d need to come up with something different if I rode in the rain more, as prolink is not particularly waterproof.

[vvill]

Ok so my 10 speed chain is at around 2600 miles. Fits the 0.75% on my Park Tool chain wear checker. I guess I should change it?

Also, what’s the easiest way to clean gunk out of the jockey wheels? It’s easy enough to keep my chain clean but those always get gunked up it seems.

[mstone]

@vvill 40325 wrote:

Also, what’s the easiest way to clean gunk out of the jockey wheels? It’s easy enough to keep my chain clean but those always get gunked up it seems.

I just scrape it off.

[GuyContinental]

Great thread on chain cleaning (I shall not re-post my OCD-ness)

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?1480-Chain-cleaning

I use Pro-link and wipe down the chain frequently. Every few weeks I do a full on-degrease in a sonic cleaner and a deep re-lube. Rain requires immediate wipe down and re-lube. I get tons of miles out of my drivetrain (5k or more from Ultegra) but when I replace I do both cassette and chain.

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