Chain Cleaning Techniques

Zurichman wrote:I read thru this entire thread. It seems like everybody has their preferred oil lube for their bike. I guess I haven't really found my sweet spot yet. I do know I stopped using Simple Green as a cleaner once I saw it doing a number on my tires making them soft. I do know LBS shops that use a Gatorade qt. bottle and use a removable link in their chains and then use chain bright to clean the chains by shaking it around some. They then rinse it off with hot water. This has been my experience with lubes. The dry lubes like White Lighting for me doesn't seem to lube the chain enough. The wet lubes seem to gunk up on me and collect a lot of dirt. I wish I had found my magic chain lube but I am not there yet.


Zman

The only thing I haven't seen mentioned is the Finish Line Grunge Brush. 

I wet the brush, squirt in a healthy dollop of dish soap, and scrub a wet bike. I find that wetting the bike first helps the chain grease droplets that sling out not stick to the bike as much. The next step would be finishing the wash of the rest of the bike. I pull my rear wheel and do the rag between the cogs, and since I don't have a front der I use the 3 sided end of the Grunge Brush on the front ring after slipping the chain off. If you have a double +, the single sided end works great, just stab it onto the big ring (with chain in small ring position) and rotate crank, shift der and repeat.

I use a 5 gallon bucket, dish soap, + these items:
http://www1.jensonusa.com/Finish-Line-Easy-Pro-Brush-Set

http://www1.jensonusa.com/Finish-Line-Grunge-Brush

I am a fan of functionally clean, not aesthetically clean, and never remove my chain for cleaning unless something terrible has happened, like Land Run 100. Then, honestly, I probably just throw it away. It sounds wasteful, but at that point you probably will never salvage it back to proper.

I use Tri Flow as chain lube when all done.

PoolBoyMatt wrote:

The only thing I haven't seen mentioned is the Finish Line Grunge Brush. 

I wet the brush, squirt in a healthy dollop of dish soap, and scrub a wet bike. I find that wetting the bike first helps the chain grease droplets that sling out not stick to the bike as much. The next step would be finishing the wash of the rest of the bike. I pull my rear wheel and do the rag between the cogs, and since I don't have a front der I use the 3 sided end of the Grunge Brush on the front ring after slipping the chain off. If you have a double +, the single sided end works great, just stab it onto the big ring (with chain in small ring position) and rotate crank, shift der and repeat.

I use a 5 gallon bucket, dish soap, + these items:
http://www1.jensonusa.com/Finish-Line-Easy-Pro-Brush-Set

http://www1.jensonusa.com/Finish-Line-Grunge-Brush

 

I am a fan of functionally clean, not aesthetically clean, and never remove my chain for cleaning unless something terrible has happened, like Land Run 100. Then, honestly, I probably just throw it away. It sounds wasteful, but at that point you probably will never salvage it back to proper.

I use Tri Flow as chain lube when all done.

 

NoCoGreg wrote:Just an FYI for anyone wanting a detailed comparison of chain measuring tool options.  
http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html#commercial-wear-measuring-tools

http://www.velonews.com/2015/12/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/technical-faq-chain-wear-measurement_390085

One interesting note in the Velonews article - chain wear is not uniform so the measurements can vary A LOT!  So take several measurements.  

"... If a rider happened to have a chain like this, and check this chain at only one location, the chain elongation amount could be as high 90%, or as low as 42% — quite a large range."

Regarding the concern of buildup of teflon and gunk when using Tri Flo, I minimize buildup by wiping off the excess oil on my first ride. The buildup problem is common to liquid lubricants (read: it's not just Tri Flo).  Standard WD-40 dries quickly so while I haven't tried it, I believe Bob's assessment that it doesn't cause a buildup.

If you're considering a dry lube, I highly recommend trying the WD-40 Dry lube for chains.  The WD-40 Dry takes longer to dry than many of the early dry lubes (aka White Lightning and similar), but in my experience it lasts much longer.  That said, I'm still a proponent of wet lubes because I can apply and ride many hundreds of miles before needing to reapply. :-)

Greg

Zurichman wrote:
So what wet lube do you like then Greg? I had a chance to get my gravel grinder Tamland out this morning. Only managed 21 miles and about 4 miles in the mt. climbing. Boy am I ever having a hard time riding a bike with a rear tire that seems 1/2 flat compared to a rock solid roadie tire. I need to get some major miles in on the Tamland to get ready for that race.
Thanks
Zman

Zurichman wrote:
-snip-
It's now time to get use to and get some miles in on the Tamland.

You last sentence said Repeat until oil stops oozing from inside the chain. Does that mean you apply more oil and go out for another ride or just keep  wiping until the oil stops dripping?

Thanks
Zman

NoCoGreg wrote:
Yes, always a good time be on the gravel bike!  

Sorry your trip to CO didn't turn out better. I've had a few friends now, all in their 40's and early 50's, who have come down with shingles.  It sounds incredibly painful so I'm going for the vaccine...

Your decision to get down the mountain with the storm moving in was very good judgement. Hypothermia, falls and lightning are all too common occurrences!  Pikes Peak is on my list of places to visit by bike.  Mt. Evans is the other popular 14'er for road bikes and like Pikes Peak, weather moves in fast and is harsh.  It's not uncommon for the summit to get snow or hail with a summer thunderstorm.  Due to heaving, the road surface on Mt. Evans can be quite bad. We saw 2" to 3" buckles in the pavement so having larger tires are nice, but one still needs to exercise caution.

I usually apply a liberal amount of lube so it will flush out some of the dirt etc.  So the repeat was referring to quickly wiping off the chain after a few miles. I don't reapply the lube until I'm noticing the chain is getting dry inside.  I suppose one could reapply lube after the first ride and this should help flush out more dirt. Hmmmmm... I'll have to try that.

Hope you're feeling better soon!
Greg

Zurichman wrote:
I saw earlier here on the thread that folks were using mineral spirits or paint thinner to clean their chains. Wouldn't that mess up your paint on a steel bike if you spilled some on it or it dripped on the paint?

bnystrom wrote:I hear you, although I used to use "white gasoline" (a.k.a. "Colemen fuel") and occasionally still do. It's less volatile, less flammable and nowhere near as noxious as regular pump gas.

I've tried Simple Green and found that it really isn't a great degreaser, so I gave up on it for bike use. If you want a good chain cleaner that's water soluble, citrus cleaners do a far better job, though they may be more expensive.

oleritter wrote:

white gas is naptha - I think it actually smells kind of good

If a chain is soaked in mineral spirits, in addition to breaking down oil and crud on and inside the chain, this will also break down any remaining grease from the original factory assembly.  Campagnolo specifically warns against soaking a chain in mineral spirits.