Chain cleaner

[Flick of the Elbow]

Solvent? For mud? What sort of terrain do you ride on - tar sands??

Mickle you are acting like a fundamentalist cleric, your way is the only way. Well I've tried your method on occasion, when I can't be bothered to clean the bike properly, and it suffices up to a point. My advice to the OP is to try your oily rag method, if it works for them, that's fine, but if not, other methods are available.

 

[ScotiaLass]

When I wash the bike, I use a brush and Muc Off (bike cleaner) to clean the chain as I'm doing the rest of the bike.
I dry off the bike and then go to the chain. Using a folded up dishcloth I hold the chain lightly and turn the pedals to remove the wet and muck.
I do this until there's basically no dirt left.
As my bike lives indoors, I then leave it for a few hours to make sure it's dried out properly, and lube it again later.
I use wet lube through the winter and dry lube through the summer*
It seems to work okay for me. I wash the bike after every ride in the winter and probably once a week in the summer.

*summer in Scotland means I probably use more wet lube than dry

 

[mickle]

Mickle you are acting like a fundamentalist cleric, your way is the only way. Well I've tried your method on occasion, when I can't be bothered to clean the bike properly, and it suffices up to a point. My advice to the OP is to try your oily rag method, if it works for them, that's fine, but if not, other methods are available.

MwahahahahahaHA!!!!

My way is the only way!

That's the point.

MwahahahMwahah!!!!

 

[Roger]

Surely if you never wash the chain, the lube inside will get contaminated with dirt/grit and act like a grinding agent. I wash my chain when I wash the bike and let it dry overnight before applying lube, in between bike washes I use the dry cloth method to wipe the chain clean before applying the lube. Have recently started using White Lightning chain wax, which states it helps keep chain clean as it is a dry lube.

 

[mickle]

Surely if you never wash the chain, the lube inside will get contaminated with dirt/grit and act like a grinding agent. I wash my chain when I wash the bike and let it dry overnight before applying lube, in between bike washes I use the dry cloth method to wipe the chain clean before applying the lube. Have recently started using White Lightning chain wax, which states it helps keep chain clean as it is a dry lube.

If your chain lube is full of grit you're not doing it right.