Chain cleaning for beginners

[Boo]

Hi,

Apologies in advance, you've probably all been asked this a hundred times...

Bought a new bike recently - Spesh Hybrid which is going to be spending 95% of it's time on the road, and given my strong objections to getting wet, probably isn't going to be ridden in bad weather very often.

The mechanic in the bike shop (I went in for one of their 1 hour basic maintenance courses) suggested cleaning the chain around once a fortnight, by degreasing until clean, and then lubing, wait an hour, relube and wipe clean.
So I came away with a can of Frontline Citrus Degreaser aerosol, and some Frontline Dry lube.

I enquired of some friends about a liquid degreaser, as I'm being tempted by the Park chain cleaning tool (stick it on the chain with a reservoir of degreaser, wind the chain through etc etc and hey presto!), and was told that, by and large, they don't bother, other than the odd wipe, as cleaning it only leads to rusting.

I've seen, elsewhere on CC, comments that suggest a Minkle/Munkle/Mongo (?) technique, which seems to consist of 'just wipe it over with an oily rag', so I am, to put it mildly, confused.

The only thing that people seem to agree on is 'don't go near the bike with WD40!'.

I can see how keeping the chain smooth running and grit free will help with gear changes, and will prolong the life of the cassette and so forth, so I'm definitely up for some regular maint - just not sure what!

At the risk of opening a can of worms...

Advice please!

Cheers,

Boo

 

[goo_mason]

The Mickle Method. Here's an external link

 

[Boo]

Thanks, goo - I'll have a look.

 

[goo_mason]

My own cleaning method involves baby wipes - they shift EVERYTHING. I clean the chain with them, give it a quick rub over with kitchen roll, lube, run the chain up and down the gears a few times, then wipe it with more kitchen roll to remove any excess lube (since it'll pick up dirt & gunk up again pretty quickly).

Be sure to clean & lube the chain after every wet ride - it's amazing how quickly they'll rust or seize up, even if they've been lubed the day before.

 

[Boo]

Babywipes eh...
Clearly everyone has their own preference!
Thanks for the tip!

 

[ianrauk]

Babywipes eh...
Clearly everyone has their own preference!
Thanks for the tip!

Babywipes are the cyclists friends.. do not knock the humble babywipe.

 

[Profpointy]

the so called "mickle method" is more sophisticated than oily rag - but only slightly. Basically oil/rag/oil - repeat until vaguely clean - or until bored in my case. Using solvents / degreasers does a great job of removing oil from the hard to get to insides of the chain. This is absolutely NOT what you want as you then struggle to get oil back in and even if you do it is diluted by residue of solvent and degreaser.
True Mickle method is good - wipe with rag and drop of oil is nearly as good, or merely oiling occasionally Don't catch your fingers in the cogs though

 

[Boo]

So when people say 'oil'...

Anything in particular? Light oil? Olive oil?
I shall peruse the bike shop shelves next time I'm in there and see what there is.

 

[Profpointy]

although i do use a proprietary chain oil, I think the main thingt is that almost any oil is better than neglect

 

[vickster]

I use finish line dry lube...you might want the wet stuff if riding in all weathers. I think frontline is a flea treatment rather than a bike oil?

I am not exactly hard on my bikes. Others use chainsaw oil

 

[Boo]

Triff!
Thanks all.

 

[MattMM]

Use a wet lube (Muc Off, Finish line) whatever for wet conditions, dry lube (usually PTFE based) for dry. I used the Mickle method, but my LBS advised I was leaving the chain a bit dry when I had it in for its first check, so I merely adjusted my wipe to lube ratio, which seems fine now. I've never actually used a degreaser, as others have said, it'll remove stuff from the inner links you don't want to, getting the outer grit, muck and crud off first,is a priority.

Oh and and baby wipes are also awesome for wheel rims, the mix of alcohol water and detergent in there is perfect for getting brake residue and muck off. You can sling them afterwards as well. They're also handy for keeping the significant other quiet by wiping your hands before re entering the house - chain residue on door handles and light switches ain't good for domestic bliss.....

 

[Cubist]

Yu may have coined a new phrase for chain cleaning though. I rather like the thought of Munkling my chain with flea repellant.

 

[Saluki]

I'm a huge fan of baby wetwipes. They are awesome. I used baby wipes and then lube with a little Green Oil and have never had a problem.
I make more of an effort after a wet ride but I try not to do too many of them as I'm a bit nesh.

 

[Tin Pot]

What's the cheapest lube that can be used without actually causing harm to the bicycle?