Clean that Chain!!!!

[superbadger]

I do nowt. Had my bike a year and a half and do about fifty miles a week.
Am I about to inherit problems?
I don't care about a shiny chain but I do want the bike to continue working...

Not major problems but your bike wont last as long as it should.... I am a novice compared to most on here and when i took my bike in for a service the guy looked and said 'clean your chain and it be fine?' He was bang on.... And i didnt realise how much crap gets in amongst the oil until i did it!!!! Thats why i started this thread. Oh when you do it rip an old t-shirt up for rags.... After a year and a half of neglect you need that much....

 

[400bhp]

Nice pics Cubist - use the same wipe method - done it for years...

Question for you & Cubist (and others who clean cassette/chain):

Do you take the cassette/crhainset apart when cleaning?

I take the cassette off about twice a year, and don't bother taking the cchainset off.

Unless i take them off I never get the chain/cassette/chainset as clean as those pics. Am I missing a trick?

I clean with degreaser/white spirit/GT85.

 

[Bman]

I use babywipes and nothing else (besides oil).

Clean everything with baby wipes then re-lube I dont need to remove the cassette, the baby wipes get between the gaps perfectly fine.

 

[Cubist]

Question for you & Cubist (and others who clean cassette/chain):

Do you take the cassette/crhainset apart when cleaning?

I take the cassette off about twice a year, and don't bother taking the cchainset off.

Unless i take them off I never get the chain/cassette/chainset as clean as those pics. Am I missing a trick?

I clean with degreaser/white spirit/GT85.

For all you doubters, I ride a lot on millstone grit. It wears components very quickly if you leave it.

No, no need to take the cassette off. With the XC bike I take the wheel out, tilt it so that the cogs all feed any fluids away from the bearings, and spray it with a mixture of Gunk Green degreaser and water, at a ratio of five to one 5:1 in an old pump spray bottle. I then scrub it with an old nylon washing up brush, making sure it gets between the cogs.

I then scrub it again with water and car shampoo, then give it a rinse with clean water. Sadly, I then spin or even wipe it dry, mask the brake rotor and then give the cassette a squirt of GT85.

Most importantly though, I use dry chain lube, even on wet MTB rides. I find any other sort of lube builds up a gunky paste which gets all over the chain, mechs and cassette, and then you are into degreasing etc etc on a grand scale. With dry lube the chain stays reasonably clean, and is far easier to clean. I can't remember the last time I saw black oily chains in my garage!

On the commuter, I make sure the chain is Mickle method cleaned once a week, and always cleaned and lubed after a wet ride, but not all of the bike; that gets a deep clean once a month.

 

[400bhp]

Most importantly though, I use dry chain lube, even on wet MTB rides. I find any other sort of lube builds up a gunky paste which gets all over the chain, mechs and cassette, and then you are into degreasing etc etc on a grand scale. With dry lube the chain stays reasonably clean, and is far easier to clean. I can't remember the last time I saw black oily chains in my garage!

I'm coming to that conclusion too.

I used wet lube for about 6 months. You generally have to take less care of the chain, however when you do come to clean it, you end up with that gunky paste, which only a screwdriver head will remove off jockey wheels.

I guess through winter, with dry lube, is to give the chain a re-lube once a week or so?

 

[Cubist]

Why are people so worried about their chains looking clean? Life is too short!

I just wipe my down well with a clean rag, oil it, then wipe off the excess. I don't appear to suffer from components wearing out quickly, my transmission doesn't make much noise, and shifts well.

Good for you User482.

As for me, well, OCD isn't compulsory, but I clean the whole XC bike after almost every ride, at the same time giving it a mini-service. I like to think that every time I get on my bike all the components are going to perform well and reliably. I have a pet hate of stuff not working properly when all it takes is a bit of effort, so gear shifting and braking is always first class. Makes for a happier experience, and I'm not the one who holds up the whole group because my saddle's slipping, or my brakes are binding, or I can't shift out of the granny ring, or I still have a slow puncture/leaking valve etc etc etc!!

Oh, and I genuinely enjoy the fettling and faffing involved.

 

[fossyant]

Question for you & Cubist (and others who clean cassette/chain):

Do you take the cassette/crhainset apart when cleaning?

I take the cassette off about twice a year, and don't bother taking the cchainset off.

Unless i take them off I never get the chain/cassette/chainset as clean as those pics. Am I missing a trick?

I clean with degreaser/white spirit/GT85.

Don't need to (take off). That pic is the best bike BTW, but my others are the same. Cassette - quick squirt of WD40 on the sprockets (not much) and then I run a rag (old t-shirt) through in-between each sprocket in an up/down motion so it spins the cassette round. Then run through again with dry part of rag (usually oily anyway).

If MTB on a gritty run, then it's low pressure hose off cassette and chain, then above but more WD or GT85.

Chainrings - just run the rag round each side - dry or with a little WD on the rag.

I now commute fixed, so that is real easy to keep clean - chainring, again run rag over chainring, but don't spin it - folk have ended up with missing fingers. When I was commuting on the MTB, used the same process as above.

I'm a bit OCD about bikes, so I wash the bike down after a wet ride and lube the chain. This also means I run the rag round the sprockets/chainrings. Doesn't take long if you do it regular. I don't put de-greaser near anything. - Tiny squirt of WD40 on the cassette, or direct to the rag to clean chain.

Ps I regularly get comments at work 'did you miss the rain or something', 'you don't bloody ride that - it just sits in your room', 'ah I see it's OCD clean again'.

Clean bikes are the fastest, especially when red (or blue). FACT ! PS totally busted for being a bike tart today. Brought bike up to office, two female staff chatting in corridor - excused my way through (with bike) one says ' oh very impressive, matching clothes as well'. Doh

 

[Cubist]

I'm coming to that conclusion too.

I used wet lube for about 6 months. You generally have to take less care of the chain, however when you do come to clean it, you end up with that gunky paste, which only a screwdriver head will remove off jockey wheels.

I guess through winter, with dry lube, is to give the chain a re-lube once a week or so?

That's it, but you'll need to dry it and relube after a wet ride.

 

[fossyant]

Same as cubist (but the road bikes) - I don't like anything not working 100%. I tend to ride the bikes hard and expect them to work. Real pet hate of mine.

I also hate rattles or creaks - so they get sorted. I also like tinkering - handy sometimes when the kids are out playing, I just pop in the garage whilst they are out and about.

The number of folk I've heard when doing Sportives, with crap sluggish gear changes, creaking bikes, it's untrue.

 

[400bhp]

Agree with you both. Thanks

Still don't know how you get the cassette OCD clean without removing it. Must try harder

 

[Bman]

Don't need to (take off). That pic is the best bike BTW, but my others are the same. Cassette - quick squirt of WD40 on the sprockets (not much) and then I run a rag (old t-shirt) through in-between each sprocket in an up/down motion so it spins the cassette round. Then run through again with dry part of rag (usually oily anyway).

If MTB on a gritty run, then it's low pressure hose off cassette and chain, then above but more WD or GT85.

Chainrings - just run the rag round each side - dry or with a little WD on the rag.

I now commute fixed, so that is real easy to keep clean - chainring, again run rag over chainring, but don't spin it - folk have ended up with missing fingers. When I was commuting on the MTB, used the same process as above.

I'm a bit OCD about bikes, so I wash the bike down after a wet ride and lube the chain. This also means I run the rag round the sprockets/chainrings. Doesn't take long if you do it regular. I don't put de-greaser near anything. - Tiny squirt of WD40 on the cassette, or direct to the rag to clean chain.

Ps I regularly get comments at work 'did you miss the rain or something', 'you don't bloody ride that - it just sits in your room', 'ah I see it's OCD clean again'.

Clean bikes are the fastest, especially when red (or blue). FACT ! PS totally busted for being a bike tart today. Brought bike up to office, two female staff chatting in corridor - excused my way through (with bike) one says ' oh very impressive, matching clothes as well'. Doh

This is true. Dirt does have mass after all

 

[adds21]

I suffer a little from CDO (it's like OCD, but in the right order), but I'm super impressed by the cleanliness of those cassettes!

I like keep my fixed gear bike nice and clean, but mostly because it's a "dry day" bike, but I don't have the time/energy to keep my commuter like that.

I admire anyone who does.

 

[Cubist]

Nice pics Cubist - use the same wipe method - done it for years...

Fossy wins, (but I think he's bonkers!)

 

[superbadger]

Fossy urs is impressive!!!!.... Mega inputs off everyone.

 

[User482]

Good for you User482.

As for me, well, OCD isn't compulsory, but I clean the whole XC bike after almost every ride, at the same time giving it a mini-service. I like to think that every time I get on my bike all the components are going to perform well and reliably. I have a pet hate of stuff not working properly when all it takes is a bit of effort, so gear shifting and braking is always first class. Makes for a happier experience, and I'm not the one who holds up the whole group because my saddle's slipping, or my brakes are binding, or I can't shift out of the granny ring, or I still have a slow puncture/leaking valve etc etc etc!!

Oh, and I genuinely enjoy the fettling and faffing involved.

I very rarely have any of the problems you describe. I think there's a difference between maintenance, which I do, and OCD cleaning, which I don't do. Nothing wrong with the latter if you enjoy it, but I honestly don't believe there's any real need for it.