Rusty Chain

[Aiden_23]

So I have not been on bike for about a month now due to a fixture pile up with my 2 football teams I play for, I needed all my energy focused on the games so stopped commuting to work. Now that my season has finished I was intending on commuting again, however I went into my garage to find that my nice clean chain has been replaced by a chain that looks like it lost a fight with a 2 litre of Irn Bru!!! Does anyone know any fixes for this or is it a case of scrub the chain till its clean or do I need to buy a new one. Any hints/tips on cleaning are appreciated or advice to stop this happening again. Thanks

 

[Pauluk]

Does the rust look as if it's eroding the surfaces or is it just staining. If its the latter you may be able to just give it a clean and lube, than check for any stiffness. I've had slight rust in the past with no long term problems.

Having said that, new chains don't cost a lot so if you're in any doubt just change it.

 

[Gary E]

The trick is not to let them get that way in the first place I'm afraid.
Keep them well lubed and try not to put them away wet.
If you're lucky the rust won't have taken a real hold yet so give it some TLC and see what you can do

 

[Aiden_23]

It looks like it is just surface rust as the chain is still pretty mobile and survived a quick 5 miler the other day. I went at it outside with some WD40,baby wipes,cotton buds,chain lube and an old rag but after about 15 minutes the sky opened up so I will give it another blast today. Thanks guys

 

[fossyant]

WD40. It's ok for getting the chain clean if it's rusted, but it's not oil. Get some proper bike oil, line finish line products.

 

[HovR]

I've had good luck removing surface rust in the past by soaking the chain in WD40/GT85 then going out for a ride. This will remove the rust from all functioning surfaces, but not the side plates - It is also quite messy!

As above, if you're not using it already get some bike lube. If you're on a budget, others have had good results with chain saw bar oil.

 

[Brommyboy]

I just use sewing machine oil on a slightly rusty chain, freeing the stuck links as I go around, then dry wipe it afterwards to remove the excess. Run the oil over the side plates while also dripping over the barrels. After wet riding, dry wipe the chain but oil it next day before the rust sets in!