How often do people clean their chains?

You will hear the full range of opinions but here's my short answer - almost never.

After following some looong discussions on this topic, I came to the conclusion that my time is too
valuable to thoroughly clean a $15 chain more than once in a long while. Of course, this behavior
could potentially accelerate the wear on the cassette and chainrings, but not too much if you keep
the exterior of the chain clean by wiping it down, and replace it when it stretches beyond 1/6"
over 12 inches. As a bonus, my expenditures on chains are somewhat offset by savings in solvent and
hand cleaner.

This decision of course is very individual. Some people simply like a nice clean chain, enjoying the
process as well as the satisfcation of putting a freshly cleaned and lubed chain on a bike. Also,
those who use more expensive chains in conjunction with riding lots of miles may indeed want to eek
as much life as possible out of a chain for financial reasons.

"jim" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I got a new chain this year and got the type that has a gold colored link that can be slid apart
easily to remove the chain instead of requiring a chain tool. It's so easy I'm sure I'll be
cleaning it more often. I just did it after 500 miles and there was a fair build up of crud
(probably from leftover sand from the snowstorms.)

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike but
a thorough cleaning.

jim said:

I got a new chain this year and got the type that has a gold colored link that can be slid apart
easily to remove the chain instead of requiring a chain tool. It's so easy I'm sure I'll be
cleaning it more often. I just did it after 500 miles and there was a fair build up of crud
(probably from leftover sand from the snowstorms.)

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike but
a thorough cleaning.

You may want to consider: draco.acs.uci.edu8d.2.htmlOpen ↗

"KBH" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:WC%ra.442014$Zo.102085@sccrnsc03...

Quoted message said:

You will hear the full range of opinions but here's my short answer -

almost

Quoted message said:

never.

After following some looong discussions on this topic, I came to the conclusion that my time is
too valuable to thoroughly clean a $15 chain

more

Quoted message said:

than once in a long while. Of course, this behavior could potentially accelerate the wear on the
cassette and chainrings, but not too much if

you

Quoted message said:

keep the exterior of the chain clean by wiping it down, and replace it

when

Quoted message said:

it stretches beyond 1/6" over 12 inches. As a bonus, my expenditures on chains are somewhat offset
by savings in solvent and hand cleaner.

This decision of course is very individual. Some people simply like a

nice

Quoted message said:

clean chain, enjoying the process as well as the satisfcation of putting a freshly cleaned and
lubed chain on a bike. Also, those who use more expensive chains in conjunction with riding lots
of miles may indeed want

to

Quoted message said:

eek as much life as possible out of a chain for financial reasons.

I'm with you..I use a "dry-lube" synthetic lube every 2 or 3 rides and scrape off the accumulate
crud on the cassette and chainrings every so often. I just hate cleaning my chains. I pitch the
chain every year and get a new one. Never had a skipping problem to date, but I don't do big
mileage either.

Cheers,

Scott..

<< So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike
but a thorough cleaning. >>

Drop the chain into a discarded one liter plastic soda bottle. Pour in about a pint of lacquer
thinner. Shake shake shake. Pour out the solvent and save for re-use. Cut the top off the bottle and
remove the chain. Reinstall, run it through a clean rag, and relube.

(Mike Krueger) said:

Cut the top off the bottle and remove the chain. Reinstall, run it through a clean rag, and relube.

I attach a piece of dental floss to the chain's end and leave the end dangling out when I screw on
the cap. When I remove the chain by pulling the floss, I don't need to cut the bottle. Used ketchup
bottles work better and have a bigger opening.

jsherman-<< So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on
the bike but a thorough cleaning.

I do once per month along with pulleys and chainrings and freewheel cogs....

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Mike Krueger said:

Drop the chain into a discarded one liter plastic soda bottle. Pour in about a pint of lacquer
thinner. Shake shake shake. Pour out the solvent and save for re-use. Cut the top off the bottle
and remove the chain. Reinstall, run it through a clean rag, and relube.

I would whip the chain around to get the solvent out, and then hang the chain outside to dry
thoroughly before relubing and re-installing.

But the question was how often do people clean their chains. I rarely ride in the rain, and rarely
clean my chain. When it's worn I replace it (about once a year or 3000 miles). If you ride in the
rain and get lots of grit on the chain, it would pay to clean it regularly.

Art Harris

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

jsherman-<< So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on
the bike but a thorough cleaning.

I do once per month along with pulleys and chainrings and freewheel cogs....

This past winter it felt like I was cleaning the chain almost every week. I was getting all sorts of
funny noices and shifts into the wrong gear if I didn't. I use one of those solvent filled boxes you
clip on over the chain and crank the pedals around for a while. Finish it off with a toothbrush over
the cogs and pulleys etc. Doesn't take more than a couple of minutes. My biggest problem is really
finding a place to do it in the wintertime.

Come spring and clean roads, well that is a whole different story.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

(jim) said:

I got a new chain this year and got the type that has a gold colored link that can be slid apart
easily to remove the chain instead of requiring a chain tool. It's so easy I'm sure I'll be
cleaning it more often. I just did it after 500 miles and there was a fair build up of crud
(probably from leftover sand from the snowstorms.)

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike but
a thorough cleaning.

I (as regulars here will tell you) probably represent the far end of the curve, but on my "best"
bike I probably clean and lubricate my chain every 400 to 500 miles. This is a bike I never ride in
the winter or in the rain. I also regularly clean my rings, cogs, and derailleur pulleys.

I hot wax this chain and service it when it starts to squeak. By dint of regular thorough cleaning
and lubricating I've gotten over 18,000 miles on a single chain and over 40,000 miles on cogs and
rings. Those cogs are now on their third chain (and second bike) and still show no overt signs of
excess wear. The rings are still on the original bike but are now turning a "nine-speed" chain,
their fourth.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

"Richard Ney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

jim said:

I got a new chain this year and got the type that has a gold colored link that can be slid apart
easily to remove the chain instead of requiring a chain tool. It's so easy I'm sure I'll be
cleaning it more often. I just did it after 500 miles and there was a fair build up of crud
(probably from leftover sand from the snowstorms.)

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike
but a thorough cleaning.

You may want to consider: draco.acs.uci.edu8d.2.htmlOpen ↗

Simply put, I clean chains more when I ride off road or in in sandy, dusty areas (like now in the
Boston area with left-over sand from last winter covering the pavement) less when my rides are on
clean and dry roads. Average? Once every 2 weeks or so. Sometimes after every ride if it was in sand
or mud. I use the bottle method of cleaning as suggested by Sheldon Brown in:
sheldonbrown.comchains.htmlOpen ↗ It works and I found the article to be an informative piece
all about chains. Well worth the read.

BTW, I use SRAM chains and I've found their quick-links are variable: easy to open to quite
difficult to open. I cut an old spoke and made it into a tool that hooks the chain in 2 places about
8 links apart. So, if I take 9 or 10 links between the hooks, a slack area is created. I arrange it
so that the quick-link is in the slack area and it is much easier to open.

Steve

"Steve Shapiro" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

BTW, I use SRAM chains and I've found their quick-links are variable: easy to open to quite
difficult to open.

Me too, the original Craig ones (licensed to SRAM, I believe), were much better.

Quoted message said:

I cut an old spoke and made it into a tool that hooks the chain in 2 places about 8 links apart.
So, if I take 9 or 10 links between the hooks, a slack area is created. I arrange it so that the
quick-link is in the slack area and it is much easier to open.

I think it's easier to make a slack section by just dropping your chain off to the inside of your
smallest ring. To open reluctant (usually fairly new, but dirty) quick links, I use a spoke that's
bent into a "V", which I insert on either side of the quicklink to squeeze the pins together with
one hand, while, with the other hand, I squeeze the sideplates together with my fingers or a pair of
needlenose pliers.

Quoted message said:

Steve

(jim) said:

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike but
a thorough cleaning.

Every 300-500 miles I drop the chain ina bottle of solvent, clean the drive train, and relube the
chain. I don't touch it or lube it in between. Bob Denton Gulf Stream International Delray Beach,
Florida www.sinkthestink.com Manufacturers of Sink the Stink

Bob Denton said:

(jim) said:

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike
but a thorough cleaning.

Every 300-500 miles I drop the chain ina bottle of solvent, clean the drive train, and relube the
chain. I don't touch it or lube it in between.

About the same for me.

--
Benjamin Lewis

How you look depends on where you go.

"jim" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I got a new chain this year and got the type that has a

gold colored

Quoted message said:

link that can be slid apart easily to remove the chain

instead of

Quoted message said:

requiring a chain tool. It's so easy I'm sure I'll be

cleaning it

Quoted message said:

more often. I just did it after 500 miles and there was a

fair build

Quoted message said:

up of crud (probably from leftover sand from the

snowstorms.)

Quoted message said:

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe

down with

Quoted message said:

the chain still on the bike but a thorough cleaning.

I clean and relube it when it starts to feel gritty, or when it gets so dry it starts to squeak. How
many hours/miles this takes varies immensely, depending on conditions. On those incredibly dusty
trails in soCal, or a muddy ride anywhere, this is after every ride. On the road in nice weather,
it's at least hundreds of miles.

I wipe the chain down before and after every ride, to remove accumulated dirt, and excess oil
that would cause more dirt to stick. Other than that, I just feel the links for grit, and listen
for squeaks.

Matt O.

"Paul Kopit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 01 May 2003 11:36:21 GMT, [email hidden] (Mike

Krueger) said:

Quoted message said:

Cut the top off the bottle and remove the chain.

Reinstall, run it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

through a clean rag, and relube.

I attach a piece of dental floss to the chain's end and

leave the end

Quoted message said:

dangling out when I screw on the cap. When I remove the

chain by

Quoted message said:

pulling the floss, I don't need to cut the bottle. Used

ketchup

Quoted message said:

bottles work better and have a bigger opening.

I don't see how you can pull a chain out this way, after it's all folded around and over itself.

I use a large mayonnaise jar, which has a wide mouth.

Matt O.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

"Paul Kopit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 01 May 2003 11:36:21 GMT, [email hidden] (Mike

Krueger) said:

Quoted message said:

Cut the top off the bottle and remove the chain.

Reinstall, run it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

through a clean rag, and relube.

I attach a piece of dental floss to the chain's end and

leave the end

Quoted message said:

dangling out when I screw on the cap. When I remove the

chain by

Quoted message said:

pulling the floss, I don't need to cut the bottle. Used

ketchup

Quoted message said:

bottles work better and have a bigger opening.

I don't see how you can pull a chain out this way, after it's all folded around and over itself.

If you lower it in that way, it will pull out the same way, because the coils won't be tangled.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

(Qui si parla Campagnolo) said:

jsherman-<< So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on
the bike but a thorough cleaning.

I do once per month along with pulleys and chainrings and freewheel cogs....

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Once per month" gives us little information: That may be 150mi or
1200mi. How many miles do your chains last @1/16" stretch?

Bruce Ball

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I think it's easier to make a slack section by just dropping your chain off to the inside of your
smallest ring. To open reluctant (usually fairly new, but dirty) quick links, I use a spoke that's
bent into a "V", which I insert on either side of the quicklink to squeeze the pins together with
one hand, while, with the other hand, I squeeze the sideplates together with my fingers or a pair
of needlenose pliers.

I often hear how hard these puppies can be to get open. Have I always been lucky, or do i do it
differently?

To get mine apart, i put the quicklink in the lower part of the chain (on a derailleured bike), and
pull it into a "z" around teh quicklink, like i was about to loosen a tight link. this means that i
dont need a gadget to hold slack in the chain. in this "z" setup, i can pinch the quicklink together
with one hand, while simultaneously pressing the ends together. they pop apart, no matter how old,
gritty (it was a snowy salty winter), etc, they are. Usually it slips apart immediately. Sometimes
it is harder, and slips apart after a couple seconds of wiggling. I wouldn't consider that tough to
get apart, though.

Anthony

After it sounds dry, 3-500 miles, I spray on more lube and wipe it down with a rag. I never take a
chain off the bike to clean it. My chains last 3 to 5,000 miles before they strech more then 3/32" (
more than 1/16, less than
1/8). As described in the FAQ I've never been able to completely clean it and be sure the inside
doesn't have the grit just moved around. So I don't try. Chains are too cheap to bother. But I
also don't keep my bike perfectly clean. I'd rather ride a dirty bike than stay at home cleaning
it. I keep the chain lubed, and all the mechs working and quiet. Dried worms on the underside of
the downtube remind me of my morning commute.

-Bruce

"jim" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I got a new chain this year and got the type that has a gold colored link that can be slid apart
easily to remove the chain instead of requiring a chain tool. It's so easy I'm sure I'll be
cleaning it more often. I just did it after 500 miles and there was a fair build up of crud
(probably from leftover sand from the snowstorms.)

So how often does everyone clean theirs? Not just a wipe down with the chain still on the bike but
a thorough cleaning.