Simple chain cleaning question

Ken said:

Yeah thats the way I look at it, BOTOH keeping the chain clean would most
likely extend the usable life of the chainrings and the freewheel /
cassette. And those can get kind of expensive

I'll probably be six feet under before mine wear out. I've got an uber
thick Shimano BMX sprocket on the rear. The front's a single ring vintage
Suntour Crank with an odd duck bolt diameter that's unavailable, but the
simple design lets me just flip the ring around when the teeth become worn
on one side. Should be good for another five years. 😄

Ken said:

Quoted message said:

Sorry. I did find a thread from 10/29/2004 which did cover the same
subject. The concensus seems to be to use Simple Green to remove the
gunk, rinse it with water, dry it off - possibly using WD40, and then
lube.

That is pretty much the method I use. I have used this method both on and
off the bike. On the bike is far more difficult.

Sorta maybe...

I prop the bike up on the back deck and scrub the chain & cogs for a
couple minutes with a toothbrush and straight simple green. Then I use a
garden hose to thoroughly rinse under a high pressure stream. Air dry in
the sun. Not the best thing in the winter, but damn quick.

If you've got a quick-release link, then taking off the chain, throwing it
in a 2L soda bottle with a half cup of solvent and playing your new shaker
along to some Cuban jazz should do the trick. 🙂

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 07:40:17 -0400, Peter Cole <[email hidden]> wrote:

<William Holiday wrote:
<>
<> Alternatively, you can toss the chain in a plastic container with solvent, I use
<> paint thinner(cheap), shake, hang out to dry, mount and relube. You clean the
<> chain to prolong it's life and indirectly the rings and cogs. If you don't want
<> to keep it clean, just replace them them more often.
<>
<> If it doesn't rust, it'll perform. If you also keep it clean, it'll perform
<> longer. PC-48 is a good choice for 7sp, at half the cost of a PC68.
<
<A poster on this list performed an experiment where he cleaned half his
<chain only, he reported no difference in chain wear. So far no one else
<has confirmed this by repeating the experiment, but I've stopped
<cleaning my chains.

I don't think you have to clean them either, and I generally don't, until I get
caught in rain.

I'd be interested in hearing how you make out over time, especially through the
winter when the wet, sand and debris form grinding paste. I shifted to wax years
back because I lost a couple of cogs to a chain that didn't last 800miles. I
hadn't started checking wear because of the low miles. Now, if the chain gets
wet, I throw it the paint thinner and put another one on the bike.