Same here been using this technique since I was a little kid and I never use WD-40 that stuff is horrid they have videos online that prove how bad it cleans dirt After Time when it dries up people don't notice cuz they're constantly reapplying and wiping it down but it's actually kind of counterproductive
No it doesn't. At least not for me. I have used the toothbrushes for years. Now i have a chain cleaning tool and it is a difference like day and night.
@@chrisflores1448 I only use wd40 only once but put it on the cleaning cloth . This is because I was trying out and experimenting with different chain lubricants . One popular brand of ceramic lubricant gummed and coated my chain with a thick hardened ceramic coating. I stopped using that ceramic lubricant and never had to clean with wd40 again .
I find that a chain that’s really dirty, especially with wet lube applied does NOT come clean with bike-specific degreasers. In that case I use either paraffin or white spirit. I minimise the environmental and cost impact by pouring the dirty liquid back in the can: the dirt settles to the bottom and the liquid can be reused again and again. I used the same can of paraffin for about 20 years! With dry lube, normal degreaser seems to work just fine.
Spot on with this Rob, my dad showed me how to do that 50 years ago with white spirit so as to keep reusing it. Zero chance of chain rusting as it is a very light oil and by using the same fluid multiple times its cheap and your not flushing it into the enviroment. No need to reinvent the wheel (OK bad pun!) with other expensive "specialist" products.
@@raczyk Paraffin is also known as kerosene, it's a hydrocarbon liquid used e.g. as a fuel. Whether using paraffin or white spirit, I clean that off with 'normal' bike chain cleaner, then finally rinse the cleaner off with water.
Pro Tip: If using a concealed motor in the seat tube, be extra cautious when cleaning around the bottom bracket. White spirit and similar products can play havoc with the electronics.
I tried for the first couple of years with my latest bike (I have only owned and ridden a single bike at a time)... to keep it clean and shiny all the time, immaculate. I obsessed over the chain to the point of cleaning it during rides. This is all while averaging over 7K miles a year, 20 to 120 mile rides year around. That means for me, living in the Pacific Northwest, 4 to 6 months of riding in the rain and on muddy wet surfaces. I have a Rohloff Speedhub mounted on a full-suspension touring bike coupled to a BBSHD mid-drive and it's amazing. It's broken me to ever owning another bike without a Rohloff. The mid-drive and the Speedhub are made for each other, they go together like lamb and tuna fish. @ The 1st year I rode I changed the chain 8 times... whenever it got to 0.5% wear as tested with a Park tool. After another 25K miles and 4 years riding I now wipe the chain clean daily and swap my chains every 6 months. Drop the chain, flip or replace the Rohloff gear, mount a new chain, and ride. Always having a straight chain line makes it amazingly easy to maintain. 11 Jul 19 - 71 miles w/front panniers & trailer on less than 15Ah... 1/2 the packs capacity. www.relive.cc/view/g37290970278 photos.app.goo.gl/RD1NrDPCZQuHpWja9 For anyone that thinks they can really clean the chain on the bike, follow this guys instructions then pull the chain and drop it in some type of solvent and see how filthy it still is.
@@FlourescentPotato The fact that you consider 11 sentences an essay makes me weep for the future little lady. It's not a question of proof or disproof, it's merely a question of choice as any bike rider understands... but I understand why you don't. You stay safe Pumpkin.
I use the nail brushes and they're wonderful. I usually blow off excess water from my chain with compressed air and let it sit overnight before lubing again to make sure it's bone dry. Cheers!
I repeated everything that he illustrated from gloving up, muc'n off and suds'n down and my chain and Cannondale went from a black coal color to shiny and clean! Thank you very much for such an educational video.!! 5 STARS! Best 4:46
My chain came from the shop with the worst quality black grease. I bought some good chain degreaser and washed it a few times to get it all off, then gave it a good lube with some Muc-Off Dry Lube, and now it’s so much better.
My weekly routine: • Remove wheels • Remove chain • Clean chain for 15 minutes with Simple Green (non-toxic solvent and detergent) diluted 1:15 in an ultrasonic cleaner. Repeat twice more with fresh cleaning solution. This is by far the most tidy and low-labor way to get a chain really, really clean. Cleaning the rest of the drive train (and the rear cassette) with the chain out of the way is much easier. (The time it takes me to clean the rest of the bike and drive train-at a rather leisurely pace-is usually about the same as the 45 minutes of ultrasonic cleaning.) Put it all back together, lube and go!
at least they still say there is other stuff. and not trying to say muc off stuff is the only way . someone's gotta pay for all their trips and bike's I guess
I used shower gel, eg Lynx, that Mint one, etc, that I received as unwanted presents as my degreaser. It worked very well, and smelt a little nicer than most!
An old tooth brush works a treat for me, it would have just gone in the bin anyway & saves having to go buy a nail brush. Just give it a rinse in degreaser a few times whilst cleaning the chain.
I use Simply Green to degrease my chain in a Park Tool Chain Gang cleaner. Sometimes I use WD40 to do quick degrease, wipe it completely dry, then lube my chain. Regular WD40 is not a lubricant, but WD40 did come out with a version of chain lube, which I haven't tried yet.
1.5 hours later I've actually cleaned my bike in winter! Thanks for the great content guys, with your segments, my excellent lbs and getting punctures I've learnt heaps about bike maintenance I'd otherwise be too lazy to do. :)
Thanks! & btw... rubbing a teaspoon of any cooking oil, such a canola, is very good at removing oil and such from hands. Followed by soap and very warm water.
Using an empty squash bottle to clean chain: 1. Drop chain into squash bottle and pour in a cup of White Spirits. 2. Secure Lid and shake for 1 minute. 3. Poor out liquid and repeat with another cup of white spirits. 4. Once you have done step 1 and 2 twice, cut open the bottle with a knife and remove the chain. 5. Now roll the chain up and hold in 1 hand. 6. Smother the rolled up chain in Fairy liquid and rub in hands until chain is shiny. 7. Wash with water to make sure all the fairy liquid is removed. 8. Leave chain to dry on a peice of dry kitchen roll. Really good tip and is a quick, cheap and effective way if cleaning your chain.
I use cold water, straight from the hose pipe, low pressure. Spray onto the cassette, chainrings and rear derailleur whilst back pedalling. Takes about 20 seconds... none of all this time consuming pissing around with brushes and expensive degreasant. All down to the lube I use... Weldtite TF2 Wet Lube. Washes off quite easily with plain water which obviously means you need to lube all the time in wet weather but my drive train is always immaculate. Quick dry off with kitchen roll and leave to dry overnight. I apply far too much oil when re-lubing and wipe off the excess with kitchen roll. Takes all of 2 minutes. I just pour it on whilst back pedalling... no messing about putting a dot on every link.
Thanks to all those that sponsor GCN and the production of these enjoyable videos. To those that continually complain about the products they use quit whining and go make your own videos. Let us know how that works out for you.
This my way. I use Royal Purple gear oil on my chain one drop per link. After every ride I use dawn and warm water on the chain. First I soap the chain with warm soapy water. Then with a a clean soapy rag under the chain I spread dawn from the spout on the chain. I then scrub the chain by cranking the chain. Then I use a soft paint brush on the chain as I crank it. Then I put a little dawn on the cassette and crank it round against a soap brush. I do the same for the chain wheels. Royal purple lubes nice and cleans easily. I do this after every ride or every 60 miles. It takes 5 minutes. I have a bucket with the dawn, brushes and rags out where I clean the chain all the time, no setup time.
Awesome video thank you! After drying chain with a rag, you said you should re-lube it and mentioned an aerosol. My question is after you've sprayed it with gt85/wd40 etc, do you wipe that off, wait 20 mins or can you immediately after spraying it, put lube on the chain?
Good question, you’ll sort of learn with experience how often you’ll need to do it. Degrease and clean when the chain starts attracting gunk and grime and going black. Lube once you’ve cleaned it, or it needs to be lubed, ie rain washes the line out or the chain starts to squeal
In between degreasings... use a microfiber cloth. It removes virtually everything from the whole drive train, except the good grease that's built up between the chain links. Chain goes virtually dry. Then relube and TF2 jockey wheel inners. Fast, simple and almost mess free. Only really unsuitable if lots of grit has caked on. Then fluids (proper degreasing in chain bath) is the only way.
thank you for this valuable and very well thought out and easily explained tutorial..and being environmentally friendly is so important to me so thanks again for being so conscious and helpful
Will just drying with a rag really get the chain dry enough to not allow it to rust? I would think in between the plates the water will never be completely removed and that's where rust will form no?
I use a spray degreaser then sponge then wait then normal muc off or equivalent then sponge again I used to use chain baths for years but found the sponge more effective. I of course use different sponge to clean rest of bike. I use dish brush from ikea to do cassette and jockey wheels. Bike stand really helps to clean bike I got mine from lidl for £30, surprisingly good quality and worth every penny. Removing wheels makes it much easier to clean everything. Muc off cleaners work well, diesel is non biodegradable and a carcinogen that is if you don't slip over and kill your self first in what you spilt. I haven't found the muc off lubes that amazing and quite expensive used wurth wax and fenwicks. Whatever you use makes sure it's on a clean chain and you wipe off excess
Love the bike maintenance tips you guys post. Wondering what to do when it's too dang cold out to wash your bike outside. Miles and miles on the trainer in the winter make my drivetrain sound pretty sad but I'm not about to go out and clean my bike in sub zero temps in Wisconsin. Any ideas or tips to give the bike a once over when it's too cold to clean it outside?
I used a cleaning product called mean green, when that ran out, spray nine. Not sure if those particular products would harm a bike but it seemed to work just fine.
I blow my chain while turning it with high pressure air from my air compressor. Does an awesome job of blowing grit and sand etc. then I lube it and hold a shop towel around it while cranking. Repeat this a few times and viola. A very clean chain I believe. Compressed air works great. Thanks for posting
Another good tip not disclosed in this video, but time consuming, spin each connector roller of your chain to verify unimpeded movement. A stopped roller will cause your bike chain to kick as you pedal, causing serious jars, and even dislocation of chain from drive track, in the worst cases it can even break the chain.
I use a quicklink to remove chain and soak it in mineral spirits overnight. Then remove and use paper towel to dry chain. The paper towel sucks all the dirty solvent out of chain. I rotate 3 chains to even out the wear on cassette and chainrings, so I always have a clean chain ready to reinstall while the other is soaking. I run 9-speed 1x setup so I can reuse the quicki link many times over. Some made for 10 and 11 speed chains are not reusable so this trick may not work for you.
Is it good to follow the exact same procedure even if there is mud and rocky particles on the chain of a mountain bike or is it fine to first use a brush to get the excess dirt/tiny rocks off and then do the rest show on this video ?
I find that my use of "white lightning clean ride" has decreased the number of times I have to clean my chain (and I ride mostly MTB), the wax based lube tends to shed the dirt, and by the time I have to re-lube my chain has cleaned itself pretty well.
Am interested as to what stand you're using on your back wheel? I've got a big park bike stand which is great but a pain to set up when I just want to do some basic chain cleaning.
Any plastic bottle is useful to cleaning chain. Replace chain and put it in bottle with solvent. Shake it hard and change solvent couple times. Put soap water and shake. Pour it out and cut pottle open to get chain out. Dry chain and place it to bike. Lubricate with oil useing paint brush. Solvent can use multiple times because it's clearing between use. You can use two chains that you replace when washing. The sprockets will wear to fit both.
I used citrus degreaser and my chain was astonishingly clean after using the hack of two nail brushes! But, ... both nail brushes disintegrated afterwards when I dropped them in a bucket of soapy water to rinse off! I’m now looking for old-fashioned wooden nail brushes.
Thanks for that, bro. I found the nail cleaners particularly useful and not just on the chain. A long handle soft-bristle kitchen (cup?) scrubber helped on tight spots. I used environmentally friendly degreaser and it seemed to work but the grease certainly didn't fly off. The grease on my chain etc may have been particularly heavy but perhaps the trick is to leave the degreaser on for some time? I'm really not sure that good ol' soap and water wouldn't have done the job but anyway my bike chain and surrounding bits look a lot cleaner than what they were!
Hi I really like your video on how to clean your chain, and I will definitely follow your cleaning process. Can you please tell me the name of the bike stand that you’re using to hold your bike, and were to buy it at. I leave in a small apartment and having a bike stand like yours would be awesome to have.
SD-20 is a wipe off degreaser which works very well if you are short on time... It is strong but gentle and does not erode carbon, paint, or rusts any metal frame. It is simply spray and leave on, and wipe off... Boom clean in a pinch...
Great video - at the 3:27 to 3:30 or so minute mark though, you spoke a bit too quickly and I lost what you were saying...something about using an aerosol spray?
I tried everything, and the best method for me is to take the chain off via removing missing link, put it in a plastic bottle with some gasoline and shake for couple minutes. It is the ONLY way you can remove gunk underneath the LINKS and ROLLERS. Rinse with a clean gasoline , and air dry the chain. The gasoline is excellent and cheap de-greaser. It will dissolve ANY gunk and will evaporate completely, than you can use any lube you prefer. It's enough to do this once a month, or every 1000 km. (I'm riding a road bike, mostly dry conditions. Cyclists who deal with bad weather, mud or dust should clean their chain more often.)
What’s the paintbrush you use? I can’t get my old toothbrushes to fit into the gaps between the chain rings on the cassette. Thanks for the great video!
Great video. Can anyone tell me, after a long ride when the chain gets dirty can I just wipe it down with a non-abrasive cloth to clean it or will this remove the lube as well?
There's a degreaser for cleaning the chain and another one available for cleaning the cassette made by the same people. Is it really necessary to buy more than one degreaser? It's probably got the same stuff in both products.
I've never used degreaser. Ever. After each ride I lube with TriFlow, the run the chain through the Grunge Brush, and wipe clean. When I'm done the chain is clean and lubed. I use and old t-shirt in each of the cogs. Entire process takes no more than five minutes. My chain typically last up to 3,500 miles.
Better method: Install quick link, get a small plastic jar with screw on cap (peanut butter jar works great), fill with about an inch of paint thinner or similar solvent. Put the chain in jar and shake, make sure the cap is on tight and does not leak, let it soak for 10 minutes, shake again, then take chain out and dry off with rag..like new again. Install and re-oil.
IF you're stuck for cash you can make a mix of bicarb and vinegar in a bucket and then either paint it on or spray it on once the mix has settled back from bubbling. I've used it with a small part of metho mixed in. You then brush on some bio friendly washing up liquid and rinse with boiling water. It works especially if you don;t let your chain get really manky.
I have a crockpot dedicated to chain maintenance. Just a few inches of wax in there and I 'boil' my chain every week or so, especially after long wet rides. The entire drivetrain stays clean. No oil attracting grit anywhere. I live in Oregon and ride through snow, rain, and mud. Keeping everything clean also means it lasts longer.
+todd lacey starting with a clean chain I simply drop it into a crock pot of melted parafin wax. I usually soak it 5-10 minutes just to make certain the wax has penetrated all the rollers. Using pliars I'll lift it out and let the excess wax drip off, then cool on a scrap of paper until it's cool enough to reassemble with a masterlink. It's almost never dirty enough to think of having to clean it again prior to rewaxing, unless I've just come from cyclocross, and if it is dirty, it's simply dusty dirt rather than nasty road grit made by putting oil where stuff would pollute it. I've been using this method a few years now, and can't ever imagine going back to a mess.
WD-40 is an excellent degreaser and much safer for chains than alkali type degreasers...and cheaper than bike specific degreasers. Just don't use it as a lubricant.
+Growing Young It does not work perfectly for a lubricant unless it's dry out. Last time I used WD-40 I went for a ride on some flooded sandy trails and by the end of my ride my chain kept binding up in my rear derailleur.
I used to use it for blasting out all grease in my speedplay pedals. Now many may say that's a horrible Idea but if I just reapplied it every ride my pedals had next to no friction. WD-40 is an amazing product but you really have to know how to use it.
I've used a pair of old tooth brushes taped together. Works just as well as a proper chain cleaning tool.
me too! saw some laying in the ground from past friends and might as well use it
Tomas Mulqueen
The only problem I had was that there is no option of seeing a new update to a page turner
Same here been using this technique since I was a little kid and I never use WD-40 that stuff is horrid they have videos online that prove how bad it cleans dirt After Time when it dries up people don't notice cuz they're constantly reapplying and wiping it down but it's actually kind of counterproductive
No it doesn't. At least not for me. I have used the toothbrushes for years. Now i have a chain cleaning tool and it is a difference like day and night.
@@chrisflores1448 I only use wd40 only once but put it on the cleaning cloth . This is because I was trying out and experimenting with different chain lubricants . One popular brand of ceramic lubricant gummed and coated my chain with a thick hardened ceramic coating. I stopped using that ceramic lubricant and never had to clean with wd40 again .
These old GCN how to videos are still the best.
I find that a chain that’s really dirty, especially with wet lube applied does NOT come clean with bike-specific degreasers. In that case I use either paraffin or white spirit. I minimise the environmental and cost impact by pouring the dirty liquid back in the can: the dirt settles to the bottom and the liquid can be reused again and again. I used the same can of paraffin for about 20 years!
With dry lube, normal degreaser seems to work just fine.
Spot on with this Rob, my dad showed me how to do that 50 years ago with white spirit so as to keep reusing it. Zero chance of chain rusting as it is a very light oil and by using the same fluid multiple times its cheap and your not flushing it into the enviroment. No need to reinvent the wheel (OK bad pun!) with other expensive "specialist" products.
🙏🏼
Thanks so much for sharing this
Whats paraffin, wax? Is white spirit cleaning easier? Do you have to dunk in alcohol at the end to remove the white spirit before greasing?
@@raczyk Paraffin is also known as kerosene, it's a hydrocarbon liquid used e.g. as a fuel. Whether using paraffin or white spirit, I clean that off with 'normal' bike chain cleaner, then finally rinse the cleaner off with water.
That intro... With that beanie and the music it looks like a video of
"How to steal a road bike"
Haha
Lol
Ha ha
Excellent video. Factual and to the point without larking about with lame jokes and trying to become a TH-cam 'personality'
Pro Tip: If using a concealed motor in the seat tube, be extra cautious when cleaning around the bottom bracket. White spirit and similar products can play havoc with the electronics.
can play havoc - distutb, disrupt as in
"shift work can play havoc with the body clock"
Just blood dope. Less chance of getting electrocuted.
I tried for the first couple of years with my latest bike (I have only owned and ridden a single bike at a time)... to keep it clean and shiny all the time, immaculate. I obsessed over the chain to the point of cleaning it during rides. This is all while averaging over 7K miles a year, 20 to 120 mile rides year around. That means for me, living in the Pacific Northwest, 4 to 6 months of riding in the rain and on muddy wet surfaces. I have a Rohloff Speedhub mounted on a full-suspension touring bike coupled to a BBSHD mid-drive and it's amazing. It's broken me to ever owning another bike without a Rohloff. The mid-drive and the Speedhub are made for each other, they go together like lamb and tuna fish. @ The 1st year I rode I changed the chain 8 times... whenever it got to 0.5% wear as tested with a Park tool. After another 25K miles and 4 years riding I now wipe the chain clean daily and swap my chains every 6 months. Drop the chain, flip or replace the Rohloff gear, mount a new chain, and ride. Always having a straight chain line makes it amazingly easy to maintain.
11 Jul 19 - 71 miles w/front panniers & trailer on less than 15Ah... 1/2 the packs capacity.
www.relive.cc/view/g37290970278
photos.app.goo.gl/RD1NrDPCZQuHpWja9
For anyone that thinks they can really clean the chain on the bike, follow this guys instructions then pull the chain and drop it in some type of solvent and see how filthy it still is.
you think you disproved this video, but really you just wrote an essay on how you're overly neurotic about your bike chain
@@FlourescentPotato The fact that you consider 11 sentences an essay makes me weep for the future little lady. It's not a question of proof or disproof, it's merely a question of choice as any bike rider understands... but I understand why you don't. You stay safe Pumpkin.
I forgive the occasional commercial for muc-off, everyone needs to make a living : ) Its a small price to pay for all the great vids GCN post.
I love getting my chain really clean and spent a lot of time cleaning. Thanks for this tips. Love it.
Thank you so much for this video! I'm gradually learning bike maintenance as I go and my chain is lovely and shiny now! :)
Our pleasure.
That's what she said
I use the nail brushes and they're wonderful. I usually blow off excess water from my chain with compressed air and let it sit overnight before lubing again to make sure it's bone dry. Cheers!
I repeated everything that he illustrated from gloving up, muc'n off and suds'n down and my chain and Cannondale went from a black coal color to shiny and clean!
Thank you very much for such an educational video.!!
5 STARS!
Best 4:46
My chain came from the shop with the worst quality black grease. I bought some good chain degreaser and washed it a few times to get it all off, then gave it a good lube with some Muc-Off Dry Lube, and now it’s so much better.
My weekly routine:
• Remove wheels
• Remove chain
• Clean chain for 15 minutes with Simple Green (non-toxic solvent and detergent) diluted 1:15 in an ultrasonic cleaner. Repeat twice more with fresh cleaning solution. This is by far the most tidy and low-labor way to get a chain really, really clean.
Cleaning the rest of the drive train (and the rear cassette) with the chain out of the way is much easier. (The time it takes me to clean the rest of the bike and drive train-at a rather leisurely pace-is usually about the same as the 45 minutes of ultrasonic cleaning.) Put it all back together, lube and go!
That's some OCD
Every week? This feels like a monthly routine or 2 monthly routine
Man your bike must be getting real gritty every week of you gotta do that weekly
i would of said every 6 months, not ever week thats madness. unless you ride like 100km a day
@@LuKaS2oo9 😭😭
Wow! Amazing! Where were the days before GCN were sponsored by muc-off when Si told us to use wd40?
at least they still say there is other stuff. and not trying to say muc off stuff is the only way . someone's gotta pay for all their trips and bike's I guess
+RC 1986 I was really expecting to see the can of wd40 come out......today is a somber day indeed.
+Marc Ariss totally! haha.. great to see all those comments... xD
+RC 1986 On a short wash not the long one or detailed chain clean.
+RC 1986 There were, there was this video which came out one week after the 5 minute bike wash! th-cam.com/video/5ak4AzlUz5Q/w-d-xo.html
I used shower gel, eg Lynx, that Mint one, etc, that I received as unwanted presents as my degreaser. It worked very well, and smelt a little nicer than most!
I use simple green. Thanks for the video
An old tooth brush works a treat for me, it would have just gone in the bin anyway & saves having to go buy a nail brush. Just give it a rinse in degreaser a few times whilst cleaning the chain.
How often should you be doing this ?? Can you make a daily / weekly/ monthly maintenance ?? I have no idea where to start lol
Been cleaning the chain after every other ride since day one. Looks brand new
Then again, I only had it for like a month. 🙃
I like this guy. Great presenting style and a really interesting video too.
I use Simply Green to degrease my chain in a Park Tool Chain Gang cleaner. Sometimes I use WD40 to do quick degrease, wipe it completely dry, then lube my chain. Regular WD40 is not a lubricant, but WD40 did come out with a version of chain lube, which I haven't tried yet.
I use Simple Green. Works great!!
1.5 hours later I've actually cleaned my bike in winter! Thanks for the great content guys, with your segments, my excellent lbs and getting punctures I've learnt heaps about bike maintenance I'd otherwise be too lazy to do. :)
Sold on the double nail brush hack!
Si is certainly one of my favourite online bikey's.
first time bike owner here!!!! this is extremely helpful, thank you!!!
Thanks! & btw... rubbing a teaspoon of any cooking oil, such a canola, is very good at removing oil and such from hands. Followed by soap and very warm water.
Using an empty squash bottle to clean chain:
1. Drop chain into squash bottle and pour in a cup of White Spirits.
2. Secure Lid and shake for 1 minute.
3. Poor out liquid and repeat with another cup of white spirits.
4. Once you have done step 1 and 2 twice, cut open the bottle with a knife and remove the chain.
5. Now roll the chain up and hold in 1 hand.
6. Smother the rolled up chain in Fairy liquid and rub in hands until chain is shiny.
7. Wash with water to make sure all the fairy liquid is removed.
8. Leave chain to dry on a peice of dry kitchen roll.
Really good tip and is a quick, cheap and effective way if cleaning your chain.
Thank you. Once again one of your videos has helped me a lot and saved me a bit of money.
The most helpful video on this subject I found so far 👏
I use cold water, straight from the hose pipe, low pressure. Spray onto the cassette, chainrings and rear derailleur whilst back pedalling. Takes about 20 seconds... none of all this time consuming pissing around with brushes and expensive degreasant. All down to the lube I use... Weldtite TF2 Wet Lube. Washes off quite easily with plain water which obviously means you need to lube all the time in wet weather but my drive train is always immaculate. Quick dry off with kitchen roll and leave to dry overnight. I apply far too much oil when re-lubing and wipe off the excess with kitchen roll. Takes all of 2 minutes. I just pour it on whilst back pedalling... no messing about putting a dot on every link.
Thanks to all those that sponsor GCN and the production of these enjoyable videos. To those that continually complain about the products they use quit whining and go make your own videos. Let us know how that works out for you.
I use simple green diluted with water with park tool chain cleaner tool. gets me a perfectly clean chain everytime.
By how much are you dilute it?
Lorenzo Cordero I don’t delete it at all
GCN uses SRAM and Shimano, nobody bats an eye. Then comes like 5 pixels of muc-off, *everyone loses their minds*
Very true, the only people GNC is pissing off is the Campagnolo users.
Danial Arif hi Malay ke
can't wait. Friday evening having my hair styled and cut like Dan Lloyd's. Hoping to look fresh for a velodrome session at Derby on Saturday.
This my way. I use Royal Purple gear oil on my chain one drop per link. After every ride I use dawn and warm water on the chain. First I soap the chain with warm soapy water. Then with a a clean soapy rag under the chain I spread dawn from the spout on the chain. I then scrub the chain by cranking the chain. Then I use a soft paint brush on the chain as I crank it. Then I put a little dawn on the cassette and crank it round against a soap brush. I do the same for the chain wheels. Royal purple lubes nice and cleans easily. I do this after every ride or every 60 miles. It takes 5 minutes. I have a bucket with the dawn, brushes and rags out where I clean the chain all the time, no setup time.
Stand up a bit of cardboard between chain and back wheel to protect your rim & tyre. Oil rots rubber and lubes brake pads.
Awesome video thank you! After drying chain with a rag, you said you should re-lube it and mentioned an aerosol. My question is after you've sprayed it with gt85/wd40 etc, do you wipe that off, wait 20 mins or can you immediately after spraying it, put lube on the chain?
Fantastic video. Cuts through a lot of the woof I have read in other articles and tells you what you need to know. Thanks.
Informative video especially for beginners like me. But, how often should we lubricate our chain and do we need to clean or degrease the chain daily?
Good question, you’ll sort of learn with experience how often you’ll need to do it. Degrease and clean when the chain starts attracting gunk and grime and going black. Lube once you’ve cleaned it, or it needs to be lubed, ie rain washes the line out or the chain starts to squeal
@@gcn okay thank you so much for your help. Well you have a nice team, there are few popular channels which reply and you are one of them.
Stay Happy
I don't know if I should do this every time since putting oil on there every time takes some time. Do you clean it after every cycle run?
That chain bath looks great think ill invest in one its on ebay comes with the drivetrain cleaner to
In between degreasings... use a microfiber cloth. It removes virtually everything from the whole drive train, except the good grease that's built up between the chain links. Chain goes virtually dry. Then relube and TF2 jockey wheel inners. Fast, simple and almost mess free. Only really unsuitable if lots of grit has caked on. Then fluids (proper degreasing in chain bath) is the only way.
thank you for this valuable and very well thought out and easily explained tutorial..and being environmentally friendly is so important to me so thanks again for being so conscious and helpful
Will just drying with a rag really get the chain dry enough to not allow it to rust? I would think in between the plates the water will never be completely removed and that's where rust will form no?
Thanks Simon, showing how to use the chain cleaning device briefly was the piece of information i was looking for!
"a gleaming drive train does wonders for your morale" LOL, it sure does! and the sound is priceless
Thank you sir. This video is concise, informative, and very helpful
I use a spray degreaser then sponge then wait then normal muc off or equivalent then sponge again I used to use chain baths for years but found the sponge more effective. I of course use different sponge to clean rest of bike. I use dish brush from ikea to do cassette and jockey wheels. Bike stand really helps to clean bike I got mine from lidl for £30, surprisingly good quality and worth every penny. Removing wheels makes it much easier to clean everything. Muc off cleaners work well, diesel is non biodegradable and a carcinogen that is if you don't slip over and kill your self first in what you spilt. I haven't found the muc off lubes that amazing and quite expensive used wurth wax and fenwicks. Whatever you use makes sure it's on a clean chain and you wipe off excess
Love the bike maintenance tips you guys post. Wondering what to do when it's too dang cold out to wash your bike outside. Miles and miles on the trainer in the winter make my drivetrain sound pretty sad but I'm not about to go out and clean my bike in sub zero temps in Wisconsin. Any ideas or tips to give the bike a once over when it's too cold to clean it outside?
Dude. That nail brush trick is way cool. I’ll be trying that.
NICE CLEANING OVER THE GRASS. GOOD FOR ENVIRONMENT
I used a cleaning product called mean green, when that ran out, spray nine. Not sure if those particular products would harm a bike but it seemed to work just fine.
I blow my chain while turning it with high pressure air from my air compressor. Does an awesome job of blowing grit and sand etc. then I lube it and hold a shop towel around it while cranking. Repeat this a few times and viola. A very clean chain I believe. Compressed air works great. Thanks for posting
Another good tip not disclosed in this video, but time consuming, spin each connector roller of your chain to verify unimpeded movement. A stopped roller will cause your bike chain to kick as you pedal, causing serious jars, and even dislocation of chain from drive track, in the worst cases it can even break the chain.
is there a certain number of miles that you should clean your drivetrain at?
Does Methylated spirits work? How long should u wait before applying bike chain oil
wax is the way, dirt sticks to the oil and you have the perfect conditions for making a grinding paste
I use a quicklink to remove chain and soak it in mineral spirits overnight. Then remove and use paper towel to dry chain. The paper towel sucks all the dirty solvent out of chain. I rotate 3 chains to even out the wear on cassette and chainrings, so I always have a clean chain ready to reinstall while the other is soaking. I run 9-speed 1x setup so I can reuse the quicki link many times over. Some made for 10 and 11 speed chains are not reusable so this trick may not work for you.
Thanks for this very useful video, added to my essential bike videos list!
Excellent video, thank you Sir
You're welcome 🙌
I like the double nail brush technique. Good bodge.
+1 for the Paint brush hack! Genius! 👏
Is it good to follow the exact same procedure even if there is mud and rocky particles on the chain of a mountain bike or is it fine to first use a brush to get the excess dirt/tiny rocks off and then do the rest show on this video ?
I find that my use of "white lightning clean ride" has decreased the number of times I have to clean my chain (and I ride mostly MTB), the wax based lube tends to shed the dirt, and by the time I have to re-lube my chain has cleaned itself pretty well.
Now how often would you need to do this clean in wet seasons and summer seasons? I live in Denmark so fairly similar weather as the UK.
I am new to bikes and ive got a probably stupid question... Do you need to apply any oil or lube after cleaning the chain?
yes you have to
Am interested as to what stand you're using on your back wheel? I've got a big park bike stand which is great but a pain to set up when I just want to do some basic chain cleaning.
Most authoritative. Much gratitude.
Thank you for service! Straight to the point !
Any plastic bottle is useful to cleaning chain. Replace chain and put it in bottle with solvent. Shake it hard and change solvent couple times. Put soap water and shake. Pour it out and cut pottle open to get chain out. Dry chain and place it to bike. Lubricate with oil useing paint brush. Solvent can use multiple times because it's clearing between use. You can use two chains that you replace when washing. The sprockets will wear to fit both.
Should I wash with sponge and soapy water before or after degreasing?
I used citrus degreaser and my chain was astonishingly clean after using the hack of two nail brushes! But, ... both nail brushes disintegrated afterwards when I dropped them in a bucket of soapy water to rinse off! I’m now looking for old-fashioned wooden nail brushes.
Thanks for that, bro. I found the nail cleaners particularly useful and not just on the chain. A long handle soft-bristle kitchen (cup?) scrubber helped on tight spots. I used environmentally friendly degreaser and it seemed to work but the grease certainly didn't fly off. The grease on my chain etc may have been particularly heavy but perhaps the trick is to leave the degreaser on for some time? I'm really not sure that good ol' soap and water wouldn't have done the job but anyway my bike chain and surrounding bits look a lot cleaner than what they were!
Hi I really like your video on how to clean your chain, and I will definitely follow your cleaning process. Can you please tell me the name of the bike stand that you’re using to hold your bike, and were to buy it at. I leave in a small apartment and having a bike stand like yours would be awesome to have.
my chain is fully black from the oil and i got some questions.1. isint that good for the chain?, 2. if i remove the grease wouldnt it ruin the chain?
Good product and appears well made. Easy to use.
Will this work on rusted chains or will I have to remove the rust first?
@sakinabumba that would mean a full replacement 🤦♂️ I ain't that rich and I don't have loads of knowledge on bikes. WD40 worked fine tho
@sakinabumba well, I'll do the process again
You can also just take an old sock or a rag and rub it along the chain as you turn the crank it works well
SD-20 is a wipe off degreaser which works very well if you are short on time... It is strong but gentle and does not erode carbon, paint, or rusts any metal frame. It is simply spray and leave on, and wipe off... Boom clean in a pinch...
You brush it on.
You don’t paint it on.
Unless of course,it’s paint!
Great channel,I’m obsessed 🚴♂️💨🏴
Silly question but how best to clean the grease and oil from your cleaning brushes?
Great video - at the 3:27 to 3:30 or so minute mark though, you spoke a bit too quickly and I lost what you were saying...something about using an aerosol spray?
I tried everything, and the best method for me is to take the chain off via removing missing link, put it in a plastic bottle with some gasoline and shake for couple minutes. It is the ONLY way you can remove gunk underneath the LINKS and ROLLERS. Rinse with a clean gasoline , and air dry the chain. The gasoline is excellent and cheap de-greaser. It will dissolve ANY gunk and will evaporate completely, than you can use any lube you prefer. It's enough to do this once a month, or every 1000 km. (I'm riding a road bike, mostly dry conditions. Cyclists who deal with bad weather, mud or dust should clean their chain more often.)
wow, did not know there was a chain cleaning tool! Getting one RIGHT NOW
What's the description of your bike please tell me its brand name and where you bought it from and how much it costs❤️
What’s the paintbrush you use? I can’t get my old toothbrushes to fit into the gaps between the chain rings on the cassette. Thanks for the great video!
Great video. Can anyone tell me, after a long ride when the chain gets dirty can I just wipe it down with a non-abrasive cloth to clean it or will this remove the lube as well?
There's a degreaser for cleaning the chain and another one available for cleaning the cassette made by the same people. Is it really necessary to buy more than one degreaser? It's probably got the same stuff in both products.
I've never used degreaser. Ever. After each ride I lube with TriFlow, the run the chain through the Grunge Brush, and wipe clean. When I'm done the chain is clean and lubed. I use and old t-shirt in each of the cogs. Entire process takes no more than five minutes. My chain typically last up to 3,500 miles.
Should i clean my chain if its got a bit of sand on it? Also if i just wipe it off should i lube it? The bike is new
Better method: Install quick link, get a small plastic jar with screw on cap (peanut butter jar works great), fill with about an inch of paint thinner or similar solvent. Put the chain in jar and shake, make sure the cap is on tight and does not leak, let it soak for 10 minutes, shake again, then take chain out and dry off with rag..like new again. Install and re-oil.
If I commute 6 days a week for about 7 miles each day, how often should I clean my chain? (The weather is usually dry) thanks!
IF you're stuck for cash you can make a mix of bicarb and vinegar in a bucket and then either paint it on or spray it on once the mix has settled back from bubbling. I've used it with a small part of metho mixed in. You then brush on some bio friendly washing up liquid and rinse with boiling water. It works especially if you don;t let your chain get really manky.
What is the difference between the first degreaser (green) and the second one (purple) ? It seems the second one has little bit ticker.
I have a crockpot dedicated to chain maintenance. Just a few inches of wax in there and I 'boil' my chain every week or so, especially after long wet rides. The entire drivetrain stays clean. No oil attracting grit anywhere. I live in Oregon and ride through snow, rain, and mud. Keeping everything clean also means it lasts longer.
Can you describe your method a bit more... Sounds interesting. Thanks.
+todd lacey starting with a clean chain I simply drop it into a crock pot of melted parafin wax. I usually soak it 5-10 minutes just to make certain the wax has penetrated all the rollers. Using pliars I'll lift it out and let the excess wax drip off, then cool on a scrap of paper until it's cool enough to reassemble with a masterlink. It's almost never dirty enough to think of having to clean it again prior to rewaxing, unless I've just come from cyclocross, and if it is dirty, it's simply dusty dirt rather than nasty road grit made by putting oil where stuff would pollute it. I've been using this method a few years now, and can't ever imagine going back to a mess.
when u say soapy water, what kind of soap are u using? will soap that i use to wash the dishes work?
Yep, exactly that.
Dawn blue dish detergent works best.
Fairy is best no doubt.
Hi, what rear axle stand is this ? Can you recommend some please ? Needs to be compact for my bike lock-up.
WD-40 is an excellent degreaser and much safer for chains than alkali type degreasers...and cheaper than bike specific degreasers. Just don't use it as a lubricant.
+Growing Young It does not work perfectly for a lubricant unless it's dry out. Last time I used WD-40 I went for a ride on some flooded sandy trails and by the end of my ride my chain kept binding up in my rear derailleur.
I used to use it for blasting out all grease in my speedplay pedals. Now many may say that's a horrible Idea but if I just reapplied it every ride my pedals had next to no friction. WD-40 is an amazing product but you really have to know how to use it.
WD40 congeals and makes a sticky, gummy interface quickly
thechosendude thank you
Growing Young This reply is 2 years late. Anyways, yes you can use WD40 to lube and clean a chain but you would need to reapply it essentially daily.
I always learn with you guys .... thanks!