Drivetrain Cleaning

[Prawo Jazdy]

Hello,

After much indecision I bought a road bike not too long ago. Nothing too serious, just an aluminium Ridgeback with Tiagra bits. I've only done about 30 miles on it, but want to make sure i'm treating it well so that it stays in good condition as long as possible. I'll be aiming to stick to dry riding at the moment, so i've got some ceramic wax lubricant. However, I think it came with wet lube on it from the factory (it has a green Finish Line sticker on it and had little globules of clear grease on the cassette when it arrived) so has picked up a bit of dirt in the few miles i've done. It's not filthy, but the tips of the sprockets are starting to go black, and the chain leaves black marks on you if you touch it, despite looking new and clean.

I want to give it a thorough clean before I apply the new lube. I'm planning to buy a chain cleaning tool, but how do people clean the cassette, jockey wheels, etc? Will running the chain through the tool clean the drivetrain as well, given that it's only slightly dirty?

Secondly, i've got some Bilt-Hamber Surfex HD that I use for the car. Is this suitable for a chain cleaning tool, or should I buy some cycle-specific stuff?

Thanks

[Benmac]

I've not come across a chain cleaner tool yet that isn't at best an utter faff and at worst worse than useless.

Get yourself some degreaser, disposable cloths and some cheap paintbrushes (1 inch and 2 inch are just right). Spray on degreaser, spin gears agitate with paintbrushes and wipe off with cloths, you get the idea.

This chap has the right idea.

http://youtu.be/Sf80DnCgHRQ

There are actually loads of guides from pro teams and the like on YouTube and none of them (that I've seen) use those chain cleaner things.

[nammynake]

Finish Line Ceramic lube does turn black through use - this is totally normal and mentions this on the bottle. Apart from looking a bit unsightly (especially if you have a bling gold chain) you should leave it be and only clean the chain and reapply when it looks dirty or you can feel a lot of crud during changes.

[Jimbo.]

Prawo Jazdy said:

Hello,

After much indecision I bought a road bike not too long ago. Nothing too serious, just an aluminium Ridgeback with Tiagra bits. I've only done about 30 miles on it, but want to make sure i'm treating it well so that it stays in good condition as long as possible. I'll be aiming to stick to dry riding at the moment, so i've got some ceramic wax lubricant. However, I think it came with wet lube on it from the factory (it has a green Finish Line sticker on it and had little globules of clear grease on the cassette when it arrived) so has picked up a bit of dirt in the few miles i've done. It's not filthy, but the tips of the sprockets are starting to go black, and the chain leaves black marks on you if you touch it, despite looking new and clean.

I want to give it a thorough clean before I apply the new lube. I'm planning to buy a chain cleaning tool, but how do people clean the cassette, jockey wheels, etc? Will running the chain through the tool clean the drivetrain as well, given that it's only slightly dirty?

Secondly, i've got some Bilt-Hamber Surfex HD that I use for the car. Is this suitable for a chain cleaning tool, or should I buy some cycle-specific stuff?

Thanks

Ridgeback are, IIRC, distributed by Madison, who also distribute Finish Line. My Genesis (Madison) also sports the same Finish Line sticker. The only lubricant it - and yours - came with was the stuff the chain came with from the chain manufacturer. Which, incidentally, is the best lubricant that chain will ever have, in all the right places. Don't, whatever you do, clean it off just now. Instead, just wipe the outsides of the chain with a GT85/WD40 soaked rag. This gets the gunk off the outside of the chain (where you DON'T want it), and leaves it inside the chain (where you DO want it).

[Smartboy]

Spray of your chosen bike-specific degreaser, leave to dwell and agitate with a stiff bristled brush.
I use a Park Tools one for getting into all the gaps between each link in the chain, and a toothbrush for cleaning the gunk off the cassette cogs and chainrings.
Rinse and dry before re-lubing.

Clean it when I think it needs it. After every muddy / wet ride on my MTB and every couple of weeks or so on my road bike (this gets neglected a bit) which is around 200 - 300 miles.

[Smartboy]

Just watched the you tube link posted above.

Is there a Detailing World for bikes? This chap should start one! Blimey - my brush for the oily bits and an old cloth for everything else suddenly seems inadequate!

[E38Ross]

I do the following

Spray with Bilt Hamber surfex HD

Agitate thoroughly with an old toothbrush, getting in each chain link and thoroughly over the cassette

Spray more Surfex HD to rinse the crap off

Wipe thoroughly using kitchen towel until it comes off clean

Apply (link by link) the lube. I use ceramic wet lube too.

[Jimbo.]

If you do clean on the bike, be careful not to use too much degreaser too close to the rear hub. A bucketful of Gunk will do wonders to your bearings!

[MadDad]

Get yourself a missing link, split the chain and clean it in a pot of petrol - so far the best and cheapest way of cleaning chains I have found.

As for cassette etc stiff brush with a bit of petrol on it, and for the jockey wheels some cloth with a bit of petrol. Just make sure you keep it all clear of the frame!

[Prawo Jazdy]

Thanks for all your replies. I think i'll take Jimbo's advice and just clean the gunk from the outside of the chain for the time being. When the time comes to add more lubricant, do you just put the ceramic wax on top of the factory stuff, or will the universe implode if they're mixed? I'll take a look at some YT videos as well.

Thank you all!

[Jimbo.]

Prawo Jazdy said:

Thanks for all your replies. I think i'll take Jimbo's advice and just clean the gunk from the outside of the chain for the time being. When the time comes to add more lubricant, do you just put the ceramic wax on top of the factory stuff, or will the universe implode if they're mixed? I'll take a look at some YT videos as well.

Thank you all!

Most "dry" lubricants are a grease suspended in a solvent carrier. Nice 'n' runny on the way out, flows into the chain, whereafter the solvent evaporates leaving the grease. Adding such a chain lube to a new chain won't harm it. It'll just be somewhat messy as the solvent washes out some of the old grease and dirt, to be redeposited on the outside of the chain and the rest of the drivetrain.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Jimbo. said:

If you do clean on the bike, be careful not to use too much degreaser too close to the rear hub. A bucketful of Gunk will do wonders to your bearings!

Learnt this one the hard way!!!!!