jimh12345

I've been cleaning my bike chains for about 40 years and you'd think I'd have it down by now. But I'm still looking for a faster, neater way.

The 'chain scrubbers' I see are all designed to work with the chain on the bike. I see no purpose in that; I have master links in my chains and no problem taking them on and off. Using a 'scrubber' on the bike is just a hassle; an awkward position, solvent and water dripping on the floor... and then, how do I get the water and cleaner out of the chain? Spray WD-40 and get that all over the place? Not making sense.

I remove the chain, clean it in a laundry tub with a hand brush, rinse it, then take it outside and spray with WD-40 to displace the water; wipe, let dry, replace and lubricate.

What I want is a mechanical, crank-driven 'scrubber' NOT designed to work on the bike. I'm picturing something that feeds in the chain, scrubs it as it winds around some sprockets, then has a port for flushing without splashing. Yes, I realize the on-bike scrubbers can be used off the bike, but it seems awkward. Why isn't there a neat, contained, crank powered off-bike scrubber?

davidad

Drop it an ultrasonic cleaner for 20 minutes, rinse it off, dry it and lube it.

ThermionicScott 

Years ago, I saw a video of a neat motorized chain cleaner that did just that -- it was a shallow tray with derailleur pulleys mounted at each corner, filled with some kind of cleaner. It articulated the chain nicely, flushing out all of the gunk. Sort of like watching a cassette tape play.

To my consternation, I haven't been able to find the video since. Maybe I'll try making my own next time I get bored.

shelbyfv

Probably not much demand because chains don't generally need to be scrubbed if you can remove them from the bike. Ultrasonic cleaner if you like gadgets or drop them in mineral spirits. Squeaky clean

rm -rf

I used to regularly remove the quick link and completely clean the chain. But now I just wipe it off with a paper towel dampened with rubbing alcohol, and relube. The chains still have low wear over a lot of miles.

My old method really cleaned it, and was quite easy. I still do this once a year or so.

Drop the chain into a quart sized milk jug. Add a cup or so of mineral spirits. Cap and shake it. I think this gets more stuff out of the chain rollers than a scrubber would.

Drain the mineral spirits into a glass jar, and cap it. It will settle out to clear spirits and a permanent bottom layer of black gunk. It's easy to re-use the next time. I usually do a second shake with a little bit of fresh spirits, too.

A quick wipe of the chain with a paper towel to shine it up. I usually hang it and drip some rubbing alcohol down the chain to rinse out the mineral spirits, then let it dry, usually overnight.

Install the chain and relube.

Eric S.

Careful with the shaking if you use glass, though! The bottom blew out of a spaghetti sauce jar on me once. I ended up cleaning a lot more than my chain...

Lazyass

I've only been cleaning chains for 30 years, but I use a White Lightning clamp on chain brush thingy with Totally Awesome degreaser from the dollar store. It's not an awkward position. Takes about 5 seconds to put it on, and another 60 seconds of spinning the crank. I clean it outside so who cares if it drips, I finish washing the bike in the same spot. I hose it off and let it air dry outside after running it through an old towel. It's not like it's going to rust. I mean I don't know what the big deal is.

Delmarva

Unless you have a bicycle chain cleaning business with hundreds of mail-in orders I don't see the value in such a device.

jimh12345

To clarify - yes I've used the on-bike scrubbers many times. I'm looking for something similar that's designed for off-bike cleaning and works better for that purpose.

@Lazyass, with regard to "who cares", "what the big deal is" etc., I ride in the winter, I live in Minneapolis, and the garden hose is not an option in February. The on-bike cleaners put wet cr@ap on my shop floor. So like I said I clean the chain (and freewheel, and chainrings) in the laundry tub.

I've done the shake-in-a-jar thing and it doesn't get the job done. The issue is that in the winter I use more tenacious chain lubes that load up on dirt and don't just rinse off without some scrubbing.


@davidad, An ultrasonic cleaner is something I hadn't considered...

Leebo

Put bike on stand. Pedal crank backwards while rag is wrapped around chain. Apply new lube. Done. MA year round rider here.

jimh12345

Now why didn't I think of that? It would push the sand, grit and road salt down into the rollers and pins where I won't have to look at it. I could just wear earplugs when it gets noisy.

Clyde1820

Could do something like this guy's done. Rig up a speed controller to a small motor, with the chain dipping into a container of cleaner or lube.


Motorized system for cleaning bicycle chain - bike chain cleaning @ Jeff T - Youtube. (click -- tinyurl link to Youtube video)

Racing Dan

Dump the chain in a pickle jar with a generous amount of kerosene. Let it soak for a few minutes, maybe agitate it a bit. Then shake the jar vigorously for 30 sec. Take out the chain and it is now cleaned. Dry it with an old towel. Its that easy.
Let the kerosene sit in the jar and the gunk separates out and falls to the bottom. You can then pour it back and rinse the jar with paper. I know its not what you asked for but its just too easy to ask for a mechanical device.

jimh12345

@Clyde1820 - clever. Now add some scrubbers.

@Racing Dan and others - a lot was compressed into the "40 years" part of my question - I've done it all sorts of ways. The thing is, I cycle in the city, in the winter, and the streets become a mess of slush, mud, crumbling asphalt, and sand and chemicals that are applied to supposedly "de-ice" the roads. My chain picks up a huge amount of gritty gunk. I've had to disassemble a freewheel that pulled in sand. Many common chain cleaning methods fail because of the sheer amount of grit and the frequency of cleaning. I'd end up with a jar of black, gritty kerosene every two weeks, and there's no way to get rid of it, in the winter I can't even evaporate it. Trying to dispose of petroleum based solvents in Minneapolis is like going to Macy's return desk with a dead raccoon. So kerosene, mineral spirits, etc. are not options.

In these conditions A 'wet lube' like Finish Line Green becomes a black crawling horror that is difficult to remove.

Every 3 rides or so I have to remove the chain, take it to the basement laundry tub and scrub with a powerful degreaser like Zep Purple. I do this with a hand brush but it's slow, tedious and messy. Even soaking for a long time doesn't dislodge everything, it has to be brushed, and then the grit goes down the drain.

I think I want a gadget with a crank that pulls it around and around through some scrub brushes.

Racing Dan

How about a IGH bike with an enclosed chain case? Lots of bikes like that in Europe. Or IGH + belt? Or a bike with shaft drive?

Lazyass

You should have mentioned that. Most people wash their bikes outside. However, I've done it in a bathtub back in my apartment days.

jimh12345

@Racing Dan - enclosed drive train, oh yeah, and there are perforated belts. They sound great but a local dealer told me that they really didn't work well here because they loaded up with slush and ice. Of course a belt requires a special frame that opens in the chainstay.

Same with chain cases - they might work for a while but once the wet cr@p gets in, it's trapped inside and you have to disassemble the whole thing. The purpose of these systems is to keep the rider clean, not the chain.

What I want probably doesn't exist because there's not much demand for it. Most people who do clean their chains seem to want to do it on the bike.

ptempel

Search the forums. There must be a veritable plethora of posts on this topic. Easiest of all is wipe the chain after every ride with a rag (or paper towel). If it looks dry, then put a little lube on it. If it gets chatty or starts to skip in some gears then replace it and the cassette. That's it. I still use air tool oil usually in the 8oz flip top plastic bottle. Only $3 or so from the local hardware store.

fietsbob

Just have additional chains, so you just remove the dirty one, put on a recently cleaned one.

then clean the other one to be ready to go..

jimh12345

Yes. Fine. How do I clean "the other one"?

athrowawaynic

Maybe start waxing your chain instead?

(I don't really know. Just keep hearing about people doing it. The idea intrigues me. Supposedly, wax picks up less dirt in the first place.)

ThermionicScott 

One thing that's worth doing, no matter how you clean your chain, is to wipe it off obsessively after relubing. If you can get it to feel nearly dry to the touch, it will pick up a lot less dirt when riding. A lot of people just keeping squirting more lube on top of the old mess, and that's what gets you that "black crawling horror."

headasunder

If you need to remove your chain after 3 rides because it's gummed up you need to change your lube to something lighter that you can reapply more often after a quick on bike wipe down I commute in all weathers and never use a wet lube because they are a magnet for grime try a dry lube, the 2 chain advice is a good one leave one to soak while the other one is on bike

hhnngg1

I admit to being a broken record about it, but you are 100% correct.

If you are getting to the point where you're actually finding a on-bike chain scrubber unsatisfactory for your level of desired chain cleanliness, go to a paraffin dip-waxed chain.

You'll prob have to buy a $20 small slow cooker to melt it for convenience, and a quick-link to easily remove the chain, but after that, it's FASTER than normal lubing if you include time included to actually properly clean a lubed chain. (No tricks needed - seriously, just melt paraffin, dip, & you're done.)

The waxed chain is VASTLY cleaner than a lubed chain. Unlike the lube, the wax repels road grit, as opposed to the lubes, which attract grit (and hence turn black.) You don't even get any chain tattoo if the waxed chain brushes your clothes - you literally have to grip the chain tightly to get a minimal chain tattoo, and even then, it comes off super easily, no degreaser or scrubbing required.

I went waxed 3 months ago as I was getting driven nuts by the incessant chain tattoos and growing blackened towel heaps I was getting from wrenching my bike, and the difference is literally night and day. I used to go through citrus degreaser by the gallon when wrenching my bike with a lubed chain. But ever since I went waxed, I haven't touched a degreaser once in 3 months, and that's including a full FD/RD/chain upgrade&tune that required serious handling of the chain with my bare hands!

For me, the cleanest I ever got a lubed used chain (which required use of a chain cleaning machine, numerous towel wipedowns, and then even a full-out dip in degreaser) still comes out dirtier to me than my used and UNCLEANED wax chains - by a lot!

athrowawaynic

I'm really thinking to give it a try. Couple questions:

1. Most of the instructional videos have you clean the chain before dipping it in the wax, but I remember reading someone's write-up and it sounded like the cleaning step might be unnecessary--crud just falls off the chain and sinks to the bottom? Do you clean and wax or just drop the chain right in?

2. What do you use for the wax? Do you mix anything in? I remember one video where the guy used candles but then poured in something else (because the candle wax apparently gets too hard).