phughes

The only real way to clean a chain is this method: https://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

rsbob 

EVERYTHING on BF is taken extremely seriously because this is an extremely serious activity akin to brain surgery. No minutia or quip is too small to be methodically dissected, debated and eventually driven into the ground, where a few months later pops up again as a zombie - and the whole process begins anew. The miracle of everlasting life on BF.

On a more serious note, I use Flex Seal on my chain. It has a nice rubbery coating that prevents rust and contrasts nicely with my frame color. Best of all, if you get a ‘rookie mark’ on your ankle, you can say, “Hey, that’s not oil, it’s Flex Seal!”

tomato coupe

Wars have been started over lesser disagreements than chain lube.

cyccommute 

That's the main reason I use White Lightning. It's easy and clean.

I clean once, upon installation. I shake the chain in an about a cup of mineral spirits in an old Gatorade bottle. I shake it for 30 seconds or until my arm gets tired, depending on which is shorter. Let it dry and install it. If I want to be anal about the cleaning, I'll put in new mineral spirits but, most often, I'm lazy and will reuse the mineral spirits for several chains. If there is enough factory lubricant (a wax) in the mineral spirits, it tends to precipitate and the chain isn't quite as clean but clean enough.

I don't remove the factory lube for any other reason other than it gets messier if I leave it on.

I also don't lubricate as often as White Lightning says to. I just lubricated my chain after about 450 miles. It was a bit noisy but not overly so and, after nearly 1200 miles, it is still measuring at <0.5%

pepperbelly

😄. Not a chance! That is NASA level bicycle maintenance.

rsbob 

A friend of mine is so anal fanatical, he uses an ultrasonic cleaner like you would find in a dentist’s office. Then he has a two stage waxing process. And after an hour, he is done. Easy-peasy

OTOH, I use Dawn dishwashing liquid or Park chain cleaner - rinse with water and either air dry or blow dry with a compressor to get out the water and then apply Silca Synergetic lubation

DangerousDanR

I use this stuff:


DuPont Chain Saver.

Less than $10 USD at Walid's (come to Fargo and you will know why I call it that). One can lasts about a year which includes winter commuting.

Wax, ceramic micro beads, and solvent in a single can. First pass gets wiped off, second one is left on. Little to no shmutz buildup on the chain.

Total time: less than a minute.

drlogik 

Ah yes, Shelbrothane solvent. Yes, very toxic. The first time I used it my eye lashes fell out and my teeth became loose.


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pepperbelly

I have never ised that but I know toluene will destroy paint brush bristles. We went to
lunch and put our brushes in cans like it was mineral spirits. 😄

indyfabz

They shoot horses, don’t they?

Bluejohn

I've tried all the usual ones over time, but the "dry" ones seem to leave a lot of nasty residue that's difficult to clean off properly. Where I live, the geology is all sandstone which means the local mud and road dirt I pick up is very sandy/dusty and abrasive. I've settled on giving the chain a whizz over with the chain pig once a week (I commute daily) which does a pretty good job of de-silting the chain - then I wipe over with the oil I use on my old Myford lathe bearings as it's what I have handy in bulk and it works very well.

Bimmer69

and then send them to BF for a thorough beating

phughes

If a dead horse is beaten thoroughly, a good chain lube can be made from it. Perhaps that is the reasoning behind these threads.

indyfabz

Not glue for tubular tires?

phughes

That too. It's a win win.

indyfabz

Not if you’re the horse.

phughes

Okay, more of a win whinny.

pepperbelly

Neigh!