Damn. I just cleaned my chain with Tide.

So as not to bug anybody with strong aroma of various degreasers - I used laundry detergent.

 

Not for a long soak and I rinsed thoroughly, following up outside with WD-40 as a moisture dispersant.  Currently soaking in citrus degreaser in the garage.  The detergent did most of the work......

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 22, 2012 at 3:40am

I use a bath of mineral spirits, if really grimy, followed by a bath in a super-secret mixture of Marvel Mystery Oil, ATF, and Mobil-1.  If you wipe/brush off most of the grit before you place it in the Mineral Spirit cleaner it helps speed up the process and doesn't get the cleaner so dirty quite so fast. 

I've got a jar of both handy in my shop and just drop the chain in to soak for a while, shaking it every once in a while.

Drip dry by hanging over a catch bowl, then wipe down with an old rag.

Why ever use water on a chain?  It's a pain and one needs to get it back off.  Clean with oil-based solvents and skip the water -and the resulting rust.  Like I said, they can be re-used and you are not wasting it like the water-dispersing solvents that are needed post-H20 cleaning.

Mineral spirits are awesome.  You can re-use them indefinitely -just let the crap settle to the bottom and decant the good stuff on the top.    The only issue is this method takes a lot of TIME.   So I have 2 chains for my road bike and just rotate them through the cleaning process.  By the time one is dirty enough to need the cleaning the other one is ready to use. 

On 1/8" single-speed chain I just oil and go.  They are so cheap it's not really worth messing with them cleaning off the bike.  Wipe off and relube when necessary and when they "stretch" beyond what the Park CC-3 says is in spec just put another $5 chain on and go another year or so.  Swapping out a new chain is 1/2 or less of the work of cleaning a chain.   The same for cheap 6-speed and fewer derailleur chain.  

But once you get to 7,8,9,10+ speed chain it becomes worthwhile to take the chain off every once in a while and clean/lube them.  Not just for the longevity/cost issue, but because of the fact that it just runs & shifts so much better when clean&lubed than when dirty.  

Permalink Reply by Davo on May 22, 2012 at 3:51am

Id use the 3 in 1 oil way before using any wd40. Maybe im misuderstading how much you used, but in my experience with wd40, the chain gets rusty pretty quick.

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on May 22, 2012 at 5:04pm

I'm just using WD-40 as a cleaning agent in the final treatment of my chain before soaking in oil.

WD-40 pushes out the water (or it should...) and when it evaporates leaves the metal ready for the next step. 

 

It was nasty - -  I don't think I really gave it a bath since I bought it.

Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on May 22, 2012 at 5:05pm

Best thread title ever.  

Permalink Reply by Brad V on May 23, 2012 at 10:39am

Odorless mineral spirits don't smell too bad :) decanting/re-using works great, just keep in a sealed container.  I have my original metal can with fresh OMS, an old 2-liter bottle with the dirty fluid, and an old water bottle for shaking/washing the chain (hard to fish the chain out of the 2-liter).

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 23, 2012 at 11:13am

I like to use old 2-quart glass peanut-butter jars for this sort of thing.  

They seal really well.  Right now I'm using some 72oz wide-mouth plastic jars that were originally for some sort of high-protein shake mix that someone at my wife's work gave her when they finished them off.  She knows I love big jars to store bike parts in and such  -and these were purple which is my favorite color so home they came.   I try and reuse everything and hate throwing anything away.  They hold up to the mineral spirits and other oils fairly well. I'm not sure what kind of plastic it is made up of but they don't dissolve carrying the mineral spirits. 

It's probably the high concentration of PET that is holding them together ;)

Permalink Reply by Mike Schwab on May 23, 2012 at 1:50pm

Actually, with your next new chain, clean and rustproof the exterior of the chain with WD-40.  Avoid trying to clean out the inside (around the pins) of the chain with anything.  There is grease near the pins that should do the job.  Avoid getting any water inside those cavities too.

 

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on May 23, 2012 at 2:48pm

Any grease that was inside the pins is probably gone now, especially since I soaked it in WD-40 overnight.  I gave it a bath in 10W-30 motor oil but not overnight like I should have (but I gave it one!).  The bike actually feels much smoother after a lube, plus I had to rebuild the right rear of my XT hub.  Repack your hubs folks, alot more frequently than once every three years....oops.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 23, 2012 at 2:51pm

Grease and bearing balls are cheap.  If I have even the hint that any bearing on my bikes needs grease I tear it down and re-pack with fresh balls and grease.   I miss the old cup and cone BB's of yesteryear.  This cartridge bottom-bracket thing has me bummed.  Even when they are new they don't feel as nice as a freshly-rebuilt cup&cone type. 

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on May 23, 2012 at 2:55pm

ah - my Campy cartridge BB is smooth as butter after a couple thousand miles of commuting, touring, etc.  It's still a tapered BB for Campy triple.  No maintenance appears necessary.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 23, 2012 at 3:00pm

I knew I should never have bought that Truvative ISIS crankset :(

My next crankset is going to be a hollowtech.  

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on May 23, 2012 at 3:21pm

sorry, man - - it would be nice to play with a hollowtech for awhile! 

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