Clean Chains - Chain Maintenance

Every picture I se and fixed on the road for that matter, has a pristine chain and chainring.
Mine's stinking black and greasy.
How the hell do you do it?

Mines very dirty too. I think it's a black and gold chain though so it's never going to be shiny silver. I need to get a chain tool before I can get it off and properly soak it to wash it.

Muc-off!

liberal spray of gt85, rub up and down with an old rag more gt85 give the ring a wipe too then a bit of lube.

my chain is dirty too.

I want to do the whole:

Chain off
Soak in isopropyl alcohol
lubricate

Though I might try that keirin technique where they fed rags into the chainring and cog and sprayed the chain/cog rag while turning the pedals as a quick fix.

I whack a new chain on every time I ride... Doesn't everyone? ;)
Seriously tho' folks, get a black HKK Vertex and muc-off every now and then... Job done...

I put the chain in a plastic bottle, then hot watter shacked for 5 min, wipe with an old rag consistely . Let if dry, wipe some more, the lube every single link one by one.

Works for me

that word lube again. what is it about saying "lube" rather than "lubricant" or "lubrication" that instantly says "rectal examination"?

gives me the creeps. I know I'm not the only one on here either.

Lube.

that word lube again. what is it about saying "lube" rather than "lubricant" or "lubrication" that instantly says "rectal examination"?

gives me the creeps. I know I'm not the only one on here either.

Lube.

"lube me up scotty"

i think it's because I first heard it used on the kind of late-night programme that was considered well racy back in the mid-90s, where some z-list celeb would anchor weekly forays into the murky world of the British sex life. I think the idea was we were still clueless when it came to modern methods of sexual abandon and so new and daring bonk-enhancers were discussed, like edible underpants. Anyway, when it came to the step-by-step technique demystifiers, they always recommended we should use "plenty of lube". The "plenty" bit had me cringing almost as much as the "lube" bit for some reason.

You could says the same to Johnny, since we call condom "Johnny", that everytime you met a bloke called Johnny, somehow you managed to think about condom.

Bizarrely enough, I have a mate with the same name, and I kept calling him condom without even realising it.

no, just the word lube for me. Probably if I met someone called lube, yeah, i might think "plenty of lube" when I met them.

i really can't stand that word, jeez, forget this, I'm making it worse.

a fixie chain doesn't require as much lubrication as a geared chain. use a dry lube, preferrebly teflon based or wax based. my chain is black. so i don't worry. but i built a functioning ghost bike for my friend that has cancer as kind of a joke for him. everything on the bike is white minus the headset and the crankset (thyre silver until we can get some powder coated) and thast how we keep the entire chain and chainstay purdy clean.

oh yeah. lube lube lube lube.

to make your chain last longer...keep both chain and gears clean.
the way of the sheldon...
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

Anyone here tried baking a chain?

Read this on a forum in Aus and have been doing it ever since. Clean chain. Then bake for 5-10 in 100deg oven to get rid of moisture. Then apply a little lube (sorry PJS) and smooth as a babys bottom. Until you hit the rain again.

I soak my chains in chain oil then I wipe that off and lubricate with a dry lubricant. When the chain starts to go black I take it off and put a clean one chain on. In the winter I don't bother.

a fixie chain doesn't require as much lubrication as a geared chain.

is this documented anywhere else than in your own mind?

I've combined every plausible bit of advice I've read online into a ridiculously time-consuming and yet strangely satisfying routine.

1. Chain off into empty plastic coke bottle
   
2. Add degreaser close cap + shake it for a couple of minutes
   
3. Drain degreaser and add fresh degreaser, shake again.
   
4. Drain and add water and shake that, repeat.
   
5. Drain and cut open bottle (easier than trying to fish it out) then soak chain in isopropyl alcohol (surgical spirit) to get rid of all the moisture.
   
6. Remove from alcohol and leave chain in ventilated area to dry out.
   
7. Soak chain in chainsaw oil (it's tacky, 'fling resistant', cheap)
   
8. Wipe off all excess oil from surface of chain
   
9. Dry lubricant on surface of chain.
   
10. Re-attach after giving cog and chainring the degrease and dry lubricant treatment too.
    

Cleaning is for girls. HTFU

I never degrease chains.

Degreasing removes the lubricant from within the bushings (which was put in by the manufacturer).

Wipe chain with rag.

Few drops of Pro Road.

Job's a good 'un.

same as that, just a good rub with rag, relube.
new chain begining of summer

This may help:

http://www.kmcchain.com/index.php?ln=en&fn=service#2

rub rag, relube, ready to go!

I just buy a new chain when I think I want to photograph the bike. Doesn't everyone do this?

haha, i knew you were gonna say that