Cleaning Chain on MTB?

chipperhead · 23 Aug 2007 at 22:26

Decided to give my MB a good clean today, took off the chain (loosing the pin in the process

) and have left it soaking in paraffin overnight.

I've got some GT85 and some decent lube ready, so tomorrow what the best procedure for applying it, do I take the chain out of the paraffin and let it dry first or put it in some hot soapy water or some other method?

mctrials23 · 23 Aug 2007 at 23:21

Clean all the parafin off, you might need to get a proper chain degreaser to get the thing properly clean.

Wash it thouroughly with hot soapy water and then just clean water.

Dry it out as much as possible and then apply your chain lube liberally to the whole chain.

Leave it to work its way in and go through the gears etc a few times to coat them.

Once that is done, wipe off the excess lube so that it only has it on the moving parts of the chain. If you leave too much lube on the chain it will attract a lot of dirt. Most people put too much lube on thier chains and wonder why they are filthy after a few rides.

Take a look at new bikes and that will give you an idea of what the chain should look like after you are done.

tom_e · 23 Aug 2007 at 23:25

id recommend spraying your chain in GT85 to drive the water out before applying proper lube then wipe it down and apply your decent lube

Jonny ///M · 24 Aug 2007 at 12:42

Recently for me its been dowsing he chain+cassette in muc off chain degreaseer, then i wipe it dry/clean. After its all thoroughly clean i apply wet lube to the inside of the chain(between the links) while pedalling the bike backwards. Once its all done i wipe all the excess off using kitchen roll.

That method seems to be working pretty well for me and the gears still look fairly decent after a mucky ride.

LordSplodge · 24 Aug 2007 at 14:23

Jonny ///M said:
Recently for me its been dowsing he chain+cassette in muc off chain degreaseer, then i wipe it dry/clean. After its all thoroughly clean i apply wet lube to the inside of the chain(between the links) while pedalling the bike backwards. Once its all done i wipe all the excess off using kitchen roll.

That method seems to be working pretty well for me and the gears still look fairly decent after a mucky ride.

Yay for Muc Off products! I do the above except use Muc Off dry lube.

To the OP, get a Chain Cleaner...or a SRAM PowerLink! Or both!

chipperhead · 24 Aug 2007 at 15:07

Thanks for the advice, just been down to my lbs to get a new chain connector pin and they are absolutely clueless, have had to get one from chain reaction in the end (got a spare aswell).

Jonny ///M · 24 Aug 2007 at 16:34

LordSplodge said:
Yay for Muc Off products! I do the above except use Muc Off dry lube.

To the OP, get a Chain Cleaner...or a SRAM PowerLink! Or both!

Yay i love powerlinks......although when i tried to undo one while in sweaty heat,mucky hands,mucky chain,oily chain.....didnt work. :mad:

Finish line wet lube for the win.