General Discussion Triathlon Talk » How fast can you clean a bike chain? Rss Feed  
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2015-10-05 9:15 AM

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Elite
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Subject: How fast can you clean a bike chain?

How fast can you clean a bike chain?  

Followup question:  How clean is it when you are done?

So I noticed the chain was pretty black this morning.  I only have about an hour and a half of free time today.  I was going to spend the whole time riding but I figured I should try to see if I could get the chain clean, dry, and lubed in 30 minutes and then ride for an hour.  I have never timed it before and usually the chain cleaning comes as part of a general wash, lube, and tune up process that can take 3 or 4 hours.  Here are  the results timed with the Lap button on the watch:

  1. Change into bike maintenance clothes. I normally get sprayed by solvent cleaning a chain. 2 minutes
  2. Set up bike stand in driveway. Remove front wheel and mount bike in stand.  8 minutes
  3. Gather tools, towels, solvent, soap, brushes from bike tool shelf.  3 minute.
  4. Hook up garden hose and nozzle.  10 minutes mainly spent finding the nozzle.
  5. Install chain cleaner tool on bike.  Fill chain cleaner tool with solvent.  I use pure solvent.  Try not to spill it or mis align the closure springs so that the tool stays on the chain,  2 minutes
  6. Spin chain.  Inspect.  Wonder if that is really clean or not.  Spin again.  2 minutes
  7. Brush cassette and chain rings with cleaning brush and toothbrush.  4 minutes 
  8. Remove chain cleaner tool and rinse chain and cleaning tool with hose. 2 minutes
  9. Reinstall chain cleaner on chain.  Put in a few drops of Dawn and fill with water. 2 minutes
  10. Spin again.  Rinse chain and sprockets with hose. Inspect.  Drain tool and repeat.   2 minutes
  11. Get out air compressor and blow tip tool.  10 minutes.  Had to find the blow tip tool
  12. Pressurize the compressor tank.  Blow out each link to dry it and get out any gunk hiding in the links. 5 minutes
  13. Kill time while chain is drying.  Clean chain cleaning tool.  Put away hose, tools, etc.  Dry off bike with towel.  Ponder borrowing JwKMH's blow dryer.  Go wash hands and change into bike shorts.  5 minutes
  14. Blow links one more time.  No water comes out.  5 minutes
  15. Mark starting link with a sharpie.  5 minutes to find the sharpie
  16. Lube the chain even though it probably is not completely dry.  One drip per pivot.  Spin and wipe. 4 minutes  I have pretty much given up on riding at this point
  17. Spritz the cassette and chain ring with GT85.  1 minute
  18. Remove bike from stand and re-install front wheel. Fold up bike stand and put away.  4 minutes
  19. Check the clock.  1:17 and I have no time to ride.  But I have a really clean chain

 Best laid plans.



2015-10-06 7:18 AM
in reply to: tech_geezer

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Champion
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Tacoma, Washington
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?

Grab master link pliers -- 15 seconds.

Open master link -- 20 seconds.

Put chain next to new, shiny chain and hold at last link -- 30 seconds (because it's a pain when they swing around and get wrapped up in each other).

Drop dirty chain on the (concrete) floor -- 0 seconds. Okay, maybe 2.

Break new, shiny chain at located link -- 1 minute.

Thread through the derailleurs -- 1 minute.

Put in new master link and "click" it into place -- 30 seconds.

So about 5 minutes, and it's so clean it looks new.

Oh, I forgot one step -- pitch dirty chain into the trash -- 5 very gratifying seconds.

Please note, this is not to say I do this all the time. I usually clean the chain with a rag and citrus degreaser fairly regularly, but using the NFS lube keeps the chain pretty clean to begin with.

2015-10-06 10:25 AM
in reply to: briderdt

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Elite
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Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?

Hey Dave,

A different technique for sure.  I rarely do it that way.  I would technically define that as a different task but point taken.  It does suggest that I could have a spare clean chain on hand to install when I want to speed things up.  This just constitutes better planning rather than better cleaning technique since I would still have a dirty chain to clean.

But I am thinking about the removable links.  I am old school about linkages.  I typically don't use removable links, because, in the old days, they did not work so well.  However, through no fault of my own, I now have two bikes with removable links.  One bike came that way new, and the other just had a link installed while it was at the shop the last time.  I actually don't know why.

So, I am open to the idea of removing a chain and dropping it in a jar of solvent.  Would that be a faster way to do it?  I shall try it next time and report back.

TW

 

2015-10-06 6:29 PM
in reply to: tech_geezer

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Veteran
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Southampton, Ontario
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?
I suppose that way is fairly quick but realistically I would still recommend a "FULL" chain cleaning as described here

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html
2015-10-06 7:28 PM
in reply to: DaveL

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Pro
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Tejas
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?
Originally posted by DaveL

I suppose that way is fairly quick but realistically I would still recommend a "FULL" chain cleaning as described here

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html
That's kind of half a**ed. I always drive out and replace the pins too
2015-10-15 9:55 PM
in reply to: DaveL

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Veteran
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Hudson Valley
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?
I whole heartedly agree with a full drivetrain cleaning. I also like the idea of using a quicklink and alternate between two chains because chains take a lot of time to clean and dry. The recently cleaned chain can dry while the ready to use chain goes for a ride.

I typically wipe down a chain and lightly lube every 200 miles. The Teflon based fast drying lube attracts the least amount of dirt. every 1000 miles I'll do a full drivetrain cleaning. Every 3000 miles I replace the chain.


2015-10-22 10:01 AM
in reply to: tech_geezer

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Pro
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, New Hampshire
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?
Takes me less than 15min, but that includes cleaning the chain and cassette.

Here's what I do:
Remove chain (KMC on all our bikes) and remove cassette
Place them in my ultrasonic cleaner with a mix of hot water and Simple Green (4:1 ratio)
Clean for 5 minutes
Rinse and pat dry
Reinstall and lube the chain

It looks brand new afterwards. I do that at least once a month.

After each ride, Rock n Roll Gold, a drop on each link, let stand for 5 min, then wipe it completely clean. The drive train stays clean enough to shift perfect and very little noise.
2015-10-22 11:24 AM
in reply to: audiojan

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Elite
4344
2000200010010010025
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?

Originally posted by audiojan Takes me less than 15min, but that includes cleaning the chain and cassette. Here's what I do: Remove chain (KMC on all our bikes) and remove cassette Place them in my ultrasonic cleaner with a mix of hot water and Simple Green (4:1 ratio) Clean for 5 minutes Rinse and pat dry Reinstall and lube the chain It looks brand new afterwards. I do that at least once a month. After each ride, Rock n Roll Gold, a drop on each link, let stand for 5 min, then wipe it completely clean. The drive train stays clean enough to shift perfect and very little noise.

 

OOOoo. Ultrasonic.  That sounds high tech and pretty fast.  So you clean the cassette off the wheel?   I clean the whole drive train while I am cleaning the chain but generally I leave all the parts on the bike.  I just use a paint brush to apply solvent to the whole drive train and then hose it off.  

 

I still use wet lube.  I even bought a copy of Jason Smith (http://www.friction-facts.com) testing of chain lubes but I did not change to paraffin or anything else more high tech.  I guess I like the look of a black chain imprint on my calf.

My chain is dirty again I shall try to improve my time today.

TW

 

2015-10-22 4:05 PM
in reply to: tech_geezer

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Pro
5892
5000500100100100252525
, New Hampshire
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?
Originally posted by tech_geezer

Originally posted by audiojan Takes me less than 15min, but that includes cleaning the chain and cassette. Here's what I do: Remove chain (KMC on all our bikes) and remove cassette Place them in my ultrasonic cleaner with a mix of hot water and Simple Green (4:1 ratio) Clean for 5 minutes Rinse and pat dry Reinstall and lube the chain It looks brand new afterwards. I do that at least once a month. After each ride, Rock n Roll Gold, a drop on each link, let stand for 5 min, then wipe it completely clean. The drive train stays clean enough to shift perfect and very little noise.

 

OOOoo. Ultrasonic.  That sounds high tech and pretty fast.  So you clean the cassette off the wheel?   I clean the whole drive train while I am cleaning the chain but generally I leave all the parts on the bike.  I just use a paint brush to apply solvent to the whole drive train and then hose it off.  

 

I still use wet lube.  I even bought a copy of Jason Smith (http://www.friction-facts.com) testing of chain lubes but I did not change to paraffin or anything else more high tech.  I guess I like the look of a black chain imprint on my calf.

My chain is dirty again I shall try to improve my time today.

TW

 




Always off the wheel. :-) One reason I don't like to clean it on the wheel is that I don't want to get any solvent removing grease where I want it to be (i.e. bearings). As long as you're careful, it works ok, but there's a bit of a risk. I know this is how the pro mechanics do it, but they also don't any to worry about the bearings lasting for years. One season and it's gone anyways...
2015-10-29 3:23 PM
in reply to: tech_geezer

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41
25
Subject: RE: How fast can you clean a bike chain?
About 60 seconds of running it through a chain cleaning tool (while still on the drivetrain) before I wash the bike. Clean cassette and front rings with toothbrush dipped in citrus cleaner. Wash bike, rinse all including chain/drivetrain. Run chain through a rag in my hand to get rid of leftover dirt/water. Apply a drop of teflon lube to each link, spin chain a few times. Takes about 3 minutes (in addition to the actual bike washing).

Could I be more anal-retentive about getting every last bit of dirt out? Sure... but I wouldn't do it as often, 'cause it's a pain. Even though my method might not yield perfection, my drivetrain is still in nice shape because I'm actually willing to do this procedure frequently.
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