How to Clean a Bike Chain

Anyone who has ridden a bike before will agree that a bike chain is the dirtiest part of a bike. It's the most ignored part of bike maintenance. A bike chain collects a lot of grit and grime. If left uncleaned, they reduce the longevity of the derailleur and shifting performance. Most importantly, it can hurt the efficiency of your pedaling.

In other words, a clean bike will reward you with better performance and a smooth ride. In this article, you'll learn how to keep your bike chain clean using the right supplies and how to do it in less than an hour. Let's get started.

How Often to Clean a Bike Chain

A regular cyclist needs to clean a bike chain once a week or after covering 200 miles or 321km. A quick check will tell you if the chain needs cleaning.

If you are unsure, you can always feel the bike chain using your fingers. If the movement is limited by grimy, it's time to clean the chain. Secondly, if you find the chain "skipping gears," you must clean the chain. 

Why should I clean my bike chain?

The grease on your chain enables the bike to move smoothly. And grease collects dirt. For instance, if you go to a sand area, the grease on the bike will collect sand.

Likewise, if you rode the bike in a muddy area, it will collect mud. The grease will collect all this dirt and cause friction which reduces the bike's performance. You'll use more energy to pedal the bike because of the dirty chain.

What Can I Use to Clean My Bike Chain?

Collect all the supplies you need together. Here's the supplies you need to clean a bike chain:

Cleaning Agent. 

Have a cleaning agent like soap or bike-specific degreaser. The best degreaser is the Dawn liquid dish soap because it’s not harsh and removes all the lube from the chain.

Unlike other commonly available degreasers, it removes lubes even from chain rollers and other hard-to-reach places. You don’t have to clean the chain thoroughly unless you want to strip off the factory lube. If you remove the factory lube, you shorten the lifespan of the road bike chain.

Choose a scrubber or a soft rug.

Bike companies like Park Tool make scrubbers that you can use to clean the grease on the chain. Alternatively, you can also use a toothbrush, a soft rug, scrubbing brush, or dish brush.

Ensure that whatever brush you choose must have long bristles to reach those hard-to-find areas on the chain.

Gloves

You can use a pair of gloves if you don’t want to get your hands dirty.

A good chain lubricant. 

An excellent chain lubricant like Smoove smoothens the chain engagement with the cassette sprockets, which is essential for shifting performance.

What is the fastest way to clean a bike chain?

Here are the five steps you need to follow.

Step 1: Start with the cassette.

Pedal the chain so that it's on one end of the cassette. Apply soap or degreaser to the brush and scrub the cogs but not the one with the chain. The next step is to rotate the cranks backward as you clean the cassettes.

Count 40 revolutions and check the condition of the chain. If the chain is still grimy and needs more cleaning, add a degreaser to remove the stubborn grime. Alternatively, you can also remove the rear wheel and slip the brush in-between the cassette cogs. 

Step 2: Clean the crankset and chainring

The most challenging bike chain component to clean is the crankset. To do this, you need to change your gear to a large one. Apply degreaser to the brush and scrub while you rotate the crankset. If you prefer to remove the chain off the chainring, you can do it.

Make sure both the left and the right crank arms are clean. The only challenge is the brush can make a mess on the frame while doing so. That means you will have to clean the frame once you are done. If you have more than one chainring, you can change the gears from a large one to a small one and clean all of them.

Step 3: Clean the chain and the jockey wheels

They are two ways you can do this. The first method is using a brush. Apply the degreaser on the brush and scrub the plates of the chain while you pedal backward.

Pay attention to the rear mech, jockey wheels, and chainring teeth.  The second method is using a chain bath or chain cleaner. Add a degreaser to the chain bath or chain cleaner, then sandwich the chain on the chain bath and pedal back the chain.

Step 4: Rinse with water.

When everything is scrubbed, it looks like a complete mess. Use hot soapy water and a smooth rag to remove the excess grime. Wipe and flush the chain thoroughly using hot soapy water.

You can also use a hosepipe but make sure the pressure is super low. Otherwise, it will affect the bike's bearing. Rinse again with water until all the degreaser is flushed away. If any degreaser is left on the bike, it will act on the new chain once it mixes with the lube.

Step 5: Dry and apply the lube

Dry the chain. One way is to pedal fast to remove "fling" water out. You can also use an old t-shirt to dry the chain. 

If you are cleaning the chain on a sunny day, you can dry the bike outside. When you are comfortable with what you have done, you can apply a liberal amount of lube to the chain. Don't put too much lube. The best practice is to use a small amount.

Conclusion

Cleaning the chain often and keeping it in the tip-top shape will prolong the bike's performance and save you a fortune. When you clean the chain after a few rides, it will require less effort. However, when you leave grime and dirt to build up, it becomes harder to clean, and the bike may never be gunk-free.

Picture this like cleaning your teeth. If you don't do it often, you develop dental issues with time which will cost you in the long run. The same applies to filthy drive chains. It won't last long but cost you a lot.