This article is part of our Beginners Guide to Bike Maintenance.
Why you should keep your chain clean
A bicycle chain is like a mechanical log of your cycling experiences: road grit from the last wet trip, red mud from desert adventures, pollen clumps from spring blooms. However, if your chain is left dirty, the grit will combine to create an impressively effective grinding paste, resulting in costly wear, poor shifting, rough pedaling, and wasted efficiency. Keeping your drivetrain clean should be a priority if you want to get more efficiency out of your bike without investing a lot of money. A clean bike is a fast bike, as the saying goes.
How to quickly clean your chain
Simply cover the chain in a clean, lint-free cloth and backpedal the drivetrain through it to remove the exterior muck. Repeat this until the rag is mostly clean. The rag can be used to scrape crud from the derailleur pulley wheels and chainrings. Alternatively, baby wipes perform just as well. You can reapply lube as needed once the chain is fairly clean. Since oil-based lubricants help float pollutants to the surface of the chain, you can repeat the wiping process until the outside of the chain appears clean.
As previously mentioned, frequent light cleanings like this would reduce the need for more extensive cleanings. However, if your drivetrain is still dirty, one of the more in-depth approaches will be preferable.
How to deep clean your chain
- In the first step, set your bike in to your bike stand [paid link], remove the rear wheel and replace it with a chain keeper. This allows for more comprehensive cassette cleaning while also limiting the amount of degreaser that enters your hub bearings and braking surfaces.
- Remove the dirt from the chainrings and derailleur pulley wheels with a brush and degreaser.
- Brush degreaser onto the chain while backpedaling it through the brush at different angles.
- Now degreaser should be brushed onto the cassette sprockets; a larger brush will speed up the operation.
- Follow up with a low-pressure stream of water, clean the cassette, chain, chainrings, and derailleur pulleys. Water should not be squirted directly onto any bearings.
- Dry all with a clean rag before putting the bike aside to air dry. Alternatively, compressed air may be used to expedite the operation.
- In the final step, remove the chain keeper, reinstall the rear wheel, and add your preferred lube.
Instead of brushing degreaser on the chain, you might consider using a chain cleaning unit. These make use of a variety of rotating brushes that automatically scrub the chain’s inner, outer, and roller ties. You may also use these to keep the mess of washing contained, or as a final rinse by replacing the degreaser with water.