Cleaning your drivetrain

[PhilipV]

I use a camshell chain cleaner device, thin park tool brush, a sponge, old T-shirt, sunlight liquid and a beer.

Hose bike down, spray sunlight on frame and gears with an old windowlene bottle, open a beer, put camshell over chain with sunlight, pedal chain backwards, drink that beer, spray more sunlight on cassette, pedal forwards with the brush. Wash frame and wheels with sponge, consume more beer, hose everything off, finish by drying off with old t-shirt and take last sip off beer. Lube and wipe chain after a while.

In winter I'll apply wet lube, in summer dry lube.

 

I'll do this every week, after really wet and muddy rides I'll just hose the bike off and lube if I don't have time for the full wash as above. When it's wet I mostly ride the singlespeed, so a wash and lube is all that's required.

 

I can't imagine going through a wheels off, chain off and cassette off routine every week, I'll rather use that time to ride.

[Wayne pudding Mol]

I just clean lightly with a spray of muc off a brush and a small bucket of water. Rinse with a slow running hose.

 

I also only clean it if I ride in the mud or fine dust. So maybe a few times a year at most. The SS usually gets used in adverse weather.

 

I get thousands of KM out of my stuff.

 

Each to their own I guess

I do this, but I very rarely ride in mud and wet conditions as I'm soft

 

Muc off is worth every penny

[PhilipV]

. I think I also tend to over lube which could be why my drive train gets gunked up so quickly.

 

There are literally hundreds or degreasers on the market. But which one is the best remains a mystery

Not having a gunked up drivetrain saves washing time later. So just wipe it with a rag a couple of minutes after applying.

 

Don't overthink degreaser trying to get the best. Just het whatever is available, something like namgear, powasol, or muc-off wil do well. At one stage I used a biodegradable soap we used for washing trucks, it was very cheap in bulk, but now I just use sunlight because it's always on hand and I forget to fill up my bike wash bottle when I'm at the depot.

[Dr Drey]

If cleaning your drive train is such a chor.........then you’ve left it too late.

A light clean with one of mommy’s old towels and tool in a can after each ride.

Basically spraying the towel, and then running the chain through the towel.

Most of these spray “lubricants” are paraffin based and make fantastic degreasers.

Light application of dry lube to the chain........and not soaking the cassette also helps.

A full strip once a year.....pull cassette apart and derailleur jockeys, paraffin wash chain.

Works for me

[ChrisF]

I can't imagine taking my cassette apart every time i wash the bike   there has to be some kind of balance between tinkering and riding 

 

I managed 750km before the "full clean".  Moderate dust on the trails, managed to avoid serious mud rides.

 

Actually, the cassette on Maritz's bike was a lot dirtier .... bit older, and more mud rides.  So while I was cleaning his I just continued to do mine as well.

 

 

So a "proper clean" (mini service) is really dependant on the riding conditions .....  Wiping off the chain after every couple of dusty rides helps to extend the intervals between proper cleaning.

 

 

 

As for stripping the cassette down to its bits .... it takes a few seconds, and is MUCH easier to clean and re-assemble than faffing with a brush to clean a GX casette ....  

 

 

 

disclaimer - working on my bikes is my therapy .... 

[ChrisF]

I use a camshell chain cleaner device, thin park tool brush, a sponge, old T-shirt, sunlight liquid and a beer.

Hose bike down, spray sunlight on frame and gears with an old windowlene bottle, open a beer, put camshell over chain with sunlight, pedal chain backwards, drink that beer, spray more sunlight on cassette, pedal forwards with the brush. Wash frame and wheels with sponge, consume more beer, hose everything off, finish by drying off with old t-shirt and take last sip off beer. Lube and wipe chain after a while.

In winter I'll apply wet lube, in summer dry lube.

 

I'll do this every week, after really wet and muddy rides I'll just hose the bike off and lube if I don't have time for the full wash as above. When it's wet I mostly ride the singlespeed, so a wash and lube is all that's required.

 

I can't imagine going through a wheels off, chain off and cassette off routine every week, I'll rather use that time to ride.

 

You really should try the "wheel off" approach .... just so much easier. 

 

Then again ... it is so quick and easy you may not have enough time to enjoy your beverage ...    

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly I also do a quick clean and lube, especially if the trails were dry.  Wash and lube if the trails were muddy.  The wheel off approach is done as required, which mostly is only a few times a year.

[SwissVan]

I just clean lightly with a spray of muc off a brush and a small bucket of water. Rinse with a slow running hose.

 

I also only clean it if I ride in the mud or fine dust. So maybe a few times a year at most. The SS usually gets used in adverse weather.

 

I get thousands of KM out of my stuff.

 

Each to their own I guess

Yes, keep it simple

In between the above I will just wipe the chain down with some paper towel, put a drop of lube on each roller, spin the cranks slowly for half a minute, put my helmet and shoes on, wipe down the chain and go ride.

 

Can’t remember when last I had to replace a chain, cassette or chainring, usually the front chain ring teeth get destroyed before my chain.

 

The thing with going to town and stripping everything down to clean is that it takes only a few km’s of riding in the dust/ mud and all your work is out the back....

 

And then you get the guys who don’t join the chain properly when putting it back on and the chain comes off and probably damages a link or 2..... out comes the chain pin pusher and new link joining....

[PhilipV]

You really should try the "wheel off" approach .... just so much easier.

 

Then again ... it is so quick and easy you may not have enough time to enjoy your beverage ...

 

 

 

 

 

.

Huh? How is that easier? You are adding tools, stands, steps and complexity?

 

Or did I miss some form of humor in there?

You sound like a mechanical engineer. The one that gets cussed at by the field mechanic because he needs to remove a vehicle's wheel, light unit, body panels and seat to change an oil filter.

 

Your way is more thorough though, but I only go to that length when I service my bikes.

Edited August 10, 2020 by PhilipV

[porqui]

And then !!!

 

Don't forget to service your pedals.

 

Quick easy job and if done can save having to replace parts.

 

Most neglected part on your bike.

[Quagga]

surely you should be getting more than 3000km on a chain ?

Flip there are people doing that mileage in a month, cant imagine having to change chains on a monthly basis.

Shucks you might be right. Will double check those numbers.

 

Edit. Checked and you are right it is more. I am at around 4500 in a chain.

Not sure why I had to replace one chain early. Maybe a dud. But others going well

Edited August 10, 2020 by Quagga

[Honkdonk]

I use the paraffin method.

But first - carck open a cold Heineken 0, then get stuck in.

Remove wheel, and cassette

Pop open the QL on the chain and place in empty ice cream container and fill with paraffin. Scrub with toothbush.

Crack open another Heineken 0

Same treatment with cassette

Use old rag with paraffin for jockey wheels

Dry with rag and leave for a few mins while enjoying another Heineken 0

Use toothbrush and rag for front chainring, and if you are feeling really adventurous, remove crank and go the full monty.

Crack open another Heineken 0

Then put it all back together

Hint - I have a large paperclip modified to hold chain as a third hand so its easier to put QL back to rejoin chain.

My chain is non directional so less attention required if the Heineken 0's are replaced with Black Labels.

Once all is assembled then lube - I use Smoove

 

Otherwise a wipe with a rag and lube after every ride, but a good strip down is recommended once in a while - mileage dependent

 

I can spend hours on the bike stripping and cleaning. Nothing like a sparkling clean machine only for it to get filthy dirty again an hour or so into the next ride

 

I do the same for the road bike but obviously the frequency is a lot less..

Edited August 10, 2020 by Honkdonk

[NotSoBigBen]

Good on you guys I'm impressed by your dedication, I clearly neglect my bikes in comparison!

 

I'm one of those more riding, less faffing guys i suppose

[dasilvarsa]

Whats the secret to cleaning your chain and drive train on a mountain bike?

Dismount

Wash off the mud and sand with Water (and not a lot).

Lube the chain with some proper chain lube from the bike shop.

Allow 1 hour for the lube to do it's magic.

Mount and Ride

[Super Sywurm]

I use Clean Green and a toothbrush, works for me.

 

There is probably better ways and better degreasers, but at this stage I still need to find something better for me, not that I am looking.

[Butterbean]

Small hobbyist ultrasonic cleaner for the chain. Works an absolute treat and no scrubbing. Take off quick link, drop chain into degreaser solution in the UC.

 

Wipe down chainring and pulleys with old tshirt and floss between cassette cogs using the same shirt.

 

Dry chain off after a couple runs in the UC, then onto bike to dry. Apply chain lube, wipe excess, and quick wipe again on the chainring and jockeys(I find this is where the extra chain lube will accumulate, then turn grimy when you ride).

 

Done.

[cadenceblur]

.

Edited August 10, 2020 by cadenceblur