The old saying goes “cleanliness is next to godliness.” That's true whether you're talking about your hair or your drivetrain. But when most people think of cleaning their drivetrain, they probably conjure up images of greasy hands and clothes, pricey chain cleaners, removing the chain and components to get in the crevices, and time spent relubing afterwards. Not so! A quick cleaning can be done in 15 minutes, and keep your drivetrain sparkling and extend its life in the process.
Grit magnet
Lube doesn't belong ON your chain, lube belongs IN your chain. All that black slimy stuff that you see on the side plates and rollers is really doing nothing but gumming up the drivetrain and collecting grit. And that grit doesn't just look ugly, it actually grinds down your components, shortening their lifespan. So obviously, we need to get that grit and lube off your components, without removing all the lube from inside the chain (inside the rollers and the pins.)
To start your 15 minute cleaning, you'll need to spray down a clean rag with Simple Green or any other degreaser (biodegradable preferred of course.) Once you've got a nice degreased rag, grab the chain by the sides and spin the cranks backward. This will get the majority of the external lube and grit off the plates, but what about the rest of it? Grab the chain from the top and bottom and then spin the cranks again to get the lube off the rollers.
This quick run through a rag won't remove all the dirt from the chain, so move forward to the chainrings. Scrub the plates and rollers with a rag, using the large chainring to support the chain while wiping it down. This will allow you to get more dirt and grit out of the inner plates of the chain, and help things run cleanly.
Greasy wheels
It's no good cleaning your chain until it's sparkling, only to leave a greasy, slimy jockey wheel, cassette or chainring to gum it back up as soon as you pedal off into the sunset. So, to keep your drivetrain spotless, use your fingertip to press your degreaser coated rag against the jockey wheels and spin the cranks. You'll scrub off the crud and lube that's going to end up right back on your chain. You can then wipe down the chainrings to get any of the remaining crud off of those as well.
Flossing your teeth
Or more precisely, your cogs. Cassettes can harbor grit, grime and slime, transferring it back onto your newly cleaned chain. So do something about it. Spray the edge of your rag, and use the edge to “floss” in between each cog to remove all the old lube and dirt that accumulates there. With practice, you can even use the rag to spin the cassette backwards, negating the need to ever touch the cassette. No more greasy hands, right?
Shining gem
Once you've performed all the above steps, spin the cranks backwards again and wipe the chain one final time to get rid of any lube that may have gotten back on it, and then step back and enjoy your work. Your friends will be envious of all the time you spent cleaning your drivetrain, painstakingly removing each part and scrubbing it down. Little will they know you did all that work in less time than it takes them to drink an espresso. And the more you practice, the faster it gets.
As for the issue of relubing, since you're not immersing the chain in degreaser (only wiping off excess from the outside) you shouldn't need to relube too often. Of course, if you're using my favorite lube Chain-L No. 5 you shouldn't need to relube more than every 500 miles.
Good luck, good hunting, go get that grime!
Questions? Comments? Leave them below.
