10 easy steps to clean and lube your bike's chain

using a pencil or other writing implement, perhaps a calculator or just work it out in your head....
Time in hours to clean the chain (including cleaning self)= x
Time to swap-out new chain = y
Value of time £/hr = a
Cost of cleaning fluid, lubricant, depreciation on cleaning machine = b
Cost of new chain = c

If ((xa-ya)+b>c then just put a new chain on!

Break chain, chuck it in the bin, fit new chain. Every single ride.

Christ - do you not have jobs/families/cycling to do? Your "how to clean a chain" routine will take a lifetime. Here's my suggested regime. Basically it boils down to start clean, then little and often.

When you get a new chain, before you ride the bike anywhere is to put some degreaser on a rag and get most of that packing grease off. They grease chains to preserve them on shelves - its the grease in the rollers/between the plates that matters, all the rest of that grease just becomes a magnet for grime.

If you haven't done this, then use one of those hand held chain cleaners. Yes, chain manufacturers aren't fond of them. It's just like using a jetwash to clean your bike, there's a trade off between convenience (and potentially having to buy a new chain earlier) and treating your chain like its a first edition of the Gutenberg bible (and having to eat from a skip because you have had to give up work in order to have time to hand polish each link individually).

If you start with a clean chain, keeping it clean is pretty simple in my experience (although I tend to wash my bike almost after every ride - I am, like Matt Seaton "on the spectrum"). When you wash your bike, use a good (by which I mean "one that foams a lot") detergent, get a sponge and run chain through sponge while squeezing, watch suds carry dirt and grime away. Dry with a cloth. Apply a light lube to chain to drive water out (the Morgan Blue spray one seems to work pretty well) while spinning cranks backwards. Use a rag to remove excess lube. Before riding bike, apply a proper lube (am currently liking Muc Off lubes although that may be because the application bottle is very easy to use), again removing excess.

@longinthe tooth

spot on.

both KMC and Shimano's advise is to never use solvents or degreasers and nothing more aggressive than "mild detergent". When you are manufacturing millions of chains a year, its advise I'd take as golden.

From KMC's website:

Cleaning

-Clean your chain after each trip, especially after riding in the wet.
-Always use a piece of dry cloth to clean the chain and it’s component parts.
-If neccesary, use an old toothbrush to clean between the plates.
-Do not forget the sprockets, front changer and derailleur pulleys.
-To remove mud or sand, use a bristle brush, if necessary with light soapy warm water .
-Never use acidic or alkali based detergents (such as rust cleaners), these agents can damage the chain and may cause breakage.
-NEVER EVER use a so-called ‘chain washing machine’ in combination with solvent. This is the one and only sure way to instantly ruin your chain.
-Avoid the use of solvents, not only are these bad for the environment, they remove lubricant from the chain’s bearing.

Lubrication

-lubricate the chain every time you clean it, scrub it, or wash it with any solvent (the usage of solvent is not recommended!);
-before lubricating, make sure the chain is dry;
-use a lubricant which initially penetrates the chain’s bearing, and then turns ‘sticky’ or ‘dry’. In this way you can reach the chain parts which are most sensitive to wear;
-make sure you are using the appropriate lubricant - you can test it by spraying some on your hand - first it feels like water (penetration), after some time it should become sticky or dry (durable lubrication);
-in order to avoid a build-up of excess grease, try to apply it on the critical places only, like the rollers. Applying grease there helps to reduce chain wear and noise;
apply just a little grease on the rest of the chain to prevent rust;
-remove excess grease from the outside of the chain;
in the case of derailleur bikes: do not forget to pay some attention to the derailleur pulleys, chainrings and cassette sprockets. Use the same principle as above for maintaining and lubricating them.
-after lubricating, use a dry cloth to remove excess grease from the chain’s outside, this prevents attracting excessive amounts of dirt and dust.

5. If your chain has a master link, remove it and put it in a container such as a 500ml fizzy drink bottle that's half full of degreaser.!!!!!!!!!!

Please do not follow this advice, it is very dangerous to fill any container that used to contain a drink of any kind with a potentially lethal chemical and irresponsible to suggest it.

As a member of St Johns Ambulance for 10 years, I can tell you from experience that if a child sees a pop bottle with a liquid in it then they may think its something good to drink!

Children have been made seriously ill and some have died from drinking petrol, diesel, degreaser, acid etc in the past that they have discovered in a pop bottle - it only takes a moment!!

Only put chemicals of any kind in a suitable container, preferably with a child proof top - ok use a jar if you must as the contents are less likely to be mistaken for a drink.

If you use dry lube then just apply a drop to each link, after each ride, spin the cranks for a minute and use a clean cloth to remove the excess. If you apply the dry lube often enough it acts as a flush removing all the debris.
I use the dry lube from the second ride after a new chain and usually do not need to degrease the chain for at least 18months.
Doesn't work with wet lubes.

Am I the only one who remove(with KMC missing link) the chain and put it into a bottle, with muc-off drivetrain cleaner and water.

Then shake shake shake...

Repeat several times until the chain is clean, hang the chain until it's complete dry.

Also, remove and disassemble cassette, rear derailleur and chainring to clean them.

After chain is dry, install everything back and lube.

At least the method keeps my drivechain quite clean.

Lube in the roller does nothing, it needs to be between the plates to get into the pin, thats where the real friction is.
Also some very thorough and detailed tests by a German bike mag (can't remember the name) a few years back seemed to suggest that degreaser is a very bad idea because it removes the original (apparently very good) lube and shortens the chain life.

If you're going to do a job, you may as well do it properly. Follow Sheldon's instructions here:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

Ah, damnit, beaten to it.

Does anyone have a negative experience of ultrasonic cleaners? I've looked into them in the past but never bought one.

I'm a fan of the KMC chains with the connecting link. Degreaser in an old milk carton seems to do the trick for me with a good shake.

Mickle method. Because life's too bloody short.

Exactly as above EXCEPT.....

Between steps 5 and 6 remove and separate cassette, clean until spotless with a toothbrush/ soft cloth, reinstall. Clean front chainrings. Clean jockey wheels.

Might as well go the distance!

If ever an article was guaranteed to bring out the cycling geeks...

Procedure is pretty simple but methodical:
1. Apply diesel (sparingly) to chain, cassette, derailleurs (front and rear) and chainrings. Use a small paint brush or like.
2. Leave for 5-10mins while filling bucket with hot water and your chosen bike wash/detergent.
3. Pre-Rinse bike. Wash/Soap complete bike and rinse. With remaining soapy water (or neat dish washing liquid if you like) wash chain, cassette, derailleurs (front and rear) and chainrings using an old dish washing brush. Rinse drivetrain thoroughly.
4. Back pedal cranks while gripping chain (beneath chainstay) with rag / garage strength paper towel to remove remaining dirt and old lube.
5. Dry chain with rag or air line (if available). Chain should look factory clean after this. Re-lube sparingly with chosen lube (my favourite is Rock Oil Motorcycle Chain Lube). Allow to dry and wipe off excess.

Been using the above method for several years. I get on average 8000km out of a chain (0.5 on the wear indicator for 11speed chains). Would recommend using Campag chains on all manufacturers' groupsets as I regulary get more the 20% extra lifespan from Campag chains compared to Shimano/Sram chains on Ultegra 6800 grouppo

I love a clean chain.

1. Wipe external grime off chain by running it through a rag ala the Mickle method.
2. Use chain cleaning tool and degreaser to get remaining external grime off then rinse with water.
3. Open chain and put into a plastic jar with a wide opening and cover with 500ml of methylated spirit. Shake for 3 min, leave overnight and shake again for 3 mins.
4. Take chain out of meths and immerse in melted candle wax (paraffin). Swish around for 3 minutes and leave to soak for 10 then swish again for 3.
5. Take out of wax and hang to dry.

If this method was used for the previous clean then you can skip steps 1 and 2 because it will be externally clean already. Getting the grime out of the inside is the important part and the chain cleaner tool can't do that.

those are all just the lazy, quick fix methods of cleaning a chain. here's how to do it properly: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

Re: the photo of applying lube above point 6. I suggest you're applying lube to the wrong side of the chain - the side which is not going to come into contact with the sprockets.

Quick method
Take chain off bike, fit spare chain, job done

Now drop dirty chain in solvent/gunk. Place in ultrasonic bath leave 5 mins, place clean chain in water ultrasonic for 2 mins. Take ultra clean chain drop in tray of already melted chain wax, remove and wipe down. Longest job wiping excess wax from chain.