After a few hundred miles, your bicycle chain can acquire a lot of grime. Learn to clean the chain of your bike correctly with expert tips in this free sports video. Expert: Robert Davis Bio: Robert Davis is vice-president and a founding member of the San Luis Obispo County Coalition and president of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club. Filmmaker: Patrick Eaves
Video Rating: 4 / 5

how to replace a chain, for a complete article on the subject, check out my blog at howtofixbikes.ca
Video Rating: 4 / 5

50 Comments »

1. 

   dirt isn’t biodegradable?

   Comment by shimanopower — October 11, 2011 @ 12:35 pm

2. 

   I think that chain cleaning box is just a ‘faff’ doesn’t an old rag and with appropriate cleaning solution just do the same job. You still have to clean the cassette with something else anyway.

   Comment by WRTYIO — October 11, 2011 @ 12:51 pm

3. 

   Use water to rinse the excess? LOL. I think the best way is to use a light degreaser like Simple Green and a towel. Spray the degreaser on the towel and rotate the chain through. Then use a lube of your choice, and lube each link connection with a few drops. Let the chain soak in the lube, then go back with a clean towel and get the excess lube by rotating in chain throw the towel. Tadow. Sometimes it’s better to use a small amount of degreaser in a towel, just to get the road grime off.

   Comment by datboysha40 — October 11, 2011 @ 1:27 pm

4. 

   save urself money and don’t buy a chain cleaner. some degreaser and a plastic tub if you can remove the chain easily and a brush then rinse and dry with cloth then toss in a tub with some oil. dry and not dispose of the the dirty water on the ground or let it go down drains. instead soak it up from the plastic tub with tissue paper and bin the paper. much better for enviroment as it can then be incineratedb without water pollution

   Comment by 210482fmj — October 11, 2011 @ 2:25 pm

5. 

   @bastardmakervdh I use water through the chain cleaner at the end of cleaning since it will flush any degreaser out.
   Water + oil = oiled chain
   Degreaser + oil = no oiled chain
   Never had a problem as the chain is dried with a rag as it exits the cleaner (so isnt dragged onto other components) and after 10 – 15 mins I put oil on the chain.

   Comment by PemboCycling — October 11, 2011 @ 3:15 pm

6. 

   hmmm I don’t like to clean the chain with water because of the rust and for the free wheel it will be rusted

   Comment by danyel19090 — October 11, 2011 @ 3:42 pm

7. 

   bitch can clean her own driveway.

   Comment by peterpiranha — October 11, 2011 @ 4:38 pm

8. 

   @middlemanclayton WD-40 for some reason is not good for the chain( i Just heard that from some people), and if you spray WD-40 directly to the chain, you might also accidentally include the discbrakes or the rim which make your brakes slip(very dangerous if you’re going really fast)

   Comment by TagumTrailRider — October 11, 2011 @ 5:00 pm

9. 

   Thank you very much! This helped a lot.

   Comment by IYUB30 — October 11, 2011 @ 5:07 pm

10. 

    thanks, this helped me out a lot

    Comment by 95bradders95 — October 11, 2011 @ 5:48 pm

11. 

    where do you get that cleaner thing

    Comment by 1996shakeandbake — October 11, 2011 @ 6:40 pm

12. 

    Thanks for this. Helped a newbie.

    Comment by barrylachapelle — October 11, 2011 @ 6:53 pm

13. 

    i wait for new videos. This guy is so funny

    Comment by electrocomm — October 11, 2011 @ 7:30 pm

14. 

    why not spray WD-40 on the chain and the gears while ur spinning it….

    Comment by middlemanclayton — October 11, 2011 @ 8:01 pm

15. 

    if you were to take your bike into a dealership. would they do a better job than you can do?

    Comment by chrisbear08 — October 11, 2011 @ 8:28 pm

16. 

    Well duh… Never said you should leave it out in the rain. Did not ask either if you see rust WHERE your’re staring, but WHILE you’re staring (in other words, do you see rust growing in a matter of seconds?)

    If you read the comments, my point was you can use water to clean your chain, but you should ALSO dry the chain afterwards. But it won’t suddenly fall apart if you use water on it.

    Comment by Usethebanana — October 11, 2011 @ 8:49 pm

17. 

    @Usethebanana Actually I do see it rust where I’m staring at it. After having my bike out on some rides while it rained for a few days I see rust all over the entire chain.

    Comment by seosean — October 11, 2011 @ 9:31 pm

18. 

    dont put water on ur bike.. it will make it rust.

    Comment by bcb0xer — October 11, 2011 @ 10:19 pm

19. 

    dude you should make a video

    Comment by masterkiller1791 — October 11, 2011 @ 11:14 pm

20. 

    Robert,

    Normalmente, quando vou realizar a limpeza da Bike eu primeiro, limpo toda a mecância com querozene e depois com agua e sabão, em seguida seco com um pano limpo, e faço a lubrificação com cera especifica para bike. no caso de rolamentos internos, prefiro levar a bike em uma oficina especializada.
    O que vc acha ? Estou fazendo corretamente a limpeza ?

    tks

    Michael Martins
    Campinas, SP, Brasil

    Comment by Micsilma — October 12, 2011 @ 12:12 am

21. 

    If you run out of chain cleaning fluid, properly diluted dishwasher liquid soap in your chain washer can also do the trick. Then give it a wet old rag treatment, dry it afterwards with an old dry one. Finally, a good lubrication process and you’re off.

    Comment by cuevarap — October 12, 2011 @ 12:59 am

22. 

    Split your chain once with a chain splitter buy two Wippermann ConneX links. Slip your chain off, submerge in a container full of paraffin (cheap) leave it for a while, clean up chainrings and cassette, wash chain in water, re-join chain by hand with one of your conneX links (keep the other as a spare, should you get a chain break on you) Lube with Wax not oil much better and less fiddly than a chain scrubber

    Comment by StormyTgurl — October 12, 2011 @ 1:08 am

23. 

    ya, too much force on the bearings and I would assume it could get in between the links so that’s no good either. bottom line: watering can cause rusting and general stiffening in your links. you should probably use that machine a few more times after it has dried and a new chains are dirt cheap.

    Comment by bastardmakervdh — October 12, 2011 @ 2:06 am

24. 

    The reason I can think of is, using the chain cleaner you can losen a lot of the dirt and all the little parts are soaked and come loose. But using a rag you can only clean the surfaces you can reach, but all the dust that came loose will still be stuck on the inside and against the edges of the parts. Running water over the chain would wash away these loose particles. then dry it and lube it to protect it again.

    But I wouldn’t hose it down, too much power will force water inside the bearings

    Comment by Usethebanana — October 12, 2011 @ 2:11 am

25. 

    well I generally try to avoid biking in the rain if I can. I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t take an old rag and use that instead of hosing it down; that seems a lot more logical solution considering this is a bike maintenance/preservation video.

    Comment by bastardmakervdh — October 12, 2011 @ 3:10 am

26. 

    @fl260 Bin certain.

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 3:29 am

27. 

    Thanks for the video, well explained.
    Also, have a question : are you from quebec? Est-ce que j’ai reconnu un accent?

    Comment by fl260 — October 12, 2011 @ 4:15 am

28. 

    Brill video!

    Comment by rafpilot — October 12, 2011 @ 4:53 am

29. 

    @akj375 Thanks, I try to keep it fun as well as informative.

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 5:37 am

30. 

    Fantastic video. I love how you don’t take yourself too seriously… especially the lack of anger management in the middle. Nice touch!

    Comment by akj375 — October 12, 2011 @ 6:09 am

31. 

    @xddorox Thanks =) I got back from checking two stores across the street (I live next to a supercenter type of thing) And neither had one =( Tomorrow though I’ll go check some actual bike stores in town. Thanks for the reply!

    Comment by Mattecarshop — October 12, 2011 @ 6:41 am

32. 

    @Mattecarshop Most chains in my experience don’t have a master link. A chaintool is a must in my opinion.

    Gerry

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 7:18 am

33. 

    Can’t afford a new chain, so I’m thinking of salvaging the old one, but can’t find the master link. Seriously, I’d think something like that would stick out like a sore thumb, but I don’t see one! Think I just need a chaintool?

    Comment by Mattecarshop — October 12, 2011 @ 7:41 am

34. 

    @Varonicide Were you being chased by Zombies at the time? I’m just glad I could help.

    Gerry

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 8:18 am

35. 

    You saved my life!!!!! Thank you so much for making it easy to understand unlike the other how-to videos.

    Comment by Varonicide — October 12, 2011 @ 8:36 am

36. 

    @xddorox A chaintool is one of the basic tool for any cyclist. Buy a cheap one and keep it lubed well. It will last a very long time. I still have my cheapo $4.99 one that I keep as a spare when I can’t find my good one. It’s 18 years old

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 9:06 am

37. 

    @xddorox I agree, but I’m not sure I’ll take up cycling as a serious hobby, so any tool bought has to be carefully thought out, I’ll look for a master link first as I can’t see a retaining pin. Thanks for the reply too.

    Comment by MrPantone123 — October 12, 2011 @ 9:58 am

38. 

    @MrPantone123 Buying tools is an investement. It will always pay itself back or make you money. You never sell your tools as long as you can use them.

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 10:46 am

39. 

    @xddorox So thy still come with a master link? I can’t find one on this bike I’ve been given, the chain is a little rusty. It is annoying that you need to buy a chain remover though, it’s all money. Thanks for a helpful video though.

    Comment by MrPantone123 — October 12, 2011 @ 11:42 am

40. 

    @DexVil Thanks

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 12:18 pm

41. 

    Nice guy, great tutorial, you rock !

    Comment by DexVil — October 12, 2011 @ 1:07 pm

42. 

    If you’re that bothered get a quick release chain

    Comment by cantycuriousyellow — October 12, 2011 @ 1:27 pm

43. 

    @YTSparty Damn! You uncovered my master plan. Now I won’t be able to pay off the Porsche and the kids college tuition. Yes you could use a master link, but in my opinion using the tool makes the chain cleaner and stronger. I could be wrong but that’s just my opinion. Now where is that lazy butler?

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 2:23 pm

44. 

    Why do ALL of these YT videos use some kind of tool?? SPAM? I just find the pin on the master link and pop it off. Why doesn’t any of these videos show how to do this?

    Again, I think you’re trying to sell some tool.

    Comment by YTSparty — October 12, 2011 @ 2:25 pm

45. 

    @GrendelPL Thank you for sharing that with us. Now we know it is possible.

    Gerry

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 2:34 pm

46. 

    @xddorox my grandfather used that method actually but on 1930′s bikes one chain ring in front, one on the back… Piece of a nail, hammer and the hard place …

    Comment by GrendelPL — October 12, 2011 @ 3:24 pm

47. 

    just go to the next bike shop and buy – the price can be between 10 – 40 USD wherewer … i bought in Tesco for 3 EUR, but i live in Slovakia

    Comment by 1972Lubos — October 12, 2011 @ 3:45 pm

48. 

    @TheRdrage sounds like you went to bicycle college

    Comment by topsy420 — October 12, 2011 @ 4:42 pm

49. 

    @mmyyddddd Some people have used a nail and hammer. I’ve never tried it myself.

    Comment by xddorox — October 12, 2011 @ 5:20 pm

50. 

    what if i dont have the tools that you used to put the chain together, what could i use?

    Comment by mmyyddddd — October 12, 2011 @ 5:21 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website