How clean is clean - chain wise?

[BeeLady]

After reading this forum got up the nerve to clean the chain, cassette and chain rings for first time on my 12-year-old bike. (Bike probably has less than 2500 miles on it -- except see note below about son, so who knows).

Now, I've discovered that my freewheel really is silver, I can actually see the chain rather than the black gunk, and my chain rings are cleanest they've been since I bought the bike.

Question is I can still take a clean rag and get some grease on it when I wipe down my chain. Not much, but some (I think my son had "lubed" this bike with motor oil at some point.) Anyway, I think it is clean but does the fact that I can still get even the least bit of grease from the chain need to mean I need to keep working?

I have some new bike lube from my LBS and want to put it on tonite before bed if any of you more experienced ladies think its OK to proceed.

[Kalidurga]

I don't know if this will totally answer your question, but I had an interesting chat with my new favorite LBS tech this evening about just this subject.

I asked him about whether a particular degreaser on his shelf would work well in my Finish Line chain cleaner. His reply was that he really doesn't recommend using degreaser on chains. When I raised my eyebrows at that, he explained that it's very difficult to get all of the residue from the degreaser off of the chain, and that residue then makes it just that much harder for the lube to adhere and work itself in to where it needs to go. With a really good self-cleaning lube, the degreaser is basically unecessary because the lube will float all of the grit to the surface. You just then have to be very scrupulous about wiping the chain down thoroughly to remove as much lube as possible. "Wipe it down like crazy" is how he put it. He went on to suggest that if the chain ever became so grungy that I really felt the need to run it through the chain cleaner with degreaser, that I should follow that with another run through the chain cleaner filled with rubbing alcohol. As the alcohol evaporates, it'll apparently help to remove the degreaser residue so that the lube will have a totally bare surface to adhere to.

My chain's not super shiny and silvery looking anymore, but I'm thinking I'm gonna try just cleaning it with my good ol' Rock-n-Roll Gold lube for a while and see how that goes. I usually "wipe it down like crazy" until I can just barely see a sheen on my skin when I swipe a finger along the chain, and I've had bike techs at a couple of different shops tell me my drive train looks very well cared for.

[KnottedYet]

I second the thing about the "degreaser". I used the Park Tool degreaser that came with my chain gang. It cleaned my chain beautifully, but the residue was a major pain in the buns.

Next time I do the chain I will use good ol' Simple Green. (or dish soap)

[yellow]

I like my chain and cassette to be super clean, with only enough lube to do the job. I use Simple Green Automotive and haven't noticed a residue problem.

[liberty]

Question is I can still take a clean rag and get some grease on it when I wipe down my chain. Anyway, I think it is clean but does the fact that I can still get even the least bit of grease from the chain need to mean I need to keep working?

Okay, ladies, I finally had the time to get at my chain and clean it. It was embarrassingly dirty. But I have the same deal as Beelady did. I can take a clean rag and get some grease on it when I wipe it down. Do I understand this thread to say that the remaining grease is actually residue? I used both dishsoap and degreaser. Dish soap first, but my chain was MAJORLY dirty and the soap wasn't working. So I moved on to degreaser. It was advertised as leaving no residue... I rinsed it off as best I could and then cleaned it again... And rinsed again. Wash, rinse, repeat...

What is normal as far as a "clean" chain? How does a newbie know when she has a clean chain?

On the other hand, I consider it a practice cleaning, as the chain has 1700 miles on it and is due to be replaced. Yes, it did take me that long to get to cleaning the chain.

[li10up]

IMO - If you've gotten all the gunk off of the chain and the cassette and when you wipe the chain with a clean cloth and only get a slight bit of residue then the chain is "clean enough."

[Kalidurga]

Based on what I've read and been told, and the smidgen of experience I gained last season, I'd agree with li10up. It seems that grit in the links of the chain should be of more concern than a little grease. If my chain's running smooth and quiet, the links aren't sticking, and the chain "tatoos" on my calf are faint to non-existent, then I'm inclined to think my chain's ok.

Note: My brand-spanking-new, never-been-touched-by-degreaser chain is all lubed, wiped and ready to go. Now I just need some warm weather (and to get over being sick) to see how well it resists dirt and grime!

[MontyBiker]

In all honesty the most effective way to get a chain clean (in my experience) is with white spirit. But is it worth mentioning that if you have a shimano HG chain then this is defo not the way to go as repeatedly removing and replacing HG links is a no no.

BUT if you have a SRAM chain then simple soak it in white spirit, then hang the chain to dry, then lube and it's as good as new!

FYI, heres a decent article about chain maintenance.