Chain cleaning challenged

[HillSlugger]

I use the Rock n Roll lubes that claim you don't need to degrease or anything. Just wipe down the dirty chain, apply RnR liberally, and then wipe until the chain is clean. My chains are all in very good condition, even after 1000's of miles.

[Catrin]

Thanks for the good discussion and advice. My chain is now pristine clean once again and sporting Rock and Roll Gold dry lube I will endeavor to have better chain-cleaning habits

[Melalvai]

What really matters is the weather & road conditions. Whether it's 5 miles or 25 miles in the rain, I'll have to clean my chain. By "clean" I mean, I lube each link and run the chain through a rag for a long time. Theoretically that is "until the chain runs through the rag cleanly" but in reality it is "until I'm tired of turning the pedal by hand".

I was very proud when I got my new cassette because the mechanic said my diligent chain-cleaning really prolonged the life of the old cassette (4500 miles). He said some people come in after 1000 miles and their cassette is already trashed. Ultimately what matters is how smoothly the chain goes onto different cogs, and whether it is wearing down your cassette.

[wavedancer]

For those of us who want to be sure our chains are exceptionally clean Sheldon Brown provides clear instructions

[Catrin]

For those of us who want to be sure our chains are exceptionally clean Sheldon Brown provides clear instructions

Thanks for the reminder of his page - I was very, very new the first time I saw that and I wasn't sure quite what to think

[PamNY]

Now that's funny.

[TrekTheKaty]

For those of us who want to be sure our chains are exceptionally clean Sheldon Brown provides clear instructions

I dropped in to see if anybody had put in the Sheldon Brown link yet!

(That's one of those--read all the way through before beginning kind of things!)