The Most Efficient Way To Deep Clean Your Bike Chain
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2023
- Nothing feels better than a sparkly clean chain! Ollie is here to talk you through one of his favourite and most effective ways of stripping and cleaning dirty chains.
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Let us know your chain cleaning process 👇
I mix Blue Dawn soap with hot water into a slightly larger glass container with the chain inside. I shake the container thoroughly, remove the chain and wash the container and chain, until the chain is left absolutely clean. I repeat the process about 3 times. I wait for the chain to dry and add my lube to each individual link. I highly recommend my process.
For deep cleaning before waxing I do a couple of rinses with turpentine (mineral spirits). After that 1 or 2 rinses with isopropyl alcohol to remove any oil film left on the chain, ensuring the wax will properly stick to the chain
I have an outdoor bike cleaning area which helps a lot.
First I use water from the hose to spray the chain as I spin it around to remove some dust and grit. Then 4 cycles of citrus degreaser in the Park Cyclone chain cleaner. At this time I also use brushes and degreaser on the chainrings and cassette. Then, rinse off all the degreaser with the hose, followed by a session with the air compressor hose to blow out all the water from the chain and other components. The drivetrain is REALLY clean at this point.
Once the bike is back inside the house and the chain is completely dry I use Rock & Roll Gold on the chain... let it dry, then another application later, wiping off the chain after each application. I often ride dusty dirt roads and this lube has proven to be good for not attracting a lot of dust/dirt.
My local bike shop told me to use Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner to clean the cassette and chain. It's made right here in good ole sunny California by Sunshine Makers, Inc. It's also biodegradable. Seems to work fine.
@@elizabethpoley6882 Just be sure to rinse it all off really well. You don't want to leave any cleaner residue on the bike.
The chain stripper product may be safe to dispose of down the sink, but once it has been used to clean a chain it contains grease and other contaminants that should be disposed of properly.
If you're on sewer system you can put pretty much anything down the drain. As long as its not damaging to the pipes or prohibited by law. The sewer system sends the sewage waste out to a treatment plant. Naturally of course there are exceptions, Like india. In india they dump waste out into the Ganges and other rivers.
@kalijasin Not so sure the treatment plants can remove everything. Also you have to consider that often during heavy rain the sewage is discharged untreated.
@@kalijasinthat's definitely not true. Even in the minimally regulated US.
Came here to say this.
It's fucking unbelievable that this has to be corrected in the comment section.
Extra details on the last comment from Ollie: Chain stripper is a great product but it is designed for brand new chains and stripping factory grease. Josh from Silca points out in the Silca channel, using chain stripper on a used chain is a bit of an expensive route. You can save yourself some money using a citrus degreaser (do several baths) + a final acetone bath.
A fcouple of details that are not quite right:
- The chain stripper is bio-degradable and safe, but what about all the black gunk coming out of the chain... not so much, i.e. pour it on the sink at your own risk.
- You can still hot melt immerse a used chain, but only if it has not been used enough to wear the initial tungsten (or othe alloy) coating... ~200 miles of use.
Note: I got these details from watching the videos on the SILCA channel... Josh, the company owner, is an amazing engineer.
Kudos to GCN from moving away from Muc OFF to Silca as a sponsor, Silca is just a superior company with superior products.
As is often the case in these types of comms, yes, the stripper liquid may be friendly to polar bears. But after it has been mixed with your old chain gunk, well, not so friendly after all!
As we all use Extra Vergine Ollie Oil this is not a problem
Did you know....
The TOP most worse pollution yet emitted by mankind is,,, Tyre dust. Find it in your cod and chips.
The gunk on the chain came from the roads. All that same stuff gets washed down the grid anytime it rains.
Just use wax.
@@yutehube4468 Ah ha, eureka then. And I thought it came from a little bottle of lube doused liberally on the chain by the owner, gradually creating a horrible black grinding paste. My bad!
At the end, I was expecting Ollie to say what he recommends to clean a dirty chain. Instead, he repeats that he doesn't recommend using the Silca chain stripper for anything but a new chain.
I was confused at this moment too!
As with all (expensive) cleaners, just leave it in the glas, let the crud settle on the bottom, till next time, where you can decanter the clean top liquid and only discard the smal amount of crud on the bottom.
And as with all cleaners, even watersoluble ones, wash the item in hot soapwater and rinse, to remove all remnants of the cleaner.
Drop a strong magnet in the jar with the used cleaning solution when you store it. You will be surprised with how much metal filing it picks up.
@@kev7355you cam also take a "magnate tape," kind of like the refrigerator magnates, and cut some for the bottom of the jar. Works a treat! You can get sheets of it. Draw out the circle, even double or trie it up if you need to.
@@ghowell13 Do you need a steel magnate? Like JP Morgan?
Beware - tapping glass with metal may cause glass failure
Not exactly. If you put your finger on it it’ll prevent, or at least significantly the vibrations from breaking. Why do you think people put their hand on a windshield when it’s hailing? Stops the vibrations through the windshield.
@@EatMyPropwash when it hails bike chains, let’s try it then
Lol its fine, ive been cleaning my chain in glass jars for years. I use the the glass jars from pasta sauces.
@@JFomo your are not shaking it vigorously enough then, try harder! Lols aside, I had a pasta pot break in my garage during the chain cleaning process and it is no fun, mess and glass everywhere, so I'm with @timjacobs5417 on this one.
Alternative facts
My method… plastic container with screw lid, petrol just enough to cover, swish around for a couple of minutes, repeat again with fresh petrol. Then, drain the petrol, add isopropyl alcohol to cover chain and swish for a couple of mins then drain. Then get a cheap plastic kitchen colander, pour 2 kettles worth of boiling water over the chain. Allow to rest for 5 mins to cool, run the chain through a micro fibre cloth to dry. You’re now super clean and ready to use any lube/wax you want. This method has saved £’s over the years vs. expensive branded gimmicks… #hack! 😉
That’s what I go too but I don’t like doing it. On the other hand, it’s only once a year or two with waxing.
Using carburetor cleaner will strip the grease off a chain just as fast for a quarter of the price and you’ll get four times as much. After washing with water, soak the chain in Isopropyl alcohol to displace any remaining water trapped in the links and the chain is clean.
Varsol .
Great way to deep clean your chain I use white spirit 😊 cleans and sparkles my chain
Use mason jars so you can properly reseal and reuse the contents, over and over. If your cleaners get mucky you can filter them with a funnel and paper coffee filters.
Install the master link on the chain for the process, so it gets treated at the same time.
Oiled/greased chains:
- Jar clean in naptha
- Wash with soap and water
- Jar clean in methanol
- Air dry
- Wax
Waxed chains
- Boil in water
- Jar clean in methanol
- Air dry
- Wax
Haha I do the filter method too! I leave the jar for a few days for all the dirty to fall to the bottom and then filter all the clean Turpentine to a new jar so it can be reused for the next chain cleaning.
+1 for this! Or +2, I guess😂
That's a fine setup for clean dirt... When I'm running winter mode, the chain is a disposable really!! I just run it through brake cleaner and oil it with 5W or whatever my car craves!! It's a weekly routine... I may skip a week if it's really cold and dry and there's not too much road salt and slush... If it gets really wet, then I might do it twice a week. Also, with the brake cleaner I use 2 jars... So the chain goes in a clean jar and I pour in the cleaner. After the chain has been washed, I leave the dirty solvent to decant for a while and pour the clear stuff into the second jar. The dirty jar gets wiped clean and the process repeats.
Like I said, this process is extreme and won't give you a nice clean chain, but for the winter beater it gets that chain through it's season and saves you the watts from the crusty rust that's bound to form regardless!! I think I should start burying my chain in a cemetary and put up little crosses on each tomb!!
Share 6 years ago by OZ cycle, comparing it to ultrasonic cleaner and brush.
Lots of technical info and details experiment in that channel, deserve more love.
Or less. Like his prison sentence. Does he even serve it? I don't care to check, I'm not bothered.
Can someone send Ollie a box of nitrile gloves?? 😁
Did you just remake Alex’s chain-cleaning epic jar clip so you can advertise Silka’s stuff?? Btw, letting your wet, unprotected, chain to air dry is a BAD idea unless you like building rust on it…
For USA - a clean Gatorade bottle works best
How environmental is it to wash the oil and grease from the chain down the sink?
I do the same with the addition of a final rinse with isopropyl alcohol 99%. It will displace water quicker and the chain will dry way faster.
All good stuff Ollie.
Exactly what I needed. Hope I turn into a wax convert.
Saving you money and some watts power,thanks for the cleaning tips.💯👌🏻
Thanks for your video brother 🥰 from Cambodia 🇰🇭
We hope this helps you achieve dreamy clean chains 🙌
I have heard that both SRAM and Shimano do not recommend boiling your chains. Can cause the chain to break prematurely.
Rumor has it Ollie wears a freshly waxed chain necklace when he goes out to the club...
Totally unrelated - I love the depth of field in this video, as well as the color grading. Did you guys change something (lenses, settings, grading), or is it in my imagination?
Doesn't the chain bend against its intended axes when scrunched up into a small glass gar like that? Does that lead to more chain failure?
Wonderful... What about the elasticity of the chain ... Form taking of and on... Like several times if we manage to replicate the process. Cheers mate.
Dirty waxed chain: shake the chain in a jar of mineral spirits. Let sit for 30min, remove and wipe. If still dirty repeat until towel wipes are clean. Then, drop chain in denatured alcohol , shake, remove chain, and dry completely, but don’t let it sit longer than 10 min or it’ll rust. Then you’re set for waxing.
Can this cleaning technique be used with the other video where you do the CrockPot melting of the wax on the chain? I ask because I don’t have that fancy cleaner. And of course, I’d only do the wax melting on a brand new chain. 4:49
I would definitely take my chain off for cleaning more if Shimano made a reusable quick link. As it stands you need to have a supply of quick links to do this regularly. Technically making this quite an expensive way to clean your chain (neglected to mention the cost of links Ollie! ;) ). I tend to just use Alex's technique after every ride to make sure there's no build up and add lube every few rides.
Get a KMC chain.
I've never met anyone who didnt reuse their links at least a few times. As long as they snap together snug.
I've used non-reusable links 8-10x without issue. I've even broken two of the chains I've reused links on but never at that link
KMC Chain once, and you will have not a bad chain and a great quick link.
Wipperman Connex (11 speed one is quite pricey, don't know if there are alternatives) - you can open/close it with bare hands.
IPA works pretty well i have used it for quite some time
I use a takeaway Tupperware and heavy duty degreaser from screwfix to submerge the chain and give it a shake. Perfect for cleaning muddy, gritty chains from cyclocross races and training.
In the context of placing it on and off a indoor training, how bad is it to turn my bike upside down to take the back tyre off(or place it on)?
Clean mineral spirits in a thick plastic jar with a tight lid. Chain goes in, gets swirled around and comes out completely clean of everything, waxes, grease, dirt, lube. I have always used firearm oil to lubricate each roller/pin because the bottle comes with a needle tip and the oil is a great viscosity for bike chains; it's thick enough to stay in the rollers, but thin enough not to be gummy.
I use the same process but with kerosene. After cleaning, I let the dirt/gunk settle and pour off the relatively clean kerosene for later use.
Hi Ollie! During my postdoc at ICIQ in Catalonia, I once took my chain and cleaned it with some alkanes I found and sonicated it. And then it hit me: have you ever tried drying the chain in the oven? Of course, after rinsing with acetone or other volatile solvent, it dries quite fast, but say you are at home and want to have it done quickly. What's your opinion about leaving the chain at 100-110 C for 10-20 min to dry before lubbing?
Of course, I took advantage of the solvent disposal system. I always use more eco-friendly alternatives at home, but that remaining thin layer of additives is quite annoying to remove!
Costco cashews/almonds/mixed nuts plastic containers rule for this!
In my experience, The plastic containers did not handle hot water very well.
So how to clean the chain if I want to use hot melt wax?
Do it old school, clean your chain and cogs quick. Pine-sol or Pine-O-Pine. Natural degreaser and cheap.
Everyone I knew competitively racing for five years did the same cleaning.
Do this outdoors. Mix the cleaner @ 4:1 water to cleaner.
Apply with a nylon brush like a chain brush, while rotating your crank/wheel/cogs. You’ll see a lot of dirty liquid coming off your chain and cog. Shortly sparkling clean. Spray with water, while rotating. Allow to air dry. Lube.
I’m all for protecting my gears. Chains are cheap. Time is the thing we wanted to save, and be willing to clean frequently. We did, because this is cheap. Use the lube of your choice. Many of us used Pedro’s.
Simply stunning! A question though. You suggest using it on a new chain. How about when the time comes for the second or third application of that lube? Do you repeat this process before applying that lube again?
No need if you use hot wax - that's about the only reason for using this product anyway.
Every time you want to wax your chain (300-400kms) you need to deep clean and re-wax the chain.
@@ffskierdune6226Then how do you remove the old wax and all of the dirt? People keep saying boil your chain. Boil chain in what and for how long? Do you put it in a jar and pour the boiling water into it, or do you place it into a pot or kettle full of water, then bring it to a boil? Or is there a different better method that does not involve ruining a kitchen pot?
I saw a video in which Victor Campanaerts demonstrates his chain wax method, and it looks as if he doesn’t bother. He just wipes the chain off with a microfiber cloth several times, then declares it clean enough to re-wax, then go set the hour record.
@@prestachuck2867 As previously mentioned, I no longer hot wax my chains. When I did, I always used mineral spirits to clean through a chain cleaner and a scrub brush for my cassette, then rinsed with denatured alcohol. I still use this method. The cost of mineral spirits is about 14 cents per ounce. I have never boiled my chains, as I am sure my wife would not approve. It may work very well. If Campy made a reusable quick-link, then I would 100% use an ultrasonic cleaner, as this has been shown to be the best way to remove everything. I will clean my chains until the spirits are clear. I get about 10,000km per Record chain. I'm not sure about the Ekar chain yet. Measured with a digital. The main reason I stopped hot waxing my chain was that I did not find any discernible benefit. During the season, I ride about 400km per week, So I need to clean about once per week. However, If I am tight for time, I can do a touch up with the Squirt drip wax product, and I am good to go. I cannot do the same with the Silca products, and their Secrete Sause product as it requires a very clean chain, IMHO.
i've been using the method for years with a mix of one part alcohol, one part dish soap, two parts water. it'd be interesting to see how this compares.
I'm not sure on this one. I saw Josh say you could use the chain stripper in one of those chain cleaning tools on the bike. So why wouldn't it be good in a jar like that?
And if you can't use it on a dirty chain, what should you be using? Just a chain degreaser? And how often would you remove your cassette to clean it properly?
If you're waxing, you can simply pour scalding water over your cassette to soften the wax debris and use a microfiber cloth to wipe it away. I usually wrap the freehub with the cloth to prevent excess water from getting into the bearings and then slowly drizzle the water over the cassette, rotating the wheel a quarter turn between douses. I thin use the edges of the towel to get between the cogs and wipe away the wax accumulation.
You can use a diluted degreaser like Simple Green or Purple Power if you're using a trad. wet lube, also works well. If you want to do a full cleaning, removing a cassette and dropping it in an ultrasonic cleaner is your best bet, as the USM will actually rattle all the debris out of the recesses of the cassette.
I have a stupid idea😂, but anyways,do you thing thah it would be good idea to also put it in the dishwasher, so the grase could disolve better?
I am pretty sure that any degreaser will do the job of silca chain stripper and in most cases, at a much lower cost.
Jar every time now- I used to use those Barbieri ones but they are messy (fragile too)and 11 speed chains seem to jam, maybe better for 9 or less speeds. Use muc-off drivetrain cleaner but am considering using petrol as a stage one clean in a jar (swirl, never shake!)then the muc off...or maybe go directly from petrol to IPA 99.9% as muc off is expensive anyway....
I have been cleaning the chain this way for over 20 years. 👌😎
I use diesel or gasoline.
Bonus tip, I leave the chain in the jar until the next chain change... since I use two chains that I rotate every 500km
I’ve (like many) had a glass jar broken doing this. I now using plastic laundry detergent bottles instead
been doing it like this ever since quick-links came out about 7 or 8 years ago... after pretty much every ride, whip the chain off and get in in a wide bottom jar so its laid out flat, pour in just enough drivetrain cleaner to cover it, leave it for an hour giving it a good shake every now and then, empty the cleaner and add hot water, then keep rinsing and shaking while in the jar with hot water...
absolutely pristine, gunk and grit free everytime...
extra little tip, you can slightly file the restrictive nibs on quick links to make it easier to unlink, dont worry, ive used the same 2 quick links for about 3 years and theyve never come off yet.
You must get through a lot of lubricant and cleaner.
Which brand quick links do you use?
@@markusseppala6547 I use KMC DLC 11 chains so just use the ones that come with them...i've bought a few others like the X11 and they appear to be the same 'missing' links... dunno what the sram ones are like tho, ive never used SRAM chains or drivechains before but i'd imagine they have the little tabs on aswell that hold the pin in place, you could probably file them down a tad aswell...the spring in your rear derailleur keeps it well in place and you still need to use a bit of strength to separate the quick links but you can do it by hand...
edit: just had a look at SRAM Powerlink and theyve got the little tabs on aswell so you can file those down the same as KMC links...
Nothing beats good ol paraffin
Im using the same chain😁
The stripper is not cheap, but it's so much more convenient. Tip though, use enough chain stripper in your jar to submerge the chain fully, so the 2x 5 minutes wait are more effective. This is not wasteful if you keep the used stripper, because there should still be enough active ingredients to get to that 1 new chain per fluid ounce/ 30 mL
One of silca's vids said up to 5 new chains before you need to change the striper out,you could even pour it through a coffee filter if you want.Cheers!!!
degrease in sink then a jar with acetone rinse then jar with propan-1-ol. wipe dry and allow to evaporate. put chain on bike then use squirt drip wax.
Wide mouth plastic juice or gatoraid bottles work well.
Oooh, connex chains 😎
I've done this before. You have to do it 2 or 3 times though and clean the jar out before doing it again.
Can I ride the new chain with that packing grease on it?
I've already invested in a sonic cleaner, and I use silca wax. Life's easy.
Living the dream 🙌
Oil Eater for a used chain.
regular oil-based chain lube for brand new chain with factory preservative. it will strip it off in seconds
How do you recommend cleaning grease and crud off your hands? Or even clothes?
For hands, put soap on your hands and pour in a little sugar. Then scrub.
A medical drawing syringe with a thin needle works very well. The oil can be dosed much better and this saves a lot of money and the oil does not end up in the environment.
This is mostly useful for those waxing their chains.
add a smaller lid with drilled holes on the bottom of the jar
Does anyone know how often hot wax should be changed? Do you feel that after a few uses it is mostly sanding paste?
Another question; Does the chain usually need to be lubricated, if after every run you wash the chain (in a jar) with an oil-based solvent??
This came to my mind because the bearings of skateboards are not greased, they are only washed.. they are said to be faster and still last just as long??
About 300-400 km max. Silca says you can use their secret sauce to supplement. I did not find this to work well. Thus, I stopped waxing my chain. Expensive and too time-consuming. Waxing every week-no thank you.
First time rewax @300km and then every 500km. I rotate 3 chains - saves a lot of time. Does not take more time as all other cleaning is faster. As for cost it’s much cheaper than oil because your chains and drive train will last much, much longer. And those are very expensive.
I have two chains one in use and a second chain waxed and ready. The first chain waxing lasted about 200 miles or 320 kilometers. I use an ultra sonic cleaner and not polar bear friendly cleaners.
So only 200 miles for all of that work? I would have to re-wax the chain every week, and sometimes more often! Just a lot easier to clean it on the bike with the park chain cleaning machine, quickly soap down and rinse the whole bike, blow the chain out with a hose, and re-lube with a drip lube. No more than about ten to fifteen minutes total work. If you do it weekly, not only will the drivetrain last just as many miles, but you always have a nice clean bike.
@@prestachuck2867 You should do a video with Ollie.
can i just use a normal chain degreaser to clean my chain if i dont have a chain stripper?
A normal bike degreaser should do the job well 🙌
I was expecting this upload to be dated April 1st.
Nice advertisment
How do you fit the cassette, chainrings, and derailleurs in the jar?
Get a BIG jar 😅
When is a door not a door?
HAHA. Use a paint brush and scrubbing brush to clean
#AskGCNTech, I have been using drip-on wax (Silca super secret) since my chain was new. I now want to put a hot melt wax on it. What do I need to do to prep the chain? I did properly clean the chain before using the drip wax. Do I need to remove the old drip-on wax first?
Yes, 100%. The chain must be 100% clean for the wax to adhere to the chain. Hot waxing is great but it is expensive and does not last more than 300-400km max. Not worth the time or the expense
@@ffskierdune6226 but since my chain was stripped clean before using drip wax, I’m wondering if I just need to put it in boiling water, or if the hot wax will remove the drip wax, or if I have to chemically strip it again. Both the drip wax I used and hot wax I’m considering are Silca.
@@bihlygoat I have used both of the Silca products. I would thoroughly clean your chain with their chain stripper before you do a hot wax treatment. Make sure that your cleaning liquid is crystal clear before you hot wax. Otherwise, you will have poor adhesion.
@@ffskierdune6226 If he's already degreased the chain there's no need to use the chain stripper. Boiling water will do.
I prefer screw fix no nonsense. degreaser.. 15 quid for a few litres.
Far more economical
That product is extremely expensive
Throw it in the dishwasher BAM 💥
Nothing cleans a chain better than a Nutella jar ❤
Shoot, I’ll have to empty it first! Where’s me spoon….
I do this with a metal can and gasoline. Sit overnight then air dry.
Use petrol for step 1. Much cheaper. Most of the grease and dirt will settle out when you're done and you can pour the clean petrol off the top for reuse.
The jar is definitely best. I stopped using squirt lube because it was so hard to clean, compared to old wet lube in a jar. I use wax now, it stays clean, when squirt still gets some dirt.
Wax is the way to go! Welcome to the club 🙌
The trick to use squirt is to allow the lube to dry overnight and wipe the next morning of all the excess lube. You shouldn’t feel any stickiness or oily after running your fingers over the chain. Ideally, Squirt dries off pretty dry. As such need the lube only inside the rollers.
Wipe chain after every ride and re-lube after every 300-400 km. Wipe dry and lube after a ride in the rain.
@@junaid42465 I used it for years, did all that, it’s just not as clean as melt in a pot wax. I use molten speedwax.
@@junaid42465 I agree with you. Squirt is very good. The best part is that you can reapply without having to completely clean your chain. I have used the Silca secret sauce for about one season but found that just after 200 km, my chain would be black and nosy. I could not reapply the product without thoroughly cleaning my chain. It would just drip off. Not so with Squirt. It was recommended to me by a former retired pro who now maintains his own bikes.
Great video, Ollie. Basically, been doing this for decades . Only, I use "OMS" , in my work shed, wipe down and air dry for few hours. Have other bikes to ride , in the mean time. KB
Up until now, I have avoided chain waxing because of the prep time. This product has changed everything, I will be moving to wax on my next chain.
if you use inductive heater , chain can be waxed on bike with solid wax, cleaning + waxing 6 minutes
#AskGCNTech , On the fence about switching to a waxed chain.
The channel has been very informative on the subject the last couple months 😉.
Question is does it have the feel of a fresh lubed/clean chain, say on your third ride after application????
Using it for more than a year. The best decision to switch ever. You calculate more based on the km ridden. If one ride for 300km - then change after one ride. Or just after 10 30km rides.
Yes it does. In fact it feels better after the first 30-50km and for about 200km. Problem is, that very soon you'll realise that you need 2-3 waxed chains to rotate, especially if you ride in wet. But I never used bicycle wax, just good quality hard paraffin wax with
I no longer wax my chains. Too expensive and has no discernible benefit IMHO. Rewax every week 300-400kms max.
I stopped using wax on my chains because it doesn't feel as smooth as a freshly de-greased and re-lubed chain to me. But who could guess that they're sponsored by Silca , every video this last while has been banging on about the benefits of a waxed chain. 😂 😂 😂
Somewhere between 200-300 miles is where I notice the dropoff. I'm rotating two chains every 300 or so miles, which in my case, is about 2-3 weeks. The initial prep is the onerous part...rewaxing takes maybe an hour, and most of that time you're just waiting for the wax to become molten. The waxing process itself takes about 5-10 minutes, with about 2 minutes of those actually requiring you do be doing anything.
After dropping the chain in the wax, you shake it around to expel the air bubbles and then you wait for the wax to cool for a few minutes. If using Silca's wax, this is about the time that the tungsten disulfide particles stop swirling around and the pot starts to look like a metallic brain. Then you pull the chain, shaking the excess as you go. If you've done it right, the drips will start to solidify a few seconds after pulling the chain from the pot. You then hang it to dry.
The chain is properly waxed if it's stiff as a board after cooling. This means the wax has penetrated the rollers. I then break loose the chain with some back-and-forth movements until the links are fairly loose (catch all the wax bits that fall off on a plate or a bowl and poor those back into your wax pot). Then I thread the chain on, install the quick link, and check the gear indexing.
After a few miles, it feels...liquid. Better than any wet lube I've ever used, and astoundingly quiet.
Yes, it's a huge upfront cost in both time and materials. But this is your hobby and it's a fun rabbit hole with performance and long-term cost benefits. Obviously GCN Tech is going to advocate for this sort of thing because that's the function of this channel, but no one's saying you have to do it. It's just a fun, totally optional way to be more obsessive about what you love.
I use turpetine ,and later wash it down with dish soap, its so much cheaper
@gcntech Can you reuse a quick-link? Some folks say yes, some folks so no, there seems to be a lot of conflicting opinions out there (I guess that's Internet forums for ya)
You forgot the step where you clean the cassette, pulley wheels and crankset!
If those are dirty, you can now start over.
I would also put on the lube while it's not installed yet, so you don't liquid drip wax all over the drivetrain.
I have only cleaned chains this way for about 50 years.
For decades I then put chains into hot automatic transmission fluid as a lube.
As I go to new chains I'll be going to wax.
4 jars about a pint or 500ml or more:
Old settled dirty gas in one: pour off fuel only into an empty one, leave sediment behind. add chain, shake, soak, shake, lift out with short piece of shirt hanger with hook. Pour 3rd jar of less dirty gas into 4th, cleanest jar, add chain, shake, soak, pull out, hang chain to dry some, lube or install and lube.
Shake 2nd jar and pour all back into first jar. Pour 4th jar with swishing back into 3rd jar. Save jars for next chain cleaning. Don't loose the master link.
What
@@chris4536 Pour off, like "decant" to leave behind the sediment, so your chain swishes around in just gasoline, not dirt from the last few chains you cleaned.
Ollie if a chains about 2 months old would it be too far gone to deep clean an come to the wax side?
Depends on your riding style and distance you’ve covered.
Not unless it’s 3 weeks of TdF riding.
Only use a new chain and strip it well. The more the wax sticks to the metal the better. In case of a used chain, waxing will be less optimal because there is less bonding.
In a perfect world, you would start with a new chain. But we don't live in a perfect world. So it would depend on the mileage of the chain. If it is not high, then it would be fine. Just make sure when you are deep cleaning the chain that the liquid is 100% clear; otherwise, the adhesion will suffer.
@@janwillemkuilenburg7561 the solution has a bonding substance as well to counter this.
To save money I would fist clean the dirty chain with a cheap solvent and after rinsing with water I would then clean it with the more expensive stripping fluid.
Rinse with denatured alcohol. This removes any of the solvent residues and dries very quickly. Better adhesion of lube.
Not in my world. The Silca product costs about $3.00 per oz in my world. Instead, I use Varsol (mineral spirits) through a chain cleaning tool. The cost is 14 cents per oz. Plus, once the solids have settled I can reuse it. Followed up by a rinse in denatured alcohol and my chain is ready to be lubed (dripped wax). If Campy had a reusable quick link then I would use an ultra-sonic cleaner every 400km. This above process allows me to get about 10,000km from a Record chain. I measure my chain with digital callipers.
Just another GCN commercial promoting one of their "sponsors".
0:03 I'm very happy if I get my chain looking like the before "this" 😅🤦♂️
Um, buy a can of acetone. A liter is probably less than the tiny Silca bottle. Acetone also rinses off in water. If you want to go "pro" than use the acetone in an ultra sonic cleaner.
Ollie. Love your passion for clean chains, but you've got get out more chap!
A glass jar is a bad idea. I know something about that. A plastic one is better.
One man one jar
Did anyone else have anxiety over Oli’s dirty hands and clean jumper?! Degreaser on the hands too!
"Hey, everyone. Forget all the other methods we've given you. Use are sponsor's products, instead."
There’s no other product like this. If you wax its a real help. Some time commercials are also about informing the public of what’s available and possible.
@@meibing4912 There is also UFO clean doing the same thing before Silca Chain Stripper.
I'll tell you what not to do. Don't use acetone in sonicator with plastic basket. Acetone will melt the plastic, and the sonic waves will push the melted plastic in every nook and cranny of your chain.
👍
Lol. Have you seen the price of that degreaser! Alternative that’s faster and easier: Parktool chain cleaning tool with Screwfix ‘No Nonsense Degreaser’. 1 minute of spinning the crank then rinse with water and it sparkles. Beware though. It strips every bit of grease.
Mineral spirits and then denatured alcohol from the hardware store work wonders
Go buy a cup of ice cream with a twist off lid. You get a plastic jar and ice cream too. I'd try the talenti brand
Petrol, let the flaming begin 🔥🔥
CGN: * Recommends an expensive product not available in my third world country *
Me: * Uses diesel *
Silca chain stripper is £40. If I need 2 applications then that is half the bottle, £20. Thats absolutely ludicrous. Just use water based degreaser from screwfix which is £13 for 5L.
To dry the chain, wipe with a microfibre cloth, then put it back on the bike, back spin a few times and re wipe again, done.