Cleaning Your Mountain Bike Chain

It s worth doing this job thoroughly using good degreaser.

Cleaning your mountain bike chain. With your bike in position apply solvent something like wd 40 or isopropyl alcohol to the chain. 3 chain gang cleaning system is a product that takes your cleaning needs seriously. Take care to dry your mountain bike off. You can pick up pretty much everything you need to clean a mountain bike at your local hardware store or chain stores like walmart.

Your bicycle chain will wear for various reasons but the key accelerant is grit within that grinds away the metal. Plus your chain and drivetrain components won t wear down as quickly since there s less friction and grit between moving parts. Use your free hand to slowly rotate the closest pedal inspecting individual chain links for dirt buildup rust and or tight links links that do not bend easily as they pass through the rear derailleur. If i m going quickly i usually focus on the chain components and other moving parts and i bump my bike side to side in an effort to knock the water out of the heads of the bolts so that they don t rust.

A super clean drivetrain rapidly reduces the rate of wear on your bike components. Regular cyclists will likely perform a chain cleaning every week or two or at least once every 200 miles or so depending on how much riding is being done and under what conditions. Immediately after you think your bike is adequately dry do a full lube job. On a regular basis look at the entire chain by standing to the side of your bike and lifting the rear wheel off the ground.

Here are are hacks and tips on how to get that chain spotless. If you notice your bike chain is excessively dirty and grimy with a crust of dirt and environmental sludge it s probably time to clean your chain. But while reducing wear through chain cleaning is certainly the factor that will. Depending how often you ride cleaning the chain on your mountain bike might be a weekly job or even more regular.

You do this by slowly turning the pedals backward to move the chain a section at a time so you can clean it by either spraying on the solvent as you wipe down the chain with an old rag or by wiping down the chain with a rag that is saturated with the solvent. Your bike will feel smoother as you pedal and shift gears and it ll sound smooth too no crunching or squeaking as you ride.