How to clean your bike chain: a good way, a better way and the ultimate way to save watts and money

A clean chain is the cheapest way of prolonging the life of expensive drivetrain parts and probably one of the best value ways of making your bike faster. Well, we've got three very grubby chains to show you the good, the better and the ultimate way to get them clean and ready to ride...

> How to clean your bike - from a quick lick to a full makeover

When cleaning your bike it might be tempting to focus on the larger surfaces such as the frame, but by far the most important part of your bike to clean is the drivetrain. 

Tests have shown that a grubby drivetrain can cost you around 3% of your power output, as well as rapidly accelerate drivetrain wear. Some studies even show that a consistently grubby chain will result in expensive components lasting less than half the mileage than when a clean one is used!

Luckily, keeping your chain clean needn't be too arduous. Just a few minutes after riding could save you a fortune.

The good way to clean your drivetrain

For this method, you will need a rag that you don't mind getting greasy, a degreaser of your choice and a bottle of chain lube. You may also want to invest a few quid on a stiff-bristled brush to help lift stubborn dirt and get into those hard-to-reach places.

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The main aim when cleaning your drivetrain is to remove the dirt and grime that gets between moving parts. In short, this means that as a minimum you will need to clean not only your chain, but also your cassette and chainrings.

Personally I start by putting my bike upside down or in a stand with the bike in a large chainring and one of the larger sprockets at the back. This is so that the chain is under more tension, hence making it easier to clean.

Next, you're simply going to run the chain through the rag to remove any excess grease. It's usually easiest to do this at the top of the chain which is under tension.

Once complete you can move on to cleaning it more thoroughly, cleaning in between each of the plates on the chain.

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A spray of degreaser or chain cleaner will help lift stubborn grease. I find it easiest to push against the chainring rather than try to clean the chain where it is unsupported.

Next, make a pad with the towel and thoroughly rub the chainring, paying particular attention to the teeth. Remember to clean both sides of both the big and little rings if you have two.

It's then time to clean the cassette. Spray it with a degreaser, being careful to avoid your brakes, and then use either a stiff brush or rag to remove excess grime. There is a more thorough way to clean your cassette that we'll get on to further down the page, but this method is better than nothing when time is against you. 

Give the drivetrain a final rub over with a dry rag, and then apply your favourite lube while turning the pedals.

Many people debate whether it is better to lubricate the inner or outer surface of your chain. The truth is that it makes very little difference as long as the lube can get down into the rollers and in between the links.

> Best bike chain lubes

Remember when lubing your chain that it is the rollers that need lubricating and not the outer plates. Therefore, may want to wipe off any excess before riding to avoid attracting excess debris.

The better way to clean your drivetrain

If you've got more time on your hands, then it's always worth being a bit more thorough. This is how I clean my drivetrain once a week, or after a particularly filthy ride...

For this method we're going to need to remove the chain, so you will also need some chain link pliers (or a shoelace), an old water bottle, some white spirit (or similar) and a rag and stiff-bristled brush.

Remove the chain by shifting into the small ring at the front and small sprocket at the back to reduce chain tension. Most chains have a quick link which can then be 'broken' using a set of chain link pliers.

Once the chain is off, put it in an old water bottle and add a couple of hundred millilitres of degreaser or white spirit. Next, pop the lid on and shake vigorously. This will encourage the degreaser to penetrate in between the links of the chain and drive out any debris.

Remove the chain from the bottle, using an old spoke or something similar, and put the bottle to one side ready for next time. Maybe add a warning not to drink from it!

Place the chain and quick link onto a towel and wipe off the excess degreaser, before using an old toothbrush to loosen any grime that is stubborn enough to still be present.

Once again we will have to clean the chainrings and cassette, and this is best done before refitting the chain. To clean the chainrings, repeat the process we went through in the "good" method, using a rag and degreaser to wipe off any dirt and grease.

To clean the cassette more thoroughly, remove the back wheel from the bike, cover the brake disc if your bike has disc brakes, and then spray degreaser on to the cassette.

Then, use a stiff brush to get the worst of the grime off, before using the edge of an old towel to clean in between each sprocket. Do this by rubbing backwards and forwards. You will find that the cassette will spin in one direction but not the other.

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Before refitting the chain, give your jockey wheels some love. If things have got really bad then you can use a small screwdriver to remove excess grease, and then clean thoroughly with a rag and/or toothbrush.

Refit the chain noting its direction, being careful to thread it to the right side of any guide pegs in the rear derailleur cage. Give the drivetrain one final rag down with a clean towel to remove the degreaser, and then lubricate each roller of the chain. This method will ensure proper lubrication without excess lube that will attract dirt.

A personal favourite of mine is this Smoove wax-based lube.

The best way to clean your chain

Our final method might seem a bit OTT for casual riders, but if you're serious about speed and/or drivetrain durability then we think this is the way to go. This is the method that I use before race/event day or before a long period of dry weather in the summer.

For this method, you are going to require a bit more equipment: an ultrasonic cleaner, a toothbrush, some degreaser, a rag, some hot melt wax and a way of heating it up, a chain link tool and potentially a cassette tool as well.

Once again, we're going to start by removing the chain. Wipe off any excess grease with a rag, and then we're going to pop it into an ultrasonic cleaning bath. An ultrasonic cleaner uses sound waves to agitate fluid, in this case, degreaser, to remove any contaminants from the chain. It is scarily effective!

I usually put my chain in the ultrasonic cleaner for around ten minutes, ensuring that it is fully submerged in the degreaser. Once the time is up, remove the chain and use a towel to wipe off any excess degreaser.

The next step is to clean the chain using alcohol. We do this because while degreasers are excellent for removing grease from the chain, it doesn't prepare the surface very well for lubrication.

Use a clean cloth and alcohol to prepare the chain. You'll know when you're getting there as the chain will no longer feel slimy.

It's now time to lubricate the chain, and the gold standard is waxing. A waxed chain is usually quieter, more durable, and there's plenty of studies out there to show that it's faster too.

> Your complete guide to waxing your chain

Personally, I find it easiest to apply wax using an old takeaway tray, as it makes it easy to warm up in the oven and submerge the entire chain.

Once fully melted, submerge the chain in the wax and agitate it to ensure that the wax gets into all of the links. After a few minutes, remove the chain using an old spoke and hang it to dry.

The next step is to go around and break all the wax seal on the links. Just like with lube, it's not the wax on the outside that is important.

Before putting the chain back on the bike, remember to clean the rest of the drivetrain. I usually repeat the process as in the 'better' method, but if you want the ultimate drivetrain cleanliness then you could take the cassette off and also ultrasonic clean it. 

Personally, I wouldn't ultrasonic clean jockey wheels as I have ones with bearings in rather than bushings. The ultrasonic cleaner would 'clean' them so well that there would be no grease left in them!

While you're at it, clean the inner plates of your front mech and derailleur cage plates, and then it's time to reassemble. Put the cassette back on the wheel, and the wheel in the bike, followed by the chain. Bingo, you've just saved yourself not only watts, but hopefully some money as well!

Leave any of your chain cleaning tips down in the comments below. Which one of these methods would you use?