Bicycle chain
The dirtiest component on the machine and the one that must be lubricated immediately after it is cleaned. Cleaning it and stopping there causes wear.
Precautions
- Ventilate the area
- Wear gloves
- Dispose of responsibly
Start here
What this is, what goes wrong with it, and where CleaningHQ can help.
Made from
What tends to go wrong
A tacky lubricant loaded with road grit and metal, transferred as a sharply defined mark. The grit is what makes it more than a grease stain.
Why it is difficult: Why oil resists water, Adhesion and cohesion
Hydrated iron oxide from corroding iron or steel. Distinguish a surface deposit, which cleans off, from active corrosion of the item itself, which does not.
Why it is difficult: Corrosion and passivation, Why old stains are harder, Adhesion and cohesion
The one stain where the first move is mechanical and the chemistry barely matters — and where the folk advice to let it dry first is not what the trade body says.
- Fingerprintsvia its material
Skin oils transferred by touch. A greasy soil rather than a dirty one, which is why water alone does not shift them and why they return immediately.
Why it is difficult: Surfactancy
- Water marksvia its material
What hard water leaves behind when it evaporates instead of being wiped away. A mineral film, not dirt, and the fix is at the drying stage.
Why it is difficult: Water hardness, Evaporative deposition
- Burnt-on food and carbon depositsvia its material
Food heated until it carbonised and bonded to the surface. Time and softening do the work; scouring powder does the damage.
Why it is difficult: Contact time, Carbonisation, Adhesion and cohesion, Why old stains are harder
- Greasevia its material
Fats and oils, which water alone cannot lift. Removed by surfactants, by heat, by solvents, or by alkalis that convert the fat into soap.
Why it is difficult: Why oil resists water, Emulsification
- Heat tintvia its material
The rainbow or brown bloom on stainless steel that has been heated. Not a deposit and not dirt: the metal's own surface oxide, thickened by heat.
- Limescalevia its material
A hard, chalky calcium carbonate deposit left by hard water. Dissolved by acids, essentially untouched by detergents.
Why it is difficult: Water hardness, Crystallisation, Adhesion and cohesion
The science behind this: Corrosion and passivation, Water hardness, Chloride attack, Cleanability is designed in
Part of Bicycle.
In detail
A chain is a series of pin-and-roller bearings running in the open, which is why it collects an abrasive paste of oil, road grit and metal particles and why that paste is the thing wearing it out. The trade documentation puts it first in the order — begin with the dirtiest items, typically the chain and drivetrain — and specifies two agents in sequence: a degreaser, then soapy water, because the combination is very effective at cleaning the chain and removing grit. The critical instruction is what happens next, and it is not optional. The chain MUST be re-lubricated: run it through a clean dry rag first to ensure it is dry, then apply one drop of lubricant per link. A degreased chain has had the lubricant deliberately stripped from inside its pins, and running it in that state accelerates wear on the chain, the chainrings and the cassette together. Two further points. Excess lubricant collects grit and makes the next cycle worse, which is why the instruction is per link rather than along the length. And solvent must be kept away from the bearings either side of the drivetrain — the wheel is leaned so the cogs face the ground for exactly that reason.
Related
- Bicycle chain is made from Stainless steel
- Bicycle chain is commonly affected by Bicycle chain grease
- Bicycle chain is commonly affected by Rust
- Bicycle chain is commonly affected by Mud
Aftercare and prevention
- Two-stage degreasing requires the aftercare Bicycle chain
Hacks and claims involving this
- Washing-up liquid on a bicycle Does not work
Sources for this page
Sources
Park Tool Co. · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That cleaning begins with the chain and drivetrain, that a degreaser followed by soapy water is very effective at removing grit, that the chain must be re-lubricated after being dried with a clean rag, and that one drop of lubricant per link is applied. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The procedure in full: preparation, the drivetrain sequence, frame and wheels, rinsing, drying and re-lubrication. Supports the claim as stated. Opens the bicycle as an object with drivetrain components, and supplies the two facts that make it safety-relevant rather than cosmetic: solvent must be kept out of the bearings, and the chain must be re-lubricated afterwards.
Last reviewed by a person on .