/n/... I have owned by bike for 5 years and have never cleaned

check if the chain is even worth cleaning, it may be too stretched that you have to replace it, you can buy a chain check tool for $4 on amazon or measure the links with a ruler.

>Simple Green
Have fun spending an hour rinsing very last molecule off your chain and gears or risk it corroding the fuck out of it. Should have just bought some Dawn dish soap.

>5 years
>thousands of miles
replace chain

Simple Green is fine, after washing with the cleaner, fill your chain cleaning tool with just water to rinse the chain off.

Don't forget to lube it back up after cleaning.

If it is that park tool chain cleaner im thinking of then it is a piece of shit.

Buy reusable chainlink if you don't have one
Break chain
Scrub
Leave in gasoline over night
Scrub again
Wipe down till clean
put it back on and apply dry ptfe lube

>>1031001
is there a guide to measuring it online? i bet it probably is fucked

>>1031002
people said it wasnt too big of a problem, just have to dilute it a bit

>>1031003
i figure at least even if i need to replace it, it will be a nice practice

>>1031004
i literally did not know you were supposed to clean the chain thats how stupid i am. i thought you just needed to wipe it of dirt before regreasing it

>>1031005
yeah its one of those plastic ones with the gears.

>>1031005
fuck off with your autistic cleaning methods.

>>1031011
>i thought you just needed to wipe it of dirt before regreasing it

That is all a lot of people do to maintain their chains, that is what I do most of the time. I only use my chain cleaning tool a few times a year, but I wipe and regrease every few hundred miles.

>>1031022
I'm pretty sure my chain is in pretty bad shape. There's no silver at all on the chain. It's all black.

Do you guys know if it would be a smart idea to use the simple green degreaser to spray onto the gears, front and rear, as well?

I guess what I'm supposed to do is use simple green on the chain then take like, rinse out the chain cleaner tool and fill it with water and run it though. But I bet my gears are pretty gunked up too. Could I spray the degreaser on the gears and then like, spray water on them to rinse it off then dry it with a rag?

>>1031025
degrease, rub with tooth brush and rags, make it as matallic as you can, hose down with water, wipe dry, lube up

>>1031000
NEVER, EVER use water-based ANYTHING to clean a chain with, you'll ruin it. You get any water in the links and it'll fuck it up. Get a solvent-based cleaner instead, one that completely evaporates and is not water-based at all. While I'm on the subject don't use water-based chain lubes (those wax types) either.

>>1031005
>gasoline
NEVER use gasoline as a cleaning solvent.

>>1031025
DO NOT use water-based anything to clean any part of your drivetrain, either. Not only does it not work for shit, you can RUIN things like bearings if you get water in them.

>>1031047
why not?

most people replace their chain every 1 to 2 years or like 5000miles or something of that sort. chains stretch out and wear out and after a while start to wear down other components.
buy a new chain for like 15bux and the tool to fix them is like $20 bux or you could maybe pay the bikeshop 5-10$ bucks to do it for you, maybe they will do it for free

>>1031069
>maybe they will do it for free
why would they do that? does your car mechanic put parts on for free?

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is kmc a meme

are shimano chains the real deal

>>1031001
>>1031011

You don't need tools or anything for that. Just put the chain on the big ring of the crank set, grab it at the point where it is closest to the front of the bike and pull it in the direction of the front of the bike. If the chain is used you'll be able to pull it farther than if it is new.

But if you really have ridden thousands of miles the rear cassette might also be worn out. If the chain start skipping you'll probably have to change the cassette and the chain (only changing one of them could result in more skipping). The crank set last much much longer than a cassette or a chain so you don't have to worry about it anytime soon.

>>1031077
It's always worth asking.
I've got a chain and multiple tyres fitted for free just because I asked if they will do it. My tip, check if it looks busy at the back workshop and ask the sales clerk when he seems to think the sale is closing.

>>1031000
brake cleaner is like 2 bucks a can, and it works instantly

>>1031101
I snapped all kinds of cheap chains. It's just a matter of spending the extra 5 or 10 bucks to get something decent.

>>1031101
Depends on the chain. KMC manufactures most if not all Shimano and SRAM chains, but the metallurgy and design is different between chains. KMC chains are generally okay, but Ultegra or Dura Ace chains are better. Use a Connex link if you're the sort who likes removing the chain for cleaning. Personally, I just wipe & lube frequently.

>>1031048
That's only a risk if you pressure wash your shit or if your seals are shot to hell.

>>1031118
>Cheapest KMC will do.
FTFY

>>1031062
>wanting to explode
lol

>>1031047
>>1031139

I always wonder about these kinds of people. What is their garage and life experiences like that they'd vehemently forbid gasoline ever existing outside of a pump, fuel cell, or engine? Gasoline makes an excellent dry solvent, for the record, literally best bang for the buck.

>>1031000

The rest of the anons are pretty much right. I would guess your chain is definitely fucked, and probably your cassette is fucked too.

Measuring wear is easy. Each link is exactly 1/2 inch. Take a 1 foot ruler, and measure 24 links. If the two chain pins on either end are more than 1/8" longer than a foot, chain is kill. You generally want to replace a chain between 1/16 and 3/32. If your chain is stretched more than 1/4 inch past 1 for for 24 links, you should run it and the cassette it's on into the ground, then get new ones. You could probably get another thousand miles or more before that happens if you start cleaning and lubing.

It's alright man, everybody needs learning experiences and you did it with something cheap. Keep riding!

>>1031110
>My tip

Well my tip, as a mechanic, is that you can ask, but the guy doing the work is going to immediately label you as a cheap-skate asshole.

>>1031110
>It's always worth asking.
I've got a chain and multiple tyres fitted for free just because I asked if they will do it. My tip, check if it looks busy at the back workshop and ask the sales clerk when he seems to think the sale is closing.

Cheapskate poorfag. Doubly so because changing a chain or mounting a tire is super easy to do all by yourself.

>>1031157
>Gasoline makes an excellent dry solvent, for the record, literally best bang for the buck.
I prefer kerosene.

gasoline is great, you can set it on fire to dry off the chain before you dunk it in molten parafin

>>1031242
Both work pretty well, but personally I think kerosene smells much worse than gasoline and I already have a 5 gallon can of gas handy for other things like making mix and topping off my (motor)bike.

>>1031244
I wouldn't recommend that. A space heater a couple feet away at the most. When it burns, it leaves tons of carbon.

>>1031246
>i was only pretending to be retarded
i thought carbon was a good lube?

op, at this age you need to do more than just clean the chain, after that much time and miles, it is now stretched. buy a new one

>>1031251
It's also a pretty great abrasive.

>5 years on a chain without cleaning
>omg i think it might be dead

If it gets you down the road why don't you just run it until it is dead?

>>1031358
Chains have a useful life beyond which they start destroying your cassette and chainring. So if you wait until the chain start slipping, you have other things to replace too. And if you have a bottom end crankset, the rings are permanently attached so you can't just buy a replacement ring.

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Guys here's a few pics even though they were kinda hard to take

Here is the actual chain

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And here is the rear cassette

Please don't insult me too much, I know I fucked up not cleaning it. The plastic chain cleaner tool I bought came with sample cleaner so I will use that tomorrow out on the street.

>>1031523
>>1031524
terrible picture. get a new chain. 9-speed chains are less than $20. Fuck you. chain cleaners are for chumps. i have erectile disfunction.

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>Owned my bike for 12 years
>Ride it at least a mile every day, usually two or three
>Never once cleaned it,lubed it, anything
>Most I've done was getting some mud off the frame
>Knew you were supposed to

>>1031523
>>1031524
Clean cassette and crank rings.


Replace chain.

DO NOT get a new chain....

unless you replace the crank chainrings (or get a new crank) and replace the cluster/cassette.

You do not put a new chain on worn rings. or even a worn chain on new sprockets.

>>1031524
that cassette looks perfectly fine

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well i used my plastic chain cleaner tool and it was quite a bitch to use. the chain came off the cassette the first few times but as the chain got clean it ran much smoother through the tool

didn't really want to use simple green to clean the cassettes though. too nervous that i will dissolve lube out of the bearings or whatever and ruin it. just scraped some of the disgusting lube+dirt mixture off of the deraileur

chain is definitely a hell of a lot better than it was here
>>1031523
though

now i just need to relube it

>>1031133
I recently snapped cheap KMC chain m8.

>>1031157
>for the record, literally best bang for the buck.
bang for the buck
bang

>>1031637
Just dirty. And a dork disc.

>>1031670
You might want to adjust your derailleur a bit while your at it.

>>1031062
Gasoline evaporating rather than burning is pretty bad for the environment. That's why they mean by unburned hydrocarbons and why cars now have fuel injectors and catalytic convertors.

>>1031694
I know hipsters have an image to upkeep, but I really don't recommend smoking around volatile flammable liquids.

I cleaned the rear cassette too. Just kept spraying with with degreaser, scrubbing with a small brush, rinsing with water and hosed it off.

Went from black with grime to silver and clean and it seems to ride way better now :)

>>1031670
>didn't really want to use simple green to clean the cassettes though. too nervous that i will dissolve lube out of the bearings or whatever and ruin it.
Simple green isn't enough to degrease your freehub. Your freehub is also probably sealed well enough that no water can get inside unless you are spraying directly.

>>1031101
>>1031127
>KMC

kmc as well as shimano is kind of bad, SRAM - depends, their 8s is solid but best bang for buck is YBN

>>1032525
Hot opinions, very convincing

>>1031806
>rear cassette
also known as cassette

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1. Use a link chain you can take off

2. Rinse out a gallon jug of milk/juice/lube whatever

3. Fill 1/4 to 1/5 with "orange cleaner", top off with water

4. Drop chain in, shake it baby shake it like a polaroid picture

5. Take out chain, rinse with water, IMMEDIATELY re-attach to bike and LUBRICATE

>>1031002
>he doesn't degrease his chain

>>1032525
KMC are far better than SRAM

Like everything SRAM, their chains are fucking shit and stretch after about 500 miles

>>1032784
subtle chain maintenance troll?

>>1031000
Fuck simple green, that stuff is pure shit
>>1031002
Dish soap is just as bad

Get some citrus solvent (Dumonde makes good stuff)

Time for new chain, cassette, chainrings, and derailleur pulleys

Replace your chain at 0.75% stretch next time (any LBS will measure your chain for stretch for free) (chains last 1,000-3,000 miles typically depending on various factors)

do rust-proof chains never stretch?

>>1032963
rust-proof chains have an extra layer of plating on the outside of the links to prevent surface rust that would normally cause a chain to wear more quickly, but they still get mechanically worn down by use and 'stretch' like any other chain.