Talked to a retired mechanic about chain cleaning and he laughed at my routine

I was at a shop in Portland last week picking up some tools and got to chatting with this older guy, must have been 70+. He asked how I clean my chains and I told him I use a chain scrubber with degreaser every 200 miles. He just laughed and said he's been wiping his chain with a dry rag after every ride for 40 years and never had a drivetrain fail on him. Made me realize I've been overthinking it. I spent like $30 on degreaser and brushes when a $2 rag does the job. Anyone else try the dry rag method and stick with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

blair_green861mo ago

That older guy probably saved you a ton of money and time. I used to buy all those fancy chain cleaning kits myself, thinking I was doing the right thing. But after hearing stories like that from old school mechanics, I gave the dry rag method a shot and never looked back. It really is that simple, just a quick wipe down after a ride keeps the grit from grinding things down. All those solvents and brushes just wash the factory grease out faster anyway. Makes you wonder how we got so deep into buying extra stuff for something that's been working fine for decades.

ninal911mo ago

Wiping it dry really does save the chain long term.