Bike shop guy was almost angry at me for never cleaning my cassette. I just spray with bike chain lubricant and move on. I didn’t know that I should clean the chain too.
Now I’m getting new chain and cassette and would like to keep it in better shape. What should I use, and how often? This one is my hardtail, 4 years old now.
by Dr_Bolle
7 Comments
> Bike shop guy was almost angry at me for never cleaning my cassette
If the cassette was as clean as it is in your image when you took it in, then he sounds like a bit of a tosser tbh. That’s relatively clean.
That aside anyway, toothbrush and soapy water is fine for the most part. If you want to give your components a deeper clean, you can use a degreaser (I just buy citrus degreaser online in bulk and dilute if needed.) and then do the same, degrease + toothbrush / cloths.
If you have some spray bottles, you can fill them up with soapy water, or degreaser and use it that way – spray on your chain and cassette. Wipe off and brush. Make sure you scrape any large chunks of mud/grit off before you spray it though.
Google drivetrain maintenance. There is many ways to go about it, spraying chainlube is not one of them (if you want to keep your parts for long).
Important to lube the chain correctly, but also just as important to clean the whole drivetrain regularly.
Clean drivetrain then lube chain after, wipe off excess lube after a few minutes. Too much lube and old chain lube will attract dust and grime which will cause unnecessary wear.
Also get a tool to measure chain wear, if you ride on a very worn chain the cassette and chainrings will also get worn more quickly.
I would recommend lubricating your chain sparingly, most people over-lubricate, to start with. Make sure you are lubricating the PINS of the chain, no other part needs lubricating, and wipe up the excess with a rag, and try to get as much off as possible, as it shortens the lifespan of your chain to have lubricant on it, as it attracts dust, grit and dirt. Also buy a cheap chain gauge (buy one from Amazon or AliExpress if you think one from a bike shop is too expensive, they work, but are less precise). Once your chain has stretched a bit, it needs to be replaced or it will wear your cassette/freewheel and chainrings. A cheap chain is a lot less than a chain, cassette and new chainrings. And 6/7/8 speed chains are very inexpensive.
Also, as a bike mechanic myself, he probably wasn’t angry with you, he probably was trying to communicate how important it is to care for the maintenance of your bike. We see a lot of misuse in bike shops and most mechanics want to see bikes cared for and used. Lots of mechanics are curmudgeonly, sure, but that really comes down to a lack of people skills, and seeing the same things day in, day out. Not that you did something wrong by not knowing. Hope this helps!
If it’s a road bike, clean the drive train every 500 miles. If it’s a dirt/mountain bike that is subject to frequently getting muddy, clean it every 100 miles, or whenever dirt starts to build up. If you ride in the rain, clean it after every ride through the rain.
Inexpensive, traditional option: Degreaser and a stiff brush with long bristles
More expensive, but getting less expensive all the time: Degreaser and an ultrasonic cleaner. (These days, you can buy ultrasonic cleaners, large enough to fit most bike parts, for under $80 USD. Just five years ago, the price was double that.)
Keep an eye on chain wear. Use a chain checker and replace when worn. The reason your sprockets have this shark tooth shape is what we call chain ‘stretch’ its not really stretching the chain gets longer due to pin and roller wear and cuts the teeth to match. Most people get through 3 ot 4 chains per sprocket. Chains are relatively cheap.
Cleaning, because sand acts as sandpaper.
Also replace your chain when it wears out. A worn chain wears out the drivetrain and that’s more expensive.