How to Clean Your Drivetrain: A Step-by-Step Guide for Bike Maintenance

Quick job

• Remove loose dirt
• Spray with degreaser
• Scrub
• Rinse
• Dry
• Lube
• Ride

Why Is It Important To Clean Your Drivetrain?

If you love riding your bike, you will already know the importance of regular maintenance to keep your bike running smoothly. You will also know the cost to replace parts when you don’t. 

One of the most vital parts to maintain is your drivetrain. It's the heart of your bike and consists of a chain, cassette, derailleur and chainring/cranks.  

Over time these components attract dirt, grime and lubricant can build up, reducing the efficiency and sometimes causing damage.

But never fear! In this guide we’ll walk you through some simple steps to cleaning these components, so you can enjoy smooth, issue free rides.

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How To Clean Your Drivetrain

If your derailleur looks like this then its definitely overdue a clean

1. Rinse first to remove any loose dirt and grit. You can use a soft bristle brush to help with this. 

Some stubborn parts like jockey wheels can sometimes benefit from the scraper tool of a drivetrain cleaner, this helps get the really stubborn ground in dirt.

2.Spray the components with a quality bike specific degreaser and agitate with a brush. I say to use a bike specific degreaser as some other harsh chemical degreasers can actually damage your components and paintwork.

Some cleaners require to be left on for a minute or so to work their magic and some do the job in seconds, so make sure you read the label for your specific cleaner.

3. Rinse and check all the parts for cleanliness. Sometimes you may need to repeat the process again to make sure it’s spotless. 

Now to give that chain a good old clean. You can use a chain cleaning device for this or alternatively, two nail brushes held together works just fine! This is used to clean the inner links of the chain itself. This is where the dirt collects and acts as a grinding paste on those expensive components like the cassette and chainring.

The next step is to give it all a final rinse. You must make sure all degreaser is rinsed from the chain and cassette. If not the degreaser will attack the fresh lube you are going to put on your sparkly chain.

Once you’re happy with the drivetrain its time to lube it up.

Nice and clean, although this bike was left longer than it should be which has caused the chain to become pitted.

Contrary to popular belief covering your chain in lube, riding and then covering it in lube again isn’t the best way to do it. Unless you want a derailleur that looks like its been moulded from tar.
So make sure your whole derailleur is clean along with the chain and chainring. 

Now its time to lube! The lubes primary use is to lubricate the rollers on the inner of the chain. The outside links DON'T need to be covered in lube as that will attract dirt and have no benefit

The rollers inside the chain are the part that wears, which in turn causes wear to your cassette and chainring due to it not sitting snug in the teeth.

1. Apply lube to the rollers of the chain, starting with the joining link (if your chain has one) this helps to know when you have gone the whole way round

2. Cycle your chain backwards a few revolutions to work it into the rollers. 

3. Now use a dry cloth to take off any excess lube from the outside of the chain. The easiest way to do this is by holding a cloth around the chain. Running the chain backwards through it. Repeat if necessary.

When Should I Lube My Chain?

Its not a good idea to lube just before a ride as this will attract dirt to that fresh lube doing the exact opposite of what you are trying to do. 

If you ride straight after applying you also run the risk of contaminating your brake disks, as it flings the wet lube all over.

You really want it to have penetrated into the links. The night before you go out for a ride is a good time to do it.