Maintaining The Chain The Right(?) Way

<I have been doing it the wrong way all this while>

After the last ride my chain was getting filthy all over again. It is black (which I suspect is due to the grease meant for protection of the chain ) and there seemed to be dirt in the creaks of the chain links.

I do not know if the looks of the chain is detrimental to the actual performance but I figure if I could wash it well enough for the chain to show itself (along with any unusual stuff stuck in there), then I could at least say I have tried to access the situation and give myself peace of mind.

So I went ahead and bought the chain lube. Finished the previous little bottle I bought last time.

And this is the combination of the chemicals I used. A chain cleaner from Kure, and a chain lube from D.I.D., they are both japanese brands.

I sprayed the chain cleaner the way I would do when I apply chain lube on the chain. That was how I did it in the past and I did not think there was any problem. I do recall I applied too little cleaner last time, so this time I applied an amount quite liberally onto the chain, thinking that should do it.

See? There are droplets of dirt mixed with the cleaner from the chain!
But wait a minute. After a 10 minute wait the stain on the carton box did not increase at all. Which is to say the chain remained dirty! By now I realized I am not doing it right. Not this time, certainly not the last time as well.

So I changed course. Instead of just spraying the cleaner the way I did with lube, I put on a pair of rubber gloves, take a piece of cloth in my left palm and sort of hug the chain inside the left palm, then spray the cleaner well and long enough for me to actually see the dirt drips away from the chain.

So this was the way it should be! And now the chain looks good.

I am glad that I realized my fault and corrected it in time. Never too late to learn. I am a happy man! Next venture is oil change and chain adjustment.

Cheers.

Regards,
CK