From the service manual: chain maintenance
I was thinking about my chain today and realized that after 7 years of ownership and tens of thousands of kilometers, I don't ever remember replacing my chain. I decided to look up how to replace it in the service manual (shout out to some user on this sub whose name I forgot for linking it), and I see this:
Now look: everyone subscribes to a different Church of Chain Maintenance. About once a riding season, I'll wash my chain with:
- a hand-pressurized water sprayer (so, not high pressure, but higher pressure than a garden hose)
- dish soap
- a (coarse) chain brush
And then I usually use S100 dry chain lube.
I suppose it's a workable method because my chain has survived all that, but I might also be one afternoon ride away from an exploded chain, a cracked engine casing, and a torn up left calf. Hence why I'm aiming to replace it, and (like I say every season) do better on chain maintenance going forward.
But does anyone actually follow this service manual advice? Any of you have a dedicated jug of kerosene for chain maintenance? I can't even fathom how to clean a chain with kerosene without either a brush to work it in while mounted or removing it entirely every time to soak it.