1. First make sure you have a powerlink in your chain (SRAM makes them and they are available separately) or just use a SRAM chain
2. Take chain off
3. drop chain in clean, empty, disposable bottle (gatorade or other wide mouth bottles are best)
4. add enough of your favorite cleaner to cover chain
5. cap the bottle
6. shake the mortal hell out of it
7. remove and rinse chain with clean water
8. spray with wd-40
9. hang to dry
10. de gunk the deraileurs by any means necessary (scrape)
11. re install the chain and lube it properly

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"What kind of a stupid post is this?" - swimfan

That's all OK except #8... WD-40 shouldn't be used on a chain.

WD-40 is fine to use as cleaner/degreaser/water displacer, as described in the original post. Some folks use kerosene instead... same diff.

The problem with WD-40 on chains happens when it is used as a lubricant. There are much more suitable lubricants for chains. The trick is to use WD-40 for what it is good for, then remove it before lubing the chain. The process in the orginal post seems to do this, assuming the "Degunk" step includes fully wiping off any residual WD-40.

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-Mark Rebuck, http://www.markrebuck.com/

Personally, I have a hard time reconciling the words "MTB" and "cleaning." When I think my chains is too dirty, I just find a water hazard.

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

The WD-40 is used to get the water out of the chain.
WD-40 is not a lubricant, it's a water displacer (hence the WD)
That's why the last step is to lube the chain properly

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"What kind of a stupid post is this?" - swimfan

Still bad... talk to SRAM or Shimano... they'll tell you the same thing.

Could you please elaborate? Why is WD-40 bad for chains if it is used to displace water? What do Shimano and SRAM say?

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"What kind of a stupid post is this?" - swimfan

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In Reply To

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The WD-40 is used to get the water out of the chain.
WD-40 is not a lubricant, it's a water displacer (hence the WD)
That's why the last step is to lube the chain properly[/reply]

Still bad... talk to SRAM or Shimano... they'll tell you the same thing. >>

I think "they" would only say it's *bad* if you are using WD40 as the lube. My local LBS cleans chains the same way,finishing w/ WD-40, wipe it off, then lube with yer lube o' choice (I like Pedro's dry w/ the teflon in it)

I'm lazy, so often I just wipe the chain down w/a rag, then lube it up.

When more motivated, I'll clean the chain (I have a crappy old chain cleaner machine, but it works adequately - I should get a newer one onea these days), then WD40 (or not), then lube.

Maybe once a year I'll take the chain off my mtb and clean everything that way. That's usually part of my Spring cleaning, when I take off the rear swingarm, and clean and lube all the pivots, etc.

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float , hammer , and jog

Take off the what??? Clean and lube the which??? That's why I ride a hardtail. Like I said before, when I want it clean, I just do a backflip off the dock and into the lake!!!

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

<< when I want it clean, I just do a backflip off the dock and into the lake!!! >>

This is a vastly underrated and underutilized method, that I also have used on more than one occasion.*

* sans the backflip. I like the wheelie or bunnyhop entry methods myself.

It has the added bonus of getting the rider "clean" as well, including those pesky mtb shoes (and is probably the closest my helmet ever comes to getting cleaned - eeeew!)

I don't have a lake at/near home, so I usually hafta resort to the less enjoyable cleaning methods mentioned previously.

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float , hammer , and jog

If you short the landing (laking???), you get the Full Brazillian Body Wash!!!


<<Editted to correct>>

If you over-rotate the landing, you get the Full Brazillian Body Wash!!!
If you short the landing, you get the closest thing to a face wash you'll see these days, since the NHL is on lockout.

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin