Overheard a guy at the shop say he never cleans his chain, just replaces it every 300 miles

I was grabbing some cables at my local shop in Portland last week and this dude rolls in talking about how he just buys a new chain every month instead of degreasing. He said something like 'it's cheaper than my time, lol.' I did the math in my head and a cheap chain every 300 miles is way more than a good bottle of degreaser and a brush. Made me wonder if he's onto something for lazy people or just burning cash. Anyone else run into the 'replace don't clean' crowd?

3 comments

3 Comments

leewood7d ago

Think he's forgetting chain stretch is real, not just dirt.

theajohnson6d ago

Those tight links from stretch are way harder to clean than just dirt buildup, so you're totally right that it's two different problems. Once the pins wear down and elongate, no amount of scrubbing fixes that sloppy feel in the drivetrain.

walker.julia6d ago

Funny you mention that because I've noticed the same thing with other metal on metal stuff around the house. Like, door hinges that get that squeaky worn out feel, no amount of grease really fixes it once the pin is actually ground down. Same with bike chains, you just gotta replace the whole thing once it hits that point.