As chores go, cleaning your chain ranks right up there alongside unblocking the toilet or creasoting the shed for sheer unwelcomingness.

But it’s one of those things that has to be done – a clean chain is a smooth-running, long lasting chain and nothing spoils a ride like a chain that sticks and slips and won’t shift and then breaks. There are a few different approaches to chain cleaning, so pick the effectiveness/time compromise that suits you best…

1. If you happen to have a chain with a quicklink magic joining doofer than you can undo by hand, the most effective method is just to take the chain off and dump it in a container of suitable degreaser. You’ll probably want to use a large, shallow container rather than, say, an empty tuna tin – if you can coil the chain up so it lies flat you don’t need much degreaser.

2. If you don’t have a quicklink, splitting and rejoining the chain just to clean it is a bit of a performance, so you’ll have to deal with it in situ. Shift into the gear with the straightest chainline you can find (middle chainring and fifth sprocket on 27 speed setups) so you can spin the cranks backwards without the chain wandering around the place. Use degreaser and a stiff-bristled brush to work it into the chain. It’s a good idea to set aside a brush just for chain cleaning – they get pretty oily and tend not to get anything else very clean…

3. If that seems a bit longwinded, the slightly easier (and certainly less messy) option is a chain cleaner. There are loads out there, all essentially similar – the chain runs through a load of whirly brushes sat in a bath of degreaser and comes out nice and shiny.

4. Whichever method you choose, give the chain a good wipe down with a suitable rag (impossibly faded bike race t-shirts from the early 90s are a good choice). With a bit of practise you can hold the rag around the chain and wind the pedals backwards to run the chain through.

5. If you’ve used degreaser and a brush you may find it more effective to rinse the stuff off with some water. If you’ve done this, spray the chain with some thin water-displacing stuff like WD-40, GT85 or X-Lube. It won’t be hefty enough to actually lube the chain, but it’ll stop it going rusty.

6. Once the chain’s nice and shiny and dry, reapply a proper chain lube. If you’re in a hurry to start eating toast, you can lube it up just before the next ride. But if you can, doing it before you put the bike away gives the stuff time to get everywhere it needs to be and puts you one step nearer to ride readiness next time. We like lubes that come in squeezy bottles – they’re more time-consuming to apply but it all goes where you need it. Putting the lube on over the cassette ensures that any that does wander at least ends up somewhere semi-useful.

More maintenance

There’s hundreds of top maintenance tips in the BM archive.

The eight-strong range, developed by Weldtite, includes bike wash, bike protector, degreaser, oil, wet and dry lubes and grease, all made from sustainable and biodegradable ingredients (from natural and renewable sources), 100 per cent free from petroleum based solvents, with no propellants and kept in in recycled and recyclable packaging.

Those eco-credentials come at a cost, with the team behind Pure admitting their products are a little more expensive than those more damaging to the environment – but it does mean you clean your bike with a clear conscience.

“We’ve been making superb bike related cleaning and lubrication products for literally decades,” say Pure. “With only a little reformulation we’ve been able to make a range that not only performs really well, it’s totally environmentally friendly.

“Whilst we recognise it may be a little more expensive (environmental products seem to be more expensive to make – why is that?) we appreciate some might prefer it that way.”

How much more expensive? The full product list is below (including the product description from Pure) and we’ll let you know whether it’s up to scratch once we’ve tested the range.

www.weldtite.co.uk/our-brands/pure
www.fisheroutdoor.co.uk

Pure product list

Bike Wash (1l) – £7.99
Brings a sparkle back to paintwork and polished metal parts. 100% acid free but still with the power of acid-based cleaners. Safe to use on paintwork.

Bike Wash Concentrate (200ml) – £5.99
Save on packaging and reuse your Bike Wash bottle. 200ml of concentrate makes 1 litre of Bike Wash.

Bike Protector (250ml) – £6.99
With UV protection. Polishes bicycles, mountain bikes, motorcycles and scooters.

Bike Degreaser (250ml) – £5.99
Powerful natural-based degreaser, highly effective in removing grease and oil with easy rinse off formula soluble in water. Non-aerosol and environmentally friendly.

Bike Oil (150ml) – £4.99
Inhibits rust with excellent corrosion protection, reduces friction on moving parts and also suitable for most domestic purposes.

Wet Lube (100ml) – £5.99
A thick, heavy duty lube designed to stick to the chain in wet conditions. Ideal for extreme weather and long distance.

Dry Lube (100ml) – £5.99
Ideal for dry road riding with low rolling resistance. Resists water penetration and wash-off.

Bike Grease (100g) – £4.99
Formulated for two wheel applications, for use on headsets, wheel bearings and bottom brackets. Great water resistance and lubricity – inhibits corrosion.

Keeping your bike running in tip top mechanical order at this time of year can be far from easy, what with all that mud, crap and ice threatening to derail your best efforts at every opportunity.

We decided to ask owner of a company specialising in lubes and maintenance products to share some advice for us mountain bikers. Luckily Green Oil’s Simon Nash thought this was splendid idea and thoroughly agreed, and gave us the great advice you can read below.

Seven mountain bike maintenance top tips

Snow means salt so coat it in oil

Generally, its not a good thing to put on too much lube on your chain. However, when it snows, that salt on the road changes things. For snowy weather, we recommend a thick layer of wet lube to coat your whole chain. This will protect from salt flinging up from the road, thereby preventing rust.

Lube those gaps

You need oil mainly between the links of the bicycle chain – this is where friction occurs, and oil is needed. Excess lube on the outside of the chain can attract dirt and dust. Therefore, lube the inside of the chain for one length, spin the cranks to work it in, then wipe off excess with a rag.

Cable rub

Cables can rub against your frame, and if aluminium, wear it away. This can be solved cheaply by putting a sticker or plaster over the affected area. Then just replace these as they wear out. Purpose- made patches can purchased at your local bike shop. Or you can use nail vanish, to keep covering the rubbing area (see tip below).

Too lazy to wash?

If you are lazy, at least lube up the chain every three weeks, wiping off excess with a rag – this is the most basic aspect of bike maintenance

Inflate your tyres

Pumping up tyres to the correct level is a second most basic step to keep your bike running swiftly.

Rejuvenate your saddle

Tarnished or plastic fabric saddle looking grey and old? This can be brought back to new with a bit of chain oil! This maintenance secret is mainly for aesthetic purposes, if for example you are hoping to sell that old bike that’s been in the shed for a few years. It will make the saddle look shiny and new.

First, dab some biodegradable chain lube onto a cloth – you probably don’t want petrochemicals on your rear. Wipe the oil all over the saddle fabric, applying more oil until the saddle is shiny. Wipe over again with a fresh rag to remove excess. It will go from a light dull grey, to a dark shiny black. This also works on aged tyres, though of course watch out loss of grip caused.

Nail those chips

If you want to cover scratches and chips on your frame, nail varnish can work a treat, protecting the metal underneath. It won’t look great, but that can be a good thing to stop the bike getting stolen! Old bottles of nail varnish can often be found at charity shops or Christmas boot sales very cheaply, and even come with their own brush.

Written by Simon Nash, Director of Green Oil UK Limited. See the full range of products at www.Green-Oil.net

Let us know what you think of these tips in the comments box below.