Chain Maintenance and How to Clean Your Chain Tubes

Sponsorship from: Laidback Cycles: laidbackcycles.com/
Today, I'm showing a very simple technique for cleaning your chain tubes. This is a part of the trike that often gets over looked. Over time, gunk and dirt will build up in the chain tubes. Keeping your chain tubes clean will result in a more efficient and quieter chain line. I'm passing on a tip I learned from my friend, Lonnie.
Music: 1am, Jinsang
This channel is about all things trikes and travel. I have been riding a recumbent trike since 2005 and have been touring since 2007 all over the world. I have toured on 6 continents, in over 20 countries and cycled more than 50,000 miles.
On this channel I talk about what gear works and doesn't work and offer tips and tutorials. Mostly, I produce short travelogue type videos of my tours as I go. I travel with a Panasonic G95 mirrorless camera with 2 lenses, GoPro, Insta360 One X, Mavic 2 Zoom drone, and, of course, a mobile phone. Thanks for subscribing and following along!
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I also have an extensive journal on Blogger that goes into much more detail about the area and the emotional ups and down. The blog has a link to Garmin stats and a map of every day's ride. There are also a ton of pictures. You can find it following this link:
www.travelsbytrike.blogspot.com
Thanks everyone!!

[@waynekeeler7623]

Your tube cleaning method makes me wish I had thought of it. Thanks for the tip. Mean while, a bonafide expert advised me many decades ago that the key to long chain life is to ensure that the chain is thoroughly clean and free of grit BEFORE applying any lube. He showed me how to work each link back and forth with fingers and thumb to test for grit. After many thousands of miles each, all my chains are in like new condition. Proof of the pudding, I think. Thanks again. Wayne

[@keylargo2761]

Ingeniously simple! I have ridden my trike tens of thousands of miles over the past 11 years and never heard of someone cleaning a chain tube. In order to get the most use out of my chain, I remove and clean it, then re-lube. Now, I can get the gunk out of the tube as well to have a completely clean drivetrain. Thanks, so much!

[@surlygman]

That's freakin' awesome! I have taken off the chain and used dowels to push rags thru...this is MUCH easier. Thanks for sharing!

[@stevepittman2735]

Thanks much for your tip Sylvia!!

[@TravelsByTrike]

You are so welcome!

[@colinnorthcott9219]

Genius, thanks Sylvia

[@TravelsByTrike]

Thanks! I’m thinking of updating this video. My chaintubes need cleaning!

[@nigelnightmare4160]

Brilliant! It's never dawned on me to put cloth in the chain when cleaning the tubes!!! Now I can clean the tubes before changing or cleaning the chain. It's always been something I dreaded doing because I'd have to remove the chain and tubes to clean them by pulling cloth through with a length of brake cable inner. Thank you for posting this.

[@TravelsByTrike]

Thanks, Nigelnightmare, I hope it works for you!!

[@nigelnightmare4160]

@@TravelsByTrike Did it this morning and was surprised by the amount of gunk that came out. Thanks once again for posting that method.

[@TravelsByTrike]

@@nigelnightmare4160 Great!! I'm glad it worked for you. Yes, it's amazing how much gunk is stuck in the chain tubes.

[@NoSelf23]

Very good advice, Sylvia :)) TY

[@rickdenbraber6869]

Great tip. And here I thought you were going to take everything off the bike clean it and put it back. Like a Q tip orifice cleaner. Gonna try this! Thanks.

[@jamesbarker213]

Good information. I have gun cleaning patches that will work perfectly for chain tube cleaning. Thank you!

[@DunderOz]

What you have shown is a great and easy way to get the tubes cleaner. I use 16mm irrigation pipe and have it going all the way back to the derailleur, so as to keep as much of the chain covered. The rear wheel sprays a lot of dirt on the chain. Also, I lube chains using candle wax. It's quite a process, but well worth it.

[@billybatesjr1837]

Good old WD-40 / Some 3inOne oil !! Gun patches with Hoops degreaser you got gun oils that's got Teflon in it. Holds down on dirt.

[@TrikewithMike]

Thank you very much for your advice!

[@TravelsByTrike]

You are welcome!

[@patriciaosborne8307]

Wow, Sylvia! That was an excellent example of something really important that I've never heard about before!! Thanks so much for this video and all of the videos you do breaking down the process so I can learn cool things about trikes, touring, and your experiences.

[@TravelsByTrike]

Thanks, Patty!

[@ironman1518.]

AWESOME tip, thank you! I've cleaned them with the chain out with a longer thin piece of cloth/rag and pushed it thru with a coat hanger wire. Great idea thank you!

[@TravelsByTrike]

You are so welcome, thanks for following along!

[@pbacoustic]

Good method while not having to remove/rethread the chain!

[@TravelsByTrike]

Thanks, Paul!!

[@gmaneis]

Thanks, Sylvia. This is really helpful to a trike newbie like me.

[@luv2bike1]

I never thought of doing this. Thank you.

[@lizchilders4154]

Good info. Thanks.

[@markfeldman6509]

live and learn. common sense solutions to problems that many of us don’t even think ’ we have, but obviously do! Thanks again! When you have a chance...come tour New England.... fabulous trails everywhere and a heckuva lot easier to get to than the exotic places you go( and a lot less expensive!). I am triking through Vermont next week...from Rutledge through Killington to Woodstock and finishing at Quechee Gorge on the New Hampshire border and then down to Hanover NH( just a few miles away) to the Dartmouth campus. The route follows route 4 along the riverbed the whole way.. beyond beautiful( plenty of hills)..... the view reminds one of the opening scenes shown in each weekly episode of the wonderful TV show from the 90’s...Northern Exposure( which was actually film in Washington State). check it out!

[@TravelsByTrike]

Yes, I would love to tour New England. At the moment, I'm only able to tour in the winter but when that changes I'll be touring and exploring more of the US, for sure!

[@kennethvandenheuvel5143]

I use Syliva's procedure, but instead a piece of cloth, I use either a small piece of pipe cleaner or thick knitting yarn.

[@TravelsByTrike]

Super!!

[@gentleben6740]

Good idea Thanks for sharing

[@TravelsByTrike]

You are welcome!

[@awvankats7550]

Appreciate this greatly. It reminded me of my Sergeant reaming us out (pun intended) for not using the proper techniques for the cleaning of our rifles. It also occurred to me that if you pulled the strip down through the chain, brought it back around one side, then fed it down through the next link again, then brought it up on the other side and fed it down through the next link, you could clean the sides of the inside of the chain tube in addition to the top and bottom where the chain rubs as it runs. Of course, if the strips bunch up inside the tube, then it could add to the mess inside if it tears apart while inside it... would not be a good fit...

[@TravelsByTrike]

Many thanks for commenting and following along.

[@roberttengler6519]

I tried this with baby wipes. Found that half a wipe works as long as you pull just enough through the link to make it stay in place and not get caught in the jockey wheels. Mine were pretty dirty, lol!

[@spenceoverthefence7119]

Awesome tip, thanks.

[@sharkmentality9717]

I would have liked your take on the chain lube controversy. I usually just use what's available in my tool box but would like a consistant quality product to carry on tours.

[@nickcella6346]

Great idea using fabric strips for cleaning tube. Thanks

[@GrumpyG63]

Really good tip - thanks! As for lube - I’m still using the same bottle of Finish Line Cross Country I bought sometime in the 90s - works great if used sparingly and the excess gently wiped off after a couple of minutes.

[@TravelsByTrike]

Thanks, Graham! I'll probably do a video talking about maintenance because I really think most cyclist use far too much lube. If you are using a bottle from the 90's you are probably using enough, haha!

[@ccroy2001]

That’s a great idea thanks!

[@ironman1518.]

Excellent idea, thank you!!

[@TravelsByTrike]

You are so welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@larryw2827]

Who wudda thunk it! ;-) tks! Will try it this wk!

[@damrunner1]

That is a great way to do it.

[@TexasNance]

Sylvia, the idea of cleaning the chain tube along with the chain is brilliant, and it is so into my OCD wheelhouse! Thank you for the valuable tip. I am actually in the midst of cleaning my Catrike Trail recumbent, and I won't start adding lubricant until I clean the tubes. On a different subject - how do you travel with your recumbent trike? I want to travel domestically and internationally, but I do NOT know the first thing about shipping my bike. I'd love to see a tutorial on this. BTW, I don't subscribe very often, but I have subscribed to your channel because I like the way you think! Thank you!!!

[@TravelsByTrike]

Thanks for following along. If you do a search on my channel, you will find a few videos where I show how I travel with my travel. Since these videos were made, I've added e-assist and have yet to have a chance to figure out how to ship the batteries. But, otherwise, it's easy to travel with a trike. Best of luck!

[@TexasNance]

@@TravelsByTrike Sylvia, thank you so much for your quick reply. I will definitely peruse your channel to find the videos about traveling with your trike. I appreciate any and all information. Happy Trails!

[@SergeCousineau]

Thank’s Sylvia didn’t know nothing about this on trikes , of course I do not have a trike either! Look’s very efficient ! So now you have to go and clean your hands as we see at the end of the video ! Lol! 😂😉👍 ATB Hélène and Serge 💑 👍😉🏔🎥

[@TravelsByTrike]

Yes, lol, I've been wanting to do this video for over a year. I couldn't wait to wash my hands to get it done, haha! Thanks for following along!

[@SergeCousineau]

Travels By Trike it’s ok ! Lol! Just saying ...would love to see you on my channel for a comment ! 😉👍 Have a nice sunny ☀️ Sunday ATB Hélène and Serge 💑

[@TravelsByTrike]

@@SergeCousineau Yeah, I think I've got too many subscriptions to keep up on, haha!

[@bryan1952a]

Now I need to get some Chain Tubes? LOL

[@TravelsByTrike]

Chain tubes do help, take care!!

[@GarySolomon]

Perfect. You are now a KZbin cleaner. Next up-How to clean the tube gunk off your hands so as not to soil the couch whilst making a video😉

[@StellarFella]

Belt driven trikes are just around the corner.

[@erxkeel]

CRAP, now I have to go home and check my tube for gunk!

[@miknelak]

Nice idea and some good pointers, in your video. A few suggestions: the cloth strips should be wetted with degreaser; they might be increased in width, by half; nice idea, but the video shouldn't take longer than 90 seconds to get the points across.....IMHO. ;)

[@TravelsByTrike]

Thanks for your comment and ideas.

[@miknelak]

@@TravelsByTrike I appreciate your travels by trike travelogues and you've earned my respect for your immense courage to trike where none have gone before. ;)

[@TravelsByTrike]

@@miknelak Thanks!!

[@billfearheller4179]

Sylvia, Very simple and smart. That method is far easier than taking the chain and tubes off the trike to run a gun barrel rod through it. Do you have any information on the advisability of turning the chain around to maybe wear the sides of each link differently during shifting? Would this be a good thing to do, and will it extend the life of the chain? Thank you, bf

[@DunderOz]

Hi Bill Turning the chain 180 won't make any difference. The chain bushes wear the same, as they rotate.

[@TravelsByTrike]

Bill, I have never heard of turning the chain around. My 1st thought is that the chain stretches over time and stretch would be more of an issue.

[@billfearheller4179]

@@DunderOz I took some pics of my chain and rear sprocket set as the chain is mid shift up to next bigger sprocket. They show that the wear on the chain sides is uneven from right side to left side and inside of link and outside of link. I am not familiar with where a chain breaks, or even if it breaks before it is stretched too far to be useful, but if the sides break, then turning the chain around would seem to give a chance for the wear to even out. My observations may be a case of "too much time on my hands to not notice the trivial". I thank you for your help though. I will keep an eye on the wear and let you know if it gets more uneven. My email is [e-mail]. Ride safe, bf

[@billfearheller4179]

@@TravelsByTrike Sylvia, you are of the same mind as @Patrick.Calmels. He sent a reply that points out the chain bushes (?) wear the same as they rotate. I was pointing out the wear on the sides of each link seems to be uneven from one side to the other and also on the inside of each link the wear is uneven too. I think this is caused by the sprocket teeth rubbing each side differently as the chain climbs up or down from the different sized sprockets. I am probably being too critical in my thinking. I will keep and eye on the wear to see if it becomes extreme. Thanks again for the tip on cleaning the tube. That worked great. bf

[@DunderOz]

@@billfearheller4179 What is sometimes called 'chain stretch' is the important factor. You can buy a tool that measures chain stretch for about $1 on ebay. If the chain is not replaced in time, it wears out all the teeth on chairings and cluster.

[@tomprentice6935]

⚔️💪😎👌

[@gardenman3]

Do you run the cloth the derailleur?

[@TravelsByTrike]

Yes

[@TheFlamingEyeball]

Best way to keep chain tubes clean is to remove them, lol.

[@TimsTrikeTrips]

Yup. I like to remove mine and clean and decrease them thoroughly. But I like Sylvias idea too. Good for a quick scrub while on a long tour for sure.

[@driewiel]

Reading the comments I notice Americans use what is available in every household: Their gun.

[@gmaneis]

You're welcome to visit my American house and hunt for the gun. Good luck with that!!!!

[@billfearheller4179]

drie wiel, Not every home has a gun...some have 10 or 20. Anyway, thanks for the perspective. My gun wouldn't fit through the chain tube, but the bullet did..Cat trike tubes are 50 caliber for all the other Americans. Ride safe - be safe, bf

[@driewiel]

@@billfearheller4179 Guns are so primitive. That is why we Dutch use a lubed cow's tail to clean the chain tube. If the cow cooperates.

[@billfearheller4179]

Sir, I was trying to be flip. I don't think this is the proper forum for a discussion on gun control or lack of it. You can reach me by email for that as I am always interested in the opinions of others on how we in the greatest nation on the face of the Earth should conduct our lives; however I insist you must come from a country with a continuous form of government for over 250 years to participate in those discussions (I still have to go a few short years to participate myself). If I am being overly sensitive, please forgive me. Looking forward to hearing from you as I am always looking to make a new friend. bf

[@Iamkayaky]

Too funny: your right thumb is blacker than than the chain tube cleaner.