Vent: My old chain cleaning method was wrecking my cassette

I was at a group ride in Boulder last month and a guy watched me degrease my chain with that aerosol spray. He told me I was blasting all the grease out of the freehub body too. Checked my cassette after and sure enough, the bearings felt gritty. Anyone else have a better way to clean without taking the whole cassette off?

2 comments

2 Comments

drewsullivan1mo ago

Huh, that's a good point @ryanh56 but I'm wondering - did you check if the spray was blowing grease past the cassette lockring into the freehub itself? That's what wrecked mine. I switched to a chain scrubber tool with just warm water and a little dish soap, never spray anything near the cassette anymore. What method did you end up going with after that guy called you out?

ryanh561mo ago

Man, isn't it always the little things that sneak up and bite you? That guy in Boulder did you a solid, though. Seems like we jump to the loudest, shiniest fix for everything without thinking about what else we're messing up. I bet half the problems people have with their bikes or their cars or even their dishwashers come from not reading the room first. Just goes to show, sometimes the simplest way is the smartest way.