Cleaning a chain without making a mess

For years my chain routine was a bucket of degreaser and a lot of swearing. These days it is a rag, a quick-link and hot soapy water.

The routine

1. Open the quick-link and drop the chain into a jar with hot water and dish soap.
2. Shake for a minute, rinse, repeat until the water stays mostly clear.
3. Dry with a rag, then leave it on a radiator for half an hour.
4. Re-install with a new quick-link every third time.
5. One drop of lube per roller, wait ten minutes, wipe off the outside.

Measuring wear

I check with a cheap wear gauge every 500 km. At 0.5% I replace the chain; the cassette has survived three chains so far, which is the whole point of replacing early.

km      wear
0       0.00%
1500    0.25%
2900    0.45%
3400    0.50%  ← replaced

What I stopped doing

• Spraying lube on the whole drivetrain — it only collects grit.
• Using a chain cleaning box with brushes; it spreads dirty solvent everywhere.