Cleaning and lubing bicycle chain with diesel - Project Sports
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Cleaning and lubing bicycle chain with diesel

4 min read

Asked by: Lori Young

Can I use diesel to clean my cycle chain?

Yes you can clean your motorcycle chain using diesel. Many of the service centres use this method to clean the chain. Chains are having great chances of being affected by dust and dirt as they are constantly in motion and also being lubed in nature it makes easy for dust to remain in the chain.

Does diesel remove grease?

Diesel is good for horribly greasy stuff. It also leaves things a bit oily, so a little bit of rust resistance. Also less flammable than say petrol or white spirit.

Can I clean my bike chain with petrol?

Don’t be tempted to use petrol in place of a degreaser. It damages the chain. Standard WD-40 isn’t great either; it evaporates after a while and collects more dirt than the proper stuff.

Is kerosene good for cleaning bike chain?

While you can opt for something like Maxima Clean Up Chain Cleaner, kerosene will also work equally as well to dissolve the existing lubricant and dirt particles on the chain. As you work your way around the chain, don’t be shy about really soaking things down.

Is diesel good for O ring chain?

Never use Petrol or Diesel to clean the chain as it will damage the O-rings in it and hence needing to changes the entire chain set.

Can you use diesel as a cleaner?

Contrary to popular belief, diesel fuel is not the most effective method of keeping tools clean from asphalt. The perceived cost savings of using diesel are short-sighted as well. diesel fuel has a low flashpoint meaning it is highly flammable and requires a lot of product to generate adequate cleaning power.

What is the best lubricant for a bike chain?

Best bike chain lubes

  • Squirt chain lube. …
  • Purple Harry’s Purple Extreme. …
  • Fenwicks Wet Weather. …
  • Muc-Off Hydrodynamic. …
  • Finish Line Wet. …
  • Morgan Blue Syn Lube Course. …
  • Rock ‘N’ Roll Gold. Impressively fast running and super clean membrane lube. …
  • Smoove chain lube. Very durable high-performance wax lube for extended clean efficiency.

What is the best cleaner for bike chain?

The best bike chain degreasers for cleaning your drivetrain

  • Muc-Off Bio Drivetrain Cleaner. Spray on, rinse off, that’s it. …
  • WD-40 Specialist Bike Degreaser. …
  • Finish Line Speed Bike Degreaser. …
  • Peaty’s Foaming Drivetrain Degreaser. …
  • Pedros Pig Juice. …
  • Smoove Prep Chain Cleaner. …
  • CeramicSpeed UFO Clean Drivetrain.


Can we use WD-40 to clean bike chain?

WD-40 is a great bike chain lube water based lubricant and will not only lubricate the chain well, but will also keep it rust and corrosion free.

What cleans better kerosene or diesel?

Although diesel fuel has higher BTU’s than kerosene, kerosene burns cleaner.

Is WD-40 safe for O-ring chain?


Quote from video: You should not be using it to lubricate your chain for that you're going to use a proper chain lubricant.

Is kerosene good for O-ring chain?

No. You clean the chain to get road grime and other garbage off, and then you use a dedicated chain lube or wax to protect the O-rings.

Can I use diesel as lubricant?

Yes. This: Diesel does have some lubrication properties, especially compared to petrol that does not have any lubrication properties, the diesel is the only lubrication most diesel pumps get.

What cleans better kerosene or diesel?

Although diesel fuel has higher BTU’s than kerosene, kerosene burns cleaner.

What is the lubricant in diesel fuel?

Sulfur is the keyword here, as it’s the lubricant for the fuel and affects all system components related to combustion. Lower energy content = the engine needs to burn more fuel to create the same output of power as a fuel with higher energy content, resulting in less fuel economy.

Is it legal to run a diesel on vegetable oil?

Firstly, you can only use vegetable oil in a diesel engine, not a petrol one. It’s important to note though that oil should not be poured directly from the bottle into a car. Due to the oil being so thick and sticky, it won’t flow properly through the engine, and it will not burn efficiently.

Does diesel go bad?

Stored diesel used to last for years – nowadays its shelf life is measured in months. Diesel fuel eventually goes bad, that’s just a fact. Three things speed up the natural process of good fuel gone bad – water, air, and warmth.

Can I mix cooking oil with diesel?

The other way to thin it, is to mix it with something runnier like regular diesel. Just mix your vegetable oil into your diesel. People who are trying this say the easiest way to do this is to run your tank almost empty. Then when you pop to the supermarket, fill up with diesel, and then add the vegetable oil.