I only do the boiling water thing if I’ve ridden in the rain. If it was gravel/dirty I give it a wipe first, but otherwise just throw it straight back into the wax. That’s what ZFC recommends on their website. You’re probably not losing anything doing the extra boiling water rinse (other than time) though so either way works. It probably keeps your wax pot clean longer too.
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I thought I was replying to someone talking about dirty gravel bike chains, but if not that’s the approach I’d take as well!
Well. New KMC chain just arrived in the mail today. You lot have inspired be to let it sit overnight in some simple green before I put it on my bike and then not clean it again for 12 months.
I wrote
If you don’t want to spend that kind of money you can achieve virtually the same result using the sub par factory lubricant for the first few hundred kilometers before you deep clean your chain and apply your preferred lubrication.
It sounds to me that you misread that part?
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I think there is something about not soaking chains in simple green.
Joe
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I soak my chains in unsalted butter.
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Nope….
So perhaps you could answer two questions…1) since you are doing a “deep clean” anyway, why not do it from the start and avoid the issues associated with the factory coating (again, not really a lube) and 2) explain how the “deep cleaning” process doesn’t remove the “imbedded” portions of the factory coating?
I think you did misunderstand, what I took from his post was that either as Silca do you can use fine diamond particles to polish the internal surfaces or you can use dirt (probably not quite as abrasive) to polish. This process in engineering is called “bedding in” not imbedded. Once the surface has been polished with grit then you want to do is get rid of the grit so the deep clean is necessary to stop the grinding process. From there apply lube of choice and ride on.
Because wax will not allow the bedding in process to occur then you will not get the same surface prep. Do I care? not for 0.5 watts nope no way, just clean off factory lube, wax and ride. I believe @TomasIvarsson did a fairly good job of explaining the bedding in process and what a surface change looks like.
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I’m not disputing the bedding process…
- If you use a superior lubricant you will delay the running in process.
- If you clean your chain properly (ultrasonic cleaning + solvent) there will be no “imbedded” residue of any factory lubrication left on the chain.
Thank you @Ron for explaining my point in other words.
I have to saying…labeling getting a hypersonic machine involved and calling it “proper” seems a bit ridiculous to me…
You can of course manually agitate your chain in a jar or place it on the washing machine during washing to get a satisfactory result but an ultrasonic cleaner is on an other level at the cost of about 2 or 3 good chains.
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A few UFO Clean agitated baths before the first wax bath is all it takes. Everything else is splitting nanoscopic hairs.
Man that’s awfully convoluted for a bike chain. I’m soaking mine in simple green for 2 nights in a tupperware container…rinse with water, spritz with wd40, then throw it on the bike with some lube. I’m all about improvement…but not if it take NASA space shuttle type preparations…
What I described is less work and way less maintenance than what you described. Also makes the whole drivetrain last longer.
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I certainly won’t do that ever again.
Great idea? Make a machine that runs the chain through a bunch of jockey wheels over and over again in a bath of solvent (and then lubricant) and let the constant flexing work out grease and old packing gunk and work in new lubricant. It could also help in drying a treated chain too. Seems like it could be the end-all/be-all chain cleaning and conditioning system. Discuss while I work on a prototype…
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Yea you don’t need ramjet for a bike.
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I bought an ultrasonic cleaner for chains, etc, and it doesn’t appear to be strong enough to agitate and remove gunk/life. The wife has one for her jewelry and you can actually see the gunk coming off, and it’s not just the liquid she uses. Hers is also adjustable, and sadly mine isn’t, though mine has ‘heat’.
Your cleaning ability is totally dependent on the machine you buy. Choose wisely…
This opens the market for a blue Park Tool overpriced and under engineered wonder of effective marketing to sweep in and dominate the market. 
(And, no, I am not going to reappropriatee the cleaner device the wife has. I value my life more than that)
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It surprises me it’s that bad. I bought a cheap one off of Amazon and had it for years. I’m sure there are better ones but when I run my chain through it, a lot of gunk comes out.