well i know this is some serious neglect..

but i just got a new chain and sprocket setup about a month and a half ago and i lube it occasionally.

but i am at college and i have to leave the bike outside. I lost my cover when it blew away while i was out on the bike and so my bike is exposed to the rain.

so there is some rust on my chain. mainly the outside clips but a little on the inner areas. Is this really bad? i don't understand how it got rusty so quickly but it did i guess. It's been outside for like a week and it somehow got rusty??

is there anything i can do to remove it? i have a chain brush and some lube and brake cleaner but what else can i do? do i have to get a new chain??

 

Kerosene is best to clean chains but not 100% if it will get rid of the rust for good.

 

I wouldn't use brake cleaner to clean it off, it's not the best for the rubber o-rings. If it's just surface rust a lot of it will come off on your 1st ride. I've used a light spray of WD-40 onto a rag to clean off surface rust, then lube the chain again when it was clean.

Moses

 

My brand new gold RK chain has some rust spots on it after a week of hard rain, even under a Dowco cover. I used some 00 steel wool to LIGHTLY rub off the rust. Then reclean with WD-40 (water displacement #40) and lube lube lube! Dupont teflon spray FTW!

and yes, brake cleaner with RUIN your new chain rings.

 

i have herd soking it over night in automatic transmission fluid works well but i have never tried it