Bike Repair Tips and Tricks

Bike mechanic here. Of course it depends a lot on the conditions you ride in but normally it would be enough to spray some chain cleaner on a rag and just wipe the chain clean. Every now and then and especially if you ride in muddy weather you should take the chain off for a proper cleaning, if it's super dirty, spray with heavy duty degreaser and let sit for a while wrapped inside a rag, then wipe clean and apply lube. Of course if you have an ultrasonic cleaner at hand you can throw in the chain and cassette for a thorough clean but you gonna need to finish it with a rag anyways. You can re-use quick links several times so it really isn't that expensive. Make sure you don't spray any degreaser/chain cleaner on the cassette when cleaning the chain (nor use a pressure washer) because that's how you ruin the bearings in the hub and freewheel. Rather keep the chain a little bit too dry than too oiled, basically one drop of chain lube per "bearing" (link) is enough, apply oil and wipe the chain afterwards with a clean rag to remove extra lube and avoid muck build-up. Best chain care tip is to not use exessive lube AND wipe the chain clean before adding more lube. Motorbike chains have lube inside the links/bearings and the lube outside is to prevent rust, bike chains don't have any sealed bearings and thus need external lubing.

I remove the chain and let it soak in WD-40 for a while. Then I spray it down with degreaser and rinse with a power washer. As long as the chain is well lubricated, I don't have any issues with corrosion.

Also, some quick-links are reusable. You should check with the manufacturer. KMC has a type that can be reused 5 times. With a bit of practice and a good chain breaker it is also pretty easy to remove and reconnect a chain with no quick-link at all.

You can definitely reuse quick links. What you can't reuse are chain rivets.