MTB chain cleaning

[PaulSecteur]

Hi,

On my road bikes I "mickle method" the chains and it works well.

However, on my MTB despite the chain, cassette and chainwheel looking clean there is a definite grittiness to it after it has been mickled. On closer inspection there is still a fine sand on the inside of the chain plates.

Im thinking that for the MTB as it will be cleaned after each ride it will be worth getting a chain cleaner tool and degreaser and using a cheap lube (Currently using finish line Teflon that I use on my road bikes, but that will get expensive with regular MTB rides and re-lubing after each ride).

So.... Should I just mickle or degrease and re-lube after each ride? Or any other suggestions?

Thanks for your thoughts, Paul.

 

[Trull]

Its a losing battle keeping a chain clean on an mtb, but I'd go for the degreaser/chain cleaner and give it a dose of hose to get the worst off and then use a wet lube, frequently applied and wiped off the maintain lube. It would be great to run a rohlolf with a completely enclosed drive...

 

[Cubist]

I use dry ceramic lube, although there are cheaper dry lubes available. This prevents as much grit adhering to the lubed chain in the first place. When cleaning the bike I simply run the chain through a sponge in the same car shampoo I clean the bike with, rinse it with the hose, let it dry, use a bit of GT85 to disperse the water and then let that dry before relubing. If there is grit on the inside of the plates after that, well a few therapeutic minutes with some cotton buds sorts that out.

There really is no need to degrease a chain.

 

[mickle]

Mickle more.

 

[Jody]

I use something similar to Cubist but a paraffin based lubricant recommended by someone on here. Nowhere near as much dirt sticks to it as normal and what sticks is easily washed off by a sponge or low power hose. It only lasts for around 60-70 miles in bad conditions but I won’t be riding that far in one go.

 

[PaulSecteur]

I use something similar to Cubist but a paraffin based lubricant recommended by someone on here. Nowhere near as much dirt sticks to it as normal and what sticks is easily washed off by a sponge or low power hose. It only lasts for around 60-70 miles in bad conditions but I won’t be riding that far in one go.

Could you tell me what brand that is? Sounds like what Im after.

 

[Jody]

White lightening clean ride.

 

[PaulSecteur]

White lightening clean ride.

I was almost off to the office license!

 

[Shadowfax]

Don't wash Don't lube buy cheap chains job done ! My friggin' chains cost less than some of yous lots lubes.

Grin.

 

[I like Skol]

It's an MTB! Ride it, ride it, ride it some more. Wash it off with a hose, let it dry, add some oil. Then guess what......... ride it again.

Let me cut through all the b*llsh1t. The moment you splash through that first crappy puddle or blast down that dusty, sand strewn trail, your chain gets covered in a big dose of reality and you are back to square one. All the time you spent painstakingly removing the grime, link by link, with a cotton bud will be wasted.

Don't be too precious about your MTB, save that obsession for your best road bike

 

[Cubist]

My obsession is for the MTBs. The Ibis is worth about five times my best road bike!
The whole point of dry ceramic lube is that you can keep it sparkly with minimal effort.

 

[Jody]

Don't wash Don't lube buy cheap chains job done ! My friggin' chains cost less than some of yous lots lubes.

How often do you change them? Seems a bit of a false economy and especially if the wear is sped up by not doing any preventative maintenance.

I would rather look after the groupset than splash out £180+ for a prematurely worn one.

 

[Shadowfax]

How often do you change them? Seems a bit of a false economy and especially if the wear is sped up by not doing any preventative maintenance.

I would rather look after the groupset than splash out £180+ for a prematurely worn one.

I would rather ride them than look at them ta.

 

[Jody]

I would rather ride them than look at them ta.

Presumptuous. Obviously people who look after their bikes don't ride them?

 

[I like Skol]

OK children, settle down. It isn't a competition or a 'them'v'us'. If someone wants their bike to look showroom that's ok and is nothing to do with the amount they ride or bike handling skills they have. All I'm saying is that, thinking about it logically, if you are going to ride your bike through the crap then having a clean chain might make a difference for the first 10 seconds.