Another chain-oiling question…

[Pointy boy]

Hello, just another (hopefully) quick chain-oiling question. I generally clean the chain on my dry-weather bike about once a month (brush with degreaser, rinse thoroughly with water, dry and regrease with FinishLine Dry).
As soon as the new lube is applied, it seems to turn black and dirty. I’ve been told that this may be old dirt being flushed out by the new lube, and a good wipe will do the trick? I’m not too fussed about the cosmetics, just a reasonably healthy drive chain.
Is this black residue immediately after re-lubing normal? I don’t really want to get into doing a proper deep-clean of the chain every month unnecessarily!
Any advice welcome.
Thanks. 👍

 

[PaulSB]

When I say it's not "normal" this is because it's something I don't experience though I have seen it on my bikes.

Without wishing to be critical it simply means you're chain is still dirty after you've cleaned it. Getting the chain completely clean is the solution.

 

[Spiderweb]

Clean your chain more often. I don’t ‘deep clean’ but, depending on how much I’m riding, I wipe my chain every week or two, spray a rag with GT85 or WD40 and wipe the chain then dot each roller with lube.
I also spray the cassette and run the edge of a rag between each cog on quite a regular basis.

 

[Pointy boy]

When I say it's not "normal" this is because it's something I don't experience though I have seen it on my bikes.

Without wishing to be critical it simply means you're chain is still dirty after you've cleaned it. Getting the chain completely clean is the solution.

Yeah. That’s sort of what I suspected. Honestly not sure how I could be more thorough with the cleaning though: I spray the chain with degreaser, allow it to soak in a little, brush each link thoroughly (with a stiff toothbrush), and rinse everything with plenty of water. I clean the chain rings and cassette at the same time (including wet wipes between the cassette sprocket). I’ve also tried using a proper chain-cleaning tool, with similar results. Is there something I’m missing? 🙃

 

[PaulSB]

Yeah. That’s sort of what I suspected. Honestly not sure how I could be more thorough with the cleaning though: I spray the chain with degreaser, allow it to soak in a little, brush each link thoroughly (with a stiff toothbrush), and rinse everything with plenty of water. I clean the chain rings and cassette at the same time (including wet wipes between the cassette sprocket). I’ve also tried using a proper chain-cleaning tool, with similar results. Is there something I’m missing? 🙃

This sounds very thorough to me. To initially get the chain very clean try pulling a piece of cloth between each link, make sure the jockey wheels are clean, after rinsing off with clean water wash with warm soapy water, rinse and dry. Don't apply to much lube, you only need one drop on the upper surface of each roller, nothing else needs lubing. Before riding ensure the lube is dry and any excess wiped off.

I'm not keen on FinishLine products or many similar ones as they all give this nasty black residue, especially in warm weather. I use Squirt Lube (include "cycling" in your search term if you Google that! ) which is a liquid wax which dries on the chain. This type of product doesn't attract dirt and dust in the way many lubes do.

After every ride wipe the chain with an old tea towel or similar. Use the same one each time as it builds up an oily residue which helps add a little protection back to the outside of the chain. Sound like you're doing a good job but need to be a little more thorough with the initial clean.

Squirt Lube

 

[Pointy boy]

This sounds very thorough to me. To initially get the chain very clean try pulling a piece of cloth between each link, make sure the jockey wheels are clean, after rinsing off with clean water wash with warm soapy water, rinse and dry. Don't apply to much lube, you only need one drop on the upper surface of each roller, nothing else needs lubing. Before riding ensure the lube is dry and any excess wiped off.

I'm not keen on FinishLine products or many similar ones as they all give this nasty black residue, especially in warm weather. I use Squirt Lube (include "cycling" in your search term if you Google that! ) which is a liquid wax which dries on the chain. This type of product doesn't attract dirt and dust in the way many lubes do.

After every ride wipe the chain with an old tea towel or similar. Use the same one each time as it builds up an oily residue which helps add a little protection back to the outside of the chain. Sound like you're doing a good job but need to be a little more thorough with the initial clean.

Squirt Lube

Good advice - thank you!! I’ll check out that lube, and persist with the cleaning. Thanks again 👍

 

[Stroudy]

One of my bikes is almost permanently set up indoors on a turbo trainer. Before setting it up, I thoroughly cleaned the (new) chain, by removing it and shaking it up vigorously in a 1 litre plactic container with parrafin and a lid. I repeated that process in four separate containers with fresh parrafin (I filter it through coffee filters and re-use it, so there's no wastage). I pulled it through a tightly-gripped clean rag: no marks on the rag. I use light oil on the chain for indoor work.

After I do an indoor session, I always pull the chain through a tightly gripped clean rag, while pedalling backwards by hand, and turning the cloth frequently to a clean bit. It always comes up black. There is obviously no dirt on the bedroom floor to fling up onto the chain, and the front wheel isn't turning anyway, so I conclude that the black marks on the cloth can only come from microscopic metal particles, as the chain wears naturally, even in these clean, ideal conditions. The chain has over 6000 kms on it now, with 0% wear, according to my Park Tools CC4 chain checker.

So my feeling is that we shouldn't worry too much about the black material on the cloth. Obviously, in normal (outdoor) use, there will be dirt on the chain too, and the things that others have already mentioned about amount and type of lube, regular cleaning, etc. still stand.