best chain cleaner bath

[country joe]

Sorry for asking a stupid question, ive come across a bottle of Finnish line wax lube, for dirty and dry conditions
will this do for the mickle method?

 

[skwerl]

Sorry for asking a stupid question, ive come across a bottle of Finnish line wax lube, for dirty and dry conditions
will this do for the mickle method?

the wax stuff isn't so good but it'll do. Finish line cross country (for example) is better suited

 

[country joe]

My back is killing me, i took off both wheels on my two road bikes,cleaned the chains with the Mickle, and polished them with mr Sheen,
There looking good.

 

[HeartAttack]

Why use lube and not oil? I mean that cheap 3-in-1 oil? I've used lube before and it just seemed awfully glunky. All weather finish line I think it was. I found/find it easier to put some oil on a cloth then use the Mickle method.

Plus have you seen how much the lube costs just to clean the chain I don't mind the cost if its to lube but to clean the dirt off is more money than sense in my mind.

 

[Dave5N]

Oil's fine.

 

[skwerl]

Why use lube and not oil? I mean that cheap 3-in-1 oil? I've used lube before and it just seemed awfully glunky. All weather finish line I think it was. I found/find it easier to put some oil on a cloth then use the Mickle method.

3-in1 is veg based. It dries out and goes gloopy

 

[tyred]

Use car engine oil.

 

[Dave5N]

3-in1 is veg based. It dries out and goes gloopy

It's tha fatty acids in vegetable oils that adsorp onto the steel surface that make it effective. It won't dry out and go gloopy if you maintain the bike properly.

 

[Fab Foodie]

3-in1 is veg based. It dries out and goes gloopy

It's regular oil, not veg based at all...
From the 3 in 1 MSDS


2 - Composition/Information on Ingredients
Ingredient
CAS #
Weight Percent
Severely Hydrotreated Heavy Naphthenic Oil
64742-52-5
>97%
Proprietary Additive
Mixture
<3%


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Naphthenic oil is a type of mineral oil. In contrast with paraffinic oils, naphthenic oils contain only low to no proportion of n-alkanes, being based on cycloalkanes (naphthenes) instead. The low-temperature behavior of naphthenic oils is better than of paraffinic oils, making them suitable for applications that require low pour point. The degradation products of naphthenic oils are soluble in the oils, leading to fewer problems with formations of sludges and deposits. Naphthenic oils have different solvent properties than paraffinic oils.

Naphthenic oils are characterized by high proportion of cyclic hydrocarbon fraction. The convention is that when the paraffinic carbon content is less than 55-60%, the oil is labeled as naphthenic.[1]

The principial uses of naphthenic oils are as transformer oils, coolants, solvents, cutting fluids, and some lubricants.

 

[Fab Foodie]

It's tha fatty acids in vegetable oils that adsorp onto the steel surface that make it effective. It won't dry out and go gloopy if you maintain the bike properly.

Veg oil will polymerise on the chain as it oxidises, eventually, leaving a varnishy gunky layer.
3 in 1 or basic chain lube oils if regularly applied and de-gunked by the Mickle-method(TM) will be fine, it's a bike chain, not an F1 engine.

 

[Dave5N]

I found the lube made the chain dirtier and harder to clean as it was so viscous. A lightly oiled sock I find makes the chain all nice and shiney during the "wipe, wipe, wipe" bit. My variation on The Method is to clean between the links with cotton buds tips. I then pour a bit of 3-in-1 on the (new) cotton bud tips and use that to oil the inside of the chain. Then carry on with The Method.

You have too much time on your hands.

 

[Mark_Robson]

I Mickled my road bikes chain tonight and it came up lovely.

 

[Andy_R]

I've heard that chainsaw oil is a good choice.......especially if you've just been scalped

 

[davefb]

I Mickled my road bikes chain tonight and it came up lovely.

wow, not just a method,, but now a verb!!!

right,,

my chain is only abut 500 mM clean... thats the new SI unit for chain clenliness , the milli-mickle , 1000 milli-mickles is 1 Mickle or fully clean