Chain Cleaning

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Chris James

Über Member
Location
Huddersfield
Oh yes, and another good method for preserving your chain (ignored in this thread) is to fit mudguards, preferably with a mudflap. If the crap doesn't gte in the chain in the first instance then you don't need to clean it out.
 

PrettyboyTim

New Member
Location
Brighton
Chris James said:
Yes, I know that, but you easily measure that with a ruler or chain measuring tool and replace your chain before it ruins your casette.

This is something I will have to learn to do. Where's Sheldon?
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Much easier to have a park chain measuring tool. :smile:

And most of it's just debate to a religious degree on a topic that doesn't matter very much. I doubt any of us take it too seriously. It's a bit like bearing topics on inline skating forums.
 
BentMikey said:
Much easier to have a park chain measuring tool. :smile:

And most of it's just debate to a religious degree on a topic that doesn't matter very much. I doubt any of us take it too seriously. It's a bit like bearing topics on inline skating forums.


They have topics on bearings??? What are they like???
 
Location
Herts
Chris James said:
... Given I would expect at least 1200 miles from my chain then it will cost me a penny a mile. Getting an extra 500 miles would only save me a fiver and probably take hours of work ...

1200 miles? You must have particularly powerfull legs. How often do these 10000 miles a year people change their chains ? and how often their casettes ? and following on from you, how often their rims ?
 
Location
Herts
My Triumph Tiger costs £140 for a chain and front/rear sprockets every 18000 miles. 0.77p per mile. I once managed 22000 miles but that was with an unmentionable brand of chain oiler from north of the border.
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
mickle said:
They have topics on bearings??? What are they like???

Do you really want me to start? Do you want some? :smile: :blush:

It's *much* worse than chain cleaning. I tend to use cheapo bearing sets at £1 a pop for teaching and training. My mate has some all ceramic bearings at £30 each. 4 wheel skates take 16 bearings, that makes £500 just in the bearings, LOL! Mind you, his skates probably cost twice that, and he's an elite skater for the Experts in Speed team in the main German league.

mickle said:
2000 miles per chain. £40 chain. 2p per mile. Bargain.

Eek for the cost of a new chain on my 'bent. That's 2.5 normal chains powerlinked together. Luckily I get a lot more than 2000 miles per chain, and don't pay nearly as much as £40.
 

gambatte

Middle of the pack...
Location
S Yorks
BentMikey said:
Luckily I get a lot more than 2000 miles per chain, and don't pay nearly as much as £40.

Waiting for more figures from the experienced guys on here.:smile:

Also advice: Got a 8spd and a 9spd. How do you go about telling when a chain is worn, what equipment would be recommended (considering having 2 different chains)?

thanks
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Chris James has it about right....
Theres good reason for keeping your chain 'clean'...whatever that may be...and lubed. But dont lose sight of the fact its just a chain thats relatively cheap to replace.
But theres also other reasons for the obsession with chains...making it look as nice as the rest of the bike. I dont HAVE to remove the chain, blast it with WD, blast it with an airline, wipe, oil, wipe, oil, wipe...you get the picture.........but i WANT to. I want to do it, cos i put a reasonable effort into keeping the bike nice looking...so i WANT to do the same for the chain. And its worth every 15 minutes or so of work i put into it. Ive done it both ways, and i know the chains cleaner when i do it my way.

Mickles way is as good as it gets for minimum effort.
But a little more effort will bring better results....if its important to you, or you can be bothered.
I lube my chain quite regularly...yet the last time i did it, i was horrified at the 'grinding' sound from it AFTER i'd wiped.
I'd only lubed it maybe two weeks previous, and i dont really do that much mileage !!! Another dose of oil, wipe, oil, wipe is not going to magically shift all the debris that was causing the noise. Its quicker to take the chain off and do it my way.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
gambatte said:
Waiting for more figures from the experienced guys on here.:smile:

Also advice: Got a 8spd and a 9spd. How do you go about telling when a chain is worn, what equipment would be recommended (considering having 2 different chains)?

thanks

The irony is, although i put a fair effort into cleaning and lubing my chains now....i didnt always.
My Raleigh Chimera had it original chain for 3500 miles, and it certainly wont have been top quality...i just sprayed it with oil once in a while, didnt particually clean it, it was used summer and winter, sun and rain for
3 plus years. It was fairly worn when i did replace it, but the cassette and chainrings were fine...and still are one year later.

Measuring chain wear ?? Personally i dont bother anymore. Replace the chain every year..you cant really go wrong, it doesnt cost that much...and a new chain is satisfyingly smooth and quiet.
 

biking_fox

Guru
Location
Manchester
One other benefit of a properly clean chain is power/efficancy. If some of your leg force is going into overcoming friction at the chain links because it isn't lubed or has grit, then that force isn't going into your cycling, hence you don't go as fast.

Whether or not this is actually noticable is another matter. I feel the difference between friday when the chain hasn't been cleaned for a week and monday when it normally has - but mondays may feel different anyway.

I don't know if I would feel it to a greater degree if my chain was "properly" clean. And I haven't measured actual speeds to see if it does really make a difference.
 
OP
OP
Plax

Plax

Guru
Location
Wales
Whether or not this is actually noticable is another matter. I feel the difference between friday when the chain hasn't been cleaned for a week and monday when it normally has - but mondays may feel different anyway.

I get this too, but that's because come Friday my little leggsies are getting tired of all the hills, wind & rain!
 

PrettyboyTim

New Member
Location
Brighton
Well, I just measured my chain, and in a foot of chain, it looks like I've got just over 1/16th of an inch of wear which according to Sheldon means that I need to get a new chain, but I've not frigged my sprockets yet. I calculate I've done somewhere between 1200-1400 miles on that bike so far, and I didn't clean my chain at all for the first 2-3 months :smile:, so I guess that's reasonable. I'll pick up a new SRAM chain tomorrow lunchtime and a little gadgee for unlinking my existing chain.
 
Top Bottom