Dirty chain Part2

[JackStraw]

Hi All,
I hope you are well.
Isn't a better option to have a spare chain then just rotate them every couple of months?
Remove the dirty one, submerge it in white spirit and install the spare chain (that was cleaned last time)?
This way the bicycle maintenance window is pretty short.

Are there any counter arguments for a chain replacement more than every 1000miles (hybrid road bike).
From what I see the chain requires a deep clean at least like 4 times a year.
I mean there are people who do it every single time but this takes time.
My objective is to reduce the time spent on this task and I would prefer the chemical to do its job rather than me scrubbing it every so often but I still see that bloody dirt so I scrub it even more what turns into a compulsive activity, I clean every single link then after like 30 minutes of concentration I become the chain.

Let me know your opinion.

 

[fossyant]

I rotate the chain only on my FS MTB as the cassette is expensive.

 

[Dogtrousers]

All depends very much on the type of riding you do. "Every couple of months" would be very different for a commuter compared to a weekend leisure cyclist (of which there are many different types).

I'm a weekend rider. I clean and re-lube my chain after every winter ride (typically 6-10hrs out) and in the summer re-lube it with each ride and clean it maybe every other ride. So I can't see what swapping chains would gain me. I'd still be doing what I do.

I don't think I hold with this idea of a "deep clean 4x per year". Once a bike has been out in the mud and rain for a few hours the whole drivetrain is filthy and gritty and needs cleaning. It's not just the chain: there's gunk in the jockey wheels that needs digging out, there's a band of gritty grot that forms around the chainrings, the cassette gets caked in crud ... and so on.

As to replacement, I monitor it and replace it when its worn.

I clean every single link then after like 30 minutes of concentration I become the chain.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I scrub the chain - and derailleur - every few months with a special "machine" thingy
you just stick some degreaser in it and put the chain through it
close the lid and wind the pedals backwards so the chain goes through the brushes
and relube it after washing off the degreaser

if I think it is getting grubby then I give a quick scrub with a brush - wash it off and relube it

I often do it just before I need to take it to the LBS for something!

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Let me know your opinion.

Your only hope of happiness is to avoid ever looking at your drivetrain.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Your only hope of happiness is to avoid ever looking at your drivetrain.

That is also a very good way of building up muscle bulk as the friction creeps up and up

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Hi All,
I hope you are well.
Isn't a better option to have a spare chain then just rotate them every couple of months?
Remove the dirty one, submerge it in white spirit and install the spare chain (that was cleaned last time)?
This way the bicycle maintenance window is pretty short.

Are there any counter arguments for a chain replacement more than every 1000miles (hybrid road bike).
From what I see the chain requires a deep clean at least like 4 times a year.
I mean there are people who do it every single time but this takes time.
My objective is to reduce the time spent on this task and I would prefer the chemical to do its job rather than me scrubbing it every so often but I still see that bloody dirt so I scrub it even more what turns into a compulsive activity, I clean every single link then after like 30 minutes of concentration I become the chain.

Let me know your opinion.

Let's go.

I'm well except for constant back pain. thanks for asking.
Same effect, more trouble. Choice is yours.
Dunno about windows.

Yes, chains often lasts longer than 1000n miles.
Chains dont udnerstand time. They understand distance x conditions. My aunt Edna has a chain on her bicycle not cleaned in 40 years, It is still perfect. Antie hasn't ridden in 40 years.
i'm not sure what people do every single time that takes time. I think most activities take time.
Sorry to hear you become a chain after 30 minutes of scrubbing. I suggest you stop at 29.

My opinion? GHo ride and drink a beer.

 

[Ian H]

I clean the chain on the bike. It comes off when it's time to replace it. In any case the Campag chain doesn't have a quick-link.

 

[wafter]

Ideally I rotate two waxed chains at circa 300 mile intervals, unless wet weather dictates it's done earlier.

With this method I've seen Brompton chains last about 2k miles each (these bikes are known for hammering chains) and expect maybe 4-5k from the 3x9 setup on my tourer. The (2x) 11sp chain on my (largely fair weather) gravel bike has seen about 4.5k miles and is showing very little measurable wear.

1k miles is a very short lifespan IMO; however wouldn't be out of the question on a poorly maintained chain used in all weathers in a dusty / sandy / gritty environment.

Other than the occasional dry brush / wash with soapy water when I'm doing the whole bike I never clean the rest of the drivetrain as it never gets sufficiently dirty

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I went over 10,000 miles on my bike a few months ago

LBS said my chain was worn out once - said they replaced it with a better one

been OK since


so - lets say 5000 miles on each and this one is still going

 

[Drago]

A chain lasts  xyz miles, and thats regardless of whether you run it continuously or rotate it in sequence with other chains.

Chain maintenance takes so little time and effort it all seems a bit pointless to me, particularly as the chain won't last any longer for having done so.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I rotate chains (no pun). It's more to help the cassette last longer than anything else though. If I swap them over when they're close to the 0.75% mark on the chain checker and bin them when at the 1% mark, I find the cassette lasts a lot longer. I don't change by mileage, just go off the chain checker reading.
I don't clean in any white spirit or similar, I don't want things flushing out. I use diesel for cleaning, a soak in a tub of it, followed by a wipe down and re-lube with a mix of chainsaw oil and diesel does the trick for me.

 

[wafter]

I rotate chains (no pun). It's more to help the cassette last longer than anything else though. If I swap them over when they're close to the 0.75% mark on the chain checker and bin them when at the 1% mark, I find the cassette lasts a lot longer. I don't change by mileage, just go off the chain checker reading.
I don't clean in any white spirit or similar, I don't want things flushing out. I use diesel for cleaning, a soak in a tub of it, followed by a wipe down and re-lube with a mix of chainsaw oil and diesel does the trick for me.

You might find a more efficient approach would be to make it mileage-dependent and simply hang both / all chains next to each other and fit the shortest since it figures keeping all chains as close as possible to each other in length will give the longest cassette life.

Also I'd not be too quick to dismiss flushing since it's the contaminated, gritty oil between mating surfaces inside the chain that causes wear - so removing it periodically has to be a good thing.

Personally I find a good soak and shake in a paraffin-filled jar is as good as anything; with 2-3 jars you can get the worst off in one, move the chain to the next and repeat until you stop getting particulates in the paraffin. Then, once all the crap has settled to the bottom the clean paraffin can be decanted into another jar for re-use and the dregs / rags used to wipe the jar clean used for fire lighting.

I've used this method in the past when preparing previously used chains for waxing; now I don't have so much call for it as every chain is waxed from new so one sitting in the jar is fine to remove the clean factory grease, with a dry brush pre-successive waxes.

That said I do wonder if a periodic flush might not be a bad idea as I suppose riding in wet weather can introduce crap into the chain via the same capilliary action as found on oiled chains; although I'd hope that maybe the gradual expulsion of the wax from between the links might also push out whatever contam might be inside.

From inspecting what settles to the bottom of the wax pan once solidified there's certainly a lot more metal contamination from previously-oiled chains than those that have been waxed..

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

A chain lasts  xyz miles, and thats regardless of whether you run it continuously or rotate it in sequence with other chains.

Chain maintenance takes so little time and effort it all seems a bit pointless to me, particularly as the chain won't last any longer for having done so.

I don;t clean mine to make it last longer

I do it because after cleaning it - and the derailleur cogs - the hills on my normal ride seems to be flatter

 

[Dogtrousers]

There are people who enjoy obsessing about chains, and put loads of time into chain care regimes, chain rotation, keeping detailed records and so on. This all takes time.

There are people who clean the chain when it gets dirty - which takes less time.

There are people who do nothing, or next to nothing, and this takes next to no time. At least, until the chain and chainrings wear out and it all goes to hell, whereupon some time is needed.

It seems like the OP really wants to be in the first group, and wants to obsess about chain-care, but doesn't want to put in the hard yards of obsessively cleaning/rotating/doing weird chain-care things. Sorry, but if you want to join the chain-obsessives club you've got to make sacrifices.