Oh no, not chain cleaning again !!!

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Oh and.....

Sprockets are invariably plated, nickel on entry level and chrome (on top of nickel) for the posher stuff. They wont rust. Where the plating wears through the tooth leading edge what little lube is deposited from your imaculately clean chain will prevent rust. What little rust might appear is not a big deal anyhoo as your sprockets are made from a high quality treated steel alloy. Tough stuff, very unlike car body type mild steel. Lube will do nothing of note if applied to your sprockets except provide a sticky surface for dust and crud to accumulate.

Degreaser will remove lube from inside the chain where you actually want it.
Degreaser must be washed off with water from the inside surfaces of the chain lest it degreases and breaks down any fresh lube applied thereafter. Emulsion. Yuk.

If you are happy to degrease your chain wash the degreaser out completely, dry the chain completely and then relube it then go ahead. I tried it. Its a waste of good Top Gear watching time.

Bear in mind that there is close to zero friction between the chainring/sprocket and the chains exterior surfaces. All the action happens between the roller and the pin so thats where you need your lube.

(ps. Cycle chain is formulated to be;

Tenatious, to adhere to the surface of the metal, yet.....
non sticky, so that it repels dirt.

Robust, to survive the enormous pressures it suffers within a chain, yet....
freeflowing, so it can get where it is required).

(pps. 3in1 for example is freeflowing but cannot cope with high loads. Isnt tenatious, it will end up on the carpet, yet is incredibly sticky if you throw dirt at it. It is oil, it is not chain lube.)
 
OP
OP
gbb

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
PrettyboyTim said:
Okay - here's a question then:

When I first got my bike, I didn't clean it for about 2 and a half months. I was doing about 70 miles a week in London and it was looking pretty mucky. I went to my LBS and explained and after giving me a disapproving look they recommended a chain cleaner, with degreaser and lube. I used it once to clean the chain, but then I read a post here suggesting the whole 'lube and wipe' method, which I've been using since.

However, I do notice that having wiped, lubed and wiped, when I flex the chain, black stuff still leaks from the links. Does that mean it's still being worn away inside?[/QUOTE]


Potentially..yes. Unfortunately, most of us cant do diddly squat about it. I wouldnt lose any sleep if you cant...99% of people cant do anything about it either.
The guy in the bike shop...hes got a profit to make ...why wouldnt he recommend a chain cleaner, lube and degreaser (not neccessarily in that order :sad: )
Which makes me think...woould i want to own a bike shop. No....i'm too decent and honest to give 'dubious' or 'not best for the customer' advice.
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
Zoiders said:
Oh FFS

Buy a power link

Take chain off when needed, soak in white spirit, reeeaally give it good sloshing in a jam jar with the lid on, clean crap out with more white spirit, clean with rag and cotton buds until shiney again [edit]

Well if it is a SRAM chain it will come with a powerlink won't it? :sad:

I'd do all that for an older (MTB?) chain seriously contaminated with sand/grit. But most of the time I'd rather keep the original manufacturer lube in place for as long as possible. I think the problem is that the cleanliness doesn't make up for the fact that it is hard to make oil penetrate the inner part of a chain. You'll never get anything as tenacious back in there and with time that allows more contaminates in.

I love chain cleaning debates ;)
 
barq said:
Well if it is a SRAM chain it will come with a powerlink won't it? :sad:

I'd do all that for an older (MTB?) chain seriously contaminated with sand/grit. But most of the time I'd rather keep the original manufacturer lube in place for as long as possible. I think the problem is that the cleanliness doesn't make up for the fact that it is hard to make oil penetrate the inner part of a chain. You'll never get anything as tenacious back in there and with time that allows more contaminates in.

I love chain cleaning debates ;)

Capillary action old boy, capillary action.

Chain cleaning debates are my favourite!
 
PrettyboyTim said:
Okay - here's a question then:

However, I do notice that having wiped, lubed and wiped, when I flex the chain, black stuff still leaks from the links. Does that mean it's still being worn away inside?

Keep wiping it and relubing it, it'll come clean eventually.
 

Zoiders

New Member
Cleaning it on the bike you obtuse ejit

I like the imlplication that you only clean the chain, if you break the chain and leave it to soak it will be ready to go back on by the time you have finished servicing and cleaning the bike

There is a difference between cleaning and lubing the chain and just giving it a wipe and a lube top up, only one cleans effectively, relying on the factory lube is folly, unless you just chuck chains every month and replace them with new
 
Thats Mister Obtuse Eejit to you.

Remove chain, put chain into bath of volatile compound, shake vigorously, leave to soak whilst cleaning and servicing bike. Remove chain from carcenogenic volatile compound, apply more solvent and wipe clean with rags and cotton buds, drain off by evaporation and drip dry, relubricate chain with dedicated cycle chain lubricant. Replace chain on bike.
Have I missed anything out?

Its clearly essential that any volatiles or degreasers be removed entirely from inside the chain. Applying new lube on top of solvents will result in the fresh lube being diluted or reduced to an emulsion. Degreasers such as Muck-Off can be washed off with water but then one must remove the water before applying fresh lube. Am I right? Or have I missed something?

I clean my bike with a bucket of hot water, car shampoo and a car wash brush, I wipe excess water off the chain with a rag and then lube up the chain. Wipe it down, relube it and wipe it. Job done.

Doing it the way I do means that my bike never gets so covered in black crap off the chain that I need to spend more than a few minutes cleaning it.

Do you service your bike every time you clean your chain Z? I can clean and lube my chain in the time it takes you to remove and replace yours.

Open your mind to the possibility that you might be wrong Zoiders. Ive tried it your way, and every other way. My way is better. Until you actually try it my way and come to the conclusion that getting decades of use out of chain-rings and cassettes is a bad thing, you're just blowing smoke out of your arse.
 
Zoiders said:
Taking it off it is quicker and less fiddly as it isnt on the bike

Reurbing and repairing lots of bikes soon teaches you that

I'm sure that you have reurbed and repaired many bikes Zoiders.

If I told you that I am personally responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of a busy fleet of about 400 cycles (thats nearly half kilometer of chain if you take into account the recumbents and multi-seat cycles)and that I worked in the quality end of cycle retail for twenty odd years would you consider at least trying this method for a few months on your next new chain (or even on the old chain you are currently shagging)?
 
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