Chain and derailleur maintenance?

zummerzet-lou

Well, my poor bike doesn't really get much care, and the chain and derailleur are covered in black oily gunk.

Assuming I get an hour or so over the weekend, thinking it should have a good clean. So, do I attack it with the fairy liquid and toothbrush?

Also, what should I be doing in future to keep her in good running order .. at the moment she just gets a quick squirt of oil on the chain maybe once a month or so ..... or when it starts squeaking!

TIA,

Lou

whyamihere

In my opinion, there's not a lot of point now. I tend to change the chain and cassette in the spring, when (in theory) the drier weather starts. Look after them over the summer, then basically run them into the ground over winter. The chain and cassette aren't going to last more than a year on a commuter bike no matter what you do (other than not riding). Just keep it lubed and replace it in spring.

Chicane-UK

The weekend just gone I invested in:

* Citrus degreaser
* Decent lubricant
* A nice stiff & thin brush

I disconnected my chain (has an SRAM quick-release link which makes it easier!) and stuck it in a small tub filled with the degreaser. Swirled it round lots and lots and spent time brushing all the crap out of it.

Whilst the chain was soaking, I coated the brush in degreaser and took to the rear derailleur, making sure to clean the crud glued in and around the jockey wheels - I also removed the rear wheel so I could give the cassette a thorough brushing to get all the gunge out.

Once that was complete I washed the derailleur with clean water to get the degreaser out, and did the same for the cassette. Took the chain out of the bath of degreaser and cleaned as much as I could off in an old t-shirt.

Refitted all to the bike and then gave a good dose of lubricant on the chain and into the cassette - ran the bike through all the gears, wiping up any excesss lubricant, etc and making sure it was all nice and smooth.

Job done! Do the same if you want to make it all nice and clean and shifting nicely

Cost about £20 for the degreaser, brush and decent lubricant! Worth doing!

nicklouse

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/w ... bike-18259

is a reasonable guide.

Fairy is not good as it contains a lot of salt.

desweller

nicklouse wrote:

Fairy is not good as it contains a lot of salt.

I see this written a lot. I don't think it's a problem in reality though (at least, I always use domestic detergent and have never seen any corrosion problems).

nicklouse

seen what it does to rubber?

seen what it does to grease?

it is not good to use on a bike or a car.

BigLee1

I`d also buy some wd40, great at getting black gunk off things, and one of those chain checkers. Why change it if it isn`t worn? Give your chain a good blast with a jetwash after you`ve put your degreaser on and agitated it. Only jetwash the chain, keep well away from any bearings etc!