My chain went rusty after being in the snow

davidcambridge1

Last week, I went out on my winter bike (fixed gear) for about an hour in the snow, after the hour, I returned home, and my chain, chainring, and sprocket were completely covered in rust! the chain had been recently oiled, so I don't understand why it should rust! I have thoroughly cleaned the chain and re-oiled it, but I was wondering whether it may need replacing??

Hairyside

As well as the moisture from the snow it is probably the rocksalt that has caused the rapid rust. Chain should be fine now that you have cleaned and lubed it.

Mike67

Are you sure it's rust and not brown road cack from all the stuff they've put on the roads?
I would have thought your chainring at least would have been alloy and therefore immune to rusting.

I guess you could have ridden through some dodgy corrosive puddle or something?
There's a track near me which definitely has some odd coloured puddles on it which have run off from a local agricultural premises.
I've never known a chain to rust whilst actually on a ride, though there is a lot of road salt about at the moment. I believe some councils use 'additives' as well to aid the thawing process.

If you've got it all off then I doubt you need to replace it yet.

What oil do you use...you could do with something that doesn't wash off easily.
I find Finish Line Cross Country (the green topped one) sticks pretty well through most every kind of weather,

Ben6899

Mike67 wrote:

What oil do you use...you could do with something that doesn't wash off easily.
I find Finish Line Cross Country (the green topped one) sticks pretty well through most every kind of weather,

+1 in this cruddy weather. Red top in summer.

davidcambridge1

My regular oil is Finish Line Cross Country, well, in the winter it is, but to get rid of the rust, I used motor oil, and just left it to soak for a day after it had been degreased. I went out on it earlier, and the rust has come back!! What is going on, it was completely spotless the other day!! It was slightly damp, and I went a completely different route this time, so there were no corrosive puddles!!

Mike67

Is it lightweight motor oil you are using?

I'm guessing this forms an 'undercoat' on your chain.
Even if you then lube with cross country on top, the lower layer of engine oil will be more easily washed off as the cross country has nothing to stick to.

Still doesn't really explain why your particular chain should rust so quickly.

Do you know the make/model of chain? Maybe there is some low grade steel in there somewhere.

bikeforever

davidcambridge1 wrote:

Last week, I went out on my winter bike (fixed gear) for about an hour in the snow, after the hour, I returned home, and my chain, chainring, and sprocket were completely covered in rust! the chain had been recently oiled, so I don't understand why it should rust! I have thoroughly cleaned the chain and re-oiled it, but I was wondering whether it may need replacing??

I think that you can try the anti rust chain for this purpose. I know that KMC has some rust buster chains for single speed and multiple chains as well. You can try.

bike forever