Cleaning Drivetrain (don't link me to sheldon brown!!)

bennett_346

Ok, so every sunday i go mountain biking at a place called Beamish Woods, you guys from up north here might know?

But anyway, at the moment i clean my whole drivetrain after every single time i go, because it all fills with gritty mud, which as we know is the devils toothpaste. Now i use a lubricant on my chain called White Lighning "Wet Ride" as its the most suitable thing i saw the last time i went for some. It goes on thick and wet, and then i take off most of the excess with a rag. I've been told that drier wax based lubes arent good enough for mtb'ing, so i thought this stuff looked appropriate.

Now my question is this, will this lubricant stay on my chain if i use a hose and muck off to clean the rest? Its unavoidable hitting the chain and sprockets etc. Am i doing this correctly? It seems an awful lot of work to be doing every week

If its what needs done then it needs done, but is there anything i could do differently?


EDIT: Sorry, i thought i was posting in MTB Beginners, a mod can move this maybe?

cat_with_no_tail

I use white lightning epic ride, and the amount of attention my drivetrain gets after a ride depends on what sort of ride it was.

If it was a fairly short (under 20 miles) ride in dry, dusty conditions, it usually just gets a wipe down with an old rag, then re-lubed when you can hear that it needs a drink.

If it's been a bit more muddy, and you can hear it's gritty, then it gets a shot of Fenwicks (undiluted) to the cassette (while turning the cranks backwards so it gets the chain too), quick scrub with an old toothbrush, blast with the hosepipe, dried and re-lubed.

bennett_346

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I use white lightning epic ride, and the amount of attention my drivetrain gets after a ride depends on what sort of ride it was.

If it was a fairly short (under 20 miles) ride in dry, dusty conditions, it usually just gets a wipe down with an old rag, then re-lubed when you can hear that it needs a drink.

If it's been a bit more muddy, and you can hear it's gritty, then it gets a shot of Fenwicks (undiluted) to the cassette (while turning the cranks backwards so it gets the chain too), quick scrub with an old toothbrush, blast with the hosepipe, dried and re-lubed.

Our route is more like the second one you described. I might try using a toothbrush then. I can see that making the mech wheels and front chainrings so much easier, thanks for that

BorisSpencer

Put a powerlink in your chain, everything is so much easier with the chain off the bike.

rhext

At the risk of starting another controversial 'are chain cleaners any good' thread, I recommend a chain cleaner.

Put in a drop of neat Fenwicks or other degreaser of your choice and spin the chain through it. Perhaps a drop on a toothbrush for the cassette, chainring and mechs. Wait for a couple of minutes (might as well be cleaning the rest of the bike while you do that), then fill your chain cleaner with some of the water you just used to wash your bike and spin the chain through it again. Repeat until the water comes out cleanish.

It sounds a hassle, but it takes 10-15 minutes, plus maybe 2 to relube everything when it's dry, and the bike's pretty much as good as new for the next ride.

But if that's too much, you could also try a can of Muc-off degreaser. I got some last week, sprayed on chain/cassette/mechs, left for 5 minutes and then hosed off and 25 hours worth of offroad riding muck and old lube just fell off. Perhaps not quite as clean as the scrubbing approach above, but pretty close!

bennett_346

rhext wrote:

At the risk of starting another controversial 'are chain cleaners any good' thread, I recommend a chain cleaner.

Put in a drop of neat Fenwicks or other degreaser of your choice and spin the chain through it. Perhaps a drop on a toothbrush for the cassette, chainring and mechs. Wait for a couple of minutes (might as well be cleaning the rest of the bike while you do that), then fill your chain cleaner with some of the water you just used to wash your bike and spin the chain through it again. Repeat until the water comes out cleanish.

It sounds a hassle, but it takes 10-15 minutes, plus maybe 2 to relube everything when it's dry, and the bike's pretty much as good as new for the next ride.

But if that's too much, you could also try a can of Muc-off degreaser. I got some last week, sprayed on chain/cassette/mechs, left for 5 minutes and then hosed off and 25 hours worth of offroad riding muck and old lube just fell off. Perhaps not quite as clean as the scrubbing approach above, but pretty close!

I used to have a chain cleaner, but that's since broke, as for buying a new one, its always an option. 10-15 minutes is half of what it took me today too!

I also have a spray can of muc-off degreaser, but i didn't use it because i was worried it would degrease some sealed parts if it got in, and having just had to replace a whole wheel due to a locked freewheel i decided against it until i knew for sure it wouldnt get in!

biff55

bennett_346 wrote:

I've been told that drier wax based lubes arent good enough for mtb'ing

then you've been speaking to a muppet.
in summer when rides are generally dryer and cleaner , a wax based lube is preferable
as it picks up less crap and keeps components cleaner for longer , but does need re-applying more often.
even so , maintenance should only become 10 mins a week for the drivetrain.
wintertime does require a heavier lube that wont be washed away quickly.

rhext

You need to be careful not to spray it into the hub. But if you just hold it a few cm away from the chain so that it sprays onto chain and cassette, it won't find its way in.

It's also worth checking out how to service your hub: that's a quick and easy job you can do yourself in front of the telly assuming you know how to clean your bike well enough for such tinkering to be acceptable to the missus! The freehub can be a bit of a pain on some wheels, but I think that's more likely to seize due to water/grit ingress being allowed to stand than due to use of spray degreaser.

bennett_346

biff55 wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

I've been told that drier wax based lubes arent good enough for mtb'ing

then you've been speaking to a muppet.
in summer when rides are generally dryer and cleaner , a wax based lube is preferable
as it picks up less crap and keeps components cleaner for longer , but does need re-applying more often.
even so , maintenance should only become 10 mins a week for the drivetrain.
wintertime does require a heavier lube that wont be washed away quickly.

That's the last time i watch youtube videos to help me xD

The thing is the place we go ofter keeps hold of water for a long time, so parts can be very muddy even at this time of year. I'll try a wax based a few times and see what happens. If i can get it down to 10 mins a week ill be chuffed

tdougan

Fairly intresting topic - cheers all!

bennett_346

tdougan wrote:

Fairly intresting topic - cheers all!

I guess its one of those things that we all do and have a different way of doing it, always interesting to hear others techniques!

By chance you havent ever rode around Beamish have you? Ousbrough woods is right next to the museum and is full of trails that are good fun to mtb down, so long as you like big climbs!

bennett_346

rhext wrote:

You need to be careful not to spray it into the hub. But if you just hold it a few cm away from the chain so that it sprays onto chain and cassette, it won't find its way in.

It's also worth checking out how to service your hub: that's a quick and easy job you can do yourself in front of the telly assuming you know how to clean your bike well enough for such tinkering to be acceptable to the missus! The freehub can be a bit of a pain on some wheels, but I think that's more likely to seize due to water/grit ingress being allowed to stand than due to use of spray degreaser.

I took the wheel off and cassette off and the like, and found a grease port which i sprayed TF2 through, and guess what came out the freewheel? Lots of orange gritty water. It was irreparable, so lesson learned there

tdougan

A little off topic for this, what's the ride like in beamish? ;D

biff55

youtube how to vids are pretty good on the whole if you dont mind the annoying american drawl of the USA tutorials.
you'll be surprised how much cleaner cogs and chain stay when using dry-wax oil.

bennett_346

tdougan wrote:

A little off topic for this, what's the ride like in beamish? ;D

Beamish woods, or Ousbrough woods as it is marked on the map, is pretty decent for mtb. Its no trail center and it in itself is fairly small, but theres other wooded areas around it that can add up to a few hours of fun. Theres also some proper DH stuff thats been built, theres a road gap and numerous jumps etc. Its only worth it if you're within comfortable riding distance, i wouldn't bother sticking the bikes on a car or anything just to go there, go to chopwell insted

@biff55, ive watched tons of these videos and they all conflict with each others methods, so i rendered them total guff xD

Quirrel

I use whatever the cheapest brake cleaner is from Europarts to degrease and clean my chain and cassette.

I then re oil it with some red-lube.

I looked at the muc-off degreaser but at 7 quid a pop compared to 1.50 ish for brake cleaner, I went with the brake cleaner.

jayson

I cant comment on the wax lubes but i do use Finish Line dry lube and its more than good enough for the summer/dry weather, i swear by it dont use anythin else apart from the FL wet lube in the winter.

As for cleaning my chain i have a chain cleaner i run it through 2 or 3 times then remove and hang it up to dry before replacing and relubing.

I use halfords own citrus degreaser and it seems ok to me, it brings my cassette up a treat and the chain looks almost brand new afta a good clean with it.

Thewaylander

biff55 wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

I've been told that drier wax based lubes arent good enough for mtb'ing

then you've been speaking to a muppet.
in summer when rides are generally dryer and cleaner , a wax based lube is preferable
as it picks up less crap and keeps components cleaner for longer , but does need re-applying more often.
even so , maintenance should only become 10 mins a week for the drivetrain.
wintertime does require a heavier lube that wont be washed away quickly.

What he said, Wax lubes are fine mate.

joshtp

i use Nut Lub (obviously) and its great.... its really waterproof, and not stick, so it doesnt really get very dirty, but if you have been riding in really horrible conditions then you can just spray the drive train down. and all the dirt just rinses away, (it dosnet stick firmly) and the lube stays.... so if it is dirty at all then it only takes 2 mins to clean, and i just clean the chain properly and relube when it shounds /feels dry, which can be up to a month apart, even riding every day.

bennett_346

Thanks for all the responses guys, i think ill try a wax lube from now on.

biff55

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

i use Nut Lub

stop w*nking over your bike , buy a razz mag like everyone else.

Northwind

Take chain off bike, throw into tub of paraffin or white spirit, shake shake soak shake.

Hang chain up to dry for as long as you can be bothered, apply chainlube of choice

Refit to bike.

Takes about 3 minutes all in and it doesn't get cleaner or cheaper. If you clean your chain to the nth degree on the bike, or use an expensive chain cleaner device, if you then throw it into a tub of paraffin you can pretty much guarantee more crap will come out of the chain.

Quirrel

Do people still clean their chains in petrol then put it in a tin of grease and warm it up, then hang it up to drip off or are those days now over?

Tinca

I remove a dirty chain, pop it into my ultrasonic bath along with petrol, zap it for about 10 mins while i clean the rest of the bike, dry it, re-fit, lube done, good as new. The ultrasonic gets rid of all the crap. I use the ultrasonic at work to clear out nozzles that are about 62 microns, so a chain is easy work for it