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Chain maintenance

neilmccaneilmcca Posts: 8
edited November 2010 in MTB workshop & tech
Hello all,

i guess this could be a silly question, but i'm a noobie to this game, :lol:
this week i got my new bike (Boardman MTB sport),
i'm quite happy with the bike, but i'm not sure if it's been set up properly by the guys at Halfords,
when i rotate the crankarm anti-clockwise, there seems to be quite a bit of resistance,
my other bike is a Marin, when i give the crank on that a shove, it will do several rotations before slowing to a halt,
on the Boardman, i'll give it a shove, and i'll be lucky if it goes around half a rotation,
i held the chain away from the chain rings, and it spins freely,
there seems to nothing at the rear - derailleur / cassette which could be impeding it,
i'm guessing it might be the chain, i've oiled it, but not much of an improvement,
but prior to oiling it, the surface of the chain seemed quite "tacky", like there was some sort of residue on it (but not oil), i'm getting a proper chain cleaner kit soon,
but seeing as it's a brand spanking new bike, i'm not sure if it could be the chain which is causing the resistance,
anyone got any ideas what the problem could be ?

Thanks in advance,

Neil.

Posts

  • bennett_346bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    It won't be the chain, if its a brand new bike it'll just be the break in process, when i got mine it took a few weeks for the cranks to spin properly freely. I think its just the freehub breaking in.
  • neilmccaneilmcca Posts: 8
    Thanks a lot for the reply,
    never knew what a freehub was until i googled it :oops:
    but it sounds like your right,

    cheers,

    Neil.
  • cooldadcooldad Posts: 32,599
    The 'tacky' stuff on the chain is the lube it leaves the factory with. It's a million times better than anything you will add, so leave it on as long as you can. Just give the chain a wipe after using it to remove any grit on the surface.
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  • bails87bails87 Posts: 12,998
    What are you 'oiling' the chain with BTW? But I'd wipe the outside of the chain with a WD40 covered rag, to stop the sticky factory lube attracting dirt.
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  • bennett_346bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    bails87 wrote:
    What are you 'oiling' the chain with BTW? But I'd wipe the outside of the chain with a WD40 covered rag, to stop the sticky factory lube attracting dirt.
    As above, it's factory lube and it's excellent, but it doesn't need to cover half of what it does so wipe the side plates clean of it.

    Hope this helps
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