I am a bad Bike owner

flateric
flateric Posts: 201
edited January 2011 in Commuting chat
I own 3 bikes, i thought after a prolonged rest following a persistant viral chest infection i would ride to work tomnorrow.

Unfortunalty due to my own neglect, my rides are in a very sorry state.

Cant ride the road bike, took the rack off after it snapped off and sent the pannier bag
bag into the back wheel, found buckled wheel. This was months ago, and i still havent fixed it!!

Hybrid, well its still in bits all over the garage floor waiting for me to bodge it back together!!

So i think the trusty MTB will be fine, but no!! rusted up, yes RUSTED flippin chain!!!! It hasnt been that long :(
Bike one Dawes Acoma (heavily modified)
Bike two (trek) Lemond Etape (dusty and not ridden much)
Bike Three Claude Butler chinook, (freebee from
Freecycle, Being stripped and rebuilt
(is 3 too many bikes)

Comments

  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 61,165
    If you're that stuck, could you stick one of the decent chains on the MTB??
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    WD40 on the MTB chain, then some proper lube.
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • PresumingEd
    PresumingEd Posts: 82
    I found the chain on my commuter road bike "rusted" solid the other day but after cleaning it (with a Muc Off chain cleaner) and luibing it I found it worked fine.

    I think that the "rust"was actually just a combination of grit, ice, snow and the useful shit you pick up of roads. Not sure if this will the case for you but if you just force the chain round a bit it may come lose enough to clean and lube; as Undercover Elephant says, WD40 shoul help with that
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    You can clean off surface rust, it probably looks worse than it is.
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • hatbeard
    hatbeard Posts: 1,087
    sounds like it's time to buy another bike... :lol:
    Hat + Beard
  • mudcovered
    mudcovered Posts: 725
    Initialised wrote:
    You can clean off surface rust, it probably looks worse than it is.
    Almost certainly. I've not had any problems since I cleaned what looked like a really nastily seized and rusted chain on my CX bike since I didn't have time to do any post ride maintenance last time it was used in the wet :(

    Process I followed was.

    1. Wipe over rusted chain to clear surface rust.
    2. Apply generous amounts of chain lube to top and bottom of all links.
    3. Work lube into chain links by back pedalling (double checking for stuck links)
    4. Wipe chain again to clear excess lube and to ensure a thin coating of lube on the outside links.

    I normally prefer to avoid this issue by doing some post ride chain cleanup as follows:

    1. Rinse excess mud/crud off chain with water (only if off road riding)
    2. Wipe of remaining dirt and surface water with cloth
    3. Lube all links.
    4. Work lube into chain and wipe with cloth.

    This normally avoids the rust build up in the first place.

    Mike
  • flateric
    flateric Posts: 201
    I actually favour dunking whole chain in white spirit overnight and then oiling well the next day.

    Said chain is now two links shorter (oops)

    hope that wont make a lot of difference.
    Bike one Dawes Acoma (heavily modified)
    Bike two (trek) Lemond Etape (dusty and not ridden much)
    Bike Three Claude Butler chinook, (freebee from
    Freecycle, Being stripped and rebuilt
    (is 3 too many bikes)
  • Libraio
    Libraio Posts: 181
    What is this 'chain'you guys are on about? My Gates one never rusts... :)
    The Commuter: 2009 Trek District
    The John Deere: 2011 Van Dessel WTF
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    Libraio wrote:
    What is this 'chain'you guys are on about? My Gates one never rusts... :)

    Yeh but that 200lb rear wheel also prevents you riding anywhere :P

    :lol:
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    Libraio wrote:
    What is this 'chain'you guys are on about? My Gates one never rusts... :)

    Good deity it's nice ain't it! Please excuse a Simpsons moment - HaHa!
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • Libraio
    Libraio Posts: 181
    SimonAH wrote:
    Libraio wrote:
    What is this 'chain'you guys are on about? My Gates one never rusts... :)

    Good deity it's nice ain't it! Please excuse a Simpsons moment - HaHa!

    It realy is very nice, been riding through fresh snow, slush, mud and only cleaned the bike this weekend after months of neglect and it doesn't need anything done to it. Neither does the Alfine hub. If only the hub didn't way so much. It's good training though :)
    The Commuter: 2009 Trek District
    The John Deere: 2011 Van Dessel WTF

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