Serious question.........what should I put on my chain?

Northwind

cooldad wrote:

So immersing in solvent to clean the outside is a bad idea, unless you lube the chain properly again.

Is that not stating the obvious a bit?

gtd.

just clean an oil the Sheldon Brown way...

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

cooldad

Northwind wrote:

cooldad wrote:

So immersing in solvent to clean the outside is a bad idea, unless you lube the chain properly again.

Is that not stating the obvious a bit?

Sometimes one has to be.

Northwind

Good point

cooldad

Hence the use of the word 'properly'.

Holyzeus

Well i gave Squirt a 3rd try at a wet Thetford, it did very well just a liitle moan after a unavoidable axle deep puddle.
Question is do i now thoughly degrease/clean the drivetrain like i normally would have to with wet lube or can i get away with a wipe and re-lube?

cooldad

A wipe and relube.

Holyzeus

Ta, we'll see how it goes

Danny-T

The problem I've found with dry lube (haven't tried squirt, tempted) is that on a particularly long, wet and gritty ride (or one deep muddy puddle) the chain needs re-lubing during the ride. But if squirt is supposed to be applied the night before I'm guessing a top-up mid-ride won't do you any favours. Or is this just not a problem for a well squirt-ed chain?

cooldad

Seems to work fine.

Kaise

With the advent of the powerlink et al, i have two chains a cycle (excuse the pun)

one chain is kept in 40wt castrol gtx and then prior to fitting is hung over the jar to remove the residue and then fitted to the bike.

Degreasing is done with Gunk

lesz42

er, i use this in the winter( wet ) months, seems to work well for me, and i spray it on the day before OR after i have washed the bike

http://www.screwfix.com/p/3-in-1-oil-pro-ptfe-lubricant-400ml/84222


cheap, lasts well, not used it yet in the dry yet, guess a gooey mess


clean the chain about every 8 rides in the winter if i can remember

Hairylegs66

Rock N' Roll Gold works for me; just put it on the night before and make sure the chain is clean before you reapply.

King_Pin_Rich

What are people's thoughts on degreasing a brand new chain and applying a dry lube such as white lightining 'CleanRide' ? I find the factory grease on some chains really sticky which inevitablity attracts dirt.

Northwind

Aye, I degrease my KMC chains and lube them with a proper lube before they get used... The grease they come in is incredibly sticky, I think it's more of a packaging/rust prevention grease than a chain lube tbh. Absolutely hopeless in the wet.

<edit- I should have mentioned, I learned this by having a brand new X9 chain destroy itself in 10 minutes of heroic chainsuck. KMC replaced the chain as soon as I explained the situation... So apparently, not just me that thinks this>

stubs

Got given a bottle of Rock n Roll blue stuff. Been very wet and gritty since september in the north west and so far I am quite impressed though it does need a lot of preparation to do it right. Chain needs to be spotless and grease free, lube needs applying the day before in the warm. Luckily my shed has a heater and I hang the lubed chain over it to dry off. Did 24 miles in unbeleivable gloop on Xmas day and no noise or chain suck plus a quick sluice with a watering can and the crud dropped off the chain and sprockets.

Definitely not one for the lube and go ride though as if you dont let it dry its about as much use as WD40.

louthepoo

What's chain suck?

Holyzeus

Its where the chain doesn't come away from the chain ring at the bottom as the ring rotates.
Worn chain, chain rings and real mucky drivetrain can cause it

butcher of bakersfield

Northwind wrote:

<edit- I should have mentioned, I learned this by having a brand new X9 chain destroy itself in 10 minutes of heroic chainsuck. KMC replaced the chain as soon as I explained the situation... So apparently, not just me that thinks this>

Hmmm, I just bought a KMC X9. I did notice that the lube on it was incredibly sticky compared to what I've had in the past, but just assumed they know better than I do...like you do!

Bit concerned now. It's like a mud bath out there.

Anonymous

X10 chain with that super sticky stuff, first time I've tried KMC. No problem in the mud. Still, bike got a clean and did my usual chain cleaner gadget, so probably stripped the gunk now. Normal oil on it now. Also fine.

Just shove on oil and ride.

cooldad

The factory lube is generally better than anything you can add - it gets inside the rollers which is where it's needed.

butcher of bakersfield

Well I had a play in the mud today for about 4 hours with the new KMC chain. It wasn't a mud fest or anything, where you end up with the stuff dripping out of all your orifices, but given the time of year, neither the bike or I came back clean. The chain was still running silent when I got back, so I needn't have worried.

timpop

I agree the KMC factory lube is sticky but it keeps the chain going. I do sometimes experience chain-suck on the first ride but after a good slog around the trails it's running smooth like mayonnaise. When it's filthy I clean and re-lube with the appropriate lube for the conditions which is mostly by personal preference.

angry_bird

I use either progold prolink lube or finish line wet lube depending on which is lying around when I lube the chain.

But today when I washed the bike I decided to use squirt after someone gave me a bottle as present. Going to see how it goes tomorrow at muddy wet cannock.