Chain Cleaning

Initialised

drlodge wrote:

Best chain cleaning method is one that gets it reasonably clean in the minimal amount of time. Seriously, life's too short and chain's aren't expensive in the big scheme of things. Quick clean, lube, and go ride.

Wax is for candles.

Waxing is much simpler than clean/lube methods and keeps the chain off the bike so you can clean it properly. Once you've done the first clean all you have to do is take it off and drop it in the wax again, simmer for 15 minutes, get called strange by those who are yet to come around to your way of thinking, remove from wax.

rower63

Initialised wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Best chain cleaning method is one that gets it reasonably clean in the minimal amount of time. Seriously, life's too short and chain's aren't expensive in the big scheme of things. Quick clean, lube, and go ride.

Wax is for candles.

Waxing is much simpler than clean/lube methods and keeps the chain off the bike so you can clean it properly. Once you've done the first clean all you have to do is take it off and drop it in the wax again, simmer for 15 minutes, get called strange by those who are yet to come around to your way of thinking, remove from wax.

and once finished, your legs stay smooth as silk for days!

meanredspider

Is wax actually a good lubricant? I can't think of where it's used as such. If you really wanted to ensure the chain is lubricated, an oil bath might be a good idea followed by a good wipe down. I'd imagine an automotive gear oil (if you can put up with the smell) would work pretty well.

If you want to be really anal, you could treat the outer links with some anti-dirt treatment like the stuff designed to keep dirt and brake dust off car alloys. When I used to be a factory engineering manager, we used Teflon-coated chain for conveyor drives.

elbowloh

meanredspider wrote:

Is wax actually a good lubricant? I can't think of where it's used as such. If you really wanted to ensure the chain is lubricated, an oil bath might be a good idea followed by a good wipe down. I'd imagine an automotive gear oil (if you can put up with the smell) would work pretty well.

If you want to be really anal, you could treat the outer links with some anti-dirt treatment like the stuff designed to keep dirt and brake dust off car alloys. When I used to be a factory engineering manager, we used Teflon-coated chain for conveyor drives.

Well, it worked for C3PO.

drlodge

Initialised wrote:

Waxing is much simpler than clean/lube methods and keeps the chain off the bike so you can clean it properly. Once you've done the first clean all you have to do is take it off and drop it in the wax again, simmer for 15 minutes, get called strange by those who are yet to come around to your way of thinking, remove from wax.

Waxing sounds like a load of faff compared to a quick wipe and re-lube that takes me 5 minutes :roll:

veronese68

You used to be able to buy motorcycle chain lube that came in a kind of frying pan. It was probably some sort of grease, maybe with added graphite as it was black. You'd stick it on the hob to warm until it became liquid then deep fry your chain for a while. Fish the chain out with a bit of coat hanger and hang it above the pan, then wipe off any excess and re-fit it.
Like this:

tgotb

coriordan wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

It depends what/where you're riding. I experimented (through laziness) with cleaning the chain of my cross bike less than once per ride during the muddy part of last season, and it stopped working and pulled the rear mech off. If I'm going to have to clean it anyway, I might aswell try to do a decent job.

If only the road bike was given such attention....just need to put the saddle and guards back on (I stole it as its so comfy) then you can have it back!

If you really like the saddle, check out Planet X; they're virtually giving them away...

Manc33

Will paraffin / diesel / white spirit dissolve plastic? Might just bung paraffin in my CM5.2. Thing is it leaks and its probably less hassle just taking the chain off and doing it in a glass jar.

How long would a chain last if it had zero lubricant? It would squeak like hell. I guess it would get hot as well.

greg66_tri_v2.0

MonkeyMonster wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

One other question: What are you guys doing with your used paraffin/white spirit?

Sell to boffin for one of his cocktails...

Yeah, but only if you know he will be entertaining guests. Otherwise it's a real waste of the good stuff.

And back to chains.

A task that is all about effort vs reward. Up to v recently I ran Campag chain with their special connecting link which was a gigantic pita to remove and refit. So I "cleaned" in situ. First I tried the green plastic chain cleaner machine that you fill with solvent and lock part of the chain into. Not bad, but it fires a spray of oily chain dirt everywhere, so it went in the bin.

Next was the J cloth soaked in degreaser vigorously rubbed along the chain whilst back pedalled. 90% of the result for 20% of the effort. Win.

Trouble is, either way, if you hold the chain up to your ear and move it laterally, you can hear the tiny pieces of grit grinding away. Short of high pressure blasting, I doubt those are coming out.

Now I've started using quick links, so I might try something more thorough to see how it compares.

It is true though that a well cleaned chain plus removing the accumulumated black ear wax from the jockey wheels (the mouse squeaking is those, btw) is worth a sprocket on the rear.

Oh, and the waste liquids go down the drain. Water recycling plants get complacent if you don't test them hard from time to time.

rower63

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

...Trouble is, either way, if you hold the chain up to your ear and move it laterally, you can hear the tiny pieces of grit grinding away. Short of high pressure blasting, I doubt those are coming out

that's the point of the u/s cleaner. the black smoke that emerges is that stuff, and when you do the hearing test afterwards, the gritty sound and feel is gone.

rower63

Manc33 wrote:

Will paraffin / diesel / white spirit dissolve plastic? Might just bung paraffin in my CM5.2. Thing is it leaks and its probably less hassle just taking the chain off and doing it in a glass jar.

How long would a chain last if it had zero lubricant? It would squeak like hell. I guess it would get hot as well.

those liquids will probably dissolve latex and some rubbers, but they get supplied in plastic containers, so hard plastics are fine.

a chain without lubricant will as you say squeak badly, might get hot but would go rusty the moment it rains.

ugo.santalucia

For deep cleaning of quartz glasses for optical spectroscopy we used persulphuric acid... made in situ from concentrated sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide... for the ultimate chain cleaning you might want to give it a go... it can explode as you make it, so be careful...

greg66_tri_v2.0

rower63 wrote:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

...Trouble is, either way, if you hold the chain up to your ear and move it laterally, you can hear the tiny pieces of grit grinding away. Short of high pressure blasting, I doubt those are coming out

that's the point of the u/s cleaner. the black smoke that emerges is that stuff, and when you do the hearing test afterwards, the gritty sound and feel is gone.

I've just toddled off to read the link in your OP.

Despite the fact that we are holiday and ergo haemorrhaging money faster than Itboffin in a Castelli shop, I feel a visit to a Maplin coming on. Urgently. Ta for this!

itboffin

Surely that would require you to actually ride your bike. I might also be on holiday, in the place that just about has enough booze to satisfy my needs ...for one day.

First.Aspect

A chain wears out because the pins creep. You can slow this down by putting less force through the chain and never chaning gear.

The gritty noise is between a spacer and the pin, but the spacer isn't functioning as a bearing or a bushing - all its there for is to hold the plates of the chain apart and to rest against the cogs. I don't think that the spacer moves in relation to anything whilst the chain bends. So, is grit in there really doing any damage?

If you are really preoccupied by this issue, the best solution by far is to construct a chain entirely out of quick links. That way after every ride you can deconstruct the chain and clean each part with unicorn tears using a cotton bud.

dhope

Gave the Condor a good fettle yesterday including removing and cleaning the chain, blasting it with the pressure washer while doing the patio and a liberal application of lube (oooer, fnar etc.)

Lovely silent ride in. I now want an ultrasonic cleaner because there was still visible muck, and I like geeky things.

It's probably overkill for a 1/8" track chain though...

vermin

I've been missing Greg T's offbeat humour, but this is the funniest thread I've read on here in months/years.

Initialised

I've been pondering the benefits of high pressure steam cleaning. I think I can adapt a cappuccino machine or a wallpaper stripper to do the job.

Cycloslalomeur

First Aspect wrote:

A chain wears out because the pins creep. You can slow this down by putting less force through the chain and never chaning gear.

The gritty noise is between a spacer and the pin, but the spacer isn't functioning as a bearing or a bushing - all its there for is to hold the plates of the chain apart and to rest against the cogs. I don't think that the spacer moves in relation to anything whilst the chain bends. So, is grit in there really doing any damage?

If you are really preoccupied by this issue, the best solution by far is to construct a chain entirely out of quick links. That way after every ride you can deconstruct the chain and clean each part with unicorn tears using a cotton bud.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

Ian.B

rower63 wrote:

In case anyone's interested, I've posted up on my site my method for cleaning the drivechain on my bikes. I'm sure many of you already do something like this.

TLDNR version: remove chain, two shakes in white-spirit, 2 x 3 mins in ultrasonic cleaner, rinse, dry, lubricate, re-attach. Similar for cassette.

http://www.slidingseat.net/cycling/cycling.html#chainclean

As an aside, interesting to see that you are successfully running a 10sp missing link on your 11sp chain - the lack of a re-usable 11sp link has been irking me for some time and I shall fit a 10sp one right away - thanks for the tip!

drlodge

The 11-sp non-reusuable missing links are actually reusable.

Ian.B

drlodge wrote:

The 11-sp non-reusuable missing links are actually reusable.

But can you get it off without the special pliers? I can't, whereas the 10sp re-usable ones can be undone by hand.

drlodge

Ian.B wrote:

drlodge wrote:

The 11-sp non-reusuable missing links are actually reusable.

But can you get it off without the special pliers? I can't, whereas the 10sp re-usable ones can be undone by hand.

No, I need a tool to get mine off.

roger_merriman

Well riding around and on the beaches in Guersey do seem to have cleaned the chain/cassette/chainrings. It also scoured out the oil that clearly the rear disk had on it, disk cleaner didn't touch it, but it's now back to normal if rather noiser but hopefully that will pass.

rower63

drlodge wrote:

Ian.B wrote:

drlodge wrote:

The 11-sp non-reusuable missing links are actually reusable.

But can you get it off without the special pliers? I can't, whereas the 10sp re-usable ones can be undone by hand.

No, I need a tool to get mine off.

I was going to ask the same question - I'll stick with the 10 version as it's trivial to undo by hand, and still going fine after many cleans and over 1,000 miles of use.

rick_chasey

Spray with degreaser. Wait 5mins/2hrs depending on how knackered.

Add lubricant.

Takes about 5 mins of actual effort

Life is too short. I like cycling, not bikes.

rjsterry

rower63 wrote:

I re-use the white spirit as many times as I can, and when I think one particular container is finally contaminated with too much dissolved lube, I use it for lighting the BBQ.

Must add a certain je ne sais quoin to the flavour. Mmmmmm, I can almost taste the hydrocarbons

elbowloh

rower63 wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Ian.B wrote:

drlodge wrote:

The 11-sp non-reusuable missing links are actually reusable.

But can you get it off without the special pliers? I can't, whereas the 10sp re-usable ones can be undone by hand.

No, I need a tool to get mine off.

I was going to ask the same question - I'll stick with the 10 version as it's trivial to undo by hand, and still going fine after many cleans and over 1,000 miles of use.

For the life of me, I cannot undo my 10sp quick link by hand.

rower63

elbowloh wrote:

For the life of me, I cannot undo my 10sp quick link by hand.

trick with the KMC ones is to lightly squeeze the plates together as you push the pins towards each other. They have a special extra recess which makes it difficult otherwise.

elbowloh

rower63 wrote:

elbowloh wrote:

For the life of me, I cannot undo my 10sp quick link by hand.

trick with the KMC ones is to lightly squeeze the plates together as you push the pins towards each other. They have a special extra recess which makes it difficult otherwise.

Yep, I've tried that and....nothing apart from sore fingers after many, many attempts.