Cleaning the chain...

[Cassie]

If very muddy - firts give a rinse down witht he hosepipe...THEN use that tool....you'll have better success that way.

[Tieffels]

Just to throw a spanner in the works:

 

During way student days the sum total of my chain management strategy was to chuck on more squirt every now and again.. Spray off the muck every now and again with a hosepipe. I'm not a squirt zealot but it keeps the chain looking clean, if nothing else.

 

Recently I started going things the "right" way: paraffin and chain in bottle and shake and soak, lube with squirt thereafter. I'm convinced my chain now makes more noise and sooner after every lube than before.

 

My conclusion is that the degreaser option is too aggressive and flushed out the residual oil hidden where it actually is required to work, so you have to relube the chain REALLY well afterwards with oil, which causes a mess which makes chain wear worse..

 

These day I lube with oil till I think I have the lubrication back inside the chain and then use squirt to keep up appearances..

[Trance Dance]

Witkop said it, stop using white lightning and squirt or whatever crap, and switch to rock n roll gold - your chain will be clean from then on!!

[FLYIT]

If I remove the chain to clean it does 'wear direction' matter? Usually a chain and cassette wear together, so will taking a chain off and putting it back on, possibly not in the same direction it was on previously make a difference?

I REMOVE MY CHAIN TO WASH AND FIND THAT IF I DO NOT PUT IT BACK IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS IT CAME OFF THEN I JUMPS ON THE CASSETTE.

[chris_w_65]

I REMOVE MY CHAIN TO WASH AND FIND THAT IF I DO NOT PUT IT BACK IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS IT CAME OFF THEN I JUMPS ON THE CASSETTE.

 

I put it on backwards once and when I pedaled the bike went backwards

[TNT1]

I put it on backwards once and when I pedaled the bike went backwards

 

Happened to me once as well. To be honest, it made me slightly faster, so I left it in backwards trim.

[Caerus]

Sorry for asking this- but I'm outa ideas...

 

I've been MTB'ing for 4 years now, and before that BMXing for 7 years. In all this time i have not found an easy and effective way of cleaing my (the bike's) chain.

 

The most effective so far was an old toothbrush and good old Sunlite liquid, but this takes forever. When i bought my latest steed, i decided to get a Park Tool chain cleaner system- set me back R600. The first few times i was impressed, but after a seriously muddy day at Fountains the chain cleaner is not that effective any more...

 

What do you use? What is bad for the chain? What about high pressure hose?

 

Thanks

 

Try cleaning the rear cassette and front chainrings before you use the Park Tool cleaner, use clean green or parrafin(make sure you dont just pour left over parrafin down the drain, the enviroment does not take to it kindly, it can be re-used many times)

 

Keep it clean after every ride and it will also prolong the life of your chain Just to add, also give the chain a bit of a wash before using the Park Tool cleaner, does help a lot

Edited May 10, 2011 by Caerus

[Christopher Brunsdon]

I got an elchepo chain scrubber device and the secret is hot water with your degreaser but as mentioned before, brush mud off first. I find the device is great for cleaning a chain that see mostly tar or one that youve taken off, scrubbed it hard and put back on again. I find its most effective in cleaning on the inside plates as bristle brushes don't work that well here.

 

Personally I would only recommend the chain cleaner device if your running wet lube like me as I'm not convinced you need it for a dry lube chain.

 

I also found that too much degreasing caused problems and resulted in a noisy chain - when I now do a paraffin bath I patiently relube each link and only ride the next day.

[gwhite]

I got an elchepo chain scrubber device and the secret is hot water with your degreaser but as mentioned before, brush mud off first. I find the device is great for cleaning a chain that see mostly tar or one that youve taken off, scrubbed it hard and put back on again. I find its most effective in cleaning on the inside plates as bristle brushes don't work that well here.

 

Personally I would only recommend the chain cleaner device if your running wet lube like me as I'm not convinced you need it for a dry lube chain.

 

I also found that too much degreasing caused problems and resulted in a noisy chain - when I now do a paraffin bath I patiently relube each link and only ride the next day.

 

With regards to using paraffin, you mentioned the word bath so I assume that one soaks the chain in the paraffin? Sorry new to using paraffin and just not sure how much one should use, with hot or cold water? Thanks

[SwissVan]

With regards to using paraffin, you mentioned the word bath so I assume that one soaks the chain in the paraffin? Sorry new to using paraffin and just not sure how much one should use, with hot or cold water? Thanks

 

Use an old tupperware container with a lid that can close and seal i.e. lunch box (just not the one your laatjies going take to school on Monday...) 2 containers are better than one.

Put chain in, pour enough parrafin in to cover the chain, fit lid, make sure lid is closed properly, shake, rattle and roll, leave for a few minutes to allow the dirty crap to settle on the bottom, remove chain and place in second container, pour out old parrafin slowly into second container with chain, make sure the dirty crap stays behind and does not escape into second conatiner*, close lid on second container, repeat shake rattle, roll and settling procedure.

 

*Or you can simply use clean parrafin instead of recycling the old stuff

 

Once the parrafin washing is done rinse off untill clean in hot water / and a little dishwasher soap, final rinse with water and then dry

 

Also see this thread, look for JB's post #21 for more info

 

http://www.thehubsa....ad/page__st__16

Edited August 10, 2012 by SwissVan

[Li Mu Bai]

My general post ride procedure is as follows:

wash the chain in a BBB chainscrubber for 60 crank turns (50% clean green, 50% water mix)

Clean chainrings, sprockets and jockey wheels with old toothbrush dipped in parafin as needed (parafin stays in sealed jar for next wash)

works fairly well.

 

In the past I used to take the chain off (using a powerlink), and leave it in a engine degreaser for several minutes (with a few shakes and stirs). What I found was the engine cleaner was just too efficient and really cleaned out every last bit of lube deep within the chain. Relubing after just didnt get back in deep enough into the chain. The chain then got dry quickly and wore out much quicker. I find now that if the chain isnt cleaned completely perfectly, it operates better and for longer.

One thing though, I clean it almost after each ride, and wash the bike down completely. keeps all parts in ship-shape, ready to race, and keeps me aware of possible problems (frame chips/craks if any) If you leave yourr chain for a month or few without cleaning it, you are asking for a bigger job on your hands.

On my road bike, I wash and clean the bike less frequently, maybe once every 2nd week, the chain gets black with road grime, but this is obviously not as hectic as mud/sand/grit on your average 2-3 hour mtb ride, where the 'grinding paste' that forms on the chain wears it out.