MTB Chains - School of Thought

[Dirtbreath]

Chains wear out due to wear and tear on the rivets from general friction and dirt that has entered the inside of the chain. Right?

 

My question is, is it better to invest in better chain whcih ideally should last longer or use something cheaper and accept that you will be changing chains more often than underpants (once a month you know).

 

Are more expensive chains made better, ie the tolerances at the rollers better to stop dirt getting in or are they essentially the same size just shinier and lighter?

 

[lowracer]

and while we are at it ... in the olden days, people suposedly used to heat paraffin wax in a tin, and put the chain in that. presumably by doing that, it filled the area where dirt normally enters, so makes it stay cleaner for longer

 

question, it it worthwhile doing it?

question, it it worthwhile doing it on a mtb?

[Slowbee]

Lowracer .. I know very little - but surely with all the wax, the chain gets dirty easier and will need more cleaning ? (also different designs on chains?)

[bustthesickness]

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/chain-care.html

 

Some pretty cool info there.

 

For me, I try to keep my chains very clean. After each ride it gets removed [via the handy snap link] and soaked, scrubbed, run through a chain cleaning device, dried and lubed. The rest of the bike normally stays filthy!

 

Chain wear is directly linked to dirt. A good analogy is that the chain inside a car's crank case never wears or stretches. It gets to stay clean and well lubed.

 

[KevinV]

I use two chains, rotating every 200km or so. The old one comes off, goes in an old water bottle with engine cleaner and very hot water, shake, shake, rinse. Other chain on for next ride or three. Works for me.

[turtlek]

I use two chains' date=' rotating every 200km or so. The old one comes off, goes in an old water bottle with engine cleaner and very hot water, shake, shake, rinse. Other chain on for next ride or three. Works for me.[/quote']

 

 

 

stop wasting your time i have had the same chain on my MTB for close on 5000km not a skipped gear yet oh ya those 5000km are since october i use two different sets of wheels though and my cassettes are always spotless when i start a ride

 

 

 

you are just doing too much pt with having 2 chains

[NotSoBigBen]

I guess it's PT he's happy to do tortoise ........... and it works for him

[turtlek]

true BB but i tried it and to be honest after the second time i changed my chain i said to hell with it hahahaha

[NotSoBigBen]

true BB but i tried it and to be honest after the second time i changed my chain i said to hell with it hahahaha

 

Lazy chop

[KevinV]

I guess it's PT he's happy to do tortoise ........... and it works for him

It was recommended by a friend, and seeing that it comes off to be cleaned anyway it's not really PT. Using an old bottle to clean it works like a charm, got a chain cleaner but seldom use it.

[turtlek]

true BB but i tried it and to be honest after the second time i changed my chain i said to hell with it hahahaha

 

?

 

Lazy chop

 

 

 

i just ride BB i dont waste my time with worrying about that stuff!!!

[bustthesickness]

 

I use two chains' date=' rotating every 200km or so. The old one comes off, goes in an old water bottle with engine cleaner and very hot water, shake, shake, rinse. Other chain on for next ride or three. Works for me.[/quote']

 

 

 

stop wasting your time i have had the same chain on my MTB for close on 5000km not a skipped gear yet oh ya those 5000km are since october i use two different sets of wheels though and my cassettes are always spotless when i start a ride

 

 

 

you are just doing too much pt with having 2 chains

turtlek, have you checked the chain's stretch with a chain tool? If the chain is stretched over 5000km [which it will be], and you havnt replaced it, then your cassette and blades will have worn along with it. If this is the case, then when you do put on a new chain, you'll have all sorts of problems like misshifts, chain skipping etc. This is what happened to me and it turned out to be a very costly mistake ending up with me replacing the chain, cassette, blades and jockey wheels.

 

Best advice someone ever gave me was to keep checking your chain with a decent chain stretch checker, and replace it often.

 

Also, regarding KevinV's water bottle soaking idea, very cool, but I'd still recommend getting a proper chain cleaning machine/device. I soak my chains, and a lot of grime comes off, but the amount that comes out after running it through my Barbeiri chain cleaner is amazing.

 

anyway, thats my opinion, use it dont use it. cheers

 

[Climate]

BustTheSickness is absolutely right TurtleK ... typically, a chain measuring tool will have 2 tolerances indicated. 0.75 stretch indicates that you need to change your chain, but your cluster will be okay. But once you get to 1.0 stretch, you'll need to change both chain & cluster. I try to keep my chains (Road & MTB) clean, but the MTB requires far more regular attention (with a Barbieri chain-cleaner) ... I have over 19 000 km on my Road chain and cluster (Campag) and the chain is not yet at 0.75. I've got less than 6000 km on my MTB and am on my 3rd chain already!!!

[FasterThanFast]

Does anyone know of a good Chain-cleaning-recovery drink?

other than  "Chain-Recover" its quite good, the Strawberry one..

 

8 years ago, we just rode our bike, more and more and more...

 

Now all the bits and rituals that goes with it, just makes one tired, even before the ride... cause i swear some of you oaks, while on your ride, thinks about how you will be cleaning it after...

 

THERE IS HELP...GET IT!!!! GET IT FAST!!!

[turtlek]

ok people i do regularly check the chain and from irst hand experience those chain checking tools are the biggest hogwash anybody could sell to you i use a good old steel ruler and well to be honest the chain has not been stretched by ten percent yet!!!!!

 

 

 

my road bikes chain is on its last legs now after having it for close on 25000km and by no means do i ride easy i race in the elite bunch and train on average 28hours a week

 

 

 

just do a simple check guys go and use your chain checker and then go find and old school steel ruler and measure your chain that way i promise you that your trusty chain tool is giving you an inaccuracy measure of at least 50percent if not more!!!!!!

[Climate]

Then you're not using the tool correctly TurtleK ... remember to apply tension to the chain when measuring. I also used an inch ruler for years (many of them) and I reckon I've been using tools about as long as you've been riding (I know your age - heh, heh).