Tips for chain cleaning

I never seem to get my chain clean enough.
So Id like to hear different ways to clean a chain.

thanks

Polly wrote:
I never seem to get my chain clean enough.
So Id like to hear different ways to clean a chain.

thanks

Use a quick link like Sram powerlink or the Whipperman one and take the
chain off the bike drop it in a jug with some degreaser and shake well.
Rinse and repeat. Hang to dry.

Though there is such thing as clean enough. I just apply lube to my mtb
chains and wipe off the excess taking some of the dirt with it. Don't
obsess...ride.

Mike - I suppose you could "floss" it with a pipe cleaner. ;^)

Polly wrote:
I never seem to get my chain clean enough.
So Id like to hear different ways to clean a chain.

thanks

Polly -

I'm sure others will reply with good advice, but if you'd rather not
wait, you might try searching rec.bicycles.tech. Perhaps no subject
has been discussed in more detail than chain cleaning.

Cheers.

Michael Dart wrote:

Polly wrote:

I never seem to get my chain clean enough.
So Id like to hear different ways to clean a chain.

Mike - I suppose you could "floss" it with a pipe cleaner. ;^)

Don't laugh -- a friend of mine actually does this.

Matt O.

Polly wrote:

I never seem to get my chain clean enough.
So Id like to hear different ways to clean a chain.

Don't worry if the outside of the chain isn't shiny clean. What matters
is keeping dirt and grit from getting inside the chain where you can't
see it.

The only really effective way to clean a chain is to remove it, and
agitate it in a solvent such as mineral spirits. Then allow it to dry
completely, and lubricate with oil.

See:
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8d.2.html

Art Harris

"Art Harris" wrote: (clip) Then allow it to dry completely, and lubricate
with oil. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This comes from my motorcycling days: A good way to accomplish the above
(dry and lubricate) is to immerse the chain in oil in a coffee can. The
heat it gently on the stove. The heat will drive off the solvent from
inside the links. If you then let it cool, the oil will be sucked into the
interior spaces in the chain (or you could say DRIVEN in, by atmospheric
pressure.

On my motorcycles, I used to use paraffin and graphite instead of oil,
heated to melting in the coffee can. After cooling, the paraffin inside the
links tends to stay there, and the part on the outside has little tendency
to collect dirt.

this sounds nutty but i have a 7000 mile chain with less
than .3/16" 'stretch'.

take the bike outside.
squirt the chain with engine degreaser.
let it sit a little.
use high pressure water hose to blast through the links as
you pedal backwards by hand.
do this for a minute or so.
spin and shake water off.
wipe chain with rag.
apply any lubricant [currently i use wd 40, i don;t care, it works,
though i have to reapply it maybe every 100 miles, big deal. also, my
procedure is so short, i can clean the chain
every 200 miles or so anyway so it doesn;t matter how long it lasts.]
wipe excess lube off with rag.
done.

wle.

On 17 May 2005 18:55:00 -0700, "wle"
wrote:

this sounds nutty but i have a 7000 mile chain with less
than .3/16" 'stretch'.

[snip]

wle.

Dear WLE,

Possibly that 3/16ths of an inch wear was a typo?

If not, your sprockets have probably been damaged enough to
skip badly if you mount a new chain--that's three times the
normal replacement point.

The usual recommendation is to replace the chain at 1/16th
inch in 12 inches, about 0.5% elongation (1/192):

"If the rivet is less than 1/16" past the mark, all is
well."

"If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, you should replace the
chain, but the sprockets are probably undamaged."

"If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too
long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be
too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point,
without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip,
but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much
faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear
state of the sprockets."

"If the rivet is past the 1/8" mark, a new chain will almost
certainly skip on the worn sprockets, especially the smaller
ones."

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

Carl Fogel

probably should have typed 0.3/16ths.

i did put the point in, but like this .3/16.

at 3/16ths wear, i doubt anything would work.

wle.

"JH" wrote:

Polly wrote:
I never seem to get my chain clean enough.
So Id like to hear different ways to clean a chain.

thanks

Polly -

I'm sure others will reply with good advice, but if you'd rather not
wait, you might try searching rec.bicycles.tech. Perhaps no subject
has been discussed in more detail than chain cleaning.

Cheers.


And . . . on May 11th . . . Polly posted the same question. Same
e-mail address for both of 'em....

Does . . . uh . . . that make Polly a . . . troll??

Can't we all just talk about chain *lube* instead?