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chain rust



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 19th 18, 09:31 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Ned Mantei[_2_]
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Posts: 81
Default chain rust

I have an old bike fitted with "spike" winter tires. This is in action
only when there is ice and/or snow on the streets, so where I live about
2 to max. 8 weeks per year. Not much, but the salt solution the city
uses to deal with the ice causes so much rust that every couple of years
the chain needs to be replaced. Lots of oil on the chain doesn't seem to
help much if at all, and now I wonder whether it would pay to rinse off
the salt at the end of every day of use. The bike is stored in an
underground garage including a place with a hose for washing cars, so
icy water wouldn't be a problem. There is also enough heating that the
water should evaporate overnight. Worthwhile? Other possibilities? Just
let it be, and replace the chain every year or two? Advice welcome.

Ned
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  #2  
Old November 19th 18, 09:55 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
AMuzi
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Posts: 13,447
Default chain rust

On 11/19/2018 2:31 PM, Ned Mantei wrote:
I have an old bike fitted with "spike" winter tires. This is
in action only when there is ice and/or snow on the streets,
so where I live about 2 to max. 8 weeks per year. Not much,
but the salt solution the city uses to deal with the ice
causes so much rust that every couple of years the chain
needs to be replaced. Lots of oil on the chain doesn't seem
to help much if at all, and now I wonder whether it would
pay to rinse off the salt at the end of every day of use.
The bike is stored in an underground garage including a
place with a hose for washing cars, so icy water wouldn't be
a problem. There is also enough heating that the water
should evaporate overnight. Worthwhile? Other possibilities?
Just let it be, and replace the chain every year or two?
Advice welcome.

Ned


I just throw the chain out after salt season, haven't found
any better answer.
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...t/AMKEST08.JPG

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971


  #3  
Old November 19th 18, 10:28 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sir Ridesalot
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Posts: 5,270
Default chain rust

On Monday, November 19, 2018 at 3:31:13 PM UTC-5, Ned Mantei wrote:
I have an old bike fitted with "spike" winter tires. This is in action
only when there is ice and/or snow on the streets, so where I live about
2 to max. 8 weeks per year. Not much, but the salt solution the city
uses to deal with the ice causes so much rust that every couple of years
the chain needs to be replaced. Lots of oil on the chain doesn't seem to
help much if at all, and now I wonder whether it would pay to rinse off
the salt at the end of every day of use. The bike is stored in an
underground garage including a place with a hose for washing cars, so
icy water wouldn't be a problem. There is also enough heating that the
water should evaporate overnight. Worthwhile? Other possibilities? Just
let it be, and replace the chain every year or two? Advice welcome.

Ned


Washing the chain and then taking the bicycle out into deep cold can cause all sorts of problems if any water got into the cassette/freewheel body, cable housing for the derailleurs or cable housings for the brakes. Water in any of those can lead to them not functioning i.e. the freehub/freewheeel freewheels when you stop pedaling or the brakes/deralleurs don't work because the cable has frozen to the cable housing somewhere.

I just use an old chain and cassette during salt season and switch them out in springtime when I check the bicycle for other wear and tear.

Cheers
  #4  
Old November 20th 18, 01:50 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B. Slocomb
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Posts: 805
Default chain rust

On Mon, 19 Nov 2018 21:31:10 +0100, Ned Mantei
wrote:

I have an old bike fitted with "spike" winter tires. This is in action
only when there is ice and/or snow on the streets, so where I live about
2 to max. 8 weeks per year. Not much, but the salt solution the city
uses to deal with the ice causes so much rust that every couple of years
the chain needs to be replaced. Lots of oil on the chain doesn't seem to
help much if at all, and now I wonder whether it would pay to rinse off
the salt at the end of every day of use. The bike is stored in an
underground garage including a place with a hose for washing cars, so
icy water wouldn't be a problem. There is also enough heating that the
water should evaporate overnight. Worthwhile? Other possibilities? Just
let it be, and replace the chain every year or two? Advice welcome.

Ned


There are some very adhesive lubes that *might* help but removing the
salt by washing and then re-lubeing the chain might also work. Or just
put on a new chain when the "salt-season" ends and throw it away after
one year.

cheers,

John B.


  #5  
Old November 20th 18, 07:04 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Tosspot[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,563
Default chain rust

On 11/19/18 9:31 PM, Ned Mantei wrote:
I have an old bike fitted with "spike" winter tires. This is in action
only when there is ice and/or snow on the streets, so where I live about
2 to max. 8 weeks per year. Not much, but the salt solution the city
uses to deal with the ice causes so much rust that every couple of years
the chain needs to be replaced. Lots of oil on the chain doesn't seem to
help much if at all, and now I wonder whether it would pay to rinse off
the salt at the end of every day of use. The bike is stored in an
underground garage including a place with a hose for washing cars, so
icy water wouldn't be a problem. There is also enough heating that the
water should evaporate overnight. Worthwhile? Other possibilities? Just
let it be, and replace the chain every year or two? Advice welcome.


If you're sure it won't freeze overnight, this is not a bad idea, and it
will help. Otoh, I subscribe to the idea that in ****e salt/sand winter
commuting, just change the chain every spring.

  #6  
Old November 20th 18, 07:06 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sepp Ruf
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Posts: 454
Default chain rust

John B. slocomb wrote:
On Mon, 19 Nov 2018 21:31:10 +0100, Ned Mantei wrote:


I have an old bike fitted with "spike" winter tires. This is in action
only when there is ice and/or snow on the streets, so where I live about
2 to max. 8 weeks per year. Not much, but the salt solution the city
uses to deal with the ice causes so much rust that every couple of years
the chain needs to be replaced. Lots of oil on the chain doesn't seem to
help much if at all, and now I wonder whether it would pay to rinse off
the salt at the end of every day of use. The bike is stored in an
underground garage including a place with a hose for washing cars, so
icy water wouldn't be a problem. There is also enough heating that the
water should evaporate overnight. Worthwhile? Other possibilities? Just
let it be, and replace the chain every year or two? Advice welcome.


Advice: This is rbt, next time, don't forget to state the chain size, gear
and geometry details you are using so advisors can recommend exotic
modifications.

There are some very adhesive lubes that *might* help but removing the
salt by washing and then re-lubeing the chain might also work. Or just put on a new chain when the "salt-season" ends and throw it away after
one year.


+1.

An oily rag and one cheap KMC chain (RB, even EPT) per year is not that
expensive (considering a BigMac is 6.50 CHF.)
  #7  
Old November 20th 18, 10:01 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Andre Jute[_2_]
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Posts: 10,422
Default chain rust

On Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 6:06:23 AM UTC, Sepp Ruf wrote:

Advice: This is rbt, next time, don't forget to state the chain size, gear
and geometry details you are using so advisors can recommend exotic
modifications.


Actually, Sep, I don't consider my advice exotic at all, just common sense, and on another forum many people have taken it without any of the nastiness that will no doubt follow he

I were Ned, I'd invest in a cheap Shimano Nexus hub gear wheel and a Chainglider. The Chainglider lets nothing in, and inside it there is no need for lube, you just run the chain on its factory lube for its entire life. You can find a description of my experiment to see how far a chain inside a Chainglider could be run on the factory lube he
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=6813.0
Also a photo of the inside of my Chainglider, which has never been cleaned, after 3500km, as a demonstration of how it keeps out almost anything be thrown at it:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index....77889#msg77889

Shimano Nexus hubs already built into wheels, complete with fitting kits, are cheap on German Ebay in the winter when many factories dispose of excess stock of "last year's" wheels. A suitable Chainglider setup is about 20-35 Euro, and inside a Chainglider the cheapest non-nickeled KMC chain can be used; I just use X8-93 because I buy them in bulk when they're on sale at Chainreactioncycles, which happens to be my "local" bike shop (they're hundreds of miles away but they deliver free of charge).

An oily rag and one cheap KMC chain (RB, even EPT) per year is not that
expensive (considering a BigMac is 6.50 CHF.)


A cheap Z series KMC chain is a fiver or so, and I see all the mountain bikers here use them, presumably because they last a long time.

Andre Jute
Clean pants bottoms
  #8  
Old November 20th 18, 11:01 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Ned Mantei[_2_]
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Posts: 81
Default chain rust

On 19-11-18 21:55, AMuzi wrote:

I just throw the chain out after salt season, haven't found any better
answer.
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...t/AMKEST08.JPG


Thanks to you and all the others who answered. The chain I disposed of
two days ago looked very much like the one in your photo. My conclusion
is that just changing the chain every year or two is the way to go.

Ned
  #9  
Old November 20th 18, 03:37 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sir Ridesalot
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Posts: 5,270
Default chain rust

On Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 5:01:39 AM UTC-5, Ned Mantei wrote:
On 19-11-18 21:55, AMuzi wrote:

I just throw the chain out after salt season, haven't found any better
answer.
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...t/AMKEST08.JPG


Thanks to you and all the others who answered. The chain I disposed of
two days ago looked very much like the one in your photo. My conclusion
is that just changing the chain every year or two is the way to go.

Ned


If you change the chain and the rear gear cluster at the same time you can get many winters out of the same chain and cassette. I pull my good chain and gear cluster off once the snow flies and then put on the ones I took them off after their first winter was over. That way I know the chain and gear cluster match and i won't have any chain skipping and I get a few winters use of the original chain and gear cluster.

Cheers
  #10  
Old November 20th 18, 06:32 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
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Posts: 41
Default chain rust

On Monday, November 19, 2018 at 6:50:28 PM UTC-6, John B. slocomb wrote:
On Mon, 19 Nov 2018 21:31:10 +0100, Ned Mantei
wrote:

I have an old bike fitted with "spike" winter tires. This is in action
only when there is ice and/or snow on the streets, so where I live about
2 to max. 8 weeks per year. Not much, but the salt solution the city
uses to deal with the ice causes so much rust that every couple of years
the chain needs to be replaced. Lots of oil on the chain doesn't seem to
help much if at all, and now I wonder whether it would pay to rinse off
the salt at the end of every day of use. The bike is stored in an
underground garage including a place with a hose for washing cars, so
icy water wouldn't be a problem. There is also enough heating that the
water should evaporate overnight. Worthwhile? Other possibilities? Just
let it be, and replace the chain every year or two? Advice welcome.

Ned


There are some very adhesive lubes that *might* help but removing the
salt by washing and then re-lubeing the chain might also work. Or just
put on a new chain when the "salt-season" ends and throw it away after
one year.

cheers,

John B.


That is the best thing to do. Wash with soapy, warm, dish detergent perhaps once or twice a week. Apply lube like https://www.ernestolube.com/buy. Today was the first day where I had to ride on the Lake Front Trail in Chicago with salt. And they used the regular "your car will definitely rust" salt. Once I get home later today, I will prop up the bike on the repair stand, then mix some warm water with Dove, take a rag and wash the chain. Then another rag to wipe it off... make dinner, then lube the chain. Ready for tomorrow's ride and it prolong's the chain's life.
 




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