Re extending life of chain etc

Hi

Thanks for replies to my first post they were helpful (sorry about the
duplicate post, that was a mistake). From the replies it seems like
changing the chain at approx 2k miles (6 months in my case) would probably
give a longer life out of the whole system.

Any advice on the best lube to use, also what is the best method of
'cleaning' the chain. I have been removing it, degreasing and then soaking
it in a bath of thin oil.

thanks

Gary

geepeetee wrote:

Any advice on the best lube to use...

Careful, you're straying into an area dominated by dogmatic beliefs.
It's hard to discuss this without starting blazing religous wars.

Many people use expensive unctions sold in tiny, expensive bottles. Of
course, each brand is definitely better than every other brand.

Some people say those concoctions are just chainsaw oil, or motor oil,
or gear oil, bought in 55 gallon drums and re-sold at a profit. Those
people use either chainsaw oil, or motor oil, or gear oil. Of course,
the motor oilers know it's better than chainsaw oil, and vice versa, and
verse visa. Those holding the tiny expensive bottles just scoff.

Then there are the hot waxers, who scoff at all liquids, no matter how
big the container. They know that anything wet just attracts grit and
wears the chain, so they go for dry wax, melting it in a pan and
submerging the chain. They can be recognized at a distance by their
relatively clean drivetrains - but much sooner by their beards, bellies
and knickers.

Then there are the liquid waxers. Wax is good, they say, as long as it
comes in a tiny expensive bottle. They buy their bottles by the gross,
since the instructions say to apply the stuff about once per hour.

As usual, I don't fit very well into any of these groups. For example,
I hardly ever wear knickers lately.


Seriously, this has been discussed ad infinitum. Check the FAQs, or the
archives. (The FAQ pointer comes up about once a week.)

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 22:38:02 +0100, geepeetee wrote:

Any advice on the best lube to use, also what is the best method of
'cleaning' the chain. I have been removing it, degreasing and then
soaking it in a bath of thin oil.

as I've posted befo

locate a back yard.

take bike to back yard.

scrub chain with toothbrush and Simple Green degreaser (or suitable
equivalent).

spray with a garden hose fitted with a good and spurty nozzle to flush
away the crap.

locate sunbeam, and position bike and chain in an appropriate beam for
drying.

lube with your choice of stoff (I like a dry lube with teflon). spin
cranks to let it get to the bone.

dry exterior of chain with old Iron Maiden concert T-shirt to prevent
shmutz from adhering to unneeded lubricant.

Should take ten minutes of your time, not considering the strength of the
solar effect in your particular area.




Chains are relatively cheap, so I don't see the point in going through a
more involved process, unless it's part of your religious practice of
course. lol

If your bike can handle fenders, I've found that even using them in the
dry extends my chain maintenance requirements something like 3X. I broke a
mount thingie for them recently and removed them. The bike looks racier,
but I'm cleaning and lubing the chain more often...

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 23:31:01 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

Wax is good, they say, as long as it
comes in a tiny expensive bottle. They buy their bottles by the gross,
since the instructions say to apply the stuff about once per hour.

By the bottle? Bah. I have a small south African marsupial whose ear wax
is the best lubricant. I've constructed a small cage for her on the right
chainstay, and every fifty miles I stop and rub her ears on the drivetrain.

PETA may be ****ed, but at least my chain's clatter-free.

maxo

wrote in part:

If your bike can handle fenders, I've found that even using them in the
dry extends my chain maintenance requirements something like 3X. I broke a
mount thingie for them recently and removed them. The bike looks racier,
but I'm cleaning and lubing the chain more often...


Do you mean a chainguard? I can't imagine any bike *fender* that would have any
appreciable impact on how frequently one would need to do chain maintenance, at
least not on a bike ridden solely on paved surfaces.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 15:14:18 +0000, Hunrobe wrote:

maxo

wrote in part:

If your bike can handle fenders, I've found that even using them in the
dry extends my chain maintenance requirements something like 3X. I broke
a mount thingie for them recently and removed them. The bike looks
racier, but I'm cleaning and lubing the chain more often...


Do you mean a chainguard? I can't imagine any bike *fender* that would
have any appreciable impact on how frequently one would need to do chain
maintenance, at least not on a bike ridden solely on paved surfaces.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Seeing is believing--it makes a huge difference even on dry pavement, in
my experience at least. If you'd told me the same thing, and I hadn't
experienced it, I'd be skeptical too!

I do need to find another set of fenders for the sporty ride though--the
bridge mount on the skinny silver zefals was utter crap, so I've been
riding "naked" It's hard to find "sporty" looking full coverage fenders in
white or silver these days. lol.

On 19 Aug 2004 15:14:18 GMT, (Hunrobe) wrote:

maxo

wrote in part:

If your bike can handle fenders, I've found that even using them in the
dry extends my chain maintenance requirements something like 3X. I broke a
mount thingie for them recently and removed them. The bike looks racier,
but I'm cleaning and lubing the chain more often...


Do you mean a chainguard? I can't imagine any bike *fender* that would have any
appreciable impact on how frequently one would need to do chain maintenance, at
least not on a bike ridden solely on paved surfaces.

Regards,
Bob Hunt


I have two similar road bikes using the same chain lube and ridden in
similar places. One has fenders, the other doesn't. The chain on the
bike without fenders gets dirtier than one on the bike with fenders.

Makes sense to me- the front wheel throws up a cloud of dirt and dust
and sends it back to the chain, bottom bracket, chainrings, etc.
Fenders will reduce the amount of dirt and dust that gets thrown back
there, so the chain stays cleaner.

Hunrobe wrote:

maxo


wrote in part:


If your bike can handle fenders, I've found that even using them in the
dry extends my chain maintenance requirements something like 3X. I broke a
mount thingie for them recently and removed them. The bike looks racier,
but I'm cleaning and lubing the chain more often...



Do you mean a chainguard? I can't imagine any bike *fender* that would have any
appreciable impact on how frequently one would need to do chain maintenance, at
least not on a bike ridden solely on paved surfaces.

I do think it helps! Grit kicked up by the front wheel flies toward the
chain, unless stopped by a fender.

But I bet a true chain case (or full chainguard) would help much, much
more. I recall reading that European utility motorcycles with chain
cases have almost infinite chain life.


--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com.
Substitute cc dot ysu dot
edu]

maxo

wrote in part:

Seeing is believing--it makes a huge difference even on dry pavement, in
my experience at least. If you'd told me the same thing, and I hadn't
experienced it, I'd be skeptical too!

I'm guessing then that you mean full length fenders of the type I associate
with cruiser bikes. If you'd rather have those and clean your chain every 3000
miles as opposed to every 1000 miles then I can understand your search. From my
personal aesthetic and "weight weenie" POV- and this is just a personal
preference, not a putdown- I'd rather clean my chain every 500 miles than use
fenders.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 20:35:08 +0000, Hunrobe wrote:

From my personal aesthetic and "weight weenie"
POV- and this is just a personal preference, not a putdown- I'd rather
clean my chain every 500 miles than use fenders.

I'm fine without them at the moment, and I'm cleaning my chain every 250
miles, but come fall I must have them or I'll go nuts.

From the aesthetic POV, it sounds like you've never seen a road bike
equipped with a proper set of fenders, which isn't surprising if you're
living in the US. It can be very fetching, especially on bikes in the
French Randonee tradition--I think it makes a bike look "complete".
Unfortunately the move to short reach brakes made fitting them next to
impossible--an idiotic move on part of the industry in my opinion. Makes
sense for full-on dedicated racers I guess, but not for the riders like me
who use fenders and sometimes even a rack on our fast rides.

I love being able to jump on my bike right after a thunderstorm and smell
the ozone, without getting a stripe--that's my aesthetic no-no. LOL.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/berthoudinst.asp
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/ima...ics/27-002.jpg