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Cleaning of chain and all components
I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with.
What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? Thanks, Andy It always too soon to quit. |
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#2
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Cleaning of chain and all components
On Wed, 17 Jul 2019 20:39:46 -0700 (PDT), AK
wrote: I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with. What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? Thanks, Andy It always too soon to quit. I use a plastic "kitchen container" with a snap on lid. Wipe the obvious dirt off the chain with a rag, coil up and put in the container, pour paint thinner - mineral spirits or white spirit - (depending on whether you are east or west) to cover and let it sit a few hours, or overnight. It helps to shake the container - with the lid on - occasionally. The thinner will become discolored with dirt. Pour out the old thinner wipe obvious dirt off the chain and do it again... until the thinner does not discolor. Than apply the chain lube of your choice to the clean chain. I use a wax lubricant which does not attract dirt as much as the oil/grease based lubricants and in my case the whole exercise takes a few minutes at the end of the day and a few minutes in the morning and I have a clean chain. It is probably also a good idea the clean the crud off the sprockets too. Although I have to admit that I seldom do unless I'm washing the bike. -- cheers, John B. |
#3
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Cleaning of chain and all components
On 18/7/19 1:39 pm, AK wrote:
I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with. What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? Don't use the same lubricant again. Get some candle wax (paraffin wax) and oil (paraffin oil or even EP gear oil). Heat the wax in an old pot and mix in about the same volume or a bit less, of oil. Immerse your chain in the hot oil/wax solution. Let it cook for 5 minutes. When it is al dente, remove it carefully with a pair of pliers or hook it out with a piece of wire (like and old spoke). Careful it will be hot. Let it drip off and cool down. Install it on the bike when you can handle it without burning yourself. Use a quick link (Connex are about the best) to facilitate easy chain removal and installation. About every 1000km, take the chain off and cook it in your wax/oil mix. Your running gear will stay pretty clean, and any build up will be easy to brush off, and won't go far from where the chain engages the other parts. -- JS |
#4
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Cleaning of chain and all components
On Thursday, July 18, 2019 at 2:49:02 AM UTC-4, James wrote:
On 18/7/19 1:39 pm, AK wrote: I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with. What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? Don't use the same lubricant again. Get some candle wax (paraffin wax) and oil (paraffin oil or even EP gear oil). Heat the wax in an old pot and mix in about the same volume or a bit less, of oil. Immerse your chain in the hot oil/wax solution. Let it cook for 5 minutes. When it is al dente, remove it carefully with a pair of pliers or hook it out with a piece of wire (like and old spoke). Careful it will be hot. Let it drip off and cool down. Install it on the bike when you can handle it without burning yourself. Use a quick link (Connex are about the best) to facilitate easy chain removal and installation. About every 1000km, take the chain off and cook it in your wax/oil mix. Your running gear will stay pretty clean, and any build up will be easy to brush off, and won't go far from where the chain engages the other parts. I agree in general with James' ideas. In my experience, wax with a small amount (maybe 5%) oil mixed into it is the best lubricant. I don't melt candles. I bought paraffin wax (as used for canning jelly at home) in the grocery store. One pound costs maybe two dollars and lasts the rest of your life. You can leave the remainder to your grandchildren. Melt it very carefully (it's flammable) and blend in a bit of oil or gear lube. Let it solidify and save it. My most unusual technique is to not remove the chain from the bike. Instead, with the bike on a workstand and with sheet metal protecting the frame and tire, I use a low-flame torch to warm 10" of chain, crayon on the wax-oil mix, then reheat until the wax crumbs melt and flow into the chain. Backpedal to access the next 10" of chain and repeat. When the whole chain is done, wipe off the excess with paper towels. For me, this is easier than the hot pot method; but either way works. It's very likely that one poster here will jump in and say "Never use paraffin to lubricate a chain!" and post decades old statements from others claiming it's not effective. He will pointedly ignore results of tests that prove this is both the lowest friction lube, and the one that makes chains last longest. It also keeps your bike far cleaner than any liquid lubricant. But to be clear, if you choose instead to keep using other liquid lubricants, you're welcome to do that. - Frank Krygowski |
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Cleaning of chain and all components
On Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 11:39:48 PM UTC-4, AK wrote:
I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with. What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? Thanks, Andy It always too soon to quit. The waxing suggestions are all good. It comes down to a matter of how much time and money you want to spend. If you want to keep everything clean and as long-lasting as possible, waxing works, as do other commercially available 'dry' lubricants, and is the cheapest option (as Frank points out), but takes the most amount of time. If you have no problem replacing your chain/cogs much more frequently, simply spraying with a chain lube then wiping off the excess works just fine, just remember you'll probably get less than half the life you do than using the methods below. |
#6
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Cleaning of chain and all components
On 18/07/2019 05:39, AK wrote:
I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with. What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? The Sheldon shake every few months, and a light clean with motorbike/car detergent every month. Will take about 3 hours/year, but will be easy work. |
#7
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Cleaning of chain and all components
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#8
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Cleaning of chain and all components
On Thursday, July 18, 2019 at 12:05:01 PM UTC-4, wrote:
The waxing suggestions are all good. It comes down to a matter of how much time and money you want to spend. If you want to keep everything clean and as long-lasting as possible, waxing works, as do other commercially available 'dry' lubricants, and is the cheapest option (as Frank points out), but takes the most amount of time. If you have no problem replacing your chain/cogs much more frequently, simply spraying with a chain lube then wiping off the excess works just fine, just remember you'll probably get less than half the life you do than using the methods below. I actually use my method (rewax on the bike using a torch) to save time. The rewax itself takes less than 10 minutes including gathering tools, putting the bike on the stand, etc. It takes less time per bike if I do several while the equipment is out. It's only a little more time than spraying and wiping off excess, and it's less time than pulling the chain, cleaning it, re-lubing and reinstalling it. But the real time saving is not having to clean black gunk off the bike. The downside, I suppose, is getting a torch - even with a low flame - close to your bike. I can see how many people would not want to do that. - Frank Krygowski |
#9
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Cleaning of chain and all components
I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with. What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? I wipe down the chain and derailleur pulleys after each ride, just back-pedaling the chain through a rag. Only takes a few seconds, and keeps crud from building up. |
#10
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Cleaning of chain and all components
On Thursday, July 18, 2019 at 1:02:13 PM UTC-5, Bertrand wrote:
I spent about 3.5 hrs. cleaning my chain and everything it comes in contact with. What a tedious job. Used the following: 1. Engine cleaner 2. Paint thinner 3. Used toothbrush 4. Occasional foul language I mentioned it to my friendly bike repair guy and he said many do not realize the damage a dirty chain does to the bearings etc. It shortens their life. I think it helped as I think I can go around 3 mph faster. Any other maintenance tips? I wipe down the chain and derailleur pulleys after each ride, just back-pedaling the chain through a rag. Only takes a few seconds, and keeps crud from building up. Thanks for all the ideas. I forgot to mention that I USED to use oil and Amzoil Synthetic Grease on my chain. Andy |
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