Little Things You Hate

[Haakon]

L

The stupid sticky stuff on brand new chains...

Its awesome chain lube though - it lasts for yonks!

 

[Jim Junkie]

Or filament tape if Bear outdoor masking isn't available.

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All solid suggestions. Unfortunately none of these things were to be had around the house at the time. Liquid Nails maybe?

 

[wkkie]

awesome chain lube though - it lasts for yonks!

That might be the case if you only run your bikes in a sterilised velodrome. But that evil crap loves dirt and dust....

@Oddjob I even hit it with a citrus degreaser and scrubbing brush and it still lived!

And gave it a coating of rock n roll blue and rubbed the crap out of it, and still there.

But rock n roll blue is another story, not a fan of that. It'll be back to the gold on the next order...

 

[Zaf]

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[Haakon]

That might be the case if you only run your bikes in a sterilised velodrome. But that evil crap loves dirt and dust....

@Oddjob I even hit it with a citrus degreaser and scrubbing brush and it still lived!

And gave it a coating of rock n roll blue and rubbed the crap out of it, and still there.

But rock n roll blue is another story, not a fan of that. It'll be back to the gold on the next order...

True, I was thinking of the last time I put a new chain on the roadie...

And as Zaf says, petrol will deal with anything on chains in very short order. Keep it off your skin though, its nasty...

 

[Oddjob]

That might be the case if you only run your bikes in a sterilised velodrome. But that evil crap loves dirt and dust....

@Oddjob I even hit it with a citrus degreaser and scrubbing brush and it still lived!

And gave it a coating of rock n roll blue and rubbed the crap out of it, and still there.

But rock n roll blue is another story, not a fan of that. It'll be back to the gold on the next order...

Was it Finish Line citrus degreaser? That stuff can strip paint. But you can still dilute with water and let it go down the drain.

Blue is good for muddy or dusty coditions. Gold doesn't deal well with dust and washes away more easily.

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[Binaural]

The stupid sticky stuff on brand new chains...

I actually spent some quality time reading up on this last time I bought a chain. It seems that the better experts don't recommend degreasing your chain in a bath of solvent before applying the first lube, as do some people. The reason for this is that the manufacturing grease is actually really effective inside the rollers, it's just too sticky to use in on dirt. You're better off ausing wax based lubes with a light penetrant (i.e. rock n roll gold or similar) over the top without cleaning whatsoever, then getting that chain good and dry with the thinnest layer of wax possible that won't hold dirt. This will help minimise grinding wear on the exterior of the rollers and helping seal out grit that will accelerate the internal wear of the rollers.

 

[Ultra Lord]

Binaural's on point. Mtb chains aren't sealed like decent motorbike chains, so hitting them with degreaser robs them of the good stuff inside the rollers. hit em with a good deal of lube (I like white lightning personally), then wipe it off. Then when you think your done, wipe it some more.

 

[wkkie]

.... You're better off ausing wax based lubes with a light penetrant (i.e. rock n roll gold or similar) over the top without cleaning whatsoever, then getting that chain good and dry with the thinnest layer of wax possible that won't hold dirt. This will help minimise grinding wear on the exterior of the rollers and helping seal out grit that will accelerate the internal wear of the rollers.

That's exactly what I did with the last new chain and I thought I'd give something else a try this time around.

It worked ok last time, but took about 4 rides with re dosing of the gold each time to get rid of it.

Time for some new gold and back to the old ways.

The blue doesn't seem to last as long and the drivetrain seems louder using it than when I used gold.

 

[Kerplunk]

I clean new chains in petrol then scrub them clean with car wash, rinse and let them dry out.. I then put it in a resealable bag and soak it in proper chain lube (rock and roll gold atm), turning the bag around to give it a good marinate.
Pull out and wipe off the excess..

Edit, size the chain once it has dried before re-lubing..

 

[Binaural]

I clean new chains in petrol then scrub them clean with car wash, rinse and let them dry out.. I then put it in a resealable bag and soak it in proper chain lube (rock and roll gold atm), turning the bag around to give it a good marinate.
Pull out and wipe off the excess..

Edit, size the chain once it has dried before re-lubing..

You might actually find that marinading in this way actually gives you worse results than trickling it on.

1. The reason you have to shake the bejesus out of the bottle before applying is because the wax precipitates out in a big hurry otherwise. You'd need to be furiously shaking the whole bag throughout.
2. The evaporation of the solvent helps it penetrate. Soaking it just means that the solvent will get an extended period to reach and attack the inner grease but enough damaged grease will remain there to prevent good infusion of the wax.
3. You're pouring a lot of lube in there, and most of it is going to coat parts that don't need it, and will just be wiped off.
4. Pouring it on free-flowing while the chain is turning also helps created a reliable wiped surface for the wax to coat.

 

[wkkie]

Maybe I should have started a new thread.... New chains have a lot of differing opinions...

 

[Haakon]

If I was worried about dirt attraction, I'd wipe the new chain down with a rag damp with petrol - but would try to ensure the factory lube remains inside the rollers.

Short of taking the chain off and dipping in a red hot bath of melted grease (ie what they do at the chain factory), you'll never get a better lube in the internals.

 

[Kerplunk]

You might actually find that marinading in this way actually gives you worse results than trickling it on.

1. The reason you have to shake the bejesus out of the bottle before applying is because the wax precipitates out in a big hurry otherwise. You'd need to be furiously shaking the whole bag throughout.
2. The evaporation of the solvent helps it penetrate. Soaking it just means that the solvent will get an extended period to reach and attack the inner grease but enough damaged grease will remain there to prevent good infusion of the wax.
3. You're pouring a lot of lube in there, and most of it is going to coat parts that don't need it, and will just be wiped off.
4. Pouring it on free-flowing while the chain is turning also helps created a reliable wiped surface for the wax to coat.

Yeah maybe that’s the case with rock n roll, only just started using it (Gold). But other lubes I have no issues in the past..
If you suck/push the air out of the bag you don’t have to use that much extra lube at all.. Poor man’s Cryovac style, turning it around..
Got to say this last chain is magic after the treatment, so smooth.. Rather than grit getting sucked in on that grease that comes from the factory.. I only get 1500 odd km’s out of chain no matter what I do, rather have it quiet from the get go..

 

[Binaural]

(I should really stop bludging and get some real work done)

Wiping the chain with solving to minimise dirt attraction isn't ideal either. Firstly, chains are stainless but not of a super high grade like 316, and they may rust or spot if you have metal with no coating and put it away wet. Secondly, some of the grease will remain on the rollers and help grit stick nicely to your chainrings and rollers, unless you wipe it so clean you might as well have dunked it in solvent anyway.

 

[Cardy George]

I'm probably gonna get howled down for this, but I strip the sticky off with mineral turps, flush that with methylated spirits, then into a molten paraffin wax bath. Heats the chain and opens the gaps to let the wax in. Best part is after the first strip down, it's straight off the bike and into the wax.

I do around 170km a week in dusty crap, and get about 250km between lubes. I'm also running two chains which it two weeks between science experiments

 

[Haakon]

I'm probably gonna get howled down for this, but I strip the sticky off with mineral turps, flush that with methylated spirits, then into a molten paraffin wax bath. Heats the chain and opens the gaps to let the wax in. Best part is after the first strip down, it's straight off the bike and into the wax.

I do around 170km a week in dusty crap, and get about 250km between lubes. I'm also running two chains which it two weeks between science experiments

I keep meaning to try this with my roadie... I think I even have an old rice cooker lying around somewhere.

 

[Binaural]

@Cardy George, I felt so angry at your post I had to, um, do nothing ;-)

Molten wax baths are only an old school method because it's a pain in the neck to do, as you generally need a pretty well-stocked workshop, patience and to be at least a little clueful about not setting your chain bath on fire. Depositing room-temperature wax with solvent is much easier. IIRC Sheldon Brown used to recommend the practice, so it can't be all bad.

 

[steve jobs' pancreas]

FFS now I'm not even doing chains properly now. I've just been putting em on, lubing them, riding and washing the drive train when they get gunky.

 

[Zaf]

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