Chain Care

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Chain Care

Post by Brucey »

WL say with some of their products that 'there is no drying time' which means that whilst they may contain wax, the way they work is different from the other ones which are solvent borne waxes.

FWIW the chain which had the shortest life of any chain I have ever seen had been thoroughly cleaned and then 'lubricated' with solvent borne wax, only it hadn't penetrated to bushings, so it couldn't be expected to do any good. That chain wore out in less than 200 miles.

I have long thought that if you are going to use a wax-based lube, it is probably the best idea to apply it using heat, rather than solvent.

cheers
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Mick F
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Re: Chain Care

Post by Mick F »

WLCR works brilliantly and does what it says on the bottle. Nothing bad to say about it at all.
Brilliant stuff.

Watch the video.
http://www.whitelightningco.com/product ... clean-ride
I do it basically like that, but I don't wipe off the excess.
Mick F. Cornwall
Brucey
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Re: Chain Care

Post by Brucey »

chain goes rusty and starts to squeak after one damp ride?

Equals 'crap' in my book.

But each to his own, eh....?... :wink:

cheers
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Mick F
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Re: Chain Care

Post by Mick F »

No it doesn't.

One little story:
I rode to Grinton YHA from Carlisle. It chucked it down. I was freezing cold even though it was early summer.
All the way, rain non-stop.
I lubed up before leaving the B+B and set off.

27 May 2008.
77.5miles in the wind and pouring rain into the north Pennine hills.

When I got to the YHA, the bike shed was in a damp cold granite barn with slatted wooden doors.
Mercian was dripping wet, and so was I, plus I was cold and hungry.

Later, I went out to Mercian to check him over. He was still dripping wet, so I didn't do anything to him that evening.
Next morning, before breakfast, out I went again, but he was still dripping wet though I still checked the tyres ........... and lubed the chain as usual with WLCR.

The chain wasn't squeaky or rusty and was fine - but wet. The CR went on, and off I went for breakfast, then later, I loaded up and left for Whitby. No squeaks, but if I remember correctly, it wasn't so wet that day. Only 72 miles that day.

I took a day off at Whitby YHA and took the opportunity to wash and check out Mercian and Trailer too. No issues at all. No chain rust, no squeaks, nothing. I washed Mercian, and lubed the chain again.

1,500 miles done in three weeks on that trip of Scotland, England and Wales.



Instructions on the WL bottle .............

CLEAN RIDE goes on wet, sets up dry.
DIRECTIONS:
1st use. Start with a clean chain.
SHAKE WELL to mix all solids.
Apply, wipe excess.
Let lube dry.
Use more frequently in wet conditions.
Mick F. Cornwall
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RickH
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Joined: 5 Mar 2012, 6:39pm
Location: Horwich, Lancs.

Re: Chain Care

Post by RickH »

Mick F wrote:No it doesn't.

One little story: ...

Another little story

Mine was September 2016 - 113 mile over 3 days (21 + train ride on the 1st day, 54 on the 2nd & 39 on the 3rd) in completely dry conditions apart from the bike standing in dewy conditions overnight & starting riding in clearing fog on the last day. Result - a sticky chain link.

When I did LEJOG in 2009 I lubed the chain twice in 15 days (14 of which had rain) & didn't have any problems. I can't remember what I was using then, it will have been whatever the LBS was selling, which does change over time.

Epic Ride seems to me to be a very thin liquid (that squirts everywhere if you aren't careful) with about 10% waxy stuff. My preference is definitely for a wet lube (currently WD40 Bike), as I'm liable to take off down a potentially muddy path at any time, & apply 1 drop on each roller, preferably in the evening so it can be left to soak into the crevices overnight.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
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Mick F
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Re: Chain Care

Post by Mick F »

Strange.

WL say to apply every 75miles.
I do it maybe at that interval. Varies a bit depending on how and where I ride.

I never do it per link.
Always without fail, I shake the bottle, invert it with the cap off, and spin the crank backwards whilst drizzling the stuff on the bottom run of the chain whilst steadying my hand against the rear mech body. I drape a cloth on the floor to catch the drips.
I spin the cranks round and round and round, getting plenty lube on the chain.

Allow to soak in and dry before even thinking about riding.
Mick F. Cornwall
thelawnet
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Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Chain Care

Post by thelawnet »

I use a chain cleaner filled with petrol, then water, then dry ptfe lube for dry dusty conditions, but otherwise wet lube (generic oil really afaik) is far better but does attract dirt and dust when it's dry an dusty. This is not in UK conditions so ymmv.
Recently made the mistake of cycling through some mud with the dry lube and the bike was barely rideable within a few miles (though it cleaned up ok). Worse conditions with the wet lube and no problems at all.
nicmarsh
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Re: Chain Care

Post by nicmarsh »

excuse me if i have missed this somewhere, but...

thought i would try the epic ride and I have a new chain. Should I be cleaning the factory oils off the new chain first and if so what with - a degreaser followed by water and left to dry ( slightly gives me the heebejeebs a new chain being left wet ) or just WS then left to dry or something else?
Airsporter1st
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Joined: 8 Oct 2016, 3:14pm

Re: Chain Care

Post by Airsporter1st »

nicmarsh wrote:excuse me if i have missed this somewhere, but...

thought i would try the epic ride and I have a new chain. Should I be cleaning the factory oils off the new chain first and if so what with - a degreaser followed by water and left to dry ( slightly gives me the heebejeebs a new chain being left wet ) or just WS then left to dry or something else?


I think those who use water, do so in conjunction with a water soluble/miscible degreaser.

Personally, I use white spirit to clean and degrease, then leave that to dry before relubing. However, I think you will see nearly as many brews/methods on here as there are members.
reohn2
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Re: Chain Care

Post by reohn2 »

Airsporter1st wrote:
nicmarsh wrote:excuse me if i have missed this somewhere, but...

thought i would try the epic ride and I have a new chain. Should I be cleaning the factory oils off the new chain first and if so what with - a degreaser followed by water and left to dry ( slightly gives me the heebejeebs a new chain being left wet ) or just WS then left to dry or something else?


I think those who use water, do so in conjunction with a water soluble/miscible degreaser.

Personally, I use white spirit to clean and degrease, then leave that to dry before relubing.

Yep,shake chain in a wide top plastic drinks bottle half filled with WS,fish out the chain with an old spoke.
Chain is then left to dry,put back on the bike and lubed with TF2 aerosol spray,if care is taken overspray and waste is minimal.

The WS can then be poured into jam jar with closely fitting lid and let to settle where it will clear and can be recanted off and used over again a minimum of 5 to 10 times until doesn't clear,then it's to contaminated to reuse.


However, I think you will see nearly as many brews/methods on here as there are members.

Yep.
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NUKe
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Re: Chain Care

Post by NUKe »

I use a small deep fat fryer with chainsaw oil or at least I do for the uprights, found it wasn’t sympathetic to the chain tubes on the grasshopper. So it is back to the drawing board. Oz cycles suggest a chain lube made from xylene and paraffin wax I may give this a try next.
NUKe
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reohn2
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Chain Care

Post by reohn2 »

NUKe wrote:I use a small deep fat fryer with chainsaw oil or at least I do for the uprights, found it wasn’t sympathetic to the chain tubes on the grasshopper. So it is back to the drawing board. Oz cycles suggest a chain lube made from xylene and paraffin wax I may give this a try next.

Be careful with xylene,the fumes are loopy juice :shock:
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nigelnightmare
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Joined: 19 Sep 2016, 10:33pm

Re: Chain Care

Post by nigelnightmare »

reohn2 wrote:
NUKe wrote:I use a small deep fat fryer with chainsaw oil or at least I do for the uprights, found it wasn’t sympathetic to the chain tubes on the grasshopper. So it is back to the drawing board. Oz cycles suggest a chain lube made from xylene and paraffin wax I may give this a try next.

Be careful with xylene,the fumes are loopy juice :shock:


BUT....

….How could you tell if the fumes "had" effected "Most" of the forums users? :wink: :lol:
Tiberius
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Location: North East England

Re: Chain Care

Post by Tiberius »

ENTIRELY due to wanting to keep my bikes cleaner I have recently started to experiment with waxing my chains. I have four bikes, three using IGHs. The IGHs keep things clean to a point and I wanted to see if a waxed chain would also help.

I've read good things about this stuff..https://moltenspeedwax.com/ I think that it's mainly aimed at the racers (which I'm definitely not) but I've decided to give it a go anyway. If you read up on the waxing process it might all seem a bit of a faff, but I remove and rotate a number of chains anyway so it's neither here nor there to me.

I have only just started doing this, but so far on one bike used in all weathers (approx 250 miles) it's all good, running great and much cleaner than oiling.....the chain has been through the waxing process just once.

As I said, it's an experiment, I have no idea one way or the other if this is a good idea or not. Keeping the rear end clean is great but it's not that great if chain/sprocket wear is accelerated.

Time will tell eh ??
reohn2
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Re: Chain Care

Post by reohn2 »

nigelnightmare wrote:
reohn2 wrote:
NUKe wrote:I use a small deep fat fryer with chainsaw oil or at least I do for the uprights, found it wasn’t sympathetic to the chain tubes on the grasshopper. So it is back to the drawing board. Oz cycles suggest a chain lube made from xylene and paraffin wax I may give this a try next.

Be careful with xylene,the fumes are loopy juice :shock:


BUT....

….How could you tell if the fumes "had" effected "Most" of the forums users? :wink: :lol:

Well I can't know for sure but I have my suspicions some forum members live in a perminent haze of it :shock: :wink:
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