Cleaning a new chain

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andrew_s
Posts: 5795
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 9:29pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Cleaning a new chain

Post by andrew_s »

Stradageek wrote: 22 Sep 2021, 8:12am Am I alone?

I never clean a new chain, or an old one for that matter. A minimalist spray with GT85 every 2-3 rides and that's it.

I end up renewing chain+cassette every couple of years.
Me too.

In my case, it's because I spent several years riding fixed, and am therefore not fussy about my cadence, and see lots of gears as an unnecessary complication.
At the 7/8/9 speed level, cassettes don't cost very much more than chains, so discarding part worn chains to preserve the cassette is just a waste of money.
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Mick F
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Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Cleaning a new chain

Post by Mick F »

Cadence?
Gear ratios?

Walked the doggie today, and called in at the pub is our habit. He likes it, and so do I! :D
Couple of beers (honestly) and a chat with friends.
Mate of mine had a stroke some time back, and he is/was a cyclist and has recently managed to get his bike sorted ready for riding.
Excellent!

He asked me, in his difficult-to-get-out words, what gear ratios were. He would often say these days, that he's "lost knowledge".
I asked what chainrings he had and what his cassette sprockets were.
He couldn't cope with the questions, and had no idea.

I spent ten minutes or more describing gear-inches and also distance per rev of the cranks in different gears, and Penny-Farthings ......... but he wished he'd never asked! :lol:

He has issues after his stroke, and has difficulties in comprehending, though before his stroke, he would have completely understood.

Other folk in the pub - all non cyclists - were listening and also amazed about my explanations and my patience with him. :D

Later, another mate came in who is a late-comer cyclist, though an eBike rider. He had no idea about gear ratios either, as it doesn't matter to him.

Are we gear ratio aficionados a dying breed?

I spent years/decades with different chainrings and sprockets getting my ratios correct for the rides and the commuting I was doing.
Some folk don't, and haven't any knowledge or experience maybe.
Mick F. Cornwall
saudidave
Posts: 583
Joined: 16 Jan 2009, 12:22am

Re: Cleaning a new chain

Post by saudidave »

Mick F wrote: 23 Sep 2021, 3:49pm Cadence?
Gear ratios?

Are we gear ratio aficionados a dying breed?
I suspect we may be. I’m 68 and agonise over them and I doubt I’ll be around more than a couple of decades at best!
Since buying an ebike with a Nexus 8 IGH I’ve changed the stock 22 tooth rear sprocket to an 18, then a 20 and I’m about to go back to a 22 and all this despite the fact that I live in the undulating landscape of Cheshire. I initially found the 22T range of 25-76” to be too low and have now decided it was the best as the 30-93” of the 18t was OK but then again I never used 8th gear riding that, but what if I want to start riding in The Peak District, next door when I retire next year?
I think the only answer is a new bike with a Rohloff speed hub!
AlanD
Posts: 1733
Joined: 27 Mar 2008, 1:29pm
Location: South Oxfordshire

Re: Cleaning a new chain

Post by AlanD »

When I was daily cycle commuting, I kept 3 chains that I rotated on a weekly basis. I would soak the new/dirty chain in a pot of engine degreaser ‘gunk’, then rinse off with water and finally let it rest in a generous spray of GT85. Nowadays, rotating chains has become too much faff, my environmental conscience has replaced the gunk with something friendlier from the bike shop and I use one of those things with brushes that clamps round the chain in situ. No doubt there are better regimes, but I’m finding life is too short.
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