Chain lubricant advice

[meic]

I don't trust quick links for multiple use.

There are a lot of us (re)using them out there. Any reports ever of a failure?
Is that specifically for 10 speed and above, which are not exactly the same quicklinks as the 8 and 9s, which I thought had adequately proven their reliability.

[pliptrot]

I understand that they get sloppy quite quickly. Mick F has lost one (10 speed) and I can confirm that they get far too easy to reconnect after lots of disconnections. I'm sticking with joining pins..........

[meic]

They are not meant to be difficult to connect.
They do slip together very easily but they stay there as they are under tension. To create a compression in the right manner to release them would take a very unlikely combination of things to happen to a chain, which I doubt has ever actually happened in practice without things having gone seriously wrong for the rider already.

If this has ever been a problem for any one in real life I am interested to hear about it.
On the other hand, I have heard about problems from joining pins.

[Brucey]

there are both re-usable and non re-usable versions of QLs so you need to be careful with that.

There have been more than a few reported instances of QLs failing or coming undone by themselves. Any given one could easily have been 'operator error' of some kind but I find it unlikely that they all were.

So my view is that QLs ain't perfect, but as things are, if you want convenience in installation and the ability to remove the chain without a lot of hassle, QLs are the least bad system. I think it is a good idea to routinely carry a spare QL for your chain, in that it mitigates against QL failure and also allows other chain repairs to be carried out if necessary.

BTW someone suggested a small mole wrench but IMV a small (even 4") adjustable spanner ought to be good enough to worry a broken chain link apart so that a QL can be installed in its place. It is almost invariably outer side-plates that fail, so normally at least one riveted joint needs to broken apart before a QL is installed as a repair.

cheers

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Normally carry a QL just in case even though I don't fit them, but do also carry a chain splitter.

The other day all I could offer a fellow cyclist was elastic bands to hold his broken tool bag on to saddle, normally I carry plastic cable ties but left most at home just gambling I would only need flat mending tools.

[laager]

.

[Roadster]

I always carry a spare quick link and a chain splitter in my toolkit. However, I use hub gears instead of derailleurs and so cannot risk being left with a chain which is too short by even a single link. I must therefore carry a short length of spare chain as well, i.e. the bit left over from shortening a new chain to the required length.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

I always carry a spare quick link and a chain splitter in my toolkit. However, I use hub gears instead of derailleurs and so cannot risk being left with a chain which is too short by even a single link. I must therefore carry a short length of spare chain as well, i.e. the bit left over from shortening a new chain to the required length.

Prudence means that a short length of chain means you can go on unhindered if some links are bashed, I try to carry some too.

[Roadster]

Thinking further on the matter, I should probably carry two spare quick links...!

[esuhl]

Then use Purple Extreme. I have tried many lubes, and this is by far my favourite.

Huh. That looks like pretty good stuff. I'd never heard of it before, but I might have to give that a go when I run out of Squirt.

Has anyone compared Squirt to Purple Extreme...?

[Gattonero]

Thinking further on the matter, I should probably carry two spare quick links...!

Yes, one set of QL is not entirely useful for cary on with the ride.
Much better to have two sets of matching QL and a couple of chain links.

QL are actually very reliable, most of the 10&11sp ones would lock in position so won't fall by themselves. And although the manufacturers won;t recommend this, you can actually open and close them a couple of times. Just be wise, don't force anything that doesn't fit.

[Mick F]

I understand that they get sloppy quite quickly. Mick F has lost one (10 speed) and I can confirm that they get far too easy to reconnect after lots of disconnections. I'm sticking with joining pins..........

Well remembered.

At this moment ....... and forever maybe ........ we will never know what happened to that link. It could have undone, or it could have failed catastrophically. Meanwhile, I will continue to use them and re-use them .......... and on the Moulton, I have two due to the length of the chain.

[mjr]

... I use one of those industrial wipes to clean the surface of the chain (by simply running the chain through the wipe while the chain is still on the bike), this seems to remove the dirt and wax build up mentioned above and restores to the chain to free movement, then ...

Doesn't simply running the chain through the wipe while the chain is still on the bike leave a load of crud on the outside of the inner plates and inside of all plates? Am I doing something wrong, needing a brush to clean those spaces?

[Gattonero]

... I use one of those industrial wipes to clean the surface of the chain (by simply running the chain through the wipe while the chain is still on the bike), this seems to remove the dirt and wax build up mentioned above and restores to the chain to free movement, then ...

Doesn't simply running the chain through the wipe while the chain is still on the bike leave a load of crud on the outside of the inner plates and inside of all plates? Am I doing something wrong, needing a brush to clean those spaces?

You don;t want to arrive at the point where you have "crud" inside the plates.
Time for a complete degrease then. After that, you ought to have the chain clean as a whistle, and from then a frequent wipe-off with a rag will prevent the build up of dirt, so the need for a complete degrease of the drivetrain will be rare.

[mjr]

Doesn't simply running the chain through the wipe while the chain is still on the bike leave a load of crud on the outside of the inner plates and inside of all plates? Am I doing something wrong, needing a brush to clean those spaces?

You don;t want to arrive at the point where you have "crud" inside the plates.

I think that would mean pretty much not cycling in sandy coastal areas like this, so that's not going to happen. Even when I had a chaincase, the chain still managed to get sand in it, blown in through the small gaps by the crank or the drainage holes.

Time for a complete degrease then. After that, you ought to have the chain clean as a whistle, and from then a frequent wipe-off with a rag will prevent the build up of dirt, so the need for a complete degrease of the drivetrain will be rare.

But again, how does wiping off the outside with a rag remove anything from the insides of the links? Cleaning the outside of the chain seems like mostly cosmetic, with maybe some help keeping clean the things that touch it, like the edges of derailleurs. It seems like the insides where dirt does damage.