Chain Cleaning/Maintenance

wazza300 · 17 Jul 2015 at 19:55

oil will attract dirt whether its old or new oil though so whats the point? isn't it better just to keep re oiling it? its each to their own,do what you wanna do,im just saying ive never once cleaned mine

@BenJi that's a nice clean machine,

acemastr · 17 Jul 2015 at 19:57

No, it's better to remove the oil and dirt and re-oil on a regular basis, is it not better to have 1 month of dirt/sand/mud than 2 years worth at any one time?

wazza300 · 17 Jul 2015 at 19:58

suppose,ive always had chains that lasted prettywell though tbh

I guess its more a priority if your bike is new/newish aswell,wanting everything to look clean

my old hack im less fussed

acemastr · 17 Jul 2015 at 20:12

When they snap and take half your leg and engine casing out with them, then you'll clean them better.

I don't understand people that think that just because it's a hack that it doesn't need proper maintenance, if anything it needs more because it's used more often.

wazza300 · 17 Jul 2015 at 20:13

I just re oil mine,no issues

it don't mean to say you gotta do it

current state of my two bikes

Aslong as you keep it well lubricated you ain't gonna damage your chain by not cleaning it,and it certainly wont cause it to snap,letting it dry out and overheat is the worst thing to do

Lakeland · 20 Jul 2015 at 22:38

It's hard to tell but both of those chains look pretty dry on the rollers. A scottoiler is your best bet imo otherwise oil her up every 100 or so miles. I don't bother cleaning mine but it does make sense that by not doing so there is more dirt to grind and wear the chain/sprockets, I'd rather replace them 1000m early than clean them though! To do it any justice you need to take the chain off and that's just a pita. I do have a rather old bike though so looks are not even an afterthought

P.S. standard wd40 should be a last resort, I actually use it to clean the chains off my push bikes / kart and it works a treat. There is virtually no residue left behind so I wonder whether it would actually do more harm than good as it would drive out oil from crevices.

duc999 · 21 Jul 2015 at 16:00

Motul chain paste (youtube and google are your friend)

Dogbreath · 24 Jul 2015 at 13:07

duc999 said:
Motul chain paste (youtube and google are your friend)

That's a really good idea, stops you accidentally covering the wheel and sprocket carrier in chain lube from an aerosol.

£5.95 from Demon Tweeks

tom_e · 24 Jul 2015 at 13:26

I've got to do mine tonight, done the best part of 800 miles since I lubed it last week and the weathers been crap, lets see how Muc Offs chain cleaner and extreme lube work out.

Just hoping it stops raining for half an hour at least when I get home so I can do it properly.

Sandycheeks · 27 Jul 2015 at 00:06

tom_e said:
Do you mean you're lubing it with just the bog standard blue can of WD40?

Yes, I know it sounds wrong as WD40 is an effective de-greaser.
I think I'll go back to the chain lube tbh as I don't believe WD40 does the job.
Blokes I know swear by it though and have never had any problems, so who knows....maybe they're right.

Tefal · 27 Jul 2015 at 01:21

i want what my mechanic has for chain oiling it looks like an old fashioned oil can with a big stiff brush instead of a spout pump the handle and pumps oil into the brush and you just coat the chain and poke it about, takes him about 30 seconds, but looking at it after and its a brilliant even coating

looks like it was made sometime in 1939 though lol

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/oil-fuel-cans/8010746/

like that but from your granddads age

Tefal · 27 Jul 2015 at 01:23

Sandycheeks said:
Yes, I know it sounds wrong as WD40 is an effective de-greaser.
I think I'll go back to the chain lube tbh as I don't believe WD40 does the job.
Blokes I know swear by it though and have never had any problems, so who knows....maybe they're right.

about 60% of WD40 is actually solvents iirc.

Also supposedly doesn't play nice with some kinds of aluminium, i know its banned in most aircraft environments but everyone seems fuzzy about eh reason.

Lakeland · 27 Jul 2015 at 01:40

The CAA has banned the use of WD-40 in all aircraft maintenance facilities. It seems that once WD-40 has dried it actually attract moisture / water and therefore rust / corrosion. This information was shown in the November 2014 issue of Woodturning (www.woodworkersinstitute.com).

Craig321 · 27 Jul 2015 at 10:14

Sandycheeks said:
I always used proper chain lube about once a fortnight but after winter I decided to give the chain a good clean from all the crud.

I cleaned it with a brush and some petrol and then washed off then a generous drubbing with WD40.
My chain started to rust after this and is only now beginning to look ok again.
I have recently been lubing it with WD40 only as per others recommendations and it seems to be doing it's job ok.

I did read somewhere a while back though that WD40 was a pain for swelling o-rings...advice I have decided to ignore for now.

poor chain. WD40 is not what you want to use, as above.

Think I've said it before, but I've been using Castrol Racing chain lube for a while now (£6 a bottle if you buy the pack of 6 from eBay). Not had one spot of rust whereas Wurth rusted the hell out of the chain on my old bike. Last bottle lasted me about 2 months which isn't too bad considering the price and I could probably use less. I've also applied it when the chain was cold, warm and also literally about 20 mins before riding and only ever had a few small spots of fling off, which was from the time I applied just before riding.

^JP^ · 27 Jul 2015 at 10:18

Standard WD-40 is very good for cleaning chain lube and brake dust from the wheels and tail fairing.
Just spray it onto a cloth and wipe off.
Works like magic! Never use it on the chain or for anything else though.

tom_e · 27 Jul 2015 at 10:20

That's what gets me something that's brilliant at breaking down and removing the actual stuff lubricating the chain is never going to be a good replacement for that same stuff.