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Chainsets & Chainrings
  • affinityaffinity
    buy a stainless steel chain £20 and never have to oil it !
  • krakowkrakow
    I can seemingly destroy anything. Very quickly.

    The number of times that I have bought something described as "bomb proof!" or with the vehemently proclaimed recommendation that "a courier ran it for 3 years without any maintenance and it was still as good as new!" etc etc and then ridden it to wonky shreds in a month is what makes my life so financially difficult...

    That and buying Finnish records.
  • affinityaffinity
    how many miles are u doing per year ?
  • dbasserdbasser
    I think Alex cycles all the miles
  • affinityaffinity
    was guessing 10 000-13 000
  • JoshvegasJoshvegas
    Alex last time i saw your bike there was no way the chain had been cleaned in weeks and weeks!
  • JoshvegasJoshvegas
    dbasser said:

    I think Alex cycles all the miles



    N+1
  • krakowkrakow
    12,000 miles a year.
  • krakowkrakow
    Joshvegas said:

    Alex last time i saw your bike there was no way the chain had been cleaned in weeks and weeks!



    Not true. At least once a week.

  • JoshvegasJoshvegas
    how are you cleaning it?
  • krakowkrakow
    Once a week... rigorous wipe down with a cloth until everything is decently shiny, then re-lube.

    Much more occasionally, use muc-off or equivalent on the chain too.

    I like the look of the Surly steel chainring & think I will pick one of those up, thanks Dan.
  • rustyrusty
    This cleaning regime requires more 'chain off' action, definitely more degreaser, and quite a bit more toothbrush time.
  • krakowkrakow
    Sounds like a good waste of cycling time.
  • dbasserdbasser
    I assume you wipe off excess lube at the end, otherwise you will be gathering dirt that will just mix into an abrasive paste
  • JoshvegasJoshvegas
    its the inside of the chain that does the damage alex.

    you need the toilet roll method. its quick and easy and better than nothing.
  • krakowkrakow
    A long way to go for me yet on the maintenance front, it seems... sigh. That all seems so incredibly labour-intensive and time-consuming - I can't imagine having time for it every week.
  • regreg
    Joshvegas said:



    you need the toilet roll method.



    i prefer a toothbrush,, but im fascinated, explain please......

  • dbasserdbasser
    If it is the inside that is the issue just soak a rag in degreaser and feed it between chain and chainring then crank away, quick and easy.
  • rustyrusty
    Dump the chain and cog in here. Then wipe them down and put them back on the bike.
  • dbasserdbasser
    ^That work well on chains? I was tempted to get one for bass strings
  • rustyrusty
    I saw a Japanese video on YouTube where it took a really grubby stainless steel chain to gleaming in about a minute. Stainless chains will always clean easier but this involved no effort unlike traditional methods.

    I wanted to get one but couldn't find them under £100. Now that I've found this one I might buy it.
  • conn_artistconn_artist
    I clean my chain now and again by getting an old plastic 2l milk container thing sticking some white spirit in it then feed the chain in and shake it around like fuck. pour out the dirty fluid, pull out the chain wipe and let dry for a bit and stick it back on. easy.
  • affinityaffinity
    i do con artist way but with 2 baths second leaving it overnight a shaken and out it comes like new
  • literallyoverthemoonliterallyoverthemoon
    I've used this method, but with diet coke instead of white spirit. Really good at eating surface rust away.
  • JackEasy
    or could leave it on top of a tumble dryer or washing machine and let the vibrations from that do the job.
  • rustyrusty
    How did you find this out jackeasy?
  • rustymaw
    Looks like I have a long way to go on the bike maintenance front too. A few people have told me that white spirit damages tons of components on the bike. Is there anywhere that it should be totally avoided.
  • SmoutSmout
    White spirit for me.
  • JoshvegasJoshvegas
    paraffin
  • JackEasy
    well in the spirit of this thread i decided to take my chain off my bike and shove it in some white spirit. on trying to get the chain back on however i dropped the pin and it fell down a crack. needless to say I will be without a bike until i can get a new chain :(
    Rusty: just read the advert. seems there is more to it. but ultimately its just a fancy bath sonicator. maybe the washing machine was a bit of imagination coming in to play. seems to me a waste of cash considering you can clean it as well by hand with a bit more effort.
  • dbasserdbasser
    Jack, did you push one of the link pins right through and lose it? What size of chain cause I have loads of spare pieces of 1/8th fixed gear/single speed chain.
  • rustymaw
    Was having a chat about this with a friend last night he's got one of those chain baths which you can use with the chain still on the bike says it's the business and runs the chain through a wee brush. Sounds liek teh best of both worlds without any chain removal required
  • JoshvegasJoshvegas
    Really because my experience is they are next to useless and anything in a ten meter radius gets covered in shit. Also doesn't would on single speed as there is on spare chain
  • caaaallum
    ^^ This, they've just covered everything in shit then fallen apart each time i've used one.
  • rustymaw
    Well I'll be pieing that idea then!
  • JackEasy
    Joshvegas said:

    Really because my experience is they are next to useless and anything in a ten meter radius gets covered in shit. Also doesn't would on single speed as there is on spare chain



    +1. when i tried it, it ended up running into my derailleur. when i removed it to put it on the other way i dropped it from the height of chain of a standing bike to the ground and one of the bits broke. never again.
    @dbasser: its a shimano chin used with an 8 speed. not sure if you have one of those. will have a look for the pin again when i get home tonight. and ya, i did push it the full way through.
  • affinityaffinity
    +2 broke
  • jambo1
    What you be wanting boys is this, coupled with a suitable degreaser! Brings my chain up like new when I can be arsed!
    image
  • JackEasy
    why do you have a lab bath sonicator in your garage?
  • jambo1
    It's not my garage and it is used to clean diamond rings
  • JackEasy
    ah so its at your work then? I'm sure that your boss will happily allow you to degrease your chain in it
  • jambo1
    Aye yeah i do it every now and then but to be honest im happy to spend 10 quid on a new chain every 3 months.
  • Brickman
    http://www.powertoolsdirect.com/swarfega-jizer-degreasers-range?utm_source=google&utm_medium=merchant

    image

    THIS + chain scrubbing device (£7 on ebay for a weldtite job) = clean chain in about 30seconds, then hose off.

    Doesn't hurt paint, and is very very similar to Fenwicks bike cleaner, only much cheaper (per litre) and more powerful. Its also drain friendly so you can just wash it away.
    I was given the remains of a 25l drum at work (about 4litres) and its been serving my fleet of bikes for about 3months now and still have loads left.
    Only other degreaser I would bother with on chains is muc-off bio degreaser, but at £8 /500ml it really doesn't go very far.



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