Drivetrain Cleaning Frequency

[Anospa]

Don't think I'm applying too much lube, but maybe I'll try less and see what happens. I don't usually wipe excess off, that's prob a contributing factor, although applying just to wipe off seems counter productive.

There's your problem. Only the pin interface needs to be lubed, the rest of the chain could be dry and function perfectly fine. The excess sitting on your chain is what is getting things nasty. Take care to remove the excess and you'll be a lot happier.

[ill-advised strategy]

https://www.sureshotsprayer.com/

will spray any liquid w/o aerosol.


I have a one burner electric stove in the garage and a coffee can of old wax and paraffin that I heat up and liquify. Clean the chain and hot wax. Last a long time and doesn't pick shit up.

I also have a bike I commute/errand with all year in the northland and went to a "I'll clean it when there's a problem" mode 2 years ago, I have not added any lube or cleaned it. It's just black and greasy and everything is lasting a long time and working well covered in gunk. Now it's a science experiment...I bet it's going to last a really long time. Then I get a chain and a cassette. No big deal...and I haven't spent hours and hours cleaning the bike to get a little extra life out of the chain and cassette. Fuck it.

[gravitylover]

Properly lubed when necessary all the bike should need is a wipe down and maybe knock some gunk off the pulleys.

[jackstraw]

So by lubing less you'll work way less hard and your drivetrain will stay clean.

Properly lubed when necessary all the bike should need is a wipe down and maybe knock some gunk off the pulleys.

Clearly you two ride like pussies.

[XXX-er]

[. I have a one burner electric stove in the garage and a coffee can of old wax and paraffin that I heat up and liquify. Clean the chain and hot wax. Last a long time and doesn't pick shit up. ..

that ^^sounds like a lot of work have you tried the stuff that goes on liquid ( eg: boesheild or squirt ) and solidifys

[Swine]

Rock & Roll Gold lube after every couple of rides. Lube chain, wipe off, let dry. Keeps things pretty clean.

This. Wet lubes suck and attract dirt. Rock and Roll kicks ass.

[kidwoo]

Some of you guys take this shit way too seriously.

[gravitylover]

Clearly you two ride like pussies.

Hahaha

[TahoeJ]

I give mine a quick hose after every ride and lube before the next one. Every several or so rides - depending on how dirty it gets, I'll do a proper chain cleaning and cassette scrub. Keeping it relatively clean makes your parts last much longer IME.

And as someone else mentioned, after you lube the chain make sure to run it through a cloth in your hand to get the excess off of the outside of it. Every time.

[ill-advised strategy]

that ^^sounds like a lot of work

Turn the burner on.
run the chain through the cyclone for bit.
pull the master link.
Dip the chain
install.
done.

It's like 10 minutes max and it lasts a long, long time.

[GeezerSteve]

Oh yeah, hot lube is the only way to fully coat the pin/bushing bearing surface, and it's much more effective and longer lasting than dripping or spraying on lube from the outside. Most new chains come hot-lubed from the factory. Toilet ring gasket wax works. There are also hot wax products out there, e.g., https://moltenspeedwax.com/ and https://www.runawaybike.com/products/hot-tub

[MrMan]

Clearly you two ride like pussies.

Better to be a pussy than a HACK. You and your bike are both fucked haha.

[jono]

Turn the burner on.
run the chain through the cyclone for bit.
pull the master link.
Dip the chain
install.
done.

It's like 10 minutes max and it lasts a long, long time.

I did that to a Sachs chain on a road bike in 1993. I haven't touched it since and it only left semi-regular service a couple years ago. Probably 5-8k miles, hard to be precise since most of those miles in the first couple years--it is a road bike, after all. My money's on your experiment going long.

[MrMan]

And as someone else mentioned, after you lube the chain make sure to run it through a cloth in your hand to get the excess off of the outside of it. Every time.

If you properly use the single small drip method on each pin/plate junction you don't need to wipe off any access lube. No sense in wasting lube and adding the extra step of running the chain thru a rag.

[jono]

If you properly use the single small drip method on each pin/plate junction you don't need to wipe off any access lube. No sense in wasting lube and adding the extra step of running the chain thru a rag.

That's some funny stuff there. Lube that can't make it into a meaningful location is much more wasted riding around collecting sand and dust than if it winds up on a rag.

[buildakicker]

Depends on what you mean by "cleaning."

Lube? After every ride or every other ride. I use a dry lube, which doesn't pick up much dust.

Wash? With chain on bike, wash + spray degreaser on chain/cassette/etc -- depends on how mucky the bike is. Maybe every week or two.

Remove chain and soak in degreaser? About once a year. Soak in 50/50 Simple Green/water (or whatever degreaser you like) overnight, hose clean, wipe dry, hang to finish drying.



Some will argue that the grease that a new chain is packed in is the Very Finest Lube Evar, and that chains should never be soaked in degreaser. I disagree, and think that grease is the Very Finest Attractor of Grit Evar, and should be degreased ASAP -- before installing a new chain. I remove the chain off a new bike and soak it in degreaser before riding for the first time. I don't want any of that sticky shit glommed all over the cassette and chainrings. Degrease + dry lube = chains and gears last a very long time.

Basically my recipe, however, I do a quick wipe after ever ride. Dry lube for the win for sure in the pnw.


Fresh and Deep.

[MrMan]

That's some funny stuff there. Lube that can't make it into a meaningful location is much more wasted riding around collecting sand and dust than if it winds up on a rag.

I don't think you follow me.

[homemadesalsa]

If you spray your bike down with the hose, make sure that you don't force water into your bottom bracket, hubs, headset, etc. Use a dribble of water and a nylon brush.

I'm a fan of wax lube for 90% of the time. Dust and dirt wipe right off. Someone up thread gave you good advice to check your chain every month or so as well, especially if you're putting a lot of strain on it, or grinding mud or grime into it. That stuff wears out a chain so fast.

[MrMan]

Watering can water velocity.

[jm2e]

Way too seriously.
This thread gone all Empty Beer

[scrublover]

Some of you guys take this shit way too seriously.

Have you looked into the "low BBH" thread over on mtbr/passion?

Waaaaaaay too much seriousness and nerditry afoot.

Otherwise: little bit of dry lube, run it through a rag to get the excess. Once every few rides, more if it's been really wet or looks particularly junked up. Scrape off gunk from the pulleys and cassette generally at the same time.

[rideit]

I miss reusable master links.

[kidwoo]

I miss reusable master links.

Huh?

Every chain on all 4 of my bikes has one.


Scrub: link please. I need a laugh

[SchralphMacchio]

There's your problem. Only the pin interface needs to be lubed, the rest of the chain could be dry and function perfectly fine. The excess sitting on your chain is what is getting things nasty. Take care to remove the excess and you'll be a lot happier.

x5.

Think of chain lube like ski wax. Ever use a lot of ski wax, forget to scrape, and try to ski in winter snow? What happened? It sucked right? Grabs all kinds of snow and goes slow?

You want the wax that's in your base, not on your base ... just like you want chain lube that's in your chain pins, not on the outside of your chain.

I use tri-flow to both clean and lube my chain. If it's really dirty, apply lube liberally, run the crank for 1-2 minutes, let it sit for 1 hour (to let gravity do its work and get the lube back to the outside or bottom of the chain) then wipe chain as dry as possible, until the rag is no longer staining black. If the lube is still capable of staining the rag, then it is also capable of picking up dust and dirt.

The only time I use a degreaser (which is REALLY rare) is if I'm doing a full reset, just like others have mentioned. But this is a nasty process ... like, use an old jar and let the chain sit in some degreaser ... then you also need to completely brush down and degrease your cassette and jockey wheels in conjunction, and then re-lube once everything is completely dry. This is definitely only a once per year kind of thing, and only if your chain isn't stretched out. Use a Park Tool chain stretch checker, because in my opinion it's not worth degreasing a chain if it has even close to 1% stretch - all you are going to do is waste chemicals on an old chain that is going to tear apart your cassette anyways, and still shift like crap after you are done cleaning.

I now live in PNW so I'm on the hose-down cleaning after mucky rides, I only re-lube my chain when it starts chirping like a hamster wheel. I keep my derailler jockeys as clean as possible because those things can catch a lot of muck and dirt.

[kidwoo]

Nevermind scrub.


The entertainment here is sufficient.