Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - How do you keep your chain from being black?

??

Don't bother trying to prevent this from happening.

ride it with pride.

buy a black chain

"that's the way it's supposed to look"

but in all seriousness, it will get dirty no matter what. the only people who will give you s*** for a dirty chain are people on this forum

I read in Zinn's book that after lubing the chain, you should wipe it down with a clean dry cloth.

He said you want grease in the recesses of the links, on the outside of the chain there is no need for the grease, also, grease is sticky so that dirt will accumulate. And that dirt can work it's way in between the links and cause wear.

Do what 99% of this forum does. Don't ride your bike.

Are you implying that some people do actually ride their bikes?

I thought this forum was all about how to build up a nice track bike to mount on the wall. The road forum is for people who actually ride isn't it!

Just keep wiping the excess. Do it everyday!

Nah, the road forum is for people that cosplay on weekends when the weather's nice and think they are the only real cyclists.

Dry wax lube, but it'll still get dirty, just won't rub off as much

Try a different lube.
Personally I like the rock and roll lube.

I only have to reapply it after a ride through heavy rain, plus it cleans and lubes the chain.

Ok, sorry for the confusion.....

To clear things up, I'm not worried about the aesthetics.

I want to prevent my fingers from being dirty when I lock up the bike. I use a Krypto NY Chain. And the final step is putting the disc lock through the chainring. It gets my lock all greasy (in additional to my fingers).

I also want to prevent the chainring tattoo on my pants/leg.

I'll post a picture of the way I lock up and you'll see why I'm annoyed with a dirty chain.

You ask for the impossible.

I suggest you don't put the lock through the CR and get a chain guard. Disposable nitrile gloves also work well.

If you find a lube that doesn't get black after 30 miles and actually works, let everyone on this forum know about it. You will instantly have 1000's of friends.

You could go to a belt drive. This is a major advantage belts have over chains.

the dry lubes may help a little bit, but road grime is pretty much unavoidable.

Wax lube (white lightning) works ok in this regard. The idea is that when it gets dirty it just flakes off.

Now, it won't work as well as real wet lube, but you'll avoid some of the chainring tattoos and such.

Do you think it is necessary to lock up that thoroughly? Maybe it is where you live ... but it sounds like it could possibly be excessive.

+1 to wax.

i use pedro's ice wax. dob on, wipe off, dob on, wipe off... at least once a day. is there grit on my chain? yes. but does it still look nice and shiny and new after three months? you bet!

there's lots of discussion on ice wax at http://www.mtbr.com/cat/accessories/Lube/pedros/ice-wax/PRD_352347_131crx.aspx

My finger turns black. WTF?

Did the lube turn black due to usage? Or is it just crap in the air that was picked up? Any idea how I can prevent this from happening?

Black is ok, it happens.

Don't want to get things dirty? Don't touch your chain. It's probably not necessary to lockup your chainring.

The chain is a very vulnerable and important component on the bike and therefore requires regular maintenance (cleaning and lubrication) to remain relatively trouble free while performing all its tasks. The alternative is frequent replacement but that in and of itself is maintenance. Maintenance (or in your case just touching such a component) is frequently dirty work especially when that component is positioned down near the souce of grime stirred up by the wheels riding on the trails, roads, etc, and having some sort of grime attracting lube to help it run more smoothly for a longer time. But in your case you might carry a pair of latex gloves.

About the gloves, I think he worries also about his actual lock getting greasy, which will transfer grease to whatever he is holding his lock with.

dont lock your chainring.

i just switched to ice wax for the drier summer months...it works really well and the chain doesn't get nearly as gunked up
i was using 'chain j' before

so, just get the right lube for the conditions you ride in

Get an enclosed chain case.
They are very popular in England.

****ing threads like this....jeez this forum is filled with ****tards.

Wax lube (white lightning) works ok in this regard. The idea is that when it gets dirty it just flakes off.


It works beautifully in SoCal weather, not sure about you Northerners ;)

did you bother to clean all the crap that collected on your chaingring and cog when you cleaned your chain? thats like cleaning a white shirt and rolling around in the mud again wondering why your shirt is still dirty.

After you clean and oil the chain, grab a copy of War and Peace and start wiping it down.

You should be bored out of your skull and a few hundred revolutions of the crank is not excessive... just make sure you stay clear of the chain ring and rear cog as we know how nasty that can be.

The chain should feel dry when you are done and then do this again after you have ridden some miles as the oil from the inside will work itself out.

Under most riding conditions, 800 miles is too long to go without giving your chain a really deep cleaning.

I know many folks who run two chains and swap them at regular intervals to even out the wear... the unused chain gets a solvent bath while the other is at work and this appears to greatly extend chain life.

dont lube it~ duh~ just you have to hear your gears and you wont go as fast.. big deal >=D

lubed for efficiency, no lube for no grim> pick one. lube and blackness is like a requirement if you have gears~

seriously if you're worried about bull**** like this, then don't ride your bike, dirt comes naturally with riding. be a pansy and stop riding if it bugs you this much. i can't believe people are so caught up in such bull**** like this, it's a bike, it's a $15 chain, if it gets too dirty over time, buy a ****ing new one and stop creating useless, idiotic and time wasting threads like this.

I know many folks who run two chains and swap them at regular intervals to even out the wear... the unused chain gets a solvent bath while the other is at work and this appears to greatly extend chain life.

that's actually a really brilliant idea...

like i said before if you can't handle your chain getting black, stop being a racist and go do something else where **** doesn't get dirty. seriously, **** you.

Okay this is going to sound silly but since locking up in this manner sounds very important to you, why don't you take sheets of tin foil with you wherever you go and wrap it around the section of your chainring you plan to lock against. When you are done, dispose of the foil.

It's a lot of trouble and probably not worth it. But then again, locking up that thoroughly is probably overkill too. At least it solves your problem.

I ride in NYC if that makes a difference.


But then again, locking up that thoroughly is probably overkill too.


Is there such a thing in NYC?

Yeah I would just give up on trying to keep it clean man...

Good locking skills though dude

Yep you will need to either switch to a less sticky "dry" lube (and therefore you'll have to lube more frequently) or clean your chain more frequently. Either way, cleaner chains don't come for nothing. In the summer I switch to a teflon based lube. It's total garbage when it gets wet but otherwise it works fine and the chain stays very clean. This is hardly a drastic change in my routine too... just saying.

As much as it pains me to agree with devlshaircut, I personally don't think your locking regime is worth it. Someone who really wants your cranks will just have to unbolt the chainring. The odds of having a crankset stolen are so slim that I don't think it really matters too much. However, it's your bike and more security never hurts!

The odds of having a crankset stolen are so slim that I don't think it really matters too much. However, it's your bike and more security never hurts!


If I had to take a guess, it's not about securing the cranks from theft. Probably locks up like that to have 1 more thing filling the space inside the shackle and making it more difficult to mess with.

grow a pair of balls, how about that? moron.

Is there such a thing in NYC?

I think that in most cases, even in NYC, locking up your front and rear wheels with u-locks is sufficient. If someone is determined to steal your bike, for some reason, they are gonna take it anyhow.

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-84224226242177_2054_27235827

I think that in most cases, even in NYC, locking up your front and rear wheels with u-locks is sufficient. If someone is determined to steal your bike, for some reason, they are gonna take it anyhow.

You're right that nothing, short of locking your bike to an ED-209, is going to stop a determined thief. But isn't the standard convention that if you have to double lock, use 2 different kinds? (Chain/U-lock, U-lock/Cable, etc. That way a thief can't break both with a single tool.)

Sure, but that doesn't necessitate locking up through a chainring.

Also, with regard to the chain guard, I am not sure his lock is big enough to fit around it also.

Hey ddac,
Can you fit the shackle of that disc lock around your downtube below the bottle cage, instead of through the chainring?

i think you should just carry a condom with you and drape it over your u-lock every time your park. i mean, who really wants to touch a condom they've found on the streets in nyc? certainly not a bicycle thief.

I think fry is onto something.

"IM SUCH A LITTLE ***** MY CHAIN IS GETTING BLACK" *whining, crying, complaining, making a fit.

deal with it.

Correct! Filling up vacant space is my lock-up goal.

Additionally, if they cut my U-lock and choose to cut the chain (not the disc lock), they still can't ride it away. I'll have a better chance spotting someone with a bike on their shoulders.

Mander, which dry lube did you go with? Did you have to degrease everything before switching between wet vs dry lube & vice versa?

I know I had to degrease before I switched from wet lube to wax lube.

Nope, like other teflon lubes my dry lube is suspended in a nice strong solvent, so the first application takes off much of the pre existing chain gunk. I use MEC dry lube. It's poorly reviewed, but it does the trick for me. You have to take these very light lubes for what they are... don't ride in the rain, reapply often, etc.

you're an idiot.

that's actually a really brilliant idea...

Agreed. I'm definitely going to start doing this.

I often secure my minu u lock through the crank and attach the cable there to secure the front wheel and chain grease has not been an issue... but I am careful when I lock and unlock.

A Krypto secures the back wheel and frame.

Just keep wiping the excess. Do it everyday!

Do it every day and wipe it before you handle it when locking it up, and even thats not going to keep you from getting black crap on your hands when you lock it up that way, I give my bike a good cleaning after every ride, including cleaning and lubing the chain, I still get dirt on my hands when I touch the chain, its part of having a bike dude, get used to it.

There are two types of people in the world.... those with clean chains and normal people.