70sSanO

In the 80's a bought Vetta chain cleaner (like the Park one) that I have been using for years. I have run everything from gasoline (years ago) to Simple Green to various chain cleaners. It is still going strong, but I was able to find a NOS one to keep me going through my latter years.

That said, I recently changed from using a wax based chain lube on my road bikes. It kept the chain pretty clean, but I found that I had to reapply it every 40 or 50 miles which meant all the time. I am trying a product called Slick Lube. Before I started with the new lube I did take my chain off and I soaked it in gasoline, some habits are hard to break, to get all the crud buildup off the best I could.

John

Jed19

^ I'll stay away from gasoline if I were you.

rekmeyata

I know the feeling, my bearings get a wee bit scrambled too. I understood what you meant, and actually they no longer use roller pin chains, they are now bushingless, not sure if any roller pin ones are being made anymore, maybe for single speed bikes? But if you look at the bushingless chain up close it almost appears to have a bearing but they're actually a roller, connecting the bushings. So the fact that you said bearings is nothing to get all grouchy about. And aren't rollers design to roll? a lot like a bearing, thus I think what you originally said is fine except the technical ones here will argue this point, whatever, I'll let them have their fun.

70sSanO

Yeah you are not the first one to say that. I'll only use it outdoors, usually on the driveway. I use a metal coffee can to soak the chain. Wipe it down with paper towels and then soak the used towels with water. I don't use it anymore through my chain cleaner.

John

ThermionicScott 

False. Chains have what are called "plain bearings" -- much like the crank and cam bearings in your car engine.

RoadTire 

Thanks ThermonicScott!

Ya, that's what I like about BikeForums - we can have lots of fun. Nobody's grouchy around here. I'm just lucky I didn't mention "chain" and "bearings" in the sentence on the 41. Open season in that arena.

I think I'll re-edit my post to say, "any variety of pin-bushing-plate-shoulder-roller interfaces."

cale

It's an understandable reaction to the word "bearings" because it suggested added complexity where I didn't think any existed. I had to check myself.

But as a bearing interface it relies almost entirely on tensile strength for its durability and tensile strength isn't impacted significantly by road grit or oil. So, fussing about drivetrain wear due to grim in the bearing interface would be, IMHO, something of an overreaction. Lubricants carry away the minutia of debris that might surface from a chain in use and do so continuously while you ride. Lubricating a chain, therefore, is more important than flushing out grit/particles in a cleaning because lacking oil a clean chain will cut itself apart. But any chain, sparkling clean or between cleanings (whatever that interval is), will only benefit from the addition of lubrication. (Yes, too much of a good thing isn't necessarily a good thing...)

What you have done, however, is allow for the pride that you have for your bikes and their maintenance to shine through.

leob1

Do you live on an unpaved road too? It make me nuts that every time I take out my matt black bike is has a layer of f'n dust no matter how much I clean it.

02Giant 

False. Nothing like crank and cam bearings in a car engine.

GravelMN

IMHO, the answer lies somewhere in the middle between the two extremist wings of chain cleaning. Personally, I like a reasonably clean drive train but I'm not obsessive about it. I lube every couple hundred miles or whenever the chain is dry or noisy. If it's dirty or gritty I'll spray a little degreaser on it and wash it off with the garden hose, then relube. Maybe twice a riding season, depending on conditions, I'll remove the chain, and soak it in mineral spirits, drain and repeat until quite clean, then lube it well.

BTW, I reuse my mineral spirits many times by letting it settle, decanting the relatively clean stuff throwing away just the sludge off the bottom of the container, and then running it through a cheap restaurant size coffee filter in a funnel. I got 150 of the filters for $5 at Sam's Club a few years ago and still have about 100 left. My used mineral spirits have enough dissolved oils, waxes, and other lubricants that it is practically a penetrating lubricant itself by now.

rekmeyata

That's why I hate black too, don't get me wrong glossy black will shine like a mirror when polished and look fantastic, but I have black car and just a drive down the road and it gets dusty/pollen looking quick. Black is a very high maintenance color. I have a matt black fork and gets dirty looking faster but no where near as fast as high gloss black.

Matte black is easier to care for than gloss black but it has issues, like never try to remove even the tiniest of scratches from the surface or you damage an even larger area! Fortunately, unlike gloss black, matte black actually hides scratches better because light is diffused and thus muting the appearance of scratches. Also need to make sure that you quickly remove bird crap, bugs, gum, and sap because if that stuff is left on too long it will damage the paint, but don't use any harsh solvents, acetone, ketone, etc, WD40 works but you must wipe it with a clean cloth afterwards and let it dry for 48 hours. Avoid using any wax products that contain any sort of abrasive which you can tell from the wording on the product, words removes oxidation, or removes swirls, etc. Clean the surface really well, first spray the area down with water then use very mild soap like Meguiars Deep Crystal car wash, never use a combo wash/wax or a wash/conditioner, and then in a 2nd bucket you have clear water and you rinse out your cloth or mitt (sheepskin mitt is best to use) in it before using the mitt to wipe off the suds. Most car manufactures that have matte painted items on their cars recommend that you use Meguiars Ultimate Quick Wax in a spray applied to a microfiber cloth.

There are some places that will sell you what they call a specialized product for matte paint, like Chemical Guys and Doctor Beasley, but that stuff is awfully expensive and can be done just as well with Meguiars for pennies a wash instead of dollars a wash. Dish washing soap, even the mild Dawn has certain fillers that can over time damage matte finishes. Even most bike care products like Pedros Bike Lust will over time change the flat matte appearance to a low luster look which isn't what matte is suppose to look like nor have the original look that was intended, and continue use will slowly change it to a satin black. Some people may prefer the flat look of matte to be more glossy, then that's fine, but it's not what the factory intended it to look like. Also do not use Windex on any painted surface including matte because over time it will destroy the paint. Any product with silicone in it, be it wax, wash, oil, etc should be avoided on matte finishes.

Over time the black matte finish will slowly turn to gray, when that happens you can wipe it down with a rag dampened with WD40, which contains no silicone, and it will restore the black, rewipe with clean microfiber cloth then make sure you let the WD40 dry for 48 hours or grit will stick to finish as you ride, then after it's dried use the Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Wax spray to restore the wax protection that the WD40 took off.

I said all of that only to tell you now that on my flat black fork I simply hose it off with water and only water, then wipe it with a wet microfiber cloth! It's really that easy, I have yet to have to use WD40, soap, wax, nothing, all the above stuff is for those who want to fuss more. I think that Enve put some sort of clear coat on my fork because it's very easy to care for whereas some matte black finishes I've seen doesn't look as good as mine.

ThermionicScott 

They are not exactly like engine bearings; I used an example of another type of bearing that doesn't use balls or rollers.

Read up. Bike chains use two plain bearings at each pin: one, formerly a full bushing between the inner link and pin and now an extension of the side plate, the roller is the other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_bearing

What are these interfaces if not plain bearings?

pdlamb

When I religiously used a quick link to remove my chain every 300-500 miles and clean it with mineral spirits, my chains lasted about 2,000 miles.

Now I try to wipe the chain down every week or so, or after a long (75 miles +) or rainy ride. Relube when dry. My chains now last... about 2,000 miles.

The only time I'll pull the chain off to clean it now is when it really needs it, for example after riding through mud.

bici_mania

I have a gravel driveway, and chickens who wander into the garage. I cover the bikes with old bed sheets, that helps some but I like a clean bike.

melloveloyellow

--reply deleted--

I can't believe I got pulled into yet another chainlube thread

RoadTire 

Hahahahahahahaha! Another one caught in the net!