re keeping a chain in a solvent for a long time, a few years ago cyccocommute did an experiment where he was able to show that keeping a chain in X solvent caused the metal to weaken. I dont recall how long ago, or the name of the thread, but it was fairly conclusive.
Hey! Thanks for the reference. [MENTION=21724]cyccommute[/MENTION] writes that true mineral spirits DO NOT interact with metals, but chloride solutions (substitutes for mineral spirits) do. This is why you read here and there negative advice wrt Simple Green and other mineral spirits substitutes.
Originally Posted by
cyccommute
The Great Chain Corrosion experiment is finally over! On 23 October, 2011, I placed a piece of chain in a saline solution (~6% sodium chloride). Here's a pictures showing the proportions and the clean chain in the solution
[snip]
This morning, 9 December 2011, I checked it again and here's the result:
[snip]
You can clearly see two cracks in the chain that weren't there before I placed the chain in the solution. Both cracks look very much like JoeJack's chain and are in the stamped parts of the chain where I would expect the highest stresses during manufacture of the chain. I'm both amazed that it took so long and astounded that it happened in only 40 days.
[MENTION=21724]cyccommute[/MENTION] has written fairly extensively on the topic of chain maintenance. I'd rather have him explain again if it were useful, but let me try to summarize. He removes factory lubrication with solvents, puts dry-lube. He suggests that his chains last for several thousands of miles and believes that this longevity is due to the fact that dry lube doesn't attract dirt as much as wet lube, so there is no grinding paste on/inside the chain.
This approach makes perfect sense for commuters, maybe slightly less for extended tours where good dry lubes may be difficult to procure.