View Single Post
Old 11-17-17 | 09:59 AM
  #25  
gauvins
Senior Member
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 2,179
Likes: 202
From: QC Canada

Bikes: Custom built LHT & Troll

Originally Posted by djb
I can appreciate the time that gets spent when one person ends up doing chain and drivetrain cleaning on 4 bikes, it can take a while!
I am actually pretty lazy wrt maintenance. May look like I am deep on the OCD spectrum, but not really. I am just ferociously curious and somewhat methodical. For us, bike maintenance requires next to no time. There is the occasional saddle / handlebar / whatnot adjustment, a weekly lubrication (15 minutes total?) and maybe a wipe, here and there.

Regarding the specifics of lubrication -- I use CHAIN-L. It lasts a very long time (easily 800kms, which translates into a week or more of touring / one bottle was more than enough for our summer trips). I have considered alternatives such as White Lightning, but there is the "highly flammable" warning on the bottle, so there is a definite risk that it'd be confiscated at the gate, and I don't like the idea of searching for an alternative in a foreign country. And as you say, using dry lube would probably mean applying lubricant every day. Not appealing.

My wife and daughter's bikes are set with Shimano chains, that I do not rotate. I am experimenting rotation with mine (Connex Sx) and I expect to start rotating all chains next year.

Next longish tour (looks like summer 2019) I may start cleaning the chains in solvent. Minimal additional hassle, potential benefit or longer drivetrain life. Yet not something to worry about.
gauvins is offline  
Reply