Redbullet

Hello,

I wonder how you grease and maintain your chain / transmission.

After ridding 20-30 km with a new bike in light rain, I deeply cleaned my chain and transmission, then I greased the chain with PTFE lube (special for bike chain). The big surprise came soon: after riding 60 km on asphalt road, on a sunny day, I found my chain full of some sort of rough sand - I can clearly feel it, on the grease that remains on my fingers if I touch the chain. I can not even understand where all this dirt came from, because the road looked quite clean...

How do you avoid this, in order to assure a reasonable "life" of your transmission?

Thanks in advance

0.2HP

OK chain/transmission care can be a contentious issue with lots of strong opinions.

One common opinion now-a-days you you are constantly going to get that grit on your chain, and you should wipe it off after each ride. And re-oil the chain when it looks dry.

Another opinion is the grit on the outside of the chain does no harm. Only the grit between moving parts can cause wear, and you should ignore the grit on the outside.

You can pick one of those or pick one of the other opinions that will get posted here.

FBinNY 

Allow me to sneak up on this sideways. When your car's engine needs oil do you open the cap and pour it inside, or do you simply pour it all over the outside of the engine?

It's sort of the same with chains. The chain needs oil inside where there's movement between the pin and plates' bearing area. It doesn't need lube on the outer sufaces where all it does is adhere dirt and grit.

So the step you missed was to run the chain through a rag pr paper towel and wipe off all excess oil on the surfaces. Lubes vary, but most call for this to be repeated from time to time, because lube tends to weep out from within.

0.2HP

Also, google SHELBROCO CHAIN CLEANING for the last word on this subject.

Redbullet

Thanks for the answers. Indeed, I did not wipe the chain thoroughly after greasing, but just a little bit with a cloth. I'll do it better next time.

Does anybody have an idea about how many km can last SRAM Force 22 chain rings (alloy) and steel cassette (1170), at average usage, greased and rarely used in rain?

Thanks

FBinNY 

That's like asking how long your girlfriend or wife will put up with you.

Impossible to answer because there are too many variables.

Averages are meaningless, you'll just have to watch wear and shell out when it's time. However, sprocket weat is closely related to chain wear, and replacing chains before they wear too much greatly improves sprocket life.

gsa103

You can wipe the sides of the chain very thoroughly and that cuts most of the grime. The side plates don't contact anything so there's no need for oil there.

Andrew R Stewart 

GREAT REPLY! I'll have to try this out on my customers. Thanks Francis. Andy

Joe Minton

Long story short:

Really thick and sticky oil (like Chain-L) stays in place between the critical moving parts of a chain (side plates, rollers & pins) and prevents the entry of bits of dirt. Replentishment via dripping said oil across the chain at each roller/sideplate junction will flush most dirt and wear particles out of the chain (give it an hour or so). You then need only wipe the excess off the outside by dragging the chain through a towel, rag or whatever. You do not need to wash your chain clean with solvents or soaps. Doing so invites dirt into the chain where it does great damage. Flushing from the inside via the method (and thick oil) described above is the most effective way to lubricate and protect your chain against dirt infiltration.

I realize that what I just stated will get many 'lubers' backs up. So what; I don't care and they're wrong ;O)

Joe

Andrew R Stewart 

A question I have thought about for a long time is about the often suggested practice of wiping off the chain with a rag. What portion of the outside grime will get pushed deeper into the links? Just asking, because I know in every other bearing that I work with when wiping off the outside there remains a ridge of grime at the edge. Andy.

FBinNY 

I've long been in disagreement with the so-called "grinding paste" theory of chain wear. My experience has been that lubricant failure under load is the primary cause of chain wear (especially in hilly terrain). My theory is that the dirt and grit tend to get rubbed off the point of contact and build up to either side of the movement zone, much like the line of dirt at the end of windshield wiper travel. However J. Brandt and I do agree that oiling a dirty chain with something containing solvent is more likely to carry grit in than out, which is one reason I fought to have the longest service interval when I developed Chain-L.

As far as wiping goes, it probably depends on the specific product. With some, you'll get a hard ridge of non moving dirt that stays in place almost like a wiper seal, along the edges where parts meet. With others, especially if solvent is used, the hard ridge can break up and run into the chain.

I don't think any one theory can apply to all chains, lubes or conditions because there are too many variables, so each person needs to experiment and find what seems to work best for them. The right product will have the best balance of chain life, operating smoothness, service interval, weather protection, ability to stay reasonably clean, and ease of use. However, since we all have different needs and priorities, we'll never agree on what the "best balance" actually is and chain lube debates will go on forever.

One thing to keep in mind is that chains are getting pricier, and chain life is declining because chains are getting narrower. So chain lube and maintenance warrant more attention now than before.

Andrew R Stewart 

All good points and also deepen the question. The more you know the more you don't know. Andy

FBinNY 

Yes,

My take is a bit different. The system is inherently problematic because of necessary trade offs for the narrowness and flexibility needed for derailleur systems to work. We're just trying to do the best we can in the face of the problems.

JonathanGennick 

This is well-said. And it's true! Differing priorities lead to differing choices.

You had to fight for that?

I'm glad you did, because I've grown fond of not really having to worry about whether I've lubed the bike. One good friend obsesses over "clean" and will wipe and lube each ride using a solvent lube. I'm the guy who gets home and parks the bike and doesn't revisit it until the next ride when I'm ready to grab and go and start pedaling, and Chain-L lets me keep on deferring the chore of lubing until the next next time.

Different priorities. Different lubes.

Redbullet

Once I've red a theory saying that thick lube should be used for riding in the rain and thin lube should be used for riding in dry environment. They said that thin lube would attract much less dirt than thick lube (so, will better protect the chain), but I have never seen a logical explanation of such behavior (I see that thin lube is still sticky enough, why dirt would not adhere to it?).

Indeed, for marketing purposes, the producer of the oil I use marked it with something like "all weather" ptfe oil....

ThermionicScott 

I tell myself that if I've pushed any grime into the chain, it isn't very far, just below the outside surface of the metal parts. So it may not be going anywhere critical, unless it gets washed further in by rain or solvent. I try to wipe it as dry as possible after the initial application, then after the first ride, so that I don't really need to deal with it again.

cthenn

This is why I try to go "light maintenance" on the chain. I don't want to worry about wiping it down after every ride, or every other ride, for various reasons, one being the *possibility* (however remote) that I end up pushing more gunk into the innards of the chain. There will always be a "dry" coating of black gunk right around the edges of the plates where the pins are, so I'd rather wait as long as I can to clean it and relube. Also, it's a dirty, time consuming mess deep cleaning a chain, so if I can avoid it for a bit longer, I will .