Bike Forums - Deep Clean a chain

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- - Deep Clean a chain (https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/266697-deep-clean-chain.html)

Quote:

My theory -- and it's only that -- is: if you "thoroughly" clean your chain, then you'd better use some sort of aerosol, or other penetrating method of getting lubrication into the non-visible portions of the chain--where the wear actually takes place. Otherwise, you'll have no lube where you need it.

And why would an aerosol(the addition of tiny bubbles) be more penetrating than capillary action? It wouldn't.

I ride on average 5K miles per year on my different bikes and go 2 seasons per chain. Keep em clean, lubed, and check for "stretch" (really excessive wear on the rollers) after every ride. Also, I ride campy and only buy Campy and/or Connex chains. I also keep the grinding on the pedals going uphill to a minimum by always staying in the saddle...I ride a triple and do 30% of my riding on mountain pass roads here in Colorado.

I have a large shop with all kinds of toys having to do with bikes. So, I used an old 3-speed chainring, mounted it on a piece of wood. Then I just use the PowerLink to break the chain, drape it over the old chainring, re-connect, and let the bottom arc run thru a solvent bucket. Effective, but it also got dirty, transferring crap back onto the chain, so I went with Plan2

Plan2:
I drop the chain into a 100oz laundry soap jug (you can pry out the spout) with about 3 cups of solvent, and shake for about 3 minutes. Works very well. I use a big magnet to get the little roller out because it always shakes loose and lays in the bottom. The magnate from the outside pulls the little bugger top the top.

When you can twist the chain without hearing that gritty, grinding noise, it's clean. Clean the gearworks or the effort is wasted. I do this probably twice/month on three bikes.

IMO, mineral spirits works good. The solids settle to the bottom and you can just pour off the re-usable stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neccros

I do know WD40 is the worst lube you can use for a chain....

I use TriFlow or similar

Can't tell if you were replying to my post or if it was just a coincidence. The WD-40 thing is done to death on this forum. I don't use it as a lubricant in the manner I described above. I use it as a degreaser--something it does quite well.

My $0.02. YMMV, etc., etc.

Please show me some data that proves that WD-40 is horrible lube for a chain. And please prove to me that it is worse than some homemade concoction of motoroil and mineral spirits of any number of random concentrations. Here are the ingredients of WD-40

Solvent naptha petroleum medium aliphatic 60%
petroleum base oil as paraffinic distillate, dewaxed 15%-25%
corrosion inhibitor 1-10%
wetting agent 1-10%
fragrance 0-1%
carbon dioxide

It seems to me that there is no evidence beyond anecdotal passed on from one cyclist to another with no real studies or data. Then each person passes on the evil WD-40 story. Ever hear of this story.

Quote:

Once upon a time there were some monkeys. They lived in a cage. One day they awoke to notice that a ladder had been placed right in the middle of the cage. Under the ladder hanging invitingly by a thread was a banana. It wasn't very long before one monkey began to climb the ladder. But as soon as it did so, icy cold water sprayed down on all the monkeys. This happened each and every time one monkey set paw upon the ladder. Very soon each and every monkey was on the look out least one of its companions would try to climb the ladder. How the monkeys hated that water. They hated it so much they quickly learnt to attack any would be banana questor. In time the monkeys simply learnt to ignore the banana. It was as if it were not there at all. It was a taste too far. And then one day a new monkey arrived in the cage. It wasn't very long before the new monkey saw the banana and began to climb the ladder. Immediately it was set up by the other monkeys and thrashed severely. It quickly discovered that the banana was taboo. As days went by more monkeys from elsewhere found themselves in the cage. Each in turn learnt the lesson. Typically it was the recent victims that punished the new transgressor the most. In fact the monkeys were so busy punishing each other that they failed to notice that their numbers were remaining mysteriously the same. For every new monkey that appeared in the cage one of the original monkeys was removed. It wasn't too long before every original monkey had gone. It wasn't long until there wasn't a single monkey in the cage that had experienced the icy deluge. In fact it wasn't long before no monkey had any memory of why it was wrong to reach for the banana. It simply became something that was not done. It became something that almost could not be done, because it was beyond the imagination, and spending all their time in the cage imagination was something the monkeys had very little of.

CLEAN with WD40. LUBE with bicycle chain lube. You could clean with chain lube but it's a lot more expensive than WD40.

Let's not sidetrack this into yet another WD40 debate. Start another thread if you want some boisterous argument.

I've been running my new chain for a month and a half on my mountain bike... all I do is occasionally wipe down the outside to get the gunk off. It's still very clean and seems well lubricated on the inside. I'm kind of tempted to degrease it just so I can start trying new lubes, but figure this is about the best the chain will ever get.