Don't clean new chain
09-22-09, 01:07 PM
#52
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I made the mistake of leaving the shipping gunk on my chain once, and rode through a dusty patch of road.
I could hear tiny pieces of sand and grit audibly crunching between the rollers and the cogs for the rest of the ride. Goodness knows how much extra wear that stuff put on my cassette before I cleaned it off and lubed it properly.
Just my experience. I clean and lube a new chain before even mounting it.
I could hear tiny pieces of sand and grit audibly crunching between the rollers and the cogs for the rest of the ride. Goodness knows how much extra wear that stuff put on my cassette before I cleaned it off and lubed it properly.
Just my experience. I clean and lube a new chain before even mounting it.
09-22-09, 03:38 PM
#55
Count Orlok Member
While bkaapcke's method is a little excessive...you could stop at the auto parts cleaner, bkaapcke
...the solvents he is using aren't particularly toxic. Flammable, yes but not toxic. You have much more 'toxic' materials around the house. Have a car? 20 gallons of extremely toxic solvents right there. Have a little wine or distilled spirits at home? Toxic. Finger nail polish remover? Slightly toxic. A bit of wasp or bug spray? Highly toxic. Use natural gas? Toxic. Use water? Toxic...both as an inhalation and ingestion hazard.
...the solvents he is using aren't particularly toxic. Flammable, yes but not toxic. You have much more 'toxic' materials around the house. Have a car? 20 gallons of extremely toxic solvents right there. Have a little wine or distilled spirits at home? Toxic. Finger nail polish remover? Slightly toxic. A bit of wasp or bug spray? Highly toxic. Use natural gas? Toxic. Use water? Toxic...both as an inhalation and ingestion hazard.
09-22-09, 04:19 PM
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09-22-09, 05:07 PM
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Well, I stand corrected. A sticky dirt magnet of a chain, whose rollers barely turn, will shift just as well as a clean, lightly lubed one. Ya learn something every day. bk
09-22-09, 05:11 PM
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Fwiw, I leave the factory lube on and apply my favorite lube (White Lightning) as usual. No problems.
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09-22-09, 05:13 PM
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Natural gas as it comes out of the ground is often mixed with toxic gases. These are typically removed prior to commercial use, but you won't find me snorting the stuff any time soon.
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09-22-09, 05:35 PM
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Natural gas is mostly methane - CH4 - which is odorless. So 2ppb of Ethylmercaptan is added so a leak can be detected. That's 2 parts per billion. Ethylmercaptan is not terribly toxic. It just stinks to high heaven. There are well-known cases of chemists working with this stuff, and accidently poured some on themselves. Their families made them live in tents for several months until the odor became tolerable.
Another better known chemical is Butylmercaptan. This is what Skunks carry for self-defense.
Another better known chemical is Butylmercaptan. This is what Skunks carry for self-defense.
09-22-09, 07:13 PM
#61
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With all due respect to this Jobst Brandt dude, I can see manufacturers putting an inexpensive gunky preservative on their chains instead of a good bicycle-kind-of lube.
I've bought chains that were packed in a heavy, greasy, waxy whatever and it made the chain very sticky. As far as i'm concerned, that crap comes off when the chain comes out of the package.
I've bought chains that were packed in a heavy, greasy, waxy whatever and it made the chain very sticky. As far as i'm concerned, that crap comes off when the chain comes out of the package.
09-24-09, 12:45 AM
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when you clean the chain, it is exposed to moisture, so you have to lube it.
dry lube is best for dry conditions.
i use SINGER oil because it has 60% wax based, so it is very good oil. and very cheap!
dry lube is best for dry conditions.
i use SINGER oil because it has 60% wax based, so it is very good oil. and very cheap!
09-24-09, 07:57 AM
#63
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In the sense that it can bring about death, natural gas is toxic. That death may not be the result of poisoning, however you're still going to be just as dead if you fail to handle it properly.
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09-24-09, 08:10 AM
#64
aka Timi
just a thought, maybe a silly one, but would a high pressure water hose clean the insides of a chain?
(I know not to go near anything with ball bearings)... probably mean taking the chain off to do this safely...
(I know not to go near anything with ball bearings)... probably mean taking the chain off to do this safely...
09-24-09, 08:30 AM
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high water pressure is not recommended at all, because the water can get in the hubs and other stuff(i don't know the english work for them 
)
)
09-24-09, 08:45 AM
#66
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Keep it simple. Why drag out a hose, hook up a water compression unit, and get a whole bunch of slightly complicated control mechanisms involved when you can take the chain off, put in a jar, add mineral spirits, shake and remove. It takes longer to remove the chain (even with a quick link) than it does to clean the chain.
Keep your elaborate ceremonies for tea
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09-24-09, 08:59 AM
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I suppose one could make a ceremony out of that...
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09-24-09, 09:28 AM
#68
aka Timi
nah, it was just that I have a high pressure compression hose at work. and thought it might force the grit and grime out of the links before "cleaning" it...
09-24-09, 12:31 PM
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It will likely force the grit into the middle of the chain where you don't want it.
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09-24-09, 12:33 PM
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Depends on whether you want to clean the outside of the chain or inside.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
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Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
09-24-09, 01:01 PM
#71
Count Orlok Member
Toxic usually means poisonous. I thought perhaps you were thinking of the old "town gas," or "manufactured gas," made from heating coal, which was toxic, as it had a large amount of Carbon Monoxide in it. This is the source of committing suicide by putting one's head in the oven, e.g., Sylvia Plath. I still run into people worried that natural gas is toxic, and that a pilot light out on their stove will make them sick, so I try to clear that up when possible.
Okay, back to the fight.
09-24-09, 01:29 PM
#72
aka Timi
09-24-09, 01:45 PM
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OFF TOPIC:
Toxic usually means poisonous. I thought perhaps you were thinking of the old "town gas," or "manufactured gas," made from heating coal, which was toxic, as it had a large amount of Carbon Monoxide in it. This is the source of committing suicide by putting one's head in the oven, e.g., Sylvia Plath. I still run into people worried that natural gas is toxic, and that a pilot light out on their stove will make them sick, so I try to clear that up when possible.
Okay, back to the fight.
Toxic usually means poisonous. I thought perhaps you were thinking of the old "town gas," or "manufactured gas," made from heating coal, which was toxic, as it had a large amount of Carbon Monoxide in it. This is the source of committing suicide by putting one's head in the oven, e.g., Sylvia Plath. I still run into people worried that natural gas is toxic, and that a pilot light out on their stove will make them sick, so I try to clear that up when possible.
Okay, back to the fight.
I'm usually the one here explaining toxicology and chemistry to the rubes. Thanks for taking this one on for me! 
I just went out and applied one-drop per link of Boeshield T-9 to the SRAM PC-7X I installed on my PUCH 3-spd. This thread reminded me. And I didn't remove the factory lube first.
09-24-09, 07:23 PM
#74
Senior Member
With all due respect to this Jobst Brandt dude, I can see manufacturers putting an inexpensive gunky preservative on their chains instead of a good bicycle-kind-of lube.
I've bought chains that were packed in a heavy, greasy, waxy whatever and it made the chain very sticky. As far as i'm concerned, that crap comes off when the chain comes out of the package.
I've bought chains that were packed in a heavy, greasy, waxy whatever and it made the chain very sticky. As far as i'm concerned, that crap comes off when the chain comes out of the package.