DiabloScott

What? Swapping out a chain improves chain life?

IAMAMRA

I like to clean my chain about once a month, or every 4-500 miles. Though I recently switched to rock n roll gold, and found that a simple new application with a wipe down(per directions) spiffs up the chain nicely.

vanttila

Ever tried it?

fishymamba

Isn't the grease that is removed from the chain still harmful for the grass?

FBinNY 

You're not getting it because he didn't explain it correctly. Swapping or, more precisely, rotating multiple chains on the same cassette improves the cassette's life, vs. running the same chains in sequence. For example, if you typically replace a cassette after three chains, rotating those same three chains will give you smoother performance, and less cassette wear.

The real payoff is that since you don't plan to introduce a new chain, all 3 chains can be run well past the point where you would have otherwise have chucked them.

So all in all, you get a longer service life on all three chains and the cassette. This has been well documented, and is SOP for many high mileage riders. However, many riders don't buy this approach. To those, I say don't knock it until you try it.

Astrozombie

I noticed there was some hard to reach gunk in between the links so I just picked up the White Lightning kit from Walmart for ten bucks. I think it was mostly the rain we got a few days, but hey it was only $10 to try it out....we'll see.

I don't want to take off the chain every time I clean it and don't want to wash the whole bike more than a couple times a month.

rootboy 

Chain scrubber? What's a chain scrubber? I'm my chain scrubber.

DiabloScott

OK, thanks for explaining that - while I still don't believe it, at least it's not the laughable mistake I took the message to be (throw your chains out earlier so they'll last longer).

And if I understand your explanation, you must not believe in any elongation type of metric for chain replacement - ie if the chain is elongated 1.5% but the cassette has worn evenly to accommodate that 1.5% then that's fine, and your best subjective metric for wear is just skipping and shifting performance.

anixi

I've had a chain-scrubber for nearly 25 years. I used to use it when the chains were Shimano brand and I didn't want to take the chain off for routine maintenance. It never really worked for me: messy, didn't seem to get the chain very clean, did I mention messy?
I switched over to actually maintaining my drivetrain the way it was supposed to be. Peer pressure was the main influence; I got tired of being made fun of for acting like I really cared about the bikes I rode. I subsequently went overboard, esp. on my mountainbikes, since the performance of the drivetrain just suffered immensely. Now I clean the drivetrain on the MTB every other ride. I am so FED UP with slipping chains when I really need to hustle up a big hill that I've jumped ahead of the curve. My road bike(s) get less frequent service, but, they're right there past the hump in the bell curve. I just think that the Scot in me wants to save money on replacement chains, cassettes and chainrings. I've determined to wage war on grit! Hate the stuff, and I know how it wears things down prematurely. To this day I can't stand to start a 20+ bike ride on my road bike without a clean slate. I've become OCD and the so-called "chain-cleaners" are not compatible!

gsa103

Yeah, that's the idea. Since you're not suddenly going from a chain with 1% elongation to zero elongation, more like 1.5%->1.25%, the difference is very small. When one chain starts skipping, toss it. When the last chain skips, at that point you replace the entire ensemble of cassette + 3 new chains.

The only real disadvantage is that the pay-off doesn't hit until the equivalent until you would be replacing the cassette using a normal rotation, so that could be anywhere from 1-7 yrs depending on riding style. For my riding, its probably a ~5 yr time horizon, which is a little too long to justify having two spare chains lying around.

FBinNY 

It's not that I don't believe in a given elongation, just that the allowable elongation is greater if there's never a need to match a new chain to the used cassette. I know people that practie a variant of this approach, replacing chains as they near the 1/2% wear point the same as others, but saving the chains for reuse after the 3rd chain is worn. This works if one doesn't get carried away, and no one can deny that recycling chains and giving a cassette an afterlife is cheaper than buying new.

In any case, how much you ride, and how you mix or balance sprocket use are factors, but it isn't necessary to buy all three chains the same day you buy the cassette. You can buy each chain as you get ready to place it into service.

I'm not an advocate of any specific method of chain care (except one, but I don't twist arms). Everyone's needs and preferences is different and each of us needs to find what works for himself. For example Dex Tooke set a new record for the 873 mile Texas cross state challenge without any chain maintenance or problems of any kind.

blacknbluebikes 

Park scrubber using Simple Green solution, about every 500 miles. Suspend the bike over newspapers, don't try crank it too fast (that's messy). Follow immediately with a drop on each rollerbearing of White Lightening Wet Ride. Sit overnight, wipedown next a.m. to remove most excess with old t-shirt. Fine results, happy quiet chain. Simple Green fairly enviro-friendly.

nhluhr

It seems using Simple Green is ok for short term immediate use but even Simple Green themselves admit it is a bad idea to do any kind of long-term soaking in Simple Green: https://velonews.competitor.com/2005/...e-green-2_9216

blacknbluebikes 

Interesting. thx. Nice cross-ref. Agreed that this use-case probably isn't a problem.
Hats off to the company presenting their Extreme Simple Green as a 'better solution.' (ar ar ar)

HillRider

Other than a visibly clean chain, does this procedure make it last any longer or shift any better? I expect routine use of a water base cleaner is a chain killer and sooner rather than later.

By contrast my cleaning procedure is to wipe the chain with a dry rag every few hundred miles, lube with a home-made version of "Pro Gold", wipe off the excess and ride. I typically get 6,000 miles or more from a Shimano or Wippermann chain before the elongation reaches 1/2%. They don't look pretty but they do last and shift very well.

vanttila

Regardless of what method of cleaning your chain you use (scrubber, rag, etc.), using water-based cleaners is probably not the best of ideas. "Chain killer," as they say.

himespau 

I tried the finish line version of the chain scrubber. Used about half a liter of chain cleaner and the chain and sprockets were still nasty but now I had a mess everywhere else too. Haven't tried it again, but haven't thrown out the scrubber either.

tanguy frame

^^^^
This

digibud

Those that just wipe a chain and oil it will do fine but they should know they are still leaving plenty of dirt behind and that's easy to prove by removing such a chain and putting it in a shallow bath of a degreaser and swishing it around or using the bottle technique. Getting the rollers clean inside won't happen by wiping off the outside. How much longer will a truly clean chain last ? Dunno. But I remove my chain, swish it in a shallow bath of mineral spirits three times (clean mineral spirits each time) then I rinse with soapy water and then clean water then I toss it in an warm oven to dry. While the chain is drying in a warm oven (I don't have compressed air) I am cleaning the pulley wheels and chainrings and any other drivetrain areas, and I'm lubing derailleurs and cleaning as necessary. When I'm finished with that I grab the chain let it cool for a few minutes and install it and oil it. When I'm done my drivetrain is spotless.

2 wheeler

^^THIS^^

Ever since I read about Simple Green causing cracks in chains that had been soaked in it, I've avoided it. Unless one completely rinses the chain outside AND inside, the degreaser continues to eat away at the chain. Not a good thing.

I don't own a chain cleaning gizmo, but I heard, shortly after they were introduced to the market, that they make a real mess. The combination of cleaners that are hostile to chains and cleaning gizmos that create a mess isn't very appealing to me.

I lube often and wipe the chain down frequently. It seems to be a simple and effective way to keep a chain happy.

GeneO 

I have to clean my chain almost every ride in the summer because I ride on these limestone trails, which leaves a grinding paste in the drive train. I don't understand the mess deal. I clean my chain with a park chain cleaner using OMS and it is not a mess, though I wouldn't do it in my house (OMS isn't odorless for one thing). The only messy part is cleaning the scrubber.

bkaapcke

I used the park scrubber once, with citrus degreaser, and then put it in the recycling bin where it belongs. What a mess! Then there is the water in the chain problem. Never more. bk

Sixty Fiver

Chain mounted scrubbers are pretty close to useless... you can't clean and lube at the same time as what you take off the chain mixes with the solvent/lube in the unit and gets put back on the chain.

After you wipe it down it will look shiny on the outside... the inside will be full of suspended particles.

Best practice is to remove the chain, put it in a bottle of solvent, agitate it for a few minutes, let it drip dry and then reinstall and lube it.

I can rarely be bothered to do this much, I lube with my own home brewed recipe which has a good % of solvent and my results have been very good over the past decade or so... with commercial lubes I was getting 4000 km per chain and have had multi speed chains run 8000 km before I needed to replace them.

Lube, wipe down, and ride... repeat as needed.

Al1943

The magnet built into the bottom of the machine cleans most all of the magnetic particles out of the fluid. The machines that Park sells now really do a good job of cleaning the chain. I should use mine more often than I do.

GeneO 

Clean and lube at the same time? You use the scrubber to clean the chain, then after it is dry, lube it. I've been doing this for some time now and I get pretty good mileage on my chain so far (2800 miles and no stretch or other signs of wear).

I used to take the chain off to clean it, but found that to be a time consuming PITA seeing as I need to clean my chain every 1-2 rides.