deepakvrao

Hi Guys,

I sweat like a pig and my chain keeps rusting. I'm talking about within 6 weeks of putting on a new chain. I know how to clean and lube, and I live in a very dry climate, and my wife's chain doesn't rust even in 6K kms, so it has to be sweat. In fact the hollow inside of my Force BB also shows rust.

My commuter chain never rusts as I just don't work up a sweat on it.

So, is there any chain which is coated and may be rust proof? Or at least more resistant to rust? Currently I just buy the cheapest KMC chains that I can find. X10.93 which is "Half Nickel plated".

Bob Dopolina 

What are you using for lube?


Tell me it isn't WD-40 or the equivalent.

deepakvrao

Cleaning the chain off bike with diesel, and dry lube in dry months and wet lube during rains. Usually Finishline.

Edit: Very little rain where I live and usually extremely dry weather too.

saintsfaninks26

How often do you clean your chain? Every time you clean your chain with diesel you are stripping all of the lubricants off. Even if you oil it right after you clean it the chain is still not going to be completely lubricated. You need to get and keep a base of oil on the chain to prevent it from rusting.

I recommend Prolink lubricant which does a decent job of cleaning and lubricating. Oil your chain every 200-300 miles and only clean it when it really needs it.

deepakvrao

I clean it only when it is pretty black with gunk. Like I said, any rust proof or at least more rust resistant chain out there?

cafzali

IMO, it's possible that you may be overthinking things a bit. I don't see why you can't use something like Finish Line One-Step, which cleans and lubricates in one solution. I've used it for years and never have a problem with rust. I sweat on the bike, but not to the point that I've noticed it becoming an issue in terms of cleaning. Still, I'd try it and see how it works for you.

Personally, I like the liquid solution better than the spray, but that's just my preference.

deepakvrao

Stainless steel chain.

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/re...chain_779.html

Menel

Shimano DA chain. Zinc plated links.

Clean regularly. I usually clean every saturday, thats post 150-200miles. One drop of prolink clean/lube per link. Run chain through towel until outside dry, somitmdoesnt pick up gunk from road. Takes 5-10minutes.

gregf83 

I ride around in the wet and rain all winter and my chain doesn't rust. I have trouble believing you sweat that much. Isn't it humid in Bangalore? Try wet lube instead of the dry lube.

djb

I would second the recommendation of not using diesel or whatever to clean the chain.
Regarding sweating and rusting result, I certainlr have read of stationary bike trainer issues with headset areas and sweaty salt,.but I don't really see how sweat would end up on the chain, especially uniformly-which if it is uniformly, would seem to point to your technique of stripping all lube off exterior and interior with the solvent. I've noticed that a new chain (or cleaned.with solvent) takes multiple lubings to "load up" fully, and I've always found this to be beneficial overall for keeping surface rust at bay. (although I rag clean my chains regularly and relube more often than others.

Good luck experimenting and observing diff results.

carpediemracing 

The inner plates of that chain are stainless. However if you look carefully you're probably noticing rust on the rollers and outer links too. The rollers have no finish, at least not that stays on.

Is the chain rusting after you wash it? A wet chain will rust within hours, just like a wet brake rotor on a car will show spots of rust overnight. Unlike your brake rotors you can spray oil/lubricant on your chain immediately after washing.

If the chain is "black with gunk" implies that it is covered in an oil/dirt mixture. Although not ideal it is probably not very vulnerable to water at that point. Therefore the rust is probably starting shortly after you strip it of its protective shield of oil.

Ndw76

I don't know if this will help you, but I used to have a problem with rust too. I put it down to the damp and humid environment here in Bangkok. I was using a spay can of stuff. The better version of WD40, but still just as nasty. Every time I cleaned my chain I had a little bit of rust. But then I decided to be responsible and I bought some oil in a bottle from the bike shop as opposed to stuff in a spray can. The rust issue went away and my chain is a lot cleaner.

deepakvrao

See my crank and pedals. The rust is crazy :-(

carpediemracing 

Do you store your bike outside or in a humid/non-weather-controlled area?

deepakvrao

Nope. Always indoors. We have 7 bikes and ONLY my road bike has this issue. Wife's bikes as well as my other bikes, which don't see so much sweat have no issues. My Surly has the same chain now for 2 years and 7000km and no issues. That's why I'm convinced that it is the sweat. What do you think?

hhnngg1

I seriously doubt it is sweat.

My Cervelo (racing bike) sits on my trainer nearly year-long except for TT and racing events. I sweat a TON when I ride it. I sweated so much that even with a standard bike thong, I rusted out the entire headset and front brake system within less than a year, doing $300 worth of damage and requiring a complete front brake reinstall. I often pour out an entire CUP or more of sweat off the bike after an interval workout. I do have a big fan aimed at me, but it's nowhere near as strong as a headwind on a bike.

Even with this kind of serious lake-forming sweat, I don't rust my chain.

I am careful to inspect it every 1-2 weeks and check for dry links, though. I have had some occasional mild rust on a few links in the past when I didn't lube the chain for months on end with this kind of use.

As well, if you're lubing your chain properly, the entire chain gets coated with a layer of lube, hence the chain tattoo when you touch it. That itself is a very, very good shield against sweat.

It's far more likely that you're underlubing your chain (get rid of the diesel) and that the humidity is getting it - it's probably getting that bike in particular because you're cleaning the chain more often and not re-lubing it properly. You can start with a wet weather lube - they tend to be thick and gunky and get black very quickly, but they are very tenacious and don't come off easily at all.

deepakvrao

Ordering one of those Wippermann stainless chains to see how they fare.

ahsposo 

Oh, it can be sweat.

I live in a hot, humid environment and sweat doesn't evaporate quickly. I accumulates and gets into every crevice it can.

I rode one of my bikes a lot last summer but at some point I started riding another and the first bike hung on the wall for maybe 4 months.

Went to take it for a ride and at my first stop discovered my rear brake was frozen.

Sweat had accumulated in the cable housing and had dried into a solid chunk of salt. When I was riding the bike regularly I'm sure I was breaking up the accumulation enough that I didn't notice the problem. I became a problem when it had the time over winter to completely dry out.

As to a chain lube and cleaner I've been using a 60/40 mix of mineral spirits/30wt motor oil. It works.

gregf83 

If you store your bike indoors with air conditioning and then bring it outside into a warm humid environment, water will condense on everything. Maybe your chain is different but, of all the parts on your bike, the chain should not be rusting if it's coated in oil. Stop using the dry lube and I suspect you'll have better results.

deepakvrao

Not in airconditioning, just in a closed room in my garden. Kind of a treadmill and home theater room which is now used for neither.

Wet lube does give me better results at the cost of a dirtier chain.


Only sweat woudl explain the pedals and crank rust. Too much cleaning of chain cannot explain that right?

Anyway thanks guys. Will give feedback with the Wippermann stainless chain after a while.

djb

this certainly does support your theory. I was rather skeptical but those two photos are interesting, especially if your other bikes don't exhibit any of the same thing.
re pedals, always put a good layer of grease on the threads before putting them on, and you will really need to use a metal brush or something on those rusted threads (and probably the inside of the hole on the crank arm) before putting them back on. Id be rather liberal with grease anywhere you see any hint of rust where threads are involved. I guess for the crank you could put a thin layer all over that area, but then you get back to having to be careful for pants etc.

as for a dirtier chain, I cant see how you will be able to avoid this, as a physical layer of surface oil will probably be the best protection any chain on this bike will have.

getting back to not using a solvent regularly-I see a frequently oiled chain always being better for rainy conditions (or your particular one) as a layer of oil will always be moving out onto all surfaces and help keeping rust at bay. When I ride in rain, a heavier oil such as Phil Woods has been better in my experience for keeping surface rust from appearing, but as you say, the chain will always be inherently dirtier, but I guess that will be the tradeoff. Im pretty picky about keeping my chains lubed, and always do a wipedown and relube after riding in rain, which is certainly better than ignoring it which has nearly always had surface rust appear fairly soon.

good luck with that chain.

deepakvrao

^^Yup, now I've been liberal with the use of grease including on the surface. Heck my garmin magnets have crumbled into powder. NOw I have one of those small high power magnets on the inside of the pedal bolt, and have covered the whole thing in grease.

alpha_bravo

Do you clean your bike after riding? I'm not talking about breaking out the hose and work stand every time, but once I ride I come home and wipe down my bike with a damp rag followed by a dry one then lightly lube the chain and wipe off the excess. 10 min of work post-ride may really help your corrosion problems.