There's absolutely no reason to pay over $20 for a good basic 1/8 or 3/32 SSFG chain.

I agree that I should have went with something cheaper. Next time I'm going with a KMC or HKK.

Izumi ECO can be found for <20 I believe..

Also, Wippermann makes a great nickel-plated chain that is very corrosion-resistant for only $15 >>> https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=1614

you shouldn't use a master link if you ride brake-less because it's a potential weak link. you shouldn't really have to clean your chain unless you're like riding along beaches or something because the factory lube is the best lube you're chain will ever see. If its a must as mentioned before you should invest in a chain cleaning tool. The bike shop us right, those rivets in your chains are machine aligned and you'll never get it back to factory standards. If you must remove links though I would get a sharpie and make a small mark to keep track of the link you remove and keep an eye out for it to see if it starts to wear or anything

I assure you, 80% of the cyclists you'll see on the road or the weekend warriors will be like, "huh?" when you mention chain cleaning. Their bikes still work, why wouldn't yours?

I've never broken my chain to clean it.
3 ways I clean my chain:
1. Wipe down with a rag / get in the crannies with an old tooth brush (careful of yo fingers)
2. Chain cleaner (meant for gears, use for SS by holding it firm) <- is a pain though
3. Grunge cleaner? Here's a link.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

Does a fantastic job at cleaning. Disregard the review; that's from an idiot who doesn't know what "degreaser" means and got pissed when it "degreased" his stuff.

Yeaaaaah. No. Just nope, all around nuh-uh.

I've used alcohol or even plain ol' soap and water with a brush to the chain while I spin the cranks. Don't see why taking the chain off would be necessary unless you're just putting a new one on.

This entire post is hogwash.

Also, I sometimes use this method and it has worked really well for me. I deal with a lot of sh*tty weather in the Buffalo, NY area pretty much all year so cleaning and re-lubing is a bit of a routine

Things Scrod avoids that I should also try to avoid.

1. master link
2. shaving
3. brushing hair
4. deodorant
5. paying taxes
6. hand brakes

Hmmmm... what else?

I just hate not removing the chain for cleaning because when you try to rotate the cranks and clean the chain it spreads the gunk all over the cog and chainring and it drips everywhere. I just like to soak my chain and wipe off my chainring/cog for a thorough cleaning to get all the sand-like grit out. I guess I'll just wipe it down really good once a week with a rag and relube.

If there's that much gunk on your chain, it sounds like you're using way too much lube. An over-lubed chain attracts tons of dirt.

Why would you leave a post opposing mine with out any opposing evidence? Some track riders even use multiple chains in varying number of links to prevent breaking chains as little as possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhr24bqoT34 ML failing

How long did it take you to decide using the 15th century hogwash to showcase your individual uniqueness?

fixed that.

I don't use too much lube. I just put a small drop of TriFlow on every several links of the inner diameter of the chain and rotate the cranks to disperse it all. I guess I just overdo it when it comes to chain cleaning...

Forcing a pin in and out of a chain is just as bad and much, much worse if you have a worn chain/cheap tool or are unfamiliar (like haven't done it hundreds of times) with the process of doing it properly. I've got about 10 broken chains to my name, zero master link failures. About 5 due to bad chain breaking/reassembly.


I didn't look at where you live, but take it that you don't live in the rust belt.

I just ride my bike thru the carwash once a week.

Scrod you do realize that you're discouraging a large number of newbies (to this forum, some have cycled for longer than you) from contributing to this forum, right?

People are just trying to help. Give some reasons why that post was "hog wash" so I have valid reasons for not doing that myself. Right now I'm favouring eboston because I have amateur track racer friends that use the methods he described.

I'm not trying to "discourage" anyone - except for people who think they know it all and end up sounding foolish.

First of all, the factory "lube" which comes on most chains is complete crap and is pretty much only present to keep chains from corroding in their packaging. Would you want to buy a brand new rusty chain? Secondly, chain-cleaning tools aren't very necessary for a singlespeed drivetrain and can be more of a pain in the ass than they are worth. Last but not least, the way eboston words his posts is ridiculous.

Considering I don't use master links, I wasn't necessarily "opposed" to anything he said regarding that miniscule aspect of his post. However, stating that master links create a weak spot and that pin removal creates a weak spot in the same series of run on sentences is just plain confusing. To add to that confusion, he states one shouldn't really need to clean their chain at all, yet it's a good idea to purchase a chain-cleaning apparatus.

Carry on.

I heard that masterlinks cause thousands of brakeless hipster deaths every year, and there's a law being proposed in Congress to ban them. They can...

What sorcery?!

Thanks for clearing that up. Really appreciate it.

Sorry for taking your words the wrong way.

Haha! Rad.