View Single Post
Old 12-21-19, 06:30 PM
  #17  
'02 nrs
Senior Member
 
'02 nrs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: se MIch.
Posts: 2,917

Bikes: 1938 claud butler,1983 Basso,teledyne titan,teocali super,nrs,1993 stumpjumper fsr,Paramountain,Paramount Buell(sold),4 banger,Zaskar LE,Colnago Master Ibex MTB,1987ish,.etc....

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 787 Post(s)
Liked 2,910 Times in 1,472 Posts
Originally Posted by RiceAWay
1. You cannot clean a chain on the bike. Even that Park Tool cleaner while better than trying most other on-bike cleaning methods still doesn't properly clean the chain unless you change the cleaning fluid about a dozen times which is expensive and wastes a lot of time and effort.
2. If you go to an auto supply store they have a very heavy duty degreaser which is sort of like a Super Soap. It is in purple plastic gallon bottle and is pretty cheap.. I'd give you the name of this stuff but the label washed off long ago.
3. Mix this stuff between 50:50 to 3/4 water and put the entire chain in and let it sit for an hour or so.
4. You have to rinse the heck out of this because with that soap around lubrication won't stick to the chain. I also suggest you wear gloves since this soap is so strong it can mess up your fingernails and dry your skin.
5. By far the best lubricant is regular wax. But it is difficult to apply - Get a pan specifically for this project; place it in a pan of boiling water (double boiler) with some canning wax or just candles cut up a bit. Put the chain in a warm oven and allow it to get warm - still able to handle but just. After the wax is fully liquid put the warm chain into it and let this sit in the melted wax in the double boiler for at least a half hour so that the chain and the wax are the same temperature. Shake it a bit now and then. And since the wax has a high viscosity give it plenty of time to work into the rollers of the chain. When you remove the chain from the wax allow the excess to drain back into your special waxing pot. If you have not given it enough time the chain won't be warm enough and the wax will solidify between the links. No harm but it means that there was insufficient time for the wax to penetrate the links.
6. Have the tools to remove the cogset and clean that as well. Clean the crank rings as well.
7. This will usually last about 250 miles before it should be redone to maintain maximum chain life.

In wet weather be absolutely certain not to leave a wet dirty chain on the bike without a thorough washing with dish detergent and warm water. In wet weather wax doesn't last long and if you cannot take this sort of time to treat the chain, washing and rinse the chain again with normal dishwashing detergent and use Rock and Road. This is a very good lubricant if applied as the label tells you. But it is expensive as hell. And in general you should wait a half hour for the carrier to evaporate so that it doesn't just flush off.

I've found that most of the chains wear at the same rate except for Connex which has about double the life of the others. It isn't a light chain because it doesn't cut slots in the sides. But it is cheaper than a Campy chain which says something.
add rear derailleur jockey wheels.
'02 nrs is offline