Are there any plastic parts in a typical bike chain that kerosene will deteriorate?
05-31-17, 09:45 PM
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Are there any plastic parts in a typical bike chain that kerosene will deteriorate?
A work colleague looked aghast at me when I suggested I was planning to use kerosene to degrease and clean my bike chain, which is a KMC 9 Speed chain.
His objection was that he believed that there were some plastic components within the chain(maybe in the rollers) that would not react well to being doused in kerosene.
I'm thinking he is mistaken here and that there are no plastic components in your typical KMC or Shimano or SRAM chain, thus one is perfectly fine to use kerosene as a degreaser to clean a chain and suffer no ill affects to their chain's performance after it is re-lubed and re-used.
Thoughts?
His objection was that he believed that there were some plastic components within the chain(maybe in the rollers) that would not react well to being doused in kerosene.
I'm thinking he is mistaken here and that there are no plastic components in your typical KMC or Shimano or SRAM chain, thus one is perfectly fine to use kerosene as a degreaser to clean a chain and suffer no ill affects to their chain's performance after it is re-lubed and re-used.
Thoughts?
05-31-17, 09:49 PM
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Bicycle chains are 100% metal.
Motorcycle chains typically have rubber o-rings, which are visible between the inner and outer plates.
Motorcycle chains typically have rubber o-rings, which are visible between the inner and outer plates.
05-31-17, 10:20 PM
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I've broken quite a few chains and never saw any plastic. The only thing I would be sure of, is cleansing the chain afterwards, because the rear derailleur pulleys are plastic
05-31-17, 10:29 PM
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...it's not that hard to take a couple of links apart if you want to demonstrate the absence of plastic.
I have used kerosene in the past as a cleaner, but mineral spirits evaporate a little faster, allowing you to relubricate the chain sooner.
...it's not that hard to take a couple of links apart if you want to demonstrate the absence of plastic.
I have used kerosene in the past as a cleaner, but mineral spirits evaporate a little faster, allowing you to relubricate the chain sooner.
05-31-17, 10:32 PM
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I've used kerosene for cleaning my chain and degunking my derailleur pulleys for years. So far, no problems.
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05-31-17, 10:45 PM
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06-01-17, 01:49 AM
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A work colleague looked aghast at me when I suggested I was planning to use kerosene to degrease and clean my bike chain, which is a KMC 9 Speed chain.
His objection was that he believed that there were some plastic components within the chain(maybe in the rollers) that would not react well to being doused in kerosene.
I'm thinking he is mistaken here and that there are no plastic components in your typical KMC or Shimano or SRAM chain, thus one is perfectly fine to use kerosene as a degreaser to clean a chain and suffer no ill affects to their chain's performance after it is re-lubed and re-used.
Thoughts?
His objection was that he believed that there were some plastic components within the chain(maybe in the rollers) that would not react well to being doused in kerosene.
I'm thinking he is mistaken here and that there are no plastic components in your typical KMC or Shimano or SRAM chain, thus one is perfectly fine to use kerosene as a degreaser to clean a chain and suffer no ill affects to their chain's performance after it is re-lubed and re-used.
Thoughts?
06-01-17, 09:12 PM
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06-02-17, 12:14 PM
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06-02-17, 08:00 PM
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