Originally Posted by
staehpj1
In that case mine never do get clean, but I don't consider that a bad thing since I seem to get way better than average chain life as well as life of other drive train components. Better than when I did take chains off and clean them. I am convinced that the only cleaning required is application of lube and a good wiping down I consider solvents and detergents to potentially have a negative impact by allowing abrasive grit to penetrate deeper innto the chain. So I try to minimize their use. Maybe I am all wet on that, but I get very good results so I plan to keep doing what I am doing. It takes me a while to take a chain off and put it back because I do it so seldom (my chains seem to last forever and I only take them off to replace them) that I have zero practice and never bothered to buy any special tool for the quick links.
Your premise is flawed. The act of putting on lubricant drives grit into the chain. Most lubricants are largely solvent and even the ones that have a higher percentage of oil in them are still going to penetrate into the chain and carry anything on the outside of the chain into the inside of the chain. The grit that is needed to do damage is very small. Don’t worry about the boulders you can see on the outside, it’s the invisible dust that causes the damage. But just having oil…which is mobile…also pumps grit into the chain. The act of pedaling and then letting the bike sit will make the oil flow around the chain and will carry that grit with it.
The solvents in the chain lube actually serve the purpose to wash out the old oil along with any grit that has accumulated. Oil based lubricants are usually used sparingly so the benefit of the solvent is rather small.
Wiping the chain to keep it “clean” isn’t all that beneficial either. The act of wiping drives the grit into the chain because, again, it’s not the big bits of dirt you need to worry about. It’s the little stuff that gets in there and does the damage.
Grit is going to get you no matter what you do with oil based lubricants because of the nature of the lubricant. The oil serves to make a slurry out of the smallest particles of grit and then carries them into the chain where the grit can do its damage.
Wax based lubricants, on the other hand, serve as a block to the grit on the outside of the chain. Since the lubricant isn’t mobile, it doesn’t pump the grit into the chain. It also isn’t sticky so there is no mechanism for the grit and dirt to stay on the chain. Solvent wax lubricants are usually meant to flooded onto the chain…most of them instruct the user to have it physically dripping off the chain…partly to clean the chains and partly to ensure that enough wax remains in the chain after application to do the job. But…
Wax isn’t better at protecting the chain from wear than oil. However, oil isn’t better either. In oil based lubricants, you have flow so the pins on the chain doesn’t experience lubricant starvation as the pedaling pressure pushes the lubricant away from the pin. The oil flows back. But because of the grit that the oil carries, the pins get ground from that very grit. and the chain wears. With wax, you don’t have the grit doing damage but the pins experience lubricant starvation since the wax doesn’t flow. The metal on metal contact wears and the chain wears. Oddly enough, the wear is about the same for both lubricants You can’t win and you can’t break even.
The only reason I use wax lubricants is the cleanliness. Even if the application interval was shorter…it isn’t in my experience…I’d use it for that factor alone. I get to handle plenty of filthy chains at my volunteer job. I’d rather not handle them at home or on the road.