What is the black paste on the chain and sprockets?
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What is the black paste on the chain and sprockets?
When I clean my bike, I'm always struck by the stark difference between:
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- the dirt on the frame and wheels, which takes the form of ordinary brown grains of sand
- the dirt on the chains and sprockets, which takes the form of a very fine-grained grimy black paste
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Magic. Just wait until it gets on your white pants.
Not being a smartass; it also happens with clear chain lube.
Not being a smartass; it also happens with clear chain lube.
Last edited by thumpism; 11-26-20 at 10:13 PM.
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It's road grime. Doesn't stick to your frame very well, but the chain is sticky
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the grim grime grease got you I read. Nothing prevents it, but the rate that it happens can be manipulated based on the type of products being used & how often you deep clean the moving wear items.
If you have ever used tools to work on a vehicle that has been used often up to that point, you may find that your hands will attract that similar black paste. Just in a lesser volume per area.
once a month the moving wear items are cleaned to remove that nastiesness & in between those cleanings, a quick detail is done as needed.
If you have ever used tools to work on a vehicle that has been used often up to that point, you may find that your hands will attract that similar black paste. Just in a lesser volume per area.
once a month the moving wear items are cleaned to remove that nastiesness & in between those cleanings, a quick detail is done as needed.
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I started using dry lube and there's a very noticeable difference with the reduced amount of black mystery crud on my drive train! It took a couple of cleanings/relubes to get it to this point. I guess it takes some time for the new dry lube to fully displace the old stuff deep in the chain. My chain maintenance has gone
from:
Spray degreaser (I use Orange Clean) on drive train and let sit a while. Spray more on and scrub the chain and drive train with brushes/rags/chain cleaner tool. Wash the drive train with hot soapy water, wipe dry and let it then air dry completely, re-lube with wet chain lube and wipe off excess oil.
to:
Spray degreaser on a rag and wipe the chain while pedaling backwards. Wipe with clean rag, add dry lube to each chain roller top and bottom and let sit for a while. Wipe off excess with a clean rag. Add dry lube in between cleanings and wipe off excess.
Not a perfect solution but my point is that there's a noticeable decrease in the black greasy crud buildup on the drivetrain between cleanings using dry lube in my experience. For some reason it bugs me to "hear" my drivetrain as I pedal, hence my quest to make my life easier by finding easier/better ways to maintain a quiet ride.
from:
Spray degreaser (I use Orange Clean) on drive train and let sit a while. Spray more on and scrub the chain and drive train with brushes/rags/chain cleaner tool. Wash the drive train with hot soapy water, wipe dry and let it then air dry completely, re-lube with wet chain lube and wipe off excess oil.
to:
Spray degreaser on a rag and wipe the chain while pedaling backwards. Wipe with clean rag, add dry lube to each chain roller top and bottom and let sit for a while. Wipe off excess with a clean rag. Add dry lube in between cleanings and wipe off excess.
Not a perfect solution but my point is that there's a noticeable decrease in the black greasy crud buildup on the drivetrain between cleanings using dry lube in my experience. For some reason it bugs me to "hear" my drivetrain as I pedal, hence my quest to make my life easier by finding easier/better ways to maintain a quiet ride.
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Metal dust from chain wear suspended in oil.
You get the same black dust inside pinball machines from solenoid plunger wear.
You get the same black dust inside pinball machines from solenoid plunger wear.
Last edited by Drew Eckhardt; 11-27-20 at 08:38 PM.
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since using rock and roll lube I just need to wipe my chain each time I use it and clean the jockey wheels everything else stays pretty clean. it only lasts a week and a needs re applied after a rain ride or two.
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The "black paste" is a mixture of chain lubricant, road grit, and wear particles from the sprockets, chain links, and chainring.
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Any minerals from the grit that lands on the chain would also undergo a similar random light reflection.
I started using dry lube and there's a very noticeable difference with the reduced amount of black mystery crud on my drive train! It took a couple of cleanings/relubes to get it to this point. I guess it takes some time for the new dry lube to fully displace the old stuff deep in the chain. My chain maintenance has gone
from:
from:
When I clean my bike, I'm always struck by the stark difference between:
Thanks!
- the dirt on the frame and wheels, which takes the form of ordinary brown grains of sand
- the dirt on the chains and sprockets, which takes the form of a very fine-grained grimy black paste
Thanks!
The chain and drivetrain, on the other hand, are wearing down the metal each time the chain engages a tooth on the front or rear. The pins of the chain wear and the teeth on the cogs and chainwheels wear. Each particle that comes off gets churned and ground and further reduced. The limit of how far down this material can be ground is the size of the atom of the metal. The sand that you are throwing on your frame is also thrown into the chain where it grinds away at the metal. Use oil and you get more particles stuck to the oil which get pumped into the chain where they can grind away at the chain and drivetrain.
And, just because there’s no free lunch, if you use a dry lubricant, the lube doesn’t provide a vehicle for dirt to stick to the chain. That’s good. But the lubricant also doesn’t flow like oil does. The result is more metal to metal contact that also wears the drivetrain and chain. The parts still wear so you don’t end up with superior chain or drivetrain life. in fact, the mileage is similar between the two lubricants. One just happens to be cleaner than the other.
All things being equal, I choose to use a lubricant that doesn’t need constant cleaning...or the dry lube if that isn’t clear.
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From what I read around here, some take lubricant along for the ride to lube the chain after some 30-40 miles on longer rides.
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The cleaner condition is at the expense of the need for way more frequent re-lubrication, I suppose some lubricate before each ride, unless they ride only short spins of 10-20 miles.
From what I read around here, some take lubricant along for the ride to lube the chain after some 30-40 miles on longer rides.
From what I read around here, some take lubricant along for the ride to lube the chain after some 30-40 miles on longer rides.
I just happened to have kept track of the mileage on that chain just for this kind of discussion. I got 3500 miles out of the chain which I find to be about average from what I’ve read. Prior to this experience I was lubricating far more often than I do now. I go 200 to 500 miles between application. That’s what most oil based users do. The only thing I’ve given up by using dry lubricants is constant cleaning.
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In terms of chains, get yours nice and clean along with the rest of the drivetrain and then I recommend using a nice wax lubricant or if you are feeling frisky, actually give it a nice wax bath (but for that you need to get it extra clean). It will keep things pretty clean and help prevent a lot of nasty grit and grime from accumulating.
This is my preferred lubricant but in the end they are probably all decent. I do notice I don't need to lubricate my drivetrains as much and of course the above cleaner drivetrain over all. I don't like a really dirty drivetrain, bike I can deal with as I am lazy at cleaning the whole shebang sometimes but not the drivetrain.
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I sometimes smile while I shake my head at some of these posts. One of the three Holy Grails of our activity is chain lube and grime. Figure out how to eliminate grime build up while extending a chain's life and not doing maintenance after lube application and we'll beat a path to your door. Like those other two grails this one is a repeated question that for the 47+ years I've been doing this stuff has never been answered (and, no, I don't think a drive belt is the answer). Andy
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I sometimes smile while I shake my head at some of these posts. One of the three Holy Grails of our activity is chain lube and grime. Figure out how to eliminate grime build up while extending a chain's life and not doing maintenance after lube application and we'll beat a path to your door. Like those other two grails this one is a repeated question that for the 47+ years I've been doing this stuff has never been answered (and, no, I don't think a drive belt is the answer). Andy
I may not be able to answer both parts of your Grail but I’ll take one over the other.
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Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
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Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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Wow, thanks for all the useful information!
If metal particles coming from metal-to-metal wear make up the bulk of the black grime, does that mean that a carbon belt drive won't have this black grime? Or do carbon belt drives maybe get black grimy carbon paste instead?
If metal particles coming from metal-to-metal wear make up the bulk of the black grime, does that mean that a carbon belt drive won't have this black grime? Or do carbon belt drives maybe get black grimy carbon paste instead?
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Carbon paste is for things like a carbon seat post or handlebars to prevent them from slipping and acting as an anti seize/grease.