smd4

Exactly. And I still say the sound he's hearing is just the stickiness of the lube.

GhostRider62

Perpendicular to the direction of travel IS the force from cross chaining. The only way to avoid that is with a fixie and excellent chain line.

I disagree with OP's contention that bending and listening is a good test for contamination, but he moves the chain laterally. I cannot imagine this would indicate wear. If a chain is bent or flexed (pick your word) laterally and there is a crunching and grinding sound, you are way, way late in doing maintenance and/or using the wrong lube.

The best way is to take care of a chain after it gets wet and dirty. Then, maintaining on a schedule and measuring wear in a valid manner.

livedarklions

All of that is completely irrelevant to why I don't like solvent wax in the rain. It's an immediate effect of lost lubrication, not rust erosion. If the problem was rust, it wouldn't go away when I reapplied. I'm quite sure I'm wearing out my chains with my gear choices long before any microscopic chemical reactions are taking it out.


{QUOTE=cyccommute;22823001]No, I’m not admitting that they have no relevant similarities. Motorcycle and bicycle chains are exactly the same mechanisms using the same kinds of parts in slightly different sizes. Motorcycle chains have some enhancements that lead to longer life that bicycle chains can’t reproduce due to the differences in power output of the motors. You could make a bicycle chain with o-ring seals and automatic oilers but you couldn’t pedal it with a 1/5 to 1/4 horsepower power plant. I’m not even sure you could pedal it with a bicycle electric motor which is only 1.2 horsepower. It’s just not an option so we have to live with short lived chains.[/QUOTE]

Define "slightly". And describing major differences in the structure as "some enhancements" of MC chains right after saying their "exactly the same" can charitably be called "disingenuous". I have no idea what you think you were illustrating by bringing up MC chains. A sealed drive train will last longer than one exposed to the elements? Fine, what's the relevance? As you say, our puny leg power can't use it.

I'm skeptical that being super-attentive to trying to remove every last bit of grit from a bike chain being used on the road will have any noticeable effect on the life span of a chain. I don't find that the disadvantages for me that I note in using solvent wax are worth any hypothetical protection from grit I might or might not get from its use. These have been my only points all along. I don't ride what you ride and I don't ride where you ride, and I don't ride how you ride. I'm not accepting that you know better than I do what I'm experiencing with my chains, and at this point, I really don't think you're doing anything but arguing with me for the sake of arguing. I'm out.

roytar

Try a belt drive.

elcyc

OP here ...

Solved the crunching issue ... but created a new problem ...

Cleaned the chain as best as I could with damp and dry rags.

THEN:

In clean, glass pasta sauce jar, added a some Simple Green and boiling hot distilled water from an electric kettle, and dumped the chain in and lidded the jar. Gently shook and rolled the jar with chain inside. And let it soak for 1hr. Yes, some solid fragments did settle at the bottom of jar. The chain came out very clean and crunch-free.

Dried completely with clean rags and put chain in small Ziplock bag, spraying plenty of WD40 to displace H2O. Let that bag sit overnight.

Installed chain after wiping off WD40. Lubed with plain old 3-in-1.

Normal bike routine ... a 15 mile street/beach pavement trip.

Didn't notice any real IMPROVEMENT in shifting or pedaling smoothness.. Instead ... the chain pedaling is ROUGHER now. More snaps and pops, esp when loaded (up hill or carrying heavy pannier loads or against wind). Tightened cassette lock ring. Checked all crank and rear axle bearings for slop or roughness -- NONE.

Slightly adjusted barrel on rear derail. It helped ... but only very little. Applied oil several more times. But --on all front rings and rear cassette sprockets (speed/gear combos) --rough pedaling remains The chain and drive-train components LOOK aligned and clean and in very good cond. All were replaced about 7 months ago -- and weekly cleaned and lubed.

Not sure if the heat from the hot water distorted the chain? BUT: No stiff links And no slop. And very clean and lubed of course.

cyccommute 

Pops, snaps or chain slips are more likely due to cassette wear than most anything else. How old is your chain compared to the rest of the drivetrain?

elcyc

All components replaced CONCURRENTLY with new parts July 2022: new Shimano cassette, new rear drail pulleys, new KMC chain.
I use middle cassette sockets the most. So those should be the most worn. But, like I noted earlier, the snap and pop are notes in all sprockets and front chain ring combos. Esp. under load.

Lombard

July 2022 doesn't tell us anything. Some people ride 1,000 miles per year, some people ride 10,000 miles per year. How many miles/km on the chain?

cyccommute 

Perhaps it is time to have someone to look at it physically and not try to diagnose it via electron.

elcyc

It's...