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Chain crunch feel-hear after cleaning

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Chain crunch feel-hear after cleaning

Old 03-03-23, 02:33 PM
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elcyc
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Chain crunch feel-hear after cleaning

Normally , I use a KMC 9-speed chain on street and bike routes. Paved beach bike trail is normally clean concrete, but can pick up some sand.

I clean the chain with cloth and dedicated bike-brush and re-lube 1x/week. Every other month, I remove chain and suspended in kerosene overnight -- in a glass jar filled with kerosene with large ball of steel wool to suspend chain, allowing debris to settle to bottom, leaving chain "clean".


One way I test a chain to see how dirty (contaminated) or worn it may be is to GENTLY twist -- perpendicular to axis of travel -- before and after cleaning. After a new chain has been used for a few months, I can feel-hear some crunching . This is even after overnight kerosene cleaning.

Not sure if there is a better way to clean, that is still quick and better than replacing the chain. I am not an off-roader. Just commuting and grocery-getting and some non-aggressive city-street riding. Oil used is various chain spray or drip, such as White Lightning. Noting fancy or $$.


Will an ultrasonic cleaner be the best option?
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Old 03-03-23, 02:43 PM
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An ultrasonic cleaner would work better, but honestly for a commuter bike this level of cleaning seems overkill.

I'd suggest getting something like the Park Tools chain cleaner and a quality degreaser:




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Old 03-03-23, 03:00 PM
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That crunching sound is sand and crud. It may look clean but its not and if its been in the sand may never. I talked to some guys that rent bikes on the Galveston Seawall. They told me bike chains get full of sand even on the walkway. Their solution was to not use lubricant at all or if so very lightly. They also told me they replace chains often.

I did see one of their guys squirting a lube on a bike cart chain out of a Charcoal Light Fluid bottle. On asking he told me it was a mix of 50-50 ATF and Lighter Fluid. I asked him if it lubes and he turned and gave me a an unknowing shrug.

All in all it appears that rented bike chains on the beach don't last long...
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Old 03-03-23, 03:05 PM
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I like to blow it out with compressed air, clean and blast it a couple times.
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Old 03-03-23, 03:21 PM
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At the risk of starting another chain lube fest, let me just say that White Lightning is probably the worst lube you can use on your chain. That stuff lasts about 50 miles if you're lucky. It makes a decent cleaner, but is terrible at lubricating.
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Old 03-03-23, 03:25 PM
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Reading a variety of posts here, it seems that bike chains, and their lube, are like Schrodinger's cat. It is impossible to get them clean with any known solvent on earth, but even a heavy dew will wash off enough lube as to render them unusable.
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Old 03-03-23, 03:29 PM
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Have you considered soaking the chain in sulphuric acid? It won't work, I just think it'd be funny.
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Old 03-03-23, 04:34 PM
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Originally Posted by msu2001la
An ultrasonic cleaner would work better, but honestly for a commuter bike this level of cleaning seems overkill.

I'd suggest getting something like the Park Tools chain cleaner and a quality degreaser:

https://youtu.be/MuwS_nSevy4
Use the Park Chain Cleaning Tool like is shown above. I ride road-oriented bicycles on asphalt roads near the beach and asphalt MUPs near dirt and have never had a problem with stuff caught in the chain (as far as I can tell). For a cleaner I use Simple Green straight out of the trigger-finger squirt bottle it comes in (you only need a little bit), wipe excess off after removing the cleaning device, then lightly coat the chain with the oil of my choice.
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Old 03-03-23, 04:44 PM
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Fine grit? Wax your chain!

That'll starts some stuff ......

Ultrasonic is probably the only way you are going to get the really fine stuff out of from the innards. Rotate three chains and clean them when the third is crunchy?
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Old 03-03-23, 05:58 PM
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Probably going to invest in ultrasonic ... need it for other purposes too.
White Lightning is the first thing I could think off the top of my head that's in my bike drawer. Actually, 3-in-1 Silicone drip or Multi-Max Blaster foam-spray is what I prefer. The Max is good as it sprays out as a very controllable foam--doses nicely.

BTW: Try the test yourself. Go out to all your bikes and gently twist the chain. Can you feel-hear the crunch? "Well ... can you ....punks?"
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Old 03-03-23, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by elcyc
BTW: Try the test yourself. Go out to all your bikes and gently twist the chain. Can you feel-hear the crunch? "Well ... can you ....punks?"
Ummm, no.
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Old 03-03-23, 07:36 PM
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Lube it with WD 40 to get rid of the crunch.
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Old 03-03-23, 07:45 PM
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steel wool? what the heck? not a practice i would practice.
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Old 03-03-23, 08:10 PM
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Originally Posted by spelger
steel wool? what the heck? not a practice i would practice.
Actually, I use this now....

But plain steel wool is very durable. It does not shed metal like I think you might think. Otherwise, they'd never allow it in the restaurants.
PLEASE THINK ABOUT THESE PRACTICAL PRACTICES , toots
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Old 03-03-23, 08:39 PM
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
Lube it with WD 40 to get rid of the crunch.
This tracks for you.
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Old 03-04-23, 01:00 AM
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Originally Posted by elcyc
Probably going to invest in ultrasonic ... need it for other purposes too.
White Lightning is the first thing I could think off the top of my head that's in my bike drawer. Actually, 3-in-1 Silicone drip or Multi-Max Blaster foam-spray is what I prefer. The Max is good as it sprays out as a very controllable foam--doses nicely.

BTW: Try the test yourself. Go out to all your bikes and gently twist the chain. Can you feel-hear the crunch? "Well ... can you ....punks?"
I'll do that right after I vacuum the highway.

cough cough OCD cough cough

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Old 03-04-23, 01:53 AM
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Originally Posted by elcyc
But plain steel wool is very durable. It does not shed metal like I think you might think. Otherwise, they'd never allow it in the restaurants.
PLEASE THINK ABOUT THESE PRACTICAL PRACTICES , toots
As a person who quite a while ago spent a lot of time working in restaurants, and who has worked way too many shifts as a dishwasher, I can say with certainty you are wrong.

Any scrubbing device sheds material. Otherwise they would last indefinitely. The reason they are used in restaurants safely is because the dishes are Washed (after being scrubbed with some scrubbing device, and then Rinsed so all residue comes off of them. Pots and pans get the same treatment ... and I have scrubbed more than my share of pots and pans with burned on, rock-hard food residue that needed aggressive scrubbing to remove.

Whether the steel wool sheds metal in the chain-cleaning application I have no idea but i doubt it would. The only objection I raise is the actually and logically fallacious claim that steel wool does not shed metal when used for cleaning, and the utterly fallacious example of restaurant use as proof.

As far as bike chains go ..... I have scrubbed them with abrasive pads and material has come off the pad. But you were not using the steel wool to scrub.
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Old 03-04-23, 01:53 AM
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Toots.
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Old 03-04-23, 03:41 AM
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Originally Posted by livedarklions
Have you considered soaking the chain in sulphuric acid? It won't work, I just think it'd be funny.
HF will dissolve silicates.
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Old 03-04-23, 04:53 AM
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Originally Posted by esasjl
HF will dissolve silicates.
And what about steel? If it's dissolving silicates, it's corroding metal.
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Old 03-04-23, 06:00 AM
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I just find it utterly hilarious how OCD people are about their chains.
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Old 03-04-23, 06:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Lombard
I just find it utterly hilarious how OCD people are about their chains.
Exactly...Me too
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Old 03-04-23, 06:59 AM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
This tracks for you.
A silly topic deserves a silly reply.
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Old 03-04-23, 07:03 AM
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Originally Posted by elcyc

BTW: Try the test yourself. Go out to all your bikes and gently twist the chain. Can you feel-hear the crunch? "Well ... can you ....punks?"
I just did that. Not only did my chains crunch but they also crackle, pop, howl, moan, growl, whine and make all kinds of strange noises.
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Old 03-04-23, 07:11 AM
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I have a supplier where I get unicorn urine...it does an amazing job removing all the little 'crunchy bits' from my chain. I then use unicorn sperm to lube the chain. I don't ask the supplier how he gets unicorn sperm...just don't want to know.

In reality I use the Park chain cleaning tool. It works great. I also clean my chain weekly during the 'road' season and every other week when it's on the trainer. I use a variety of lubes and honestly don't notice a difference. My main favorite is 'tri-flo'...works great and isn't expensive.
I use MucOff chain cleaner in the Park tool.
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