mike-on-da-bike

chains are designed for oiling,sprays dont last long enough i dont think and they are not very friendly to the environment,also you dont get alot in the packs foryour money

Rowan

Wow, what a theory, todd. The trouble is... the grit that gets on to and into a chain just doesn't stay the same size. The movement and metal-to-metal activity that goes on actually crushes the grit into even smaller, very microscopic pieces. These continue to act as a grinding paste on the surfaces between the rollers and pins and the inner and outer plates.

Recommending people not to clean their chains and relube them with whatever their choice of lube is... is like recommending that people never ever change the oil and filters in their motor vehicles. Believe me, that route results in a very sick motor or automatic transmission.

For mine, Sheldon's method is the best, with the pop bottle and two cocktail-shaker mixes with clean solvent (kerosene for me). Dry the chain thoroughly; the one major error, in my opinion, that lots of people make is not allowing enough time for the solvent to evaporate. Then apply the lube in very, very small doses. Even the wax-based lubes need only a small amount to be applied. In my opinion, anyone who bathes their chain in oil is loooking for trouble with dirt attraction, accelerated wear and unwanted chainring tattoos, let alone crap all over their chainstays, rear derailleur, and chainrings.

You can tell a chain that hasn't been cleaned properly (usually with just a brushing of the outer links). As you bend it sideways, you can feel and hear the grit still inside. Even with Sheldon's method, the first cocktail shake usually leaves grit in between the rollers and pins, and a second shake is needed.

I'll also repeat what I said before about chain noise. If you can hear a lot of noise coming from your chain, you are losing energy, because noise requires energy for it to be generated. PLUS, noise on a chain is generated from the many bits of metal banging together without a molecular layer of lubricant between them; and THAT means wear.

toddlange1

The most likely reason that a chain wears out prematurely is due to improper shifting techniques or worn out cogs. The standard method to determine if a chain is worn out is by measuring the length of a certain number of links of the chain. It it exceeds a certain threshold then it is worn out and should be replaced.

If you ride and shift though your rear gears without changing your front chainring, you will cause greater lateral stresses on your chain which causes a chain to stretch. Refering to the diagram below, if you ride on chainring 3 and rear cassette cog 5, there is a great deal of lateral stress on the chain. This stress gradually lengthens the chain. It is best to try and keep the chain as straight as possible and avoid these angles which cause lateral stress.

Front chainring
1 2 3
......|
...|.|
.|.|.|
.|.|.|
...|.|
.....|
....* <-- Lateral force here
...*
..*
.*
* <- Lateral force here
|
| |
| | |
| | | |
| | | | |
| | | |
| | |
| |
|
5 4 3 2 1
Rear cassette

If you continue to ride with a stretched chain, fewer teeth come in contact with the chain and cause greater force and wear on the rear cassette and front chainrings. The teeth of the sprockets will wear down to try and match the spacing of the chain.

Another way a chain will wear out is by putting a new chain on a worn out rear cassette or chainring. The teeth on the cogs are spaced further out than the links on the chain. This will cause abnormal wear on the chain and cause it to wear out much faster than normal.

These wear forces on a chain are unrelated to how clean a chain is kept. I feel many bicyclists are way too concerned about chain cleanliness.

I agree that the grit that does come in contact with the teeth will be ground down to microscopic particles. But at that size they have more of a polishing affect on the metal rather than a grinding affect that a larger particle would have.

wroomwroomoops

The abrasive ingredient of "grit" is silica AKA quartz sand AKA ...well, sand. Which is the same as glass. Glass is harder than most steels, hence it's able to abrade it. Other components of "grit", like metal shawings, do not abrade steel, because they are softer or exactly as soft (or hard) as the steel itself.

Ok.

So now the big question is, will the ground down silica in a lubricated environment (let's not forget that this "grit" is a mixture of powder and lubricant) contribute to chain wear between plates and pins? I do not know the answer, but on that answer hinges toddlange1's method.

wroomwroomoops

And by the way: some motor oils (like Mobil 1) contain chemicals that protect the steel surface from abrasion.

Berre

By "waxing" a chain the empty space in each roller is completely filled with liquid hot wax that solidifies rapidly when cooling down. Once the rollers are filled, there simply is no more empty space that grit and gunk can find their way to.

The most vurnerable parts of the chain, the pins, are now surrounded by solid wax. This wax protects against water, salt and grit for many hundreds of miles.

There are no mechanical reasons for lubing the outer surface of a chain. Though it may be a good idea to apply a water repellant product on the chain's external surface if the bike is ridden in wet and salty conditions. The chain should feel "dry" after applying such a product.

The rollers actually do not "roll" when in touch with the cogs. Stress and friction happens between rollers and inner plates and pins and inner plates. These are the spots where the chain wears. There is also a minor friction between the sides of the rollers and the inner plates each time the plates "bend" against each other. This stress is neglectable when the chainline is straight.

Since there is some space between the inner and outer plates and the sides of the rollers that are always in motion relative to each other, pure paraffine wax will get kicked out here.

Pure wax is not as "greasy" as motor oil. Adding some motor oil to the melted wax improves lubing the difficult spots without attracting grit and building up gunk. The wax-oil mix is less brittle than pure wax, but more solid and dry than pure motor oil.

mantis

Actually, 80-90w automotive gear lube is recommended for motorcycle chains, not conventional engine motor oil. At least that is what Honda recommends in the owner's manual for my CBR600rr, which has a #525 size chain. Not that motor oil wouldn't adequately lube the chain, but it wouldn't adhere to the chain as well with the centrifugal force that a motorcycle chain would create at highway speeds.

Berre

A motorcycle chain is constructed in a very different way than a bicycle chain. Degreasing solvents and water can not reach and dillute the grease inside the rollers, since o-rings seal the rings. Today, it is not necessary anymore to wax a modern motorcycle chain. Maintenance only affects it's outer surfaces.

A bicycle chain is a completely different story. It has an "open" structure, like old motorcycle chains used to have in the early days. Solvents, water, and along with it grit have free access to all of the chain's inner parts. Liquid lubes (including oil) will bring grit deep inside the links where it will be crushed to a grinding paste.

Unfortunately, adding o-rings to a bikes chain is not an option. As it has to be pedalled with sheer mustle power, O-rings would increase the chain's resistance too much.

mike-on-da-bike

well what is wrong with wiping the grit off?worst will happen to your chain if you use a dry lube lol

mike-on-da-bike

chainsaws are used in dusty places too they just wipe em down after using,these oils are especially designed for chains and rollers man i not paying $12 for a very small bottle of dry lube just so my chain wont get dust on it

danarnold

Why Dupont Teflon Multi-Use rather than their 'Chain-Saver.' One would think the latter, which they advertise for bicycle chain use, would be the more specific and therefore better product for bicycle chains. Anyone use this stuff? Is it similar to Dumonde?