oiling the chain - a best way?

This may be my last post on this topic??

I now have the tool to push the chain pins out, and I have an insert link I can put in and use as
it's a removable link, or I can put back in a chain pin, as I have 2 of these.. and I have a chain
bath thing that I have used once already - and plan to use after the weekend riding.

My question now is, oiling the chain.. I normally oil the chain on the bike (as I have never taken
the chain off before now / soon). When I oil the chain - and it's off the bike, do I lay it out
flat on one side, oil the top / flat side link by link. ... a pain I'm sure.. then turn it over
and do the same to the other side? or lay the chain like it's on the bike, and spray it, wiping
off the excess.

My real concern is that when I oil the chain on the bike, I'm oiling the center of the chain, not
the outer edges, and I'm running the chain pretty fast, do I cover all links well enough.

Thanks

Scott

"Scott C" <sns1820@aol.com> wrote in news:RFrPa.31963$N7.3769@sccrnsc03:
> I now have the tool to push the chain pins out, and I have an insert link I can put in and use as
> it's a removable link, or I can put back in a chain pin, as I have 2 of these.. and I have a chain
> bath thing that I have used once already - and plan to use after the weekend riding.

You don't want to push the pins out too often. Use the master link.

> My question now is, oiling the chain.. I normally oil the chain on the bike (as I have never taken
> the chain off before now / soon). When I oil the chain - and it's off the bike, do I lay it out
> flat on one side, oil the top / flat side link by link.

You want to oil the pins, not the plates.

>Subject: Re: oiling the chain - a best way?

You could start here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

Oil chain on bike. Get a rag and put it below the chain. Apply oil to several links by pointing your
oil dispenser in the middle of the plates. Oil at the bottom, not at the top part of the chain, the
side facing the teeth of crank and cassette. Spin crankarm slowly to expose a few more links. Oil
them and continue to spin slowly until you have oiled all the links. Don't spin fast or oil will fly
all over the bike, house and clothes. Let chain sit for a while so oil can penetrate into links.
Then, wipe chain with a rag. Repeat process once. After you oiled the second time and let the oil
seat and work itself into pins, wipe the chain to get rid of surface oil.

Andres

In article <RFrPa.31963$N7.3769@sccrnsc03>, sns1820@aol.com says...

>This may be my last post on this topic?? I now have the tool to push the chain pins out, and I have
>an insert link I can put in and use as it's a removable link, or I can put back in a chain pin, as
>I have 2 of these.. and I have a chain bath thing that I have used once already - and plan to use
>after the weekend riding. My question now is, oiling the chain.. I normally oil the chain on the
>bike (as I have never taken the chain off before now / soon). When I oil the chain - and it's off
>the bike, do I lay it out flat on one side, oil the top / flat side link by link. ... a pain I'm
>sure.. then turn it over and do the same to the other side? or lay the chain like it's on the bike,
>and spray it, wiping off the excess. My real concern is that when I oil the chain on the bike, I'm
>oiling the center of the chain, not the outer edges, and I'm running the chain pretty fast, do I
>cover all links well enough.

I lay out my chain on a newspaper and then put a drop of oil on each link. It does no take very
long. I let it sit for a while. I then use a rag to wipe off as much of the excess oil as possible.
I then install the chain on the bike. I then use a rag one more time to wipe the chain on the bike
while pedaling backwards. If you just spin the chain and oil, you are wasting oil and getting where
you don't want it.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

This is great, thanks..

sc

"Tom Paterson" <dustoyevsky@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20030711081434.24596.00000281@mb-m01.aol.com...
> >Subject: Re: oiling the chain - a best way?
>
> You could start here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

Scott C wrote:
> This may be my last post on this topic??
>
> I now have the tool to push the chain pins out, and I have an insert link I can put in and use as
> it's a removable link, or I can put back in a chain pin, as I have 2 of these.. and I have a chain
> bath thing that I have used once already - and plan to use after the weekend riding.
>
> My question now is, oiling the chain.. I normally oil the chain on the bike (as I have never taken
> the chain off before now / soon). When I oil the chain - and it's off the bike, do I lay it out
> flat on one side, oil the top / flat side link by link. ... a pain I'm sure.. then turn it over
> and do the same to the other side? or lay the chain like it's on the bike, and spray it, wiping
> off the excess.
>
> My real concern is that when I oil the chain on the bike, I'm oiling the center of the chain, not
> the outer edges, and I'm running the chain pretty fast, do I cover all links well enough.

You want the oil to penetrate the pins since they're the pivot points on the chain. Oiling the
plates only attracts dust and dirt, and excess oil will fling off and make a mess; wiping down after
lubing the pins should cover the plates sufficiently to prevent rust.

The reason I use diesel to clean my chains is because it removes the without stripping all the
grease off. It makes oiling the chain a little easier since everything is still lubed to a certain
degree. You run a little more risk of rust when you use detergents or degreasers, particularly if
you wait any length of time in re-lubing afterward. (I recommend against using diesel or especially
gasoline in your chain cleaner toy.)

The easiest way to do it off the bike is to lay it so one of the pin sides is up and just let
gravity do all the work. Spray a bit on each pin. Let it sit a while to allow the oil to penetrate.
Wipe it well with a lint-free rag. Install chain. Ride.

After reading several threads on the subject of oiling chains, I decided to take a chain from a
fresh used bike (from a thrift store; a mass-market MTB in reasonable shape, acquired for my
daughter) and try a variation on one of the recipes I've seen.

I demounted the chain, soaked it down with a butyl-based degreasing stripper that I use for cleaning
car parts, and pressure-washed it. It gleamed; no visible corrosion, so it must have been reasonably
well lubed when the bike was last ridden. With the chain still wet, I ran it through the hot-wax
process that was mentioned in another thread, and remounted it. Rode off, and it worked quite well.
Long-term testing will show if this was a good plan or not; the chain didn't have any bent links,
and seemed to be in reasonably decent shape although it was as stiff as an Arizona prospector's
overalls when I took it off, apparently due to having sat unused for several years. (The rear der
was so full of crud and dried lube that I had to take it apart and clean it before it would return
to the higher gears at all.)

---
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.

Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

rault00@earthWEEDSlink.net (Werehatrack) wrote:

<snip>
>With the chain still wet, I ran it through the hot-wax process that was mentioned in another
>thread, and remounted it. Rode off, and it worked quite well. Long-term testing will show if this
>was a good plan or not
</snip>

Sounds like my method. I usually get about 500 miles of riding with this method before enough of the
wax works it's way out to require re-lubing. Wet weather riding doesn't seem to shorten this unless
a lot of dirt or grit is involved (it's a good idea to wash/ re-lube in this case any ways)

If you do decide to stay with this method, it is not necessary to use degreaser on a previously
waxed chain. Just soak it in clean water and then hot wax as before.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

I hang it on a nail from a tree or bldg, and drip oil onto the highest link. When the oil reaches
the bottom link and starts to drip off I re-hang upside down and repeat. Finally I hold one end in
each hand and move one hand up and the other down, and back and forth, to work the stuff in.

Immersion works pretty well also albeit slowly. You have to poke it with a stick to flex the joints
to allow the oil to get in. You can see air bubbles come out of the rollers when this happens. When
no more air bubbles can be coaxed out, I figure the oil has worked its way inside.

Doug

"Scott C" <sns1820@aol.com> wrote in message news:<RFrPa.31963$N7.3769@sccrnsc03>...
> This may be my last post on this topic??
>
> I now have the tool to push the chain pins out, and I have an insert link I can put in and use as
> it's a removable link, or I can put back in a chain pin, as I have 2 of these.. and I have a chain
> bath thing that I have used once already - and plan to use after the weekend riding.
>
> My question now is, oiling the chain.. I normally oil the chain on the bike (as I have never taken
> the chain off before now / soon). When I oil the chain - and it's off the bike, do I lay it out
> flat on one side, oil the top / flat side link by link. ... a pain I'm sure.. then turn it over
> and do the same to the other side? or lay the chain like it's on the bike, and spray it, wiping
> off the excess.
>
> My real concern is that when I oil the chain on the bike, I'm oiling the center of the chain, not
> the outer edges, and I'm running the chain pretty fast, do I cover all links well enough.
>
> Thanks
>
> Scott

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 15:51:39 -0400 (EDT), ChriszCorner@webtv.net (Chris Zacho "The Wheelman") may
have said:

>rault00@earthWEEDSlink.net (Werehatrack) wrote:
>
>Sounds like my method.

Pretty much, although the substitution of the industrial-strength degreaser and a pressure washer
reflects the fact that I have such arcane artifacts available. It certainly left the chain sparkly
clean, though, and the amount of contaminants that were flushed by the hot wax was amazingly small.

BTW, I did use one variation from your recommended regime for heating the wax; lacking an electric
skillet, I used an aluminum tray about 2 inches deep and 10 inches square, placed in the oven at
250F with foil over the top for a while. When I was able to get the melted wax to sizzle by dipping
a wet toothpick into it, I figured it was hot enough, and that's when the chain got zapped by the
pressure washer and dunked in the paraffin.

>I usually get about 500 miles of riding with this method before enough of the wax works it's way
>out to require re-lubing. Wet weather riding doesn't seem to shorten this unless a lot of dirt or
>grit is involved (it's a good idea to wash/ re-lube in this case any ways)

I seldom get off pavement, and when I do, it's usually on grass, so I may get more out of it
than you do.

>If you do decide to stay with this method, it is not necessary to use degreaser on a previously
>waxed chain. Just soak it in clean water and then hot wax as before.

I'll keep that in mind, although I may still blast it with the pressure washer just to get whatever
I can off the surfaces ahead of the dip.

---
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.

Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

I will remark that Lacquer Thinner cleans chains like nothing else I have ever tried. Since this
technique removes all the lube as well, you have to do a thorough immersion/flex job with the new
lube to make sure it gets all the way into the chain. All of this is best done outdoors.