Final steps when chain cleaning

Werehatrack said:

Quoted message said:

The wax may be cheaper from a hardware store than from the beauty store, but hey...wouldn't you
want a floral or lemon scented chain on your bike? 😉

And no unsightly chain hair, either!

Actually, I'm not sure, but I think the parraffin wax is used to soften the skin; it's a different
type of wax to remove hair...

Maybe Fabrizio can tell us about removing leg hair? Or is he only in rec.bicycles.misc?
--
Rick Onanian

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I ride a Trek Liquid 20 in Singapore. That means inordinate amounts of mud and water. I've been
wondering about the cleaning and lubricating process. I end up doing things the way Park Tools
advocates... parktool.comCM5.shtmlOpen ↗ Where I'm puzzled is the "drying the
chain with a rag" bit, after cleaning/rinsing the chain and before lubricating it. The thing I've
noticed is, "yeah, I can get the moisture off the plates and things, but if you look in the cracks
and crevices, you can see that there is definitely water trapped here and there. All the rag-wiping
in the world isn't going to drain it out. I think about the only thing you could do would be to run
a hair dryer on the chain. Or perhaps if you let the chain sit out overnight it would mostly
evaporate (or rust...) So what should I do? and how long to wait after "wiping with rag" to
actually spray on the lubricant?

You can do a better job of cleaning the chain by simply removing it and soaking it in your favorite
solvent and agitate the container every so often. Then let the chain dry and lube with your favorite
lube. Do one link at a time and let the lube soak in. Then wipe the excess lube off with a clean
rag. Then re-install the chain. It goes very fast. If you use two chains to rotate on and off your
bike, you are never without use of your bike.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

Alex Rodriguez may have said:

You can do a better job of cleaning the chain by simply removing it and soaking it in your favorite
solvent and agitate the container every so often. Then let the chain dry and lube with your
favorite lube. Do one link at a time and let the lube soak in. Then wipe the excess lube off with a
clean rag. Then re-install the chain. It goes very fast. If you use two chains to rotate on and off
your bike, you are never without use of your bike.

If the user isn't employing an expensive and exotic lubicant, is there some reason not to simply
dunk the clean chain in a can of lube and let it sit for a day or two?

--
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.

Alex Rodriguez said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I ride a Trek Liquid 20 in Singapore. That means inordinate amounts of mud and water. I've been
wondering about the cleaning and lubricating process. I end up doing things the way Park Tools
advocates... parktool.comCM5.shtmlOpen ↗ Where I'm puzzled is the "drying the
chain with a rag" bit, after cleaning/rinsing the chain and before lubricating it. The thing I've
noticed is, "yeah, I can get the moisture off the plates and things, but if you look in the cracks
and crevices, you can see that there is definitely water trapped here and there. All the
rag-wiping in the world isn't going to drain it out. I think about the only thing you could do
would be to run a hair dryer on the chain. Or perhaps if you let the chain sit out overnight it
would mostly evaporate (or rust...) So what should I do? and how long to wait after "wiping with
rag" to actually spray on the lubricant?

You can do a better job of cleaning the chain by simply removing it and soaking it in your
favorite solvent and agitate the container every so often. Then let the chain dry and lube with
your favorite lube. Do one link at a time and let the lube soak in. Then wipe the excess lube off
with a clean rag. Then re-install the chain. It goes very fast. If you use two chains to rotate on
and off your bike, you are never without use of your bike.

When I do this, my chain doesn't last as long as when I use one of the on bike cleaners. I tried
turpentine for 2 chains.

David

Rick Onanian <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Werehatrack said:

Quoted message said:

The wax may be cheaper from a hardware store than from the beauty store, but hey...wouldn't you
want a floral or lemon scented chain on your bike? 😉

And no unsightly chain hair, either!

Actually, I'm not sure, but I think the parraffin wax is used to soften the skin; it's a different
type of wax to remove hair...

Yes - it's a hand treatment, but not just (or even mainly) used for softening the skin - used in
pain treatments as well, a lot for arthritis.

Shaun aRe

David Kunz <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Alex Rodriguez said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

I ride a Trek Liquid 20 in Singapore. That means inordinate amounts of mud and water. I've been
wondering about the cleaning and lubricating process. I end up doing things the way Park Tools
advocates... parktool.comCM5.shtmlOpen ↗ Where I'm puzzled is the "drying the
chain with a rag" bit, after cleaning/rinsing the chain and before lubricating it. The thing
I've noticed is, "yeah, I can get the moisture off the plates and things, but if you look in the
cracks and crevices, you can see that there is definitely water trapped here and there. All the
rag-wiping in the world isn't going to drain it out. I think about the only thing you could do
would be to run a hair dryer on the chain. Or perhaps if you let the chain sit out overnight it
would mostly evaporate (or rust...) So what should I do? and how long to wait after "wiping with
rag" to actually spray on the lubricant?

You can do a better job of cleaning the chain by simply removing it and soaking it in your
favorite solvent and agitate the container every so often. Then let the chain dry and lube with
your favorite lube. Do one link at a time and let the lube soak in. Then wipe the excess lube
off with a clean rag. Then re-install the chain. It goes very fast. If you use two chains to
rotate on and off your bike, you are never without use of your bike.

When I do this, my chain doesn't last as long as when I use one of the on bike cleaners. I tried
turpentine for 2 chains.

David

Odd, I get about double the life out of my chain by doing it this way (I use mineral spirits,
the kind most folks call paint thinner), but it could be that I am just seeing two chain
life-times, LOL!

BTW, the difference that I really notice is in the condition of the cassette and the chainrings. I
don't replace them nearly as often. Taking the chain off really helps me clean all the cogs, so
there may be a benefit in that alone.

I use SRAM chains with PowerLinks, so it's a tool-free job.

Spider

Werehatrack said:

If the user isn't employing an expensive and exotic lubicant, is there some reason not to simply
dunk the clean chain in a can of lube and let it sit for a day or two?

I use lubes that don't come in quantities or packaging suitable for this method...a bike lube that
comes in a little squirt bottle or a spray can.

Quoted message said:

--
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.

--
Rick Onanian

Spider said:

David Kunz <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Alex Rodriguez said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

>I ride a Trek Liquid 20 in Singapore. That means inordinate amounts of mud and water. I've been
>wondering about the cleaning and lubricating process. I end up doing things the way Park Tools
>advocates... parktool.comCM5.shtmlOpen ↗ Where I'm puzzled is the "drying the
>chain with a rag" bit, after cleaning/rinsing the chain and before lubricating it. The thing
>I've noticed is, "yeah, I can get the moisture off the plates and things, but if you look in the
>cracks and crevices, you can see that there is definitely water trapped here and there. All the
>rag-wiping in the world isn't going to drain it out. I think about the only thing you could do
>would be to run a hair dryer on the chain. Or perhaps if you let the chain sit out overnight it
>would mostly evaporate (or rust...) So what should I do? and how long to wait after "wiping with
>rag" to actually spray on the lubricant?

You can do a better job of cleaning the chain by simply removing it and soaking it in your
favorite solvent and agitate the container every so often. Then let the chain dry and lube with
your favorite lube. Do one link at a time and let the lube soak in. Then wipe the excess lube off
with a clean rag. Then re-install the chain. It goes very fast. If you use two chains to rotate
on and off your bike, you are never without use of your bike.

When I do this, my chain doesn't last as long as when I use one of the on bike cleaners. I tried
turpentine for 2 chains.

David

Odd, I get about double the life out of my chain by doing it this way (I use mineral spirits,
the kind most folks call paint thinner), but it could be that I am just seeing two chain
life-times, LOL!

I was surprised also because I'd read many posts similar to yours. Later I read a couple that
claimed that the solvent worked too well and it was difficult to get the lube back deep into the
chain, and that at least one chain manufacturer (I dont' remember which) recommended against it for
that reason. Since I recycled my lube (filtered/settled-decanted), I didn't expect this to be the
problem (the solvent felt pretty slippery after a while 🙂), but maybe it was? After the shorter
life of the 1st chain, I made sure that I was more liberal with the lube (wiping the excess off) --
didn't help.

Quoted message said:

BTW, the difference that I really notice is in the condition of the cassette and the chainrings. I
don't replace them nearly as often. Taking the chain off really helps me clean all the cogs, so
there may be a benefit in that alone.

I spray simple green on the cogs and use the chain/pedals to drive them holding a stiff narrow brush
against them. When I took the chain off to clean it, this was actually a *little* harder -- I turned
the wheel backwards to drive the cogs 🙂.

Quoted message said:

I use SRAM chains with PowerLinks, so it's a tool-free job.

Yep, me too. Got a Wipperman for my next one though (for comparison 🙂) -- it also has a master link
and is SUPPOSED to be better made.

David