Chain cleaning and lubrication questions

[Rural QLD CC]

Greetings,
Just curious to know what I should use to clean my chain
with. Now that I've got a fair amount of time on the bike in the rough
stuff, the chain is starting to get 'gummed up'. I've always used kerosene
and a stiff brush to clean the chains on my motorbikes (being super careful
not to get it on any bearing areas etc) and it's always worked a treat. Is
there any reason why I shouldn't use kero to clean my mountain bike chain
too? What about cleaning the derailleurs and rear chain rings/derailleur
sprockets?

Which leads me to my next question......after cleaning, what's the best way
to go about lubing the stuff I've cleaned? I've got teflon based lube for
the chain, so that's not a problem. But what about the derailleurs and
sprockets?

The reason I ask is that my GF's rear derailleur is gummed up pretty bad.
We went for a ride on the weekend and swapped bikes for a while so she could
ride my VT3. When I tried to go back up the gears on the rear derailleur,
the assy was binding and not changing cleanly (or sometimes not at all).
The spring was having a hard time pushing the assy sideways enough for the
change because of the binding (it feels 'stiff' when I try to move it around
by hand). It's all indexed properly etc.....it's just very grubby! So,
it's time for a service. I'm quite prepared to do this myself (I certainly
have the tools and mechanical ability to do so), but I'd like to know where
and what sort of lube to use after I've cleaned it all.

I'd also like to know what sort of lube to use on my cables. I've got a
cable lubing thingo that I used to use on my motorbikes (rubber clamp thing
that seals over the cable and guide and allows lube to be forced down the
cable guide via an aerosol tube), but I'm not sure what sort of lube to use.
Does it matter? My rear brake cable is starting to feel stiff, so that's
why I'm asking.

Thanks!

MrBonk
www.mrbonk.com

 

[Monique Y. Mudama]

On 2004-07-18, Rural QLD CC penned:
> Greetings, Just curious to know what I should use to clean my chain
> with. Now that I've got a fair amount of time on the bike in the
> rough stuff, the chain is starting to get 'gummed up'. I've always
> used kerosene and a stiff brush to clean the chains on my motorbikes
> (being super careful not to get it on any bearing areas etc) and it's
> always worked a treat. Is there any reason why I shouldn't use kero
> to clean my mountain bike chain too? What about cleaning the
> derailleurs and rear chain rings/derailleur sprockets?

The wrench for a local pro MTB team suggested a small amount of whatever
dishwashing soap is available mixed into a large bucket of water.

Kerosene seems like overkill to me, but what do I know? Do you get a
lot of tar on your mountain bike?

> Which leads me to my next question......after cleaning, what's the
> best way to go about lubing the stuff I've cleaned? I've got teflon
> based lube for the chain, so that's not a problem. But what about the
> derailleurs and sprockets?

I'm thinking that whatever you use to lube the chain will work its way
into the derailleurs and whatnot ..?

> The reason I ask is that my GF's rear derailleur is gummed up pretty
> bad. We went for a ride on the weekend and swapped bikes for a while
> so she could ride my VT3. When I tried to go back up the gears on the
> rear derailleur, the assy was binding and not changing cleanly (or
> sometimes not at all). The spring was having a hard time pushing the
> assy sideways enough for the change because of the binding (it feels
> 'stiff' when I try to move it around by hand). It's all indexed
> properly etc.....it's just very grubby! So, it's time for a service.
> I'm quite prepared to do this myself (I certainly have the tools and
> mechanical ability to do so), but I'd like to know where and what sort
> of lube to use after I've cleaned it all.

In the future, it's probably a good idea to clean and lube the chain
*before* it gets all grubby. Not my personal favorite thing to do in
life, but I'm pretty sure it's the type of thing you can't do too much.

> I'd also like to know what sort of lube to use on my cables. I've got
> a cable lubing thingo that I used to use on my motorbikes (rubber
> clamp thing that seals over the cable and guide and allows lube to be
> forced down the cable guide via an aerosol tube), but I'm not sure
> what sort of lube to use. Does it matter? My rear brake cable is
> starting to feel stiff, so that's why I'm asking.

no idea.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

 

[Rural QLD CC]

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> The wrench for a local pro MTB team suggested a small amount of whatever
> dishwashing soap is available mixed into a large bucket of water.
>
> Kerosene seems like overkill to me, but what do I know? Do you get a
> lot of tar on your mountain bike?

Well, no, not really, but the car-wash liquid I've been using to wash the
rest of the bike doesn't seem to be very good at getting rid of the horrible
gunk on the chain. It's great on the rest of the bike though. The reason I
used kerosene on my motorbike chains is because it doesn't attack rubber
(the o-rings in motorbike chains are rubber). I wasn't sure what was inside
the rear derailleur assy, so I figured it would be a safe bet, as opposed to
some sort of aerosol degreaser or whatever. With *my* bike, I'm sure a
brush and some sort of washing liquid will be fine, but the GF's bike is
definitely in need of heavier duty cleaning right now.

I've seen a book mentioned here before......zinn and the art of bike
maintenance or some such?. The only version I could find around here
applied specifically to road bikes though......is there a mountain bike
version of this book?

Thanks,
MrBonk
www.mrbonk.com

 

[Ride-A-Lot]

Rural QLD CC wrote:

> "Monique Y. Mudama" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>The wrench for a local pro MTB team suggested a small amount of whatever
>>dishwashing soap is available mixed into a large bucket of water.
>>
>>Kerosene seems like overkill to me, but what do I know? Do you get a
>>lot of tar on your mountain bike?
>
>
> Well, no, not really, but the car-wash liquid I've been using to wash the
> rest of the bike doesn't seem to be very good at getting rid of the horrible
> gunk on the chain. It's great on the rest of the bike though. The reason I
> used kerosene on my motorbike chains is because it doesn't attack rubber
> (the o-rings in motorbike chains are rubber). I wasn't sure what was inside
> the rear derailleur assy, so I figured it would be a safe bet, as opposed to
> some sort of aerosol degreaser or whatever. With *my* bike, I'm sure a
> brush and some sort of washing liquid will be fine, but the GF's bike is
> definitely in need of heavier duty cleaning right now.
>
> I've seen a book mentioned here before......zinn and the art of bike
> maintenance or some such?. The only version I could find around here
> applied specifically to road bikes though......is there a mountain bike
> version of this book?
>
> Thanks,
> MrBonk
> www.mrbonk.com
>
>

Yes, and it is quite good!
http://tinyurl.com/6d49x


--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

 

[Tommy Homicide]

"Rural QLD CC" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Greetings,
> Just curious to know what I should use to clean my chain
> with. Now that I've got a fair amount of time on the bike in the rough
> stuff, the chain is starting to get 'gummed up'. I've always used
> kerosene and a stiff brush to clean the chains on my motorbikes (being
> super careful not to get it on any bearing areas etc) and it's always
> worked a treat. Is there any reason why I shouldn't use kero to clean
> my mountain bike chain too? What about cleaning the derailleurs and
> rear chain rings/derailleur sprockets?
>
> Which leads me to my next question......after cleaning, what's the best
> way to go about lubing the stuff I've cleaned? I've got teflon based
> lube for the chain, so that's not a problem. But what about the
> derailleurs and sprockets?


> Thanks!
>
> MrBonk
> www.mrbonk.com
>
>
>

Simple Green and a good chain brush to clean. Pedro's Extra Dry chain lube
doesn't attract as much dirt and keeps drivetrain from getting too gunked
up. Cleaning after every other ride or so will keep the drivetrain clean.

--
____________________________
TOMMY HOMICIDE
http://www.tommyhomicide.com

 

[[email protected]]

So thats who Tommy Homicide is a Punker and likes the
Vibrators from the days of the Sex Pistols. The summer of 78. Punk is
okay.

I MTB 2004

 

[D T W .../\\...]

..
"Rural QLD CC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings,
> Just curious to know what I should use to clean my chain
> with. Now that I've got a fair amount of time on the bike in the rough
> stuff, the chain is starting to get 'gummed up'. I've always used
kerosene
> and a stiff brush to clean the chains on my motorbikes (being super
careful
> not to get it on any bearing areas etc) and it's always worked a treat.
Is
> there any reason why I shouldn't use kero to clean my mountain bike chain
> too? What about cleaning the derailleurs and rear chain rings/derailleur
> sprockets?
>
> Which leads me to my next question......after cleaning, what's the best
way
> to go about lubing the stuff I've cleaned? I've got teflon based lube for
> the chain, so that's not a problem. But what about the derailleurs and
> sprockets?
>
> The reason I ask is that my GF's rear derailleur is gummed up pretty bad.
> We went for a ride on the weekend and swapped bikes for a while so she
could
> ride my VT3. When I tried to go back up the gears on the rear derailleur,
> the assy was binding and not changing cleanly (or sometimes not at all).
> The spring was having a hard time pushing the assy sideways enough for the
> change because of the binding (it feels 'stiff' when I try to move it
around
> by hand). It's all indexed properly etc.....it's just very grubby! So,
> it's time for a service. I'm quite prepared to do this myself (I
certainly
> have the tools and mechanical ability to do so), but I'd like to know
where
> and what sort of lube to use after I've cleaned it all.
>
> I'd also like to know what sort of lube to use on my cables. I've got a
> cable lubing thingo that I used to use on my motorbikes (rubber clamp
thing
> that seals over the cable and guide and allows lube to be forced down the
> cable guide via an aerosol tube), but I'm not sure what sort of lube to
use.
> Does it matter? My rear brake cable is starting to feel stiff, so that's
> why I'm asking.
>
> Thanks!
>
> MrBonk
> www.mrbonk.com



http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest I've just wasted

 

[John Morgan]

Rural QLD CC wrote:

> Greetings,
> Just curious to know what I should use to clean my chain with.  <snip>

There are thousands of posts on this subject in the archives.  Allow me to
sum it up for you: wipe your dirty chain down with an old rag.

> Which leads me to my next question......after cleaning, what's the best
> way to go about lubing the stuff I've cleaned?  <snip>

Apply a drop of the lube of your choice (dry lube for dry weather, wet lube
for wet weather) to each roller while rotating the drive in reverse, then
wipe the excess with said old rag.

> But what about the derailleurs and sprockets?

Try Shimano HypoSpit for derailleurs and cables.. the needle point
applicator makes it a snap.  The sprockets need no lubrication other than
what is on the chain.

John M
(repost, as my news server seems to have dropped this)

 

[taywood]

"Rural QLD CC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings,
> Just curious to know what I should use to clean my chain
> with. Now that I've got a fair amount of time on the bike in the rough
> stuff, the chain is starting to get 'gummed up'.

Greetings to you too, is it winter yet over there?

I'm curious to know what conditions and locations you ride in
that causes your chain to get gummed up.
Is it beach sand, river mud or perhaps fallen eucalyptus leaves
in the rain forest?
I once rode a friends Aussie bike (Gemini?) around Noosa Heads
and the rims didnt even get dirty.
Mike

 

[Tommy Homicide]

[email protected] wrote in news:28551-40FC3044-394@storefull-
3217.bay.webtv.net:

> So thats who Tommy Homicide is a Punker and likes the
> Vibrators from the days of the Sex Pistols. The summer of 78. Punk is
> okay.
>
> I MTB 2004

Punk is cool. Rock kicks ass, rocks kick ass, so does dirt. It's all good.



--
____________________________
TOMMY HOMICIDE
http://www.tommyhomicide.com

 

[Rural QLD CC]

We're just coming out the other end of winter here......back to the warm
weather soon!

Most of the areas I ride are thick with bulldust or similar powdery
stuff.......the bike comes back almost white and the chain/drivetrain is
coated with the stuff.

MrBonk
www.mrbonk.com

"taywood" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greetings to you too, is it winter yet over there?
>
> I'm curious to know what conditions and locations you ride in
> that causes your chain to get gummed up.
> Is it beach sand, river mud or perhaps fallen eucalyptus leaves
> in the rain forest?
> I once rode a friends Aussie bike (Gemini?) around Noosa Heads
> and the rims didnt even get dirty.
> Mike
>
>
>