cleaning chain and lube

[John King]

Hi! Been riding for months and ashamedly admit I haven't cleaned or lubed the chain of my road bike.
Campy Record 10 speed.

Thinking of going with white lightning .... and thinking of something like the CM-5 Park Chain
Cleaner /Scrubber.

But....new to this and any suggestions appreciated. And...anyone using this type system, suggestions
welcome ! Happy bicycling everyone.

John King
--
http://kingjohn.freeshell.org [email protected] SDF Public Access UNIX System -
http://sdf.lonestar.org

 

[Benjamin Lewis]

John King wrote:

> Hi! Been riding for months and ashamedly admit I haven't cleaned or lubed the chain of my road
> bike. Campy Record 10 speed.
>
> Thinking of going with white lightning .... and thinking of something like the CM-5 Park Chain
> Cleaner /Scrubber.
>
> But....new to this and any suggestions appreciated. And...anyone using this type system,
> suggestions welcome ! Happy bicycling everyone.

Have a look at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html for some good information on chain
maintenance.

I used white lightning for a while, but got sick of having to reapply it every few days, or
whenever my chain got wet, and even more annoyed when my chain started rusting (but I live in
Vancouver, YMMV). Oil is a much better lubricant especially in wet conditions, but probably in
dryer climates as well.

I use chainsaw bar oil; medium weight motor oil has also been recommended. Either is probably as
good or better than any bike-specific lube.

As for cleaning, if you have a chain that facilitates easy removal that's the best way to go (I have
several chains which I rotate, so when I remove a dirty chain I can quickly slap on a nicely cleaned
and oiled one). I can't really comment on the efficacy of those chain cleaners, but perhaps they're
worth it if it's a pain to remove your chain.

White Lightning may have the minor advantage of keeping the chain cleaner on the outside, if you're
worried about your pants getting dirty or something, but I've never found this to be a problem.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent. -- Walt Kelly

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>
>Hi! Been riding for months and ashamedly admit I haven't cleaned or lubed the chain of my road
>bike. Campy Record 10 speed.
>
>Thinking of going with white lightning .... and thinking of something like the CM-5 Park Chain
>Cleaner /Scrubber.

Don't waste your time or money on these. The park device only cleans the outside of the chain, which
is not where wear occurs. You need to remove your chain and soak/agitate in your favorite solvent.
Then re-lube and re-install.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

 

[William Banner]

I use the White Lightling and I am happy with it. I hand clean my chain with brushes. The only bad
thing about white lightling is that it is not an apply and go product. It is a wax suspended in a
solvent that needs "cure" time for the solvent to evaporate before you ride.

 

[Richard]

John King <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> Hi! Been riding for months and ashamedly admit I haven't cleaned or lubed the chain of my road
> bike. Campy Record 10 speed.

OOPS!

> Thinking of going with white lightning

Too temperamental. Temp needs to be above 20 degrees C to apply, but Race Day can go on in colder
environments. They both have serious separation/precipitation problems, and the more expensive Race
Day is far worse. It gets to forming clumps that will both clog the nozzle and not penetrate into
the rollers.

After about 4 years or so, I've replaced WL with Pedro's Ice Wax with no complaint. It's accumulated
crud is much softer and easier to remove than is WL's accumulated crud.

For my MTB and commuter, I've gone with Boeshield.

I was absolutely never happy with ProLink! It stunk, it was messy, and I never realized the claimed
performance. (Oh yeah, the solvent penetrates quickly through several layers of newsprint, making it
even messier.)

> and thinking of something like the CM-5 Park Chain Cleaner /Scrubber.

Piece of **** - superficial cleaning only

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"Alex Rodriguez" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> >
> >
> >Hi! Been riding for months and ashamedly admit I haven't cleaned or lubed the chain of my road
> >bike. Campy Record 10 speed.
> >
> >Thinking of going with white lightning .... and thinking of something like the CM-5 Park Chain
> >Cleaner /Scrubber.
>
> Don't waste your time or money on these. The park device only cleans the outside of the chain,
> which is not where wear occurs. You need to remove your chain and soak/agitate in your favorite
> solvent. Then re-lube and re-install.

The best technique is to put the chain in a mayonnaise jar with some solvent, give it a shake,
replace with clean solvent, and repeat, until all traces of grit are removed. It takes only a couple
of minutes. Removing and reinstalling the chain is *so* easy these days with the new masterlinks,
that this is the only way to go.

In theory those chain cleaner things could work OK, if they held about 20 times more solvent. The
problem is that the solvent becomes too dirty too quickly, and requires many, many changes. So these
units are more trouble than they're worth.

Matt O.

 

[John]

I've used ProLink for a couple of years now with excellent results. While it does have a distinct
aroma, I don't use it as a condiment...

 

[David Kunz]

Alex Rodriguez wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>>
>>Hi! Been riding for months and ashamedly admit I haven't cleaned or lubed the chain of my road
>>bike. Campy Record 10 speed.
>>
>>Thinking of going with white lightning .... and thinking of something like the CM-5 Park Chain
>>Cleaner /Scrubber.
>
>
> Don't waste your time or money on these. The park device only cleans the outside of the chain,
> which is not where wear occurs. You need to remove your chain and soak/agitate in your favorite
> solvent. Then re-lube and re-install.

My experience is different. I've done both and they result in about the same chain and gear life. I
find that my choice of lube makes more difference. For my conditions, finish line teflon (red cap)
results in longer component life than any wet lube that I've tried. And, it's too wet here for ice
wax (it's gone if it even sees water), but finish line's wax over the teflon lube helps it stick
better in wet conditions (go figure).

YMMV

David