Peter Clinch wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> Chains are cheap? Used to be cheap, nowadays same sort of price as a
>> cassette £15-£20 or more.
>
> For some values of "cheap"... I prefer to resuscitate mine, but if
> you figure how long it takes to do it properly and what an unpleasant
job
> it is against how much your time is worth then even at £20 it isn't
> completely reckless throwing that sort of money at it.
I don't blame anyone for not doing much/any maintenance -- I don't exactly
enjoy cleaning myself -- but I'm sure some cyclists don't realise how easy
it can be to clean a chain when a quick-release link such as SRAM
Powerlink is installed (these fit Shimano and Campag 8/9-speed chain as
well as SRAM)......
1. Put bike in a medium-high gear.
2. Put newspaper under bike.
3. Undo Powerlink by hand and pull chain off sprockets.
4. Pop chain in a jam jar of white spirit and shake. Repeat with another
fresh jar if you like to give it a rinse.
5. Hang up chain to dry (no scrubbing or further rinsing required at all).
6. Lubricate and fit chain. Tip: fit with chain off chainring (resting on
bottom bracket) then hook it on afterwards.
Save white spirit for next time, when you can pour the liquid into another
jar, leaving the settled solids at the bottom. Discolouration doesn't
matter, although your house will look rather dodgy with jars of
urine-coloured liquid stored all over the place ;-)
That might look like a load of hassle written down but is actually easier
and less messy than using a clamp-on cleaner, as well as doing a much
better job. Handling the white spirit might give you cancer (???
but
at least it will clean your hands in the process.
Paraffin and other degreasers will also work but white spirit is my
favourite in terms of power, cleanliness, availability and cost. BTW, it
does not cause rust, IME.
Don't do all this on a new chain until you have to as the original thick
lube inside the links will be stripped and won't be so well replaced by
the lube you add afterwards. However, there comes a time when the dirt
inside does more harm than the good the lube does, I think.
Alternatively, just replace the chain if you can bear the cost.
~PB