Rust on chain or cassette cogs unusual?



geardad

New Member
Jun 2, 2006
71
0
0
we had several days' worth of rain last week, during which I went on a total of 5 hrs' worth of bike rides on a bike path, which is gravel, but when wet, makes a gritty, abrasive soup...not good for bikes.

Now, I sinned in that I didn't wipe 'er down (chain and all) after each ride, and after 4 days, I began to hear light crunchy sounds in the drive train.

when I did get to it with chain degreaser/cleaner and lube, I spotted some rust.

I didn't take time to make sure where the rust came from, but I assume that the gritty wet paste may have been a factor in causing some of my drive train to rust.

My chainrings appear to be alum. so that rules them out..

I didn't see rust thruought the cogs or chain; just on some spots, which makes me think something else on the bike rusted and that rusty water dripped onto the drive train.

I have a fairly decent bike (trek) with a 1 yr old chain..I think SRAM...the kind with that "magic" link for easy chain removal..

anyone have thoughts on whether the chain and cogs COULD have rusted, or whether I need to more carefully investigate the rust's source?

thanks!

geardad
 
geardad said:
we had several days' worth of rain last week, during which I went on a total of 5 hrs' worth of bike rides on a bike path, which is gravel, but when wet, makes a gritty, abrasive soup...not good for bikes.

Now, I sinned in that I didn't wipe 'er down (chain and all) after each ride, and after 4 days, I began to hear light crunchy sounds in the drive train.

when I did get to it with chain degreaser/cleaner and lube, I spotted some rust.

I didn't take time to make sure where the rust came from, but I assume that the gritty wet paste may have been a factor in causing some of my drive train to rust.

My chainrings appear to be alum. so that rules them out..

I didn't see rust thruought the cogs or chain; just on some spots, which makes me think something else on the bike rusted and that rusty water dripped onto the drive train.

I have a fairly decent bike (trek) with a 1 yr old chain..I think SRAM...the kind with that "magic" link for easy chain removal..

anyone have thoughts on whether the chain and cogs COULD have rusted, or whether I need to more carefully investigate the rust's source?

thanks!

geardad
I think that your chain and cogs have a little surface rust. This is exactly why you are supposed to wipe your chain after every ride, not just the wet ones. It is not a bad idea to re-lube it too if you use a lube that is easily applied.

If you have cleaned it and re-lubed it, the rust should be pretty much gone, or at most it will show up as slightly darker spots than the surrounding metal. Anyway, it won't progress any further as long as you keep up the chain maintenance from here on out.

I have never heard of anything else rusting and then rusty water dripped on the drive train.
 
Also, if you've been riding a lot in the rain. Be sure to drain your frame..water does get in! Some frames have holes at the bottom of the seat stays where you can drain it from. If not, pull out your seat and flip the bike over.
 
Just surface rust. It happens in exactly the situation you describe. It is of no long-term consequence. Just clean and lube everything and get back on the road.
 
thanks for the info and reassurance...

I will step up the post-ride chain-wiping.


g
 
kdelong said:
This is exactly why you are supposed to wipe your chain after every ride, not just the wet ones. It is not a bad idea to re-lube it too if you use a lube that is easily applied.


Curious how much wiping people do for a given ride or ride conditions?

by 'wiping,' are we saying take an old t-shirt and wipe the chain and gears as best you can, or something more serious as a chain-machine cleaner treatment (bibox, alsop, etc)?

On dry days, I'm more liable to pick up some dust. on we ones, it'll be that dirty, gritty slurry, so I can see more major cleaning required after wet day rides.

gd
 
On a wet day, I'll rinse the gunk off of the bike, including the chain, with a hose and bounce it dry. After that, I'll wipe the chain with a shop towel mainly to dry it. If it has been awhile, I'll relube it with pro-link but not every time. For dry dusty ride, I prety much use the same procedure but I lube the chain more frequently.
 
geardad said:
....by 'wiping,' are we saying take an old t-shirt and wipe the chain and gears as best you can, ....gd

This is what it means for me after a rainy ride. With my winter commuting in Seattle, that means most days. I don't do it at work, so it does sit wet when I arrive, and I do occasionally get some of that surface rust that you see, which indicates to me that I have been a bit remiss in relubing. The key is to use a good quality lube that doesn't wash off with rain.
 
John M said:
This is what it means for me after a rainy ride. With my winter commuting in Seattle, that means most days. I don't do it at work, so it does sit wet when I arrive, and I do occasionally get some of that surface rust that you see, which indicates to me that I have been a bit remiss in relubing. The key is to use a good quality lube that doesn't wash off with rain.

thanks, John;

So, do you think that Phil's Tenacious fits the bill as a good quality lube that doesn't wash off with rain?

gd