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EazyDuz
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PostPosted: 14:59 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Chain cleaning... Reply with quote

How often should you do it and what is the best method?

I usually just apply some engine oil or spray lube to the chain once a month.
My cleaning routine is usually spraying degreaser on the chain and wiping it as best i can with old rags until not much black oil is visible on the rag, then just reapply some fresh oil or lube. I regularly check tension and it hasnt seemed to have gotten any looser in 1000ish miles of use.
Is this ok for maintaining the chain or should you go the whole hog and remove it from the bike and soak it in petrol overnight etc etc?
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DrDonnyBrago
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PostPosted: 15:17 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Re: Chain cleaning... Reply with quote

EazyDuz wrote:
remove it from the bike and soak it in petrol overnight etc etc?


What is the chain like? if it is an O ring chain then petrol will knacker it by drying out the O rings and washing out the lube.

Paraffin is the best stuff for O ring chains, advised by chain and motorcycle manufacturers alike. It costs about £5 for 4L from B+Q, Homebase etc (sold as outdoor lamp fuel) and lasts ages, it is a fantastic degreaser not just for chains but for pretty much anything.


I use a bowl of it with an old paintbrush/toothbrush/homemade grunge brush. Scrub it in, letting the excess drip back into your bowl then turn the wheel and repeat on the next bit of chain. Follow up by mopping up the excess with a rag (or leaving it overnight to evaporate (it evaporates slowly)) and applying some oil.

Non O ring chains you don't need to be so precious with but even then petrol stinks, evaporates to make a fire hazard and costs more than paraffin.




My homemade grunge brushes, simple to make, bend tesco 5p toothbrushes with a lighter/blowtorch and glue/melt plastic onto an extra head to make the brush. They look like prison shanks but I have been using them for about a year, work well.

https://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af271/DonnyBrago/DSC06328.jpg
https://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af271/DonnyBrago/DSC06331.jpg
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Tenko
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PostPosted: 17:33 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

The man is correct - why pay for expensive cleaners when paraffin is best - good for wheels too and engine cases.
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janner_10
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PostPosted: 17:48 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gunk brush and parafin every 2 weeks and a spray of chain wax weekly, along with old engine oil in my PD Oiler.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking your chain needs to be cleaned on the thighs of virgins every mile and lubed with unicorns tears every day.
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yen_powell
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PostPosted: 18:09 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I never clean them at all on my road bikes, just add fresh oil on the inside run of the O rings only, then run the bike in gear for a few seconds to use the centrifugal force as it goes round the sprockets to spread the oil around evenly. My chains tend to last forever.

On my trail bikes I clean the grit and mud off with a tooth brush and paraffin and oil it afterwards purely to keep it from getting surface rust whilst it sits in the garage.
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GREENI3
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PostPosted: 18:14 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used to use chain cleaner and chain lube spray, but tbh I think the chain lube wasn't that effective and would just turn to paste after a few miles. The corrosion resistance properties of chain lube is also very poor.

The chain cleaner, although very good, only lasted about 2 times of cleaning the chain and at £7 a pop would have added up over time.

I'm now using 80-90w gear oil for lube and paraffin for cleaning.

The gear oil cost me about £4 for 1L and I barely used any when I went over the chain with it.
I use a paint brush to apply it.
There's barely any fling-off, due to the higher viscosity over engine oil.
And you can clearly tell if the chain is getting dry, which chain lube isn't as good at.

The paraffin was £7 for 4L and is by far the best chain cleaner I've used.
I pour a small amount of it into a mug and still have loads of it left over after I clean the chain.
And it'll last for ages compared to the spray cleaners you can get for the same price!
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hellkat
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PostPosted: 19:32 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

So let me get this right ...

You get down on your hands and knees with a bowl of paraffin and a toothbrush.
And then you turn the wheel inch by inch and scrub the old chainlube off.
And then you put fresh chainlube back on.

?
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Vin
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PostPosted: 19:48 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

hellkat wrote:
So let me get this right ...

You get down on your hands and knees with a bowl of paraffin and a toothbrush.
And then you turn the wheel inch by inch and scrub the old chainlube off.
And then you put fresh chainlube back on.

?


Yup, I also remove the chainguard to make access easier.
I was amazed what an improvement having a super duper clean chain made. Everyting felt smooth and lovely.
Oh and I use gear oil instead of spray lube as well. Works a treat
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DrDonnyBrago
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PostPosted: 22:36 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

hellkat wrote:
So let me get this right ...

You get down on your hands and knees with a bowl of paraffin and a toothbrush.
And then you turn the wheel inch by inch and scrub the old chainlube off.
And then you put fresh chainlube back on.

?



Pretty much.

It washes off the grit and grime that adheres to the old lube and wears the chain, it's not exactly compulsory but it makes the chain and sprockets last longer. As for relubing, gear oil ftw.
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kawakid
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PostPosted: 22:40 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use paraffin also, but I buy and a cheap electric tooth brush from poundland and use that.
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janner_10
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PostPosted: 23:21 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

kawakid wrote:
I buy and a cheap electric tooth brush from poundland and use that.


How much is that then?
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Muscle Bike Rider
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PostPosted: 23:30 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use a proper chain brush and muck off chain cleaner, I used to use chain gel but now use old engine oil and a paint brush, seems to last longer and not much fling off either, I lube every two weeks and clean monthly. Thumbs Up
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Muscle Bike Rider
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PostPosted: 23:32 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

janner_10 wrote:
kawakid wrote:
I buy and a cheap electric tooth brush from poundland and use that.


How much is that then?


Poundland =£1 ?
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janner_10
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PostPosted: 23:47 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

janner_10 wrote:
kawakid wrote:
?


Poundland =£1 ?


No flies on you mate
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Welshd1k
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PostPosted: 23:57 - 02 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tell you what , that new wurth chail lube is an amazing cleaner / lube . Proper supprised with it good lube and well also cleans the chain down nicely .
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hornetmike
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PostPosted: 11:15 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

+1 for gear oil, chaun wax is just a dressing oul does the job
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Walloper
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PostPosted: 11:29 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

hellkat wrote:
So let me get this right ...

You get down on your hands and knees with a bowl of paraffin and a toothbrush.
And then you turn the wheel inch by inch and scrub the old chainlube off.
And then you put fresh chainlube back on.

?


Dont' try it pet.

You'll ruin your new nails and prolly take the knees oot yer nylons too.

Laughing

And we all know Hellcat don't do anal (things).
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Recluso
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PostPosted: 11:43 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

If like me you don't have places to store big bottles of paraffin, I find that the wee bottles of about 350ml (usually costs a pound or so) is ample to give your chain a good cleaning.

I really saw a difference using paraffin. Mine was really gungey and horrible. Couple hours cleaning and it was like I had a brand new chain on there!

I used a couple of old rags wet with paraffin (but not dripping!) which was good for wiping away the gunge and a cheapy nail brush I bought from the wee shop across the road from me (about 50p) to loosen all the grease and gunk. All in all, I spent a couple of quid to clean it. And you can't complain at that.

Take off your chainguard but DON'T try and clean it with your engine running in gear. I suspect you like your fingers attached.
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hellkat
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PostPosted: 11:57 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Walloper wrote:

You'll ruin your new nails


Nails? Bitten to the quick.
I don't think I'm clever enough to know how to take off the chain guard, though Crying or Very sad

*deigns not to comment on the rest* Laughing

Interesting, though. I never realised that much faffing went on.
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Recluso
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PostPosted: 12:01 - 04 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

hellkat wrote:
Walloper wrote:

You'll ruin your new nails


Nails? Bitten to the quick.
I don't think I'm clever enough to know how to take off the chain guard, though Crying or Very sad

*deigns not to comment on the rest* Laughing

Interesting, though. I never realised that much faffing went on.


Not sure on others, but I know on my YBR it's LITERALLY two screws. It just slots on and screws in. I was a bit 'ooer what if I *bleep* this up?' but it's really very simple.

And I have no idea what I'm doing Razz
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PEDEGG
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PostPosted: 18:40 - 06 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

is a wire brush, or maybe one of the tooth brush style wire brushes, too rough to clean a chain with? i spent over and out today trying to clean my chain with parafin and a chainbrush and there is still a load of rust on the chain that doesnt seem to be budging.
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DrDonnyBrago
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PostPosted: 19:39 - 06 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

PEDEGG wrote:
is a wire brush, or maybe one of the tooth brush style wire brushes, too rough to clean a chain with? i spent over and out today trying to clean my chain with parafin and a chainbrush and there is still a load of rust on the chain that doesnt seem to be budging.



Not a lot you can do about rust, a wire brush would chew up an O ring in short order if you managed to hit one with it (this would knacker the chain).

Not really any benefit either, rust isn't a problem unless it's really bad and by that point the chain is going to be beyond salvage anyway. If you just want it to look better then a scouring pad from the kitchen cupboard would probably do ok.
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PEDEGG
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PostPosted: 23:37 - 08 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

DonnyBrago wrote:


Not a lot you can do about rust, a wire brush would chew up an O ring in short order if you managed to hit one with it (this would knacker the chain).

Not really any benefit either, rust isn't a problem unless it's really bad and by that point the chain is going to be beyond salvage anyway. If you just want it to look better then a scouring pad from the kitchen cupboard would probably do ok.


thanks for the advice, thought it might be a bad idea. the chain does rust practically overnight, after a couple of weeks its almost 100% covered and i have to take some of the 'thick' off. I tried a scourer but didnt do anything. It does annoy me, especially days like today where i spent over two hours cleaning the bike and the chain makes it look unkempt.
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Walloper
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PostPosted: 11:08 - 09 Mar 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

PEDEGG wrote:
DonnyBrago wrote:


Not a lot you can do about rust, a wire brush would chew up an O ring in short order if you managed to hit one with it (this would knacker the chain).

Not really any benefit either, rust isn't a problem unless it's really bad and by that point the chain is going to be beyond salvage anyway. If you just want it to look better then a scouring pad from the kitchen cupboard would probably do ok.


thanks for the advice, thought it might be a bad idea. the chain does rust practically overnight, after a couple of weeks its almost 100% covered and i have to take some of the 'thick' off. I tried a scourer but didnt do anything. It does annoy me, especially days like today where i spent over two hours cleaning the bike and the chain makes it look unkempt.

If you are concerned about cosmetic appearance you could slather the chain in that white waxy chain lube. Looks dead gay though.. Laughing

https://www.infinitymotorcycles.com/product/sdoc100-white-chain-spray-300ml/2862

Or similar.
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