Chain cleaning

GaRRy

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 18, 2012
1,019
3
Tamworth

oigoi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 14, 2011
467
7
Reminds me of the old days of boiling motorcycle chains in grease on the kitchen stove whilst mother went mad.

She also seemed to be against putting engine bits in the oven prior to fitting bushes and valve guides :)

Nothing quite like the smell of a roasting hot cylinder head :)
 

GaRRy

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 18, 2012
1,019
3
Tamworth
cheers for all that but my dual drive has a total of 6..cogs how do I keep all them clean? and the chain
Take a good look at the link I posted above for bicycle scott oiler. if your derailer is one of the compatible ones (check the chart) then as far as i can see it should do just what your asking.

Personally ill stick to the hot soapy water and a brush.
 

Morgann

Pedelecer
Oct 15, 2011
130
0
Wipe,wipe ,wipe. Oil. Wipe, wipe, wipe.

Repeat weekly.

Do 1 hours overtime, buy new chain with the proceeds

Repeat every year or so.

Life's too short for all this cleaning and rinsing and drying carry on.
 

yselmike

Pedelecer
Sep 6, 2011
129
0
purmerend
there is nothing wrong with my chain its the crud that sticks to it, and the gears and the motor cog thats the problem. keeping it clean and running smoothly that what I need and the only way I can do that is in my shower and brushes
and de-greaser.
 

KirstinS

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 5, 2011
3,224
899
Brighton
with a fistful of nappy/babby wipes grab the chain lightly - then with other hand backpedal the chain round and round. Repeat 1 or 2 times. Whole process takes 60 seconds or less. apply light oil on chain

iits the 80/20 rule at work here (i.e. you can get 80% of work done in 20% of time - if you want to remove the last 20% of crud it will take a further 80% time e.g brushes/parrafin/drying and so on and so forth)
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
Prehaps I should of pointed out the above link is for a bicycle specific system not the motobike scottoiler. Its designed to work with derailers by replacing the jockey wheel with one that can lube the chain.
That does look well thought out, if I had rear mech I'd give it a try despite my reservations about Scottoiler's delivery control.
 

carpetbagger

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 20, 2007
744
18
blackburn
After 5100 miles i have cleaned my chain once,just wiped it with a rag but to to be honest it was pretty clean and didn't need it.I then put some light oil on which i usually do every time i hear a squeak !
 

Biker44

Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2012
134
3
Hello all - Which methods of chain cleaning do most people find work best for there bikes please? - A chain cleaning machine or degreasing spray and brushes ect? - Many Thanks - Neil
Cleaning chains just lets water in, shortening the life of the chain.

Use motorcycle chain-grease spray, comes with a fine tube. A little dribble over the links as you turn the wheel backwards. It drips and flings off initially until the solvent has evaporated but then it stays in place.

And ... the same chain grease rescues slipping free-wheels - perhaps keeping them going indefinitely.

The only thing to beware is that the grease will slowly pick up road-dust, which will then tend to collect around the jockey-wheels and eventually cause drag. You'll know that's happened when back-pedalling makes the top-chain run sag and hit the chain-stay (leaving grease there!). Push the dirt out with a twig once a year or two. Or the jockey wheels come out and can be wiped very easily.
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
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Crowborough
A quick note on grease for those unaware: Chain grease in a spray can is thinned with a solvent, when it's sprayed on the solvent takes the grease between the rotating surfaces, then the solvent evaporates and leaves the grease where it's needed. If you try and put normal grease on it doesn't get to where it's needed, it might do if you heat it up on the stove but I don't think anyone does that anymore.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,559
30,847
I agree that it doesn't get into the roller's inner bearing surfaces, but since I don't wash chains out, I rely on the chain manufacturer's grease to lubricate those. Therefore I do use ordinary grease on single speed and hub gear chains to lubricate the link/roller/sprocket teeth interfaces to keep down that wear.
 

Biker44

Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2012
134
3
A quick note on grease for those unaware: Chain grease in a spray can is thinned with a solvent, when it's sprayed on the solvent takes the grease between the rotating surfaces, then the solvent evaporates and leaves the grease where it's needed. If you try and put normal grease on it doesn't get to where it's needed, it might do if you heat it up on the stove but I don't think anyone does that anymore.
I'm not really sure what's in this tin marked "Castrol" but the grease seems to foam and bubble where you put it on (in exactly the spot you want it, via a very fine tube).

The effect looks convincing. But even more convincing is that, if you have a free-wheel that's slipping, you lay the cycle over at an angle and squirt into the gap next to the wheel. Hey presto, instant cure - which seems to last for ever and the day when you eventually do it again.
 

Scimitar

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 31, 2010
1,772
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Ireland
It occurred to me you may as well use the pikey method - a syringe strapped to the top tube and a long thin pipe to the chain front mech. A squirt of a mil every 3 miles, as mentioned on the Scottoiler site, would be more than adequate.
Btw, in many years of using Scottoilers on motorcycles (and being thoroughly convinced of their efficacy - chains have four times the life of ones without) I've only ever used chainsaw oil - not the expensive Scott Oil.
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
It occurred to me you may as well use the pikey method - a syringe strapped to the top tube and a long thin pipe to the chain front mech. A squirt of a mil every 3 miles, as mentioned on the Scottoiler site, would be more than adequate.
Btw, in many years of using Scottoilers on motorcycles (and being thoroughly convinced of their efficacy - chains have four times the life of ones without) I've only ever used chainsaw oil - not the expensive Scott Oil.
The pikey method is pretty much what the Loobman I linked to above was designed to be, it's cheap and you can put whatever you like in it without worrying if the flow rate will be screwed up. That's how it started anyway, it might have changed a bit by now.
A squirt every 3 miles? I can't see me doing that 12 times a day in the traffic but as long as I remember to do it once a day it should suffice.