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.

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)

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.

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 !

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.