Chain care...

[Rajat]

Hi

I recently bought a Trek 3700 and have been commuting to work (around
3 km) come rain or sunshine.

Riding in the rain messed up the bike, so I hosed it down with water,
wiped and dried the chain out with my wife's hair drier and lubricated
it with some machine oil.
Needless to say access to the hair drier is now denied... permanently.
I didn't think it was a good idea either, but I had already washed it
by that time.

Last weekend my crazy cousin convinced me to ride to Mysore, and I
though the bomb blasts would deter him a bit. Anyways, we managed to
reach Hotel Kamath (just beyond Ramnagaram) by lunch and then headed
back.
( I just read about a race report by Dinesh where he mentions Gaurav
covered 27 km in under an hour. Dude you surely must have balls of
steel and titanium thighs, my legs are just above jell-o consistency
right now.)

So the ride threw a lot of sand on the chain and it sounded like a red
brick scraping across a smooth floor. So I bought some kerosene and
since I did not have a chain tool I somehow managed to run it through
the kerosene and scrubbed it with a toothbrush, needless to state
whose toothbrush I decided to pick :(

Anyways I searched on the list and couldn't find any discussion on
chain cleaning and how you guys do it at home or otherwise. I was
looking for practical suggestions on the following:
1. Chain tool - where can I buy a good small one?
2. Chain cleaning - what is a good way to do it at home?
3. Chain lubrication - what is a good lubricant that is available
locally?

I know there are a lot of good videos on technique.... but they
generally presume availability of the right materials. I am looking
for local wisdom.

Thanks & Regards
Rajat Agrawal

[Deepak Majipatil]

Answer for your questions,

oh god, Hair Drier for drying your cycle chain?
then what are you going to use to  dry your car / motorbike.

Just Joking :)

Get

1) a bottle of WD40.Its a Degreaser and not a Lubricant. Available in SP Road.
2) Tooth Brush,
3)Sewing Machine oil as a Lubricant.
4)A cloth waste.

1) Apply degreaser to chain a part,wait for a minute and brush it with your tooth brush till u  
    see all the mud is loose. Continue the same process for whole chain.

2) Clean the chain with the cloth Waste till u dont see any mud/soil.

3) Apply a drop  of  oil to the every link  in the chain and rotate the pedal for some
    revolutions till the oil moves inside the links.

4) Clean the excess oil.

TREKs  are meant for rugged usage.Do not worry about


Have great week,

Deepak Majipatil

[Rajat Agrawal]

Heh! heh!... I'll probably use a jet exhaust ;)

WD-40 was the first thing on my mind till I remembered it is a degreaser. I searched a bit and found enough articles dissuading its use on the chain to look for an alternative.....

Kerosene/industrial solvent evoked much less negativity although they do leave a residual layer depending on their quality.

For the sake of a complete argument, I remember sewing machine oil as being very thin oil (low viscosity), I am wondering if it will be enough to provided sustained lubrication....

Regards
Rajat Agrawal

[Bobby Kunnath]

Use a teflon based lubricant. This keeps it clean and dry as well as well lubed.

bk

[Deepa Mohan]

On Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 6:20 PM, Bobby Kunnath <bkun...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Use a teflon based lubricant. This keeps it clean and dry as well as well
> lubed.
>
> bk
>

What is a teflon-based lubricant? What's a brand that I could buy and
where would I get it? How much would it cost? Would be it a spray can
that would not be eco-friendly? I remember reading that teflon is not
an ecofriendly substance..... but I am not sure. So would like more
info about this! And if it's good, I could use it instead of (you
guessed it) Singer sewing machine oil....!

Deepa.

[Bobby Kunnath]

Deepa,

it comes in a canister and is a spray-on type of application. It comes out as a liquid spray and then dries within seconds and does not leave anything behind for dirt etc to stick to. It keeps the chain clean and dry. I know that teflon has the property of keeping off water and dirt.

 I'm not sure about how ecofriendly this product is.

bk

[Deepa Mohan]

On Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 6:45 PM, Bobby Kunnath <bkun...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Deepa,
>
> it comes in a canister and is a spray-on type of application. It comes out
> as a liquid spray and then dries within seconds and does not leave anything
> behind for dirt etc to stick to. It keeps the chain clean and dry. I know
> that teflon has the property of keeping off water and dirt.
>
> I'm not sure about how ecofriendly this product is.
>
> bk

Is it available in Bangalore? Any particular brand name I must ask
for? And is it very expensive?

...thanks for the info! Oh, yes, teflon has its detractors,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene

as have some forms of aerosol spray cans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerosol_spray

which they feel lead to ozone depletion....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion

....would be ironic if we are cycling carefully, feeling good about
how we are not spoiling the environment... and then using
eco-not-friendly materials and ozone-unfriendly sprays! :)

Convenience vs. Ecology.....the age-old battle.

Deepa.

[Bobby Kunnath]

Deepa,

 not sure about local availability. teflon is a Dupont product, there may be other similar products.

As for being eco-unfriendly, dont forget that manufacturing a bike also takes a toll on the environment!

bk

[Mayank Rungta]

> As for being eco-unfriendly, dont forget that manufacturing a bike
> also takes a toll on the environment!

Yeah right!!! But it is an investment into the future of earth unlike
bullets and the kind that are bad when manufactured and worse when on
roads. I don't want to even get to four wheelers! :P

As for the lubricant if it gives a longer life for the bike n possible
result in less use of water for cleaning I think it would balance off
the eco hazards. Good many examples there -

CFLs are good for environment but having mercury at home is a dangerous
thing. We strike the balance by being careful with it and ensuring it
lasts the life it claims. Any day better than a bulb! :)

Similarly, one can't be crazy about not switching on the AC (I was like
that :)) in a car by keeping the windows rolled down. People want to so
avoid the smoke (wat an irony the smoke is also due to the car u r
sitting in! :)). But if you are on a highway and you keep your windows
rolled down you may end up using more fuel than with windows closed and
ac running! :)

The idea is to keep growing! :)

--
Have a nice day,
Mynk

http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=YouTube_-_Why_Recycle_Paper-1

o__
_> /__
(_) \(_)... Cycle along to a healthier life and cleaner world! :)

[Bobby Kunnath]

Mayank,

true, but lubricating your chain is also investing iin the future. My point being, we have to prioritize and be realistic about how we treat the earth, or we would all be living in mud huts.

As bikers we are already doing lot of good, by reducing carbon emmissions, so its fine to fix your bike the best way you can. A small squirt of teflon lube once in a great while or lots of other oil based lubricants more often....thats a personal decision.

bk

[Deepa Mohan]

Hey bikers, I want to thank you in advance, because this discussion
about what is ecofriendly and what is not gave rise to a humoruous
article that I just wrote, and I will try to see where I can get it
published.....will, hopefully, be sending you the link soon! I had
great fun writing it, so thanks for jogging my brain cells! :) Even
the potholes of Bangalore roads and the awful speed bumps don't do
that as effectively as your thoughts do.

Deepa.

[Mayank Rungta]

I think bobby I was emphasizing your point itself when I said the new lubricant may actually obviate to wash the cycle often saving a lot of water which is equivalent to saving a lot of fuel and power indirectly! :)

We are all on the same side aren't we! ;)

BTW check out the video I added to my post - can't locate the original utube video some how now...

http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Why_bother_Just_cycle----1

Cycling as an option to fight global warming! :))

-- 
Have a nice day,
Mynk

http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Menstruating_Goddesses_%AB_Meena_Kandasamy

 o__
 _> /__
(_) \(_)... Cycle along to a healthier life and cleaner world! :)

[Rohan Kini]

interesting conversation ..

getting back on how to clean / maintain your chain
- every week, clean your chain with a clean rag - wrap the rag around the chain and back pedal. just a few cranks and most of the muck on the outside of the chain should be removed.
- when you feel the need to lube the chain - use sewing machine oil - put very little on each roller. Back pedal a few times. And then wipe clean (this is the imp step). The oil is thin and will enter onto the rollers and is not necessary on the chain exteriors. Would suggest you wipe the chain clean again after the first ride after you lube the chain.

- if you really want to clean your chain (if its greasy, or its been in rain) - use WD40 to degrease it and to remove the water. The WD40 is a very mild lubricant. So you need to lube the chain again like mentioned above.
Dont use Keroscene. Or Diesel !

Thats it.

--
~ ROhan
@http://rohan-kini.livejournal.com
$ http://bumsonthesaddle.com/

[Sri.]

I think WD40 is not recommended to use on bike chains. Many articles
on the net suggest not use WD40 on bike chains.

> >http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Menstruating_Goddesses_%AB_Meena_K...

> >  o__
> >  _> /__
> > (_) \(_)... Cycle along to a healthier life and cleaner world! :)
>
> > Bobby Kunnath wrote:
>
> > Mayank,
>
> > true, but lubricating your chain is also investing iin the future. My point
> > being, we have to prioritize and be realistic about how we treat the earth,
> > or we would all be living in mud huts.
>
> > As bikers we are already doing lot of good, by reducing carbon emmissions,
> > so its fine to fix your bike the best way you can. A small squirt of teflon
> > lube once in a great while or lots of other oil based lubricants more
> > often....thats a personal decision.
>
> > bk
>

> $http://bumsonthesaddle.com/- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Sanjay]

Thanks,this is useful. But can I ask why you're so firmly against
kerosene and diesel?

On Jul 29, 4:18 am, "Rohan Kini" <rohan.k...@gmail.com> wrote:

> >http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Menstruating_Goddesses_%AB_Meena_K...

> >  o__
> >  _> /__
> > (_) \(_)... Cycle along to a healthier life and cleaner world! :)
>
> > Bobby Kunnath wrote:
>
> > Mayank,
>
> > true, but lubricating your chain is also investing iin the future. My point
> > being, we have to prioritize and be realistic about how we treat the earth,
> > or we would all be living in mud huts.
>
> > As bikers we are already doing lot of good, by reducing carbon emmissions,
> > so its fine to fix your bike the best way you can. A small squirt of teflon
> > lube once in a great while or lots of other oil based lubricants more
> > often....thats a personal decision.
>
> > bk
>

[Rajat Agrawal]

I think I can answer that...

Based on the articles i read on the Net:

- commercial diesel has some additives designed to help lubricate/clean the engine this may not bode well for the chain

- the con with kerosene is that it evaporates slowly and can leave a residue lining that prevents lubricating oil from entering the rollers. This article suggests adding a paint thinner (turpentine or mineral turpentine) to the process to remove the kero
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8d.6.html

Mind you, the above chemicals are harmful to human body if ingested/inhaled/exposed to skin in addition to being inflammable, so one needs to be very careful and store them safely. Also kero and thinner disposal into the garbage/drain is EVIL to the environment. Kero is easily reused... left standing the grit particles will settle, the clean portion can be poured out and the rest left to evaporate.

I have decided to stick to using kero sans turpentine when the chain gets really dirty in one ride... otherwise as Rohan points out regular wiping and oiling should be just fine.

-Rajat

[Rohan Kini]

exactly .. the issue is we dont understand lubrication like Pros .. hence we dont understnad the residual effects of a lubricant whihc cna actually turn out to be harmful.

My experience has been that Keroscene is kinda oily and can attract grime rather than just lube stuff. Plus its messy as hell to clean a chain with Keroscene ..


I once used some commercial lube which was ment for chains and it screwed my chain so badly .. took me two hours to clean the chain after a week of riding the bike ! :) ..

a good clean drive train on a bike is of utmost importance !

--
~ ROhan
@http://rohan-kini.livejournal.com

store: http://bumsonthesaddle.com/
cycling group: http://groups.google.co.in/group/Bangalore-bikers

[Rushi Bhatt]

Amateurs! Here's the right way to do it:

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

:)

[Rajat Agrawal]

Exactly... thats why I am looking for a chain tool and retirement ;)

[Rohan Kini]

hahaha ...

What torture .. Putting a single chain link back is Torture .. this must be hell !