Chain & Sprocket wear

Mergetron has struck!

Hey Zippie:

the cheapest and most accurate chain wear tool is a metal 12" ruler (preferably with 10th inch markings). You can measure from the centre of one pin to the centre of the pin that is around 10" away (20 links) and get a very accurate reading of wear (not stretch).

The rule is... if your chain is less than 0.5% longer than exactly 10", you're OK. If it's between 0.5% and 0.75%, you can switch it out with a new one and the cogs at the back will mesh in with it OK. Beyond 0.75% and you'll need a new cog/cassette on the rear wheel.

A flash of inspiration is prompting me to augment this rule (unverified) - if it's over 1.5% you'll need to replace the chainset as well.

Hope that's helpful.

...the cheapest and most accurate chain wear tool is a metal 12" ruler (preferably with 10th inch markings)...

Certainly the cheapest, but this method is subject to human error: you have to keep one of the ruler accurately in place while taking a reading at the other end.

Unfortunately, the only accurate chain wear tool isn't widely stocked and will set you back over £30 (which is probably why it isn't widely stocked).

For an explanation of why the common tools are inaccurate, have a read of this page (it's not a very exciting read).

Considering the price of a chain versus the cost of sprockets and chain rings, it's a no-brainer: change it sooner rather than later!

Keeping chain, sprockets and chain rings clean will increase the life of all of the components: accumulated road-filth makes a great grinding paste!

Don't be using degreasers or white spirit etc., you just strip all the lube out of the chain and if you don't rinse it properly any remaining degreaser will attack the new lube: see here for how to maintain your chain properly.

Don't be using degreasers or white spirit etc., you just strip all the lube out of the chain and if you don't rinse it properly any remaining degreaser will attack the new lube: see here for how to maintain your chain properly.

Disagree with that. It's a pain but a Park degreaser bath and wash thereafter is required for max chain life. No way you can get a wet weather chain or MTB chain properly clean without something like that.

Disagree with that. It's a pain but a Park degreaser bath and wash thereafter is required for max chain life. No way you can get a wet weather chain or MTB chain properly clean without something like that.

MTB is unknown territory to me, so I'll have to defer to your experience; however if "wet weather chain" includes road bikes, then I have to, respectfully, disagree with you.

Firstly, chain baths are messy, waste huge amounts of possibly toxic degreaser and not hugely effective. If you must "deep clean" your chain then take it off and stick it in a jam jar with your poison of choice.

The reason I am against deep cleaning is that you i) strip out all the lube that has worked its way deep into the chain; ii) you have to wash all the degreaser out, otherwise it will attack the new lube and iii) if after washing the degreaser out you don't dry it thoroughly, you risk corrosion.

Sounds like a lot of work to me!

The most important thing about the "wipe-lube-wipe" method I linked to, is that it must be done frequently; VERY frequently. Early in this thread, someone suggested cleaning the chain once every 500 miles: too little, too late!

After every wet ride I do the chain, just as I wipe down the rest of the bike; no-one leaves their bike to drip-dry do they? In dry weather, I might leave it for two or three rides.

Old socks are ideal, just slip one on your hand and grasp the bottom run of the chain: wipe back, pull forward; once the sock is filthy, your work is done! I figure on one old sock for dry weather and two for wet.

It takes less time to clean my chain than it does for a cup of tea to cool down...

It takes less time to clean my chain than it does for a cup of tea to cool down...

If you can arrange to have everything conveniently to hand...

I've never been consistent enough to get on with your method - sooner or later i get lazy and fail to lube the chain for a week or more, grime builds up, then i get frustrated as i can never get to the point where the rag stops picking up black grime - each time i add more oil, more black grime seeps out from within the chain. At what point do you stop?

Also, how can your first rub clean get grime out of all the nooks so that the first application of lube doesn't carry it further in?

(I'm not attacking, i really want to know.)

Firstly, chain baths are messy, waste huge amounts of possibly toxic degreaser and not hugely effective. If you must "deep clean" your chain then take it off and stick it in a jam jar with your poison of choice.

The reason I am against deep cleaning is that you i) strip out all the lube that has worked its way deep into the chain; ii) you have to wash all the degreaser out, otherwise it will attack the new lube and iii) if after washing the degreaser out you don't dry it thoroughly, you risk corrosion.

Sounds like a lot of work to me!

It is a lot of work, but i'd argue a couple of your other points. When i deep clean i remove the chain and pull it through a park tool scrubby bath thing by hand. I use a modest amount of bio degreaser then rinse thoroughly by pouring water through the scrubby bath.

Bio degreaser alone is fairly benign environmentally. Once used it's obviously more of an issue, but i'd guess not as bad as letting the contaminants go un-emulsified. Bio degreaser might deal well with straight-forward oil? But more exotic stuff like teflon could be a more persistent hazard? Presumably your method sends oil-contaminated rag to landfill?

My next step is to shake off what water i can then transfer to a plastic bottle and rinse with white spirit. I use two large jars to recycle the solvent. I take small portions of solvent from the 'clean' jar, shake with the chain until it's black then drain into the other jar and repeat until the solvent stays clear(ish). After a few days the grime settles out of the solvent and next time i come to use it i can carefully decant the from the dirty jar to the clean jar. Doing a final rinse with just a little fresh solvent makes up for the losses, so this is actually quite economical.

I work outside with thick rubber gloves to minimise exposure to degreaser and solvent.

I re-lube while the chain is still damp with white spirit on the theory that as it evaporates it will draw the lube into the chain. Ideally i'll let the chain dry overnight or longer before i use it.

(You say solvent damages lube - can that damage persist once the solvent has evaporated? I find that even 'wet conditions' lubes don't stand up to long road-rides in the rain - maybe that's why.)

I'm not saying this is perfect - i'm offering this up for comment and comparison. What do other people do? Does anyone get on with any of the dry lubes? I can never get them to keep chains from rusting.

I wipe my chain down with those ridiculously cheap Sainsbury baby wipes, then lubricate it with Finish Line ceramic.

If I've left it for ages (my CX bikes chain went orange) I use the chainbath and bio-degreaser, then rinse with plenty of water, then flush the water out with WD40, then lube with Finish line.

Drag chain through old t-shirts by hand until clean-looking, then relube. The end.

Do you change the T-shirt afterward?

No, I use it until it's not good enough to wear to South beers and then use it to light my way through sewer tunnels, Indiana Jones style.

If you can arrange to have everything conveniently to hand...

Rags and lube are all that's required.

I've never been consistent enough to get on with your method - sooner or later i get lazy and fail to lube the chain for a week or more, grime builds up, then i get frustrated as i can never get to the point where the rag stops picking up black grime - each time i add more oil, more black grime seeps out from within the chain. At what point do you stop?

I might have misunderstood you, but you don't use any oil: you wipe the chain with clean rags and then lube.

Also, how can your first rub clean get grime out of all the nooks so that the first application of lube doesn't carry it further in?

It's best to begin with a new chain, but you can twist thin rags or baby wipes into a point to poke between the links or try Bike Floss.

(I'm not attacking, i really want to know.)

No problem, I wouldn't expect you to just take my word for it.

It is a lot of work, but i'd argue a couple of your other points. When i deep clean i remove the chain and pull it through a park tool scrubby bath thing by hand. I use a modest amount of bio degreaser then rinse thoroughly by pouring water through the scrubby bath.

Bio degreaser alone is fairly benign environmentally. Once used it's obviously more of an issue, but i'd guess not as bad as letting the contaminants go un-emulsified. Bio degreaser might deal well with straight-forward oil? But more exotic stuff like teflon could be a more persistent hazard? Presumably your method sends oil-contaminated rag to landfill?

Good points: I suppose the most environmentally friendly method would be to use a bio-lube with my method.

My next step is to shake off what water i can then transfer to a plastic bottle and rinse with white spirit. I use two large jars to recycle the solvent. I take small portions of solvent from the 'clean' jar, shake with the chain until it's black then drain into the other jar and repeat until the solvent stays clear(ish). After a few days the grime settles out of the solvent and next time i come to use it i can carefully decant the from the dirty jar to the clean jar. Doing a final rinse with just a little fresh solvent makes up for the losses, so this is actually quite economical.

It may be "quite economical" but using no solvent at all is even cheaper.

I work outside with thick rubber gloves to minimise exposure to degreaser and solvent.

I re-lube while the chain is still damp with white spirit on the theory that as it evaporates it will draw the lube into the chain. Ideally i'll let the chain dry overnight or longer before i use it.

I'm afraid not: the clearance between pin and link might be tight enough to act as a capillary tube, but the evaporating solvent has to escape so it would, if anything, force the lube out.

(You say solvent damages lube - can that damage persist once the solvent has evaporated? I find that even 'wet conditions' lubes don't stand up to long road-rides in the rain - maybe that's why.)

The solvent will destroy the lube, so you will either have to, wastefully, apply more lube or ride with an inadequately protected chain.

I'm not saying this is perfect - i'm offering this up for comment and comparison. What do other people do? Does anyone get on with any of the dry lubes? I can never get them to keep chains from rusting.

Kudos for putting so much thought into your method!

However, the result is a overly complicated, messy, expensive and time consuming for results that are, at best, average.

All for the sake of spending five minutes once or twice a week on regular maintenance.

Thanks for the long reply but there are a couple of points i still don't get:

I might have misunderstood you, but you don't use any oil: you wipe the chain with clean rags and then lube.

By oil i meant lube. I was describing my attempts to follow the method you linked to. It says to rub the chain clean, apply a little lube, work it in, then rub it clean again and repeat until: "When the rag stops picking up black crud the job is done." My problem is that on any chain that has done more than a handful of miles, i never seem to do get to that point. Each time i come to rub off the excess lube it carries a little more contamination out of the chain but it's a process of decreasing returns - after 4 or 5 iterations it is a lot cleaner, but still not actually clean. Does this not happen to you? When do you stop?

It's best to begin with a new chain, but you can twist thin rags or baby wipes into a point to poke between the links or try Bike Floss.

So you really do have the patience to poke rag through all hundred-odd gaps in your chain? To remove all visible contamination before that first lube application?

Cleaning chains lol

Balki just buys a new one.

Thanks for the long reply but there are a couple of points i still don't get:

By oil i meant lube. I was describing my attempts to follow the method you linked to. It says to rub the chain clean, apply a little lube, work it in, then rub it clean again and repeat until: "When the rag stops picking up black crud the job is done." My problem is that on any chain that has done more than a handful of miles, i never seem to do get to that point. Each time i come to rub off the excess lube it carries a little more contamination out of the chain but it's a process of decreasing returns - after 4 or 5 iterations it is a lot cleaner, but still not actually clean. Does this not happen to you? When do you stop?

The post-lube wipe down is just to remove excess lube from the outside of the chain, so that it doesn't attract road crud. If your rag is becoming very dirty at this point then it is because your chain wasn't clean enough at stage one.

If you are beginning with a chain that hasn't been maintained in this fashion from new, then it is quite likely that you won't be able to get it spotless: this isn't a deep cleaning method, it's use prevents the need for it in the first place.

So you really do have the patience to poke rag through all hundred-odd gaps in your chain? To remove all visible contamination before that first lube application?

No. I have only ever used this method with new chains: the gunk between the links is excess lube mixed with road crud (which you don't get with this method).

"The post lube wipe down..."

One of the funniest lines ever written on this forum.

"The post lube wipe down..."

One of the funniest lines ever written on this forum.

Just don't use the Mother-in-law's curtains... (there I go again)

Balki just buys a new one.

New bike