What’s the preferred cleaner?
The best cleaner is gasoline.
For lubricating I use Finish Line:
Bike Chain Wear
- Thread starter JHZR2
- Start date
The best cleaner is gasoline.
For lubricating I use Finish Line:
There are chain lubes that from tests resist dirt sticking. Mt. Bike magazine even showed a chain cleaning attachment that cleans as you go. Probably overkill but for some might be worth it.
Don’t use gasoline! I’m a safety third kind of guy but that’s too much. Professional mechanics used to use diesel or kerosene which both work incredibly well. Nowadays the PC police will arrest you but it’s still a good choice IMO.
IIRC, 0.05% wear is for 10 speed and up, 0.075% for up to 9 speed. I use kerosene to soak clean chain, and chain saw bar oil to lube. There's a guy on YT that mixes candle wax with alcohol(?) to liquify it and applies it to his chains. Claims it works great- has the clean chain benefit of wax but not the hassle of making some or buying the expensive commercial wax lube. YMMV if you try it
Last edited:
Slick 50 still available?
To ensure an accurate measurement, apply a little downforce to the pedal in order to preload the chain links.
Ah, no. It's dangerous and too harsh.
Yes, and WD-40 is also a great cleaning solvent.
For zealots, like me, a "master link" that allows the chain to be separated is the way to go. Remove the chain when it gets dirty, drop into an old Gatoraid bottle filled with mineral spirits, and shake. Allow to soak for a day or so, shaking every so often.
Then pull the chain out of the spirits, and hang to drip-dry.
You can use wax, or just install back onto the bike, for your favorite lube method after that.
Oh, and the spirits in the bottle can be reused. After a day or two, the black sludge will settle to the bottom of the jug. Then pour off the clean spirits above the sludge, into a clean bottle, for reuse. Great fun!
Then pull the chain out of the spirits, and hang to drip-dry.
You can use wax, or just install back onto the bike, for your favorite lube method after that.
Oh, and the spirits in the bottle can be reused. After a day or two, the black sludge will settle to the bottom of the jug. Then pour off the clean spirits above the sludge, into a clean bottle, for reuse. Great fun!
They also tend to run the narrowest chains and sprockets. I can believe they don't get much life out of them. But with 7 speeds or less, the wear isn't too bad, and certainly not on regular road e-bikes. More isn't always better....
Shimano seems to, or at least to, prefer not to use a master link. I think if you are careful, you can press a pin out just enough to take the chain apart, take off the bike, clean, and put back together. I *think* I did that at least once in college. Problem is, this does wear the plate a bit, and may explain why I had a chain break once while on a trail.
Today, if I got a bike with a Shimano chain, I'd probably just remove it. I do have some SRAM 9 speed links around, so maybe I'd just install an old one, if the Shimano chain was any good--but I went SRAM long ago for this one feature.
Today, if I got a bike with a Shimano chain, I'd probably just remove it. I do have some SRAM 9 speed links around, so maybe I'd just install an old one, if the Shimano chain was any good--but I went SRAM long ago for this one feature.
After a recent colonoscopy I *never* want to *ever* drink Gatoraid again... didn't like it before, sure hate it now!
I think I saw a bottle of it at my local AutoZone! But I was just kidding!
I just cleaned my e-bike chain, and gave it a good soak. I think I used first line chain lube brand.
The newer stuff, like 11 speed, has moved to a much wider gear ratio range. Really nice for riding both hills and flats. Personally, I don't care about more gears per se, but the wider spread is awesome.
Wide range is nice, but I like the 10% / 1 tooth jumps while riding road. My current 9 speed is 12-26 and I think it's just the top 3 gears that are 2T jumps. 21-23-26? something like that. Still 10% changes, roughly.
Yeah, the lower gears can have bigger jumps, but as an old and fat guy, I like tight ratios where I am grinding out on the road, small jumps for when the terrain makes small changes. Plus I'd need a new RD if I were to go to a mountain bike cassette.
FD appears to be going out again on my bike, and it's a bit tempting to go 1x but I think the more right answer is to fix the problem.
That's my point: the new systems are natively designed to handle the wider spread. The days of "long cage vs short cage" rear derailleurs are over. And triple front cranksets are not needed either.
now put a front derailleur on them and you could run a wide spread and have a fat chain that lasts.... eg 2x6 gear ratios.
Sure, but it costs money to upgrade. Ergo, I'll stick with 9spd. It's a cheaper solution at this time.
Plus I seem to destroy chains, one a summer, give or take. Not sure what 11spd chains and cassettes are down to in cost. Lots of sand on our roads, I tend to have a high cadence, and stand a lot in the hills.
The first part is half true. Yes, the latest versions of Shimano only make 1 RD cage length, but that only means you're stuck with the long cage that can handle a 34 rear whether you need it or not. It's a manufacturing simplification cost saving measure. Just like you're stuck with electronic shifting whether you want it or not.
The second part is completely true. Triple fronts aren't needed anymore because the small chainring BCD is smaller, the biggest sprocket on the rear cassette is usually bigger, and modern derailleurs have higher capacity.
