Chain cleaning

benz240 said:

I have a bucket of "parts cleaner"...basically a really strong solvent that I have put car/small engine parts into in the past and after soaking in the stuff for an hour or two the metal comes out absolutely spotless. Has anyone else used this stuff to clean their chain (or the cogs/deraileur/etc)? Also, if you had to choose one for lubrication of your chain, would it be used motor oil or WD-40? Finally, how should I lube the hubs and crank bracket, WD-40 or motor oil?

Neither of those, used motor oil is dirty and WD-40 is not a good lubricant.

Solanog said:

Neither of those, used motor oil is dirty and WD-40 is not a good lubricant.

Figured I'd get a response like that. Look, if you HAD to choose, just choose the lesser of two evils.....reason I'm asking is I have an old 'dale rigid frame I picked up used, and I would like to use what I have here for getting it lubed up temporarily (drivetrain is a little rusty).

That stuff sure works. A couple of guys that I ride with use it with a small parts washer at home. But it sure is nasty stuff. I kinda favor Simple Green because it's less of a health and environmental hazard. But each to his own.

benz240 said:

I have a bucket of "parts cleaner"...basically a really strong solvent that I have put car/small engine parts into in the past and after soaking in the stuff for an hour or two the metal comes out absolutely spotless. Has anyone else used this stuff to clean their chain (or the cogs/deraileur/etc)? Also, if you had to choose one for lubrication of your chain, would it be used motor oil or WD-40? Finally, how should I lube the hubs and crank bracket, WD-40 or motor oil?

Use diesel to clean the chain and motor oil to lube it.
If the bearings are sealed leave them alone, if they are cup and cone use grease.

Jay

otherworld said:

Use diesel to clean the chain and motor oil to lube it.
If the bearings are sealed leave them alone, if they are cup and cone use grease.

Jay

Thanks for the advice...how can I tell if I have sealed or cup/cone bearings?

Your solvent is OK but use either clean motor oil or household 3-in-one oil to relubricate the chain. I have used the 3-in-one for many years and it outlasts WD-40 anyday.

benz240 said:

I have a bucket of "parts cleaner"...basically a really strong solvent that I have put car/small engine parts into in the past and after soaking in the stuff for an hour or two the metal comes out absolutely spotless. Has anyone else used this stuff to clean their chain (or the cogs/deraileur/etc)? Also, if you had to choose one for lubrication of your chain, would it be used motor oil or WD-40? Finally, how should I lube the hubs and crank bracket, WD-40 or motor oil?

Motor oil is not likely a good idea as it will be more likely to have dust stick to it and after a while the chain will get "gunked" up, try using a substace called Tri-Flo, and clean all your gears individually by sticking a rag in between each and wiping, also clean each link on the chain individually if the parts cleaner doesn't work, like using cutips, and wipe chain dry after cleaning then lube lightly...

benz240 said:

Thanks for the advice...how can I tell if I have sealed or cup/cone bearings?

Just look at where the bearings are and if there is a bolt near the spokes and you can twist it offto see the bearings, you'll need grease...

benz240 said:

I have a bucket of "parts cleaner"...basically a really strong solvent that I have put car/small engine parts into in the past and after soaking in the stuff for an hour or two the metal comes out absolutely spotless. Has anyone else used this stuff to clean their chain (or the cogs/deraileur/etc)? Also, if you had to choose one for lubrication of your chain, would it be used motor oil or WD-40? Finally, how should I lube the hubs and crank bracket, WD-40 or motor oil?

I also need help with lubing hubs and crank.

Doesn't anyone use dry lube? I understand it needs to be used way more frequently, I lube parts of my bike as well as my cleats daily to keep things running smoothly. WD-40 as well as other greases attract dirt to the chain and other mechanisms and gunk it up.

problem with things like WD-40 and CRC is that they contain solvents, once they dry up a bit they gunk up the chain, as motor oil will do, also if you get this near bearings on a bike and also the original and best lubricants are synthetic so your motor oil/wd-40 will break them down.. making things worse, also with solvents.. be carefull not to get them near bearings, unless your prepared to dissasemble and re-grease the bearings.

using something like WD-40 or motor oil is going to do more harm than good, get some propper lubricant. its not expensive especially considering it will make your chain last better and keep shifting performance high, do you want to replace chains twice as much or buy a bit of lubricant ?. (gunk gets in chain - clogs chain, makes more friction = more ware and lower shifting performance)

if you cant take care of your bike propperly get it serviced by a shop otherwise be prepared to be replacing parts prematurely.

I dont want to offend anyone, but it seems a little different when people are not afraid to put down a healthy amount of change for a nice bicycle, high end components, accesories etc, but when it comes to something like lubricant they will consider something like used motor oil or WD-40. I think you can have the nicest bike,equipment in the world, but if you dont at least do minor maintaince with at least a little diligence. it going to get you in the end. Even if you spent $20-30 on lubricant etc a month its a small price to pay to insure your bike will operating as it did when it was new.

IronDonut said:

I kinda favor Simple Green because it's less of a health and environmental hazard. But each to his own.

I was just wondering.....at what dilution with water should Simple Green be used to degrease the chain?