Last week, I degreased my chain using citrus degreaser in an old coke bottle and rather foolishly forgot to take it out of the bottle and left it over night. When I went back the next day and fished it out, there were spots of rust where the chain had been exposed to the air in the bottle. I rinsed off the degreaser, dried it and lubed it.
I've since ridden it on a wet day and degreased and re-lubed it (with finish line teflon plus) again but I'm getting a persistent squeaking which is very annoying, and which won't go away no matter how much lube I put on it.
Is my chain knackered and should I get a new one, or should I try a different type of lube? I suspect that leaving it in the degreaser over night has caused the insides of the chain to rust which is producing the squeak. This is especially annoying as the chain's only a couple of hundred miles old.
Last week, I degreased my chain using citrus degreaser in an old coke bottle and rather foolishly forgot to take it out of the bottle and left it over night. When I went back the next day and fished it out, there were spots of rust where the chain had been exposed to the air in the bottle. I rinsed off the degreaser, dried it and lubed it.
I've since ridden it on a wet day and degreased and re-lubed it (with finish line teflon plus) again but I'm getting a persistent squeaking which is very annoying, and which won't go away no matter how much lube I put on it.
Is my chain knackered and should I get a new one, or should I try a different type of lube? I suspect that leaving it in the degreaser over night has caused the insides of the chain to rust which is producing the squeak. This is especially annoying as the chain's only a couple of hundred miles old.
Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.
Darren.
Yep, it's knackered, the rust is now in the pivots.
Yep, it's knackered, the rust is now in the pivots.
If you go to a decent motorcycle shop and get a tin of the grease, (Linklyfe or similar), which you then heat till it liquefies and immerse the chain in that, the liquid grease "will" permeate into the pivots and cure your problem. I've used the stuff for years on a bi-annual basis and I've never had to buy a new chain.
Yep, it's knackered, the rust is now in the pivots.
If you go to a decent motorcycle shop and get a tin of the grease, (Linklyfe or similar), which you then heat till it liquefies and immerse the chain in that, the liquid grease "will" permeate into the pivots and cure your problem. I've used the stuff for years on a bi-annual basis and I've never had to buy a new chain.
The cost of that stuff is probably around the same as the cost of a new chain. -- "We take these risks, not to escape from life, but to prevent life escaping from us." ***** replace 'spam' with 'ben' to reply *****
The cost of that stuff is probably around the same as the cost of a new chain.
Maybe ... but it lasts forever, and can be re-used countless times !!
My can must be 15 years old at least.
It will not help, if he has rust in the pivots then even if the squeak goes away the linkages are damaged and will make the power transfer less efficient, the tub of grease is fine for servicing a good chain, although the motorcycle grease is a little thick, I am a bicycle engineer, I tend to keep two chains, one lives in a tub of light engineering oil, and I swap them over every 3 or 4 months, then give the one in use a spray with a "Teflon" lube every couple of weeks, I have never had a chain failure, and my chains are always within manufacturers tolerances, I really should stop telling my customers about this, I never sell chains anymore.
In message <[email hidden]>, Steve <[email hidden]> writes
Quoted message said:
Ian wrote in message ...
Quoted message said:
Yep, it's knackered, the rust is now in the pivots.
If you go to a decent motorcycle shop and get a tin of the grease, (Linklyfe or similar), which you then heat till it liquefies and immerse the chain in that, the liquid grease "will" permeate into the pivots and cure your problem. I've used the stuff for years on a bi-annual basis and I've never had to buy a new chain.
How often do you ride your bike? Chains do stretch, you know, and require regular replacement. -- Michael MacClancy
The cost of that stuff is probably around the same as the cost of a new chain.
Maybe ... but it lasts forever, and can be re-used countless times !!
My can must be 15 years old at least.
Aye, but chains don't and they're so cheap they can easily be judged to be disposable items. I replace mine roughly every 6 months at around 4 quid a time. Just keep it well lubed.
And that wax stuff is being used less and less because it'll ruin a modern motorcycle chain (destroy the o/x-ring seals). -- "We take these risks, not to escape from life, but to prevent life escaping from us." ***** replace 'spam' with 'ben' to reply *****
Aye, but chains don't and they're so cheap they can easily be judged to be disposable items. I replace mine roughly every 6 months at around 4 quid a time. Just keep it well lubed.
Which is what I do and I never need to replace it. That's even cheaper at "zero" quid a time !!
Thank you for reminding me to be more precise in my explanation. You're quite right to say that chains wear. This leads to them getting longer. I think most people would describe this as 'stretch', even when the metal itself hasn't been extended. May I in turn suggest you read this .. sheldonbrown.comchains.htmlOpen ↗ -- Michael MacClancy
Metal stretches, this a fact. Metal wears where it is constants motion against other metal, irrespective of how much lube is there.
The combination of these plus the grit and other [censored] that gets on both pedal and motorcycle chains results in them stretching. Continual good lubrication will extend the life of a chain but over time it will still stretch. -- "We take these risks, not to escape from life, but to prevent life escaping from us." ***** replace 'spam' with 'ben' to reply *****
Metal stretches, this a fact. Metal wears where it is constants motion against other metal, irrespective of how much lube is there.
The combination of these plus the grit and other [censored] that gets on both pedal and motorcycle chains results in them stretching. Continual good lubrication will extend the life of a chain but over time it will still stretch.
Apologies, I've made the same mistake as Michael in substituting 'stretch' for 'wear'.
However the link is still rubbish, I've seen these Loobman devices in action and they aren't very good. -- "We take these risks, not to escape from life, but to prevent life escaping from us." ***** replace 'spam' with 'ben' to reply *****
Last week, I degreased my chain using citrus degreaser in an old coke bottle and rather foolishly forgot to take it out of the bottle and left it over night. When I went back the next day and fished it out, there were spots of rust where the chain had been exposed to the air in the bottle. I rinsed off the degreaser, dried it and lubed it.
I doubt it's permanently damaged but use white spirit next time (with chain completely immersed). It works better and chain doesn't need rinsing - just leave to dry.
Quoted message said:
I've since ridden it on a wet day and degreased and re-lubed it (with finish line teflon plus) again but I'm getting a persistent squeaking which is very annoying, and which won't go away no matter how much lube I put on it.
Is my chain knackered
Probably not. The chain will wear out long before any rust or corrosion eats it away. Lubing the chain and unsticking any stiff links will sort it. Your chain is just literally squeaky clean. This is not a big problem! Even a severely rusted chain can be re-used by soaking in oil.
Chains don't stretch, they wear if not propery lubed.
Of course chains stretch ! Just because the _links_ don't stretch doesn't mean that "stretching" isn't a perfectly reasonable term for the lengthening that chains do.
I'd be surprised if this chain is beyond hope. I'd re-lube it over-generously, go for a nice long ride somewhere that isn't dusty, then clean and re-lube it normally when I got back.
Chains don't stretch, they wear if not propery lubed.
Chains do elongate through wear (pins getting thinner so more play, etc). The common term for this is "stretching" even though nothing is actually stretching.
All chains wear when they are properly lubed as well.
The rollers are not rollers, they are merely pivot points, once the chain rusts it is screwed, regardless of what shoeless kids on squeaking crappy bmx bikes say.
