Cleaning drivetrain...

Hello all,

Just thought I'd share something that makes it pretty easy to clean the
drivetrain and relube.

I bought a can of engine degreaser and motorcycle chain oil from the local
shell (about $8 each).

Need to take care that the engine degreaser doesn't get into wheel hubs,
bottom brackets and pedals, but it does a great job.

I take off the wheels for cleaning, spray on some degreaser, run the
drivetrain through with an old washing up brush, clean the bike down,
reattach the wheels and the rotate the drivetrain while spraying with a high
presure hose.

Gets it clean as a whistle. Then I apply the motorcycle chain oil (this
stuff sticks to the chain), and everything works very smoothly!

All the best,

Tim

"Tim Jones" wrote in message
u...
Hello all,

Just thought I'd share something that makes it pretty easy to clean the
drivetrain and relube.

I bought a can of engine degreaser and motorcycle chain oil from the local
shell (about $8 each).

Need to take care that the engine degreaser doesn't get into wheel hubs,
bottom brackets and pedals, but it does a great job.


Nor the chain guard. I got citrus degreaser on the plastic chain guard
once. End of the day... had to replace it. It warped around in circles.

Pete

Is it better to use as wet lube or a dry lube? My friend uses a dry lube
on his MTB, and guesses it will be great for the road.



--

Totally depends on the type of riding.

I ride MTB in dusty conditions and still use wet lube (Finish Line) and
whipe and reaply and whipe every ride.

onegeargimp



--

bfra1 wrote:
Is it better to use as wet lube or a dry lube? My friend uses a dry lube
on his MTB, and guesses it will be great for the road.

Not really, because dry lube needs frequent reapplication.
Its good in dirty environments, like MTB, because it doesnt
make dirt stick to the chain so much.

Sounds like I should stick with the wet lube for the road then.

I ride my MTB in a dusty/sandy area and often find that I'm hosing out
tons of rubbish. I'll go dry on the MTB.

Thanks



--

I find kerosene works very well too. at $2 a litre from coles, it does the
job easily and cheaply i guess.


"Tim Jones" wrote in message
u...
Hello all,

Just thought I'd share something that makes it pretty easy to clean the
drivetrain and relube.

I bought a can of engine degreaser and motorcycle chain oil from the local
shell (about $8 each).

Need to take care that the engine degreaser doesn't get into wheel hubs,
bottom brackets and pedals, but it does a great job.

I take off the wheels for cleaning, spray on some degreaser, run the
drivetrain through with an old washing up brush, clean the bike down,
reattach the wheels and the rotate the drivetrain while spraying with a
high
presure hose.

Gets it clean as a whistle. Then I apply the motorcycle chain oil (this
stuff sticks to the chain), and everything works very smoothly!

All the best,

Tim

Tim Jones wrote:
Hello all,
Just thought I'd share something that makes it pretty easy to clean the
drivetrain and relube.
I bought a can of engine degreaser and motorcycle chain oil from the
local shell (about $8 each).
Need to take care that the engine degreaser doesn't get into wheel hubs,
bottom brackets and pedals, but it does a great job.
I take off the wheels for cleaning, spray on some degreaser, run the
drivetrain through with an old washing up brush, clean the bike down,
reattach the wheels and the rotate the drivetrain while spraying with a
high presure hose.
Gets it clean as a whistle. Then I apply the motorcycle chain oil (this
stuff sticks to the chain), and everything works very smoothly!
All the best,
Tim

Interesting. I just bought a can of bike chain lube from Shell
yesterday for $15!

I haven't applied it yet, so cannot comment. But I'm expecting some
improvement. I'd say it'd be a wet type of lube based on what I see on
bikes. I tried to find a dry lube with teflon, no luck yet.

Anyway, I use a mix of dry lube (White Lightning) and WD40, and it works
fine. I get a lot of dust during road riding, so dry lube is good.
However, it's a lot of work. Firstly, after 100 km at most, the chain
start to make noise, needing more applications. With frequent
applications, the parafin builds up and needs cleaning.

Besides, dry lubes do not get into chain links easily. What I do for
both MTB and road bikes is to apply the WD40 on individual chain links
and joints. Then give it a good wipe. If still dirty, I'd do it a second
time. Then I let it sit for a while. After that I apply White Lightning
and let it sit overnight. I have used this method over the past few
thousand kms, and have been relatively happy. It's definitely better
than using WD40 alone or dry lube alone. I'll try the bike chain lube
this week.





--