Winter drivetrain cleaning

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gitsome
Posts: 749
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:03 am
Location: nyc

by gitsome

Hi

Perhaps its been discussed ad nauseum but quickly: its winter here in ny and i gave my bike a cleaning the other day after some long rides in the wet/slush/salt/debris/dirt/sand that seems to be all over our roads. Degreased chain and relubed, same for pulley wheels and rear d, did not take off cranks/bb shells. I notice a distinctly horrible "crunchy" sound as i backpedal the cranks and chain, like particles of dirt or sand trapped somewhere in the drivetrain.
What to do?
Best practices/advice much appreciated.

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gtinut
Posts: 134
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:04 pm

by gtinut

try Nixfrixshun lube.
doesn't attract dirt

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RTW
in the industry
Posts: 3756
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 2:32 pm

by RTW

Ride 105 in these conditions, accept that you are training and that any resistance in the drivetrain is good and encourages you to put in more Watts. Replace all worn parts at the end of the winter. Oh, and fit full fenders.

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Tomstr
Posts: 572
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:04 pm

by Tomstr

105 is a good idea, Morgan Blue cleaner works as well.
Ride it like you stole it

gitsome
Posts: 749
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:03 am
Location: nyc

by gitsome

Hi

Thanks yes thats what i feared..unfortunately i only have 1 bike right now and its def not 105.
I was using silca chain lube its great but gets rreally thick and gummy even cleaning weekly. Im most converned about crunchy sandy sound/feel when i spin cranks...vuma quad fwiw...

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5 8 5
Posts: 1315
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2006 2:36 am
Location: UK

by 5 8 5

Tomstr wrote:Morgan Blue cleaner works as well.

+1

gitsome wrote:I was using silca chain lube its great but gets rreally thick and gummy even cleaning weekly. Im most converned about crunchy sandy sound/feel when i spin cranks...vuma quad fwiw...

Maybe try applying more sparingly although it can be difficult to get the balance between too much and too little.

I use Muc Off Wet lube in the winter. You don't need much on the chain but it will keep the chain lubricated even after a few hours on UK wet salty roads that can strip a chains lube in under an hour!

Shrike
Posts: 2019
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 5:08 pm

by Shrike

Inner side of chainrings and pulley wheels need scrubbed well if you want rid of that crunchy sound. Winter blows. Backpedal and your chain goes slack :P

gitsome
Posts: 749
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:03 am
Location: nyc

by gitsome

...and falls off yes i know.... Trying to clean pulley wheels sucks and im amazed at how much resistance they barely spin



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BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

Set your bike in a stand and examine what parts are sounding gritty.
How difficult can it be ?. . . . .

Also have a look to this recent topic>
what are you using for cleaning bike from winter road salt?
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=137452

gitsome
Posts: 749
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:03 am
Location: nyc

by gitsome

I did i thought i was very thorough i didnt expect the crunchy sound. No visible dirt in the chain or on the pulleys thats why im afraid it might be in cranks...thats why i posted my question

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mattr
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Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Cleaning weekly?
On a bike with no proper guards, I'd be cleaning every wet ride.

The gritty crunchy sound could well be crap inside the chain. Between plates, rollers and pins. You'll also grind the mating/rubbing surfaces down, that'll make noise too.

TBH the one and only winter I did without a training bike cost me almost the cost of a reasonable training bike in parts. And I'm sure it hastened the death of my washing machine.

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BRM
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Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

Isolate the parts:

Place your bike on a stand, take of the chain from chainset and turn around the cranks to check . . . .

So you also can check the cassette, chain and pulleys separate.

victorduraace
Posts: 230
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 10:10 pm

by victorduraace

Get sora drivetrain, rings, even RD. And of course wheels. Destroying nice grouppo over winter costs you a nice winterbike, actually.

gitsome
Posts: 749
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:03 am
Location: nyc

by gitsome

Thats what im afraid of...but i couldnt resist!

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GothicCastle
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by GothicCastle

gitsome wrote:I was using silca chain lube its great but gets rreally thick and gummy even cleaning weekly. Im most converned about crunchy sandy sound/feel when i spin cranks...vuma quad fwiw...


That Silca NFS lube is fairly thick. Unless the chain is _completely_ degreased, you don't want to start with the one-drop-per-link technique. Wipe the chain down thoroughly after applying very sparingly. 20 drops while spinning the cranks seems sufficient.

Take the chain off the chainring and spin the cranks. If it sounds crunchy, you have a BB problem. If not, your chain just isn't clean. It is more likely that the chain is just dirty. You need to rinse thoroughly when the chain gets really dirty.

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