In Search Of: A sparkly drivetrain

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alcatraz
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Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

Y26 wrote:.


By immediately what we are saying is, don't forget the chain. The first oxidation occurs within minutes. Rinse it, give it a good shake, wipe it down then alcohol. I wouldn't leave it unprotected longer than 15 min. It won't ruin the chain but it'll look less nice.

You can leave it in the alcohol as long as you want. Having poured the alcohol already it's a bit of a waste not to let it sit a bit before disposing. But it's not necessary.

Water and paraffin doesnt mate well together so we need a way to dry it off. Coming out of the alcohol it dries very quickly. Feels very clean.

/a

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pdlpsher1
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Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

I remember watching one episode on GCN where they swear using nothing but WD-40 to clean and lube the drivetrain. Has anyone used WD-40? I have found WD-40 to be extremely effective at cleaning the chainrings. It dissolves the gunk very quickly. However I have never tried using it as a lube.


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DaReef
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by DaReef

I've done the WD40 method and I'm of the opinion it works fine but if you want a clean chain wax seems the way to go. If you clean and wax several chains at once it really isn't that much work.

szazbo
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:26 am

by szazbo

I subscribe to the very clean drivetrain, but not obsessive method. I use 2 chains per bike with one cleaned and lubed ready to go on. Chains are cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner every other use. I clean with water and Dawn dishwashing liquid in the UC which is heated. Run for 20 minutes and comes out pretty clean. Rinse with fresh water, wipe down with rag. Then immerse in a container with Lillylube for a minute, then remove and let excess lube run off and evaporate the solvent. After a day or so, wipe the chain down and place in a baggie for its next use. When installing this chain for its next use, wipe down again and ride. After ride wipe down again with a rag with Lillylube on it. Chain looks brand new still. Usually repeat this process for 2-3 rides until the next Ultrasonic bath. Chain is very quiet, relatively clean for several hundred miles. When wiping down I also wipe the chainrings and cassette. I try to save 3-4 chains off of several bikes to give them their baths all at the same time. Best method I have found for cassette cleaning is to use strips of tee-shirt material. will not catch on the teeth and does a nice job. Normal rags catch and shred.

Has anyone used WendWax ?. Very popular in Southern California. Application is rub on and simpler than Molten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmw0fo6VZjY
https://wendperformance.myshopify.com/c ... /wend-bike

PinaF8
Posts: 190
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 8:05 am

by PinaF8

szazbo wrote:I subscribe to the very clean drivetrain, but not obsessive method. I use 2 chains per bike with one cleaned and lubed ready to go on. Chains are cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner every other use. I clean with water and Dawn dishwashing liquid in the UC which is heated. Run for 20 minutes and comes out pretty clean. Rinse with fresh water, wipe down with rag. Then immerse in a container with Lillylube for a minute, then remove and let excess lube run off and evaporate the solvent. After a day or so, wipe the chain down and place in a baggie for its next use. When installing this chain for its next use, wipe down again and ride. After ride wipe down again with a rag with Lillylube on it. Chain looks brand new still. Usually repeat this process for 2-3 rides until the next Ultrasonic bath. Chain is very quiet, relatively clean for several hundred miles. When wiping down I also wipe the chainrings and cassette. I try to save 3-4 chains off of several bikes to give them their baths all at the same time. Best method I have found for cassette cleaning is to use strips of tee-shirt material. will not catch on the teeth and does a nice job. Normal rags catch and shred.

Has anyone used WendWax ?. Very popular in Southern California. Application is rub on and simpler than Molten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmw0fo6VZjY
https://wendperformance.myshopify.com/c ... /wend-bike


Do you ride everyday? This whole process to me uickly got old when you ride daily.
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AJS914
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by AJS914

pdlpsher1 wrote:I remember watching one episode on GCN where they swear using nothing but WD-40 to clean and lube the drivetrain. Has anyone used WD-40? I have found WD-40 to be extremely effective at cleaning the chainrings. It dissolves the gunk very quickly. However I have never tried using it as a lube.


WD-40 is a very light oil in a solvent. Not the greatest chain lube. My biggest problem with WD-40 is the over spray. It splatter's everywhere. I don't want to get it on my wheels or frame.

Nefarious86
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by Nefarious86

szazbo wrote:
Has anyone used WendWax ?. Very popular in Southern California. Application is rub on and simpler than Molten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmw0fo6VZjY
https://wendperformance.myshopify.com/c ... /wend-bike


How does Wendwax actually get into the rollers? Seems a little like marketing hype based off MSW data...
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JackRussellRacing
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by JackRussellRacing

Gratuitous thread bump. Rainy day here in North Carolina, and yesterday was a wet/gross day on the bike with about 8'000 ft of climbing. So, it seemed like a good time to do some heavy cleaning and pop a new Red-22 chain on. So much bling.

Image

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

That looks great above. Love super clean while functioning drivetrains. Not shiny and clean pre-ride, or shiny and clean post ride, but pull over mid ride and take a photo shiny and clean.

This is what frequent but modest use of Rock n Roll Gold does for me. Pretty much always looks like this.

Image
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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

How often do you apply Rock n' Roll Gold? I apply once every 200 miles. It's quite good but it does leave a black residue on chainrings and chainstays.

JackRussellRacing
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by JackRussellRacing

pdlpsher1 wrote:
Mon Jan 29, 2018 6:24 am
How often do you apply Rock n' Roll Gold? I apply once every 200 miles. It's quite good but it does leave a black residue on chainrings and chainstays.
Be sure to wipe it off really well after application (per the instructions on the bottle), and then ideally let it sit on the chain overnight before riding. That's my routine and I haven't had any residue/gunk issues.

Having said that, it does need to be reapplied quite frequently. If the roads are 100% dry, I'll get about 150-200 miles from an application before my neurotic/OCD tendencies force me to reapply. If the roads are wet, the stuff lasts about 23 pedal strokes.... in other words, terrible.

Everyone has different things which 'trip their trigger'. For me, I'm willing to pay the price -- financial and durability -- of R&R in exchange for the clean drivetrain. My own experience is that its very quiet on a SRAM Red-22 chain with PG1170 cassette and SRAM powerglide chainrings. YMMV

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TonyM
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by TonyM

I am also using R'R. However the absolute dry for my summer bike.

Image

I apply it every 150km by cleaning the chain with a cloth and then applying it and resting it over night. Wiping off the excess if any before the ride.

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

pdlpsher1 wrote:
Mon Jan 29, 2018 6:24 am
How often do you apply Rock n' Roll Gold? I apply once every 200 miles. It's quite good but it does leave a black residue on chainrings and chainstays.
I, like others am pretty obsessed about drivetrain appearance and bike cleanliness in general. I really enjoy routine and structure, and like doing the exact same thing over and over again. Probably makes me a little disabled or mal-adjusted, but brings an additional level of enjoyment to my cycling. I start with an absolutely spotlessly clean Red22 chain. All the factory lube removed in the parts cleaner at work. Then for good measure, taken home and soaked in mineral spirits overnight. Then wiped dry with a towel, compressed air, and then sunlight for a few hours. Must be totally dry. No moisture hidden anywhere. If you watch videos or read instructions on RRG, they advise squirting quite a bit of lube on chain at the cassette while back-pedaling. I use way less. I let the lube dribble out of the bottle. Not a stream, and run through just two lengths of chain. This is around 8 full revolutions of the crank. I then let it sit outdoors for 2-3 hours. Not overnight like many do, but overnight would probably yield even better results. Then (this is the key) wipe. You cannot wipe your chain too much. Wipe it until you feel like killing yourself you are so bored; take a short break, and then wipe it again even longer than the first time. The rag you are using should be getting cleaner and cleaner with time showing less black lines, until eventually the chain leaves almost no mark on a clean white rag. The chain is lubed. It's in there, trust me. Go ride. When you return home from your ride, do not apply more lube and do the whole wiping ritual all over again. After the next ride you will have to re-apply lube in the same manner you did the first time. Mine ends up lasting about 140 miles or so. Which means on average, I apply lube after two rides. Sometimes one. I promise your chain will remain looking brand new, and there is sufficient lube on the rollers. Pain in the ass to most I'm sure, but it gives me desired results in terms of form and function. Obviously this method is for your dry weather only bike.
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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

Thanks. I put exactly one drop on each roller starting from the quick link. Then I back pedal a few times. After that I wipe it down with a blue shop towel, not a rag. The towel will soak up any excess lube and get rid of as much as the black gunk as it could. The blue towel probably doesn't work as well as a cloth rag. For those of you who use a cloth rag, I assume you have to buy them in bulk and toss them out after they become too dirty?

I only do ultrasonic cleaning when the chain is new or if the bike gets very wet. Wet rides pick up a lot of small dirt that get trapped in the chain. If the bike stays dry then all I do is regular lubing using R&R Gold.

are
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by are

If I wanted to get an ultrasonic cleaner for chain and cassette any suggestions on what to get? Look for?

There are some pretty inexpensive ones on Amazon, but I don't want to get one that won't work.

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