Chain gunking up....

[TXRAiDR]

What's up guys and gals!? Here's my prob: On one of my road bikes I run a Shimano 105 chain (hg-5500 or something like that). Ever since I put it on, it has not manage to stay clean! I clean the drive train every two weeks on this bike. My other two bikes actually get ridden more and I clean them less.

Here's how my cleaning goes:
1) Break chain put it in a plastic milk carton with some degreaser and shake it up.

2) Soak it some and change out the solution till it comes out clean.

3) Dry off the chain with a rag, shake it some to get more of the cleaner out, then dry it off again.

4) Install the chain on the bike and lube inside the plates, the pins only. I use Finish Line.

5) After back pedaling it through the gears and working the lube in, I wipe the chain off with some clean, dry rags.

I've even taken to bouncing the bike to get more lube out of the chain, if any, and then re-wipe down the chain. Once I do this, it's all squeky clean, until I ride. After about 110 miles on the road, it starts to get gritty. After two weeks, it looks like 3 months! Like I said, my other two bikes don't get this bad. Any ideas? Is it the chain itself? Do I have to use something stronger than degreaser?

Ruben

[Jeff]

I use finish line also . The concentrate , but I use it straight ( without diluting) Also use a pedros chaincleaning machine. This works real well with all the brushes and is much cleaner to use. Plus you don't have to break your chain , which I've heard tends to weaken the link. Try the sram quicklink chain. I also use whitelightening teflon based lube which says it continues to shed dirt but I don't believe it.

[carlos]

what kinda finish line lube? oil or wax?

[TXRAiDR]

I'm using the oil. Yeah, breaking the chain weakens the link. I had that problem about 4 months ago. I had a chain tool, so it wasn't a big deal to me. I use the Finish Line on all three bikes, and my Diamondback with the 105 chain is the only one that doesn't like it. I'll probably use Pedros on it this weekend.

[carlos]

oil and road grit can do that. i use finish line and tri flow oil on my chain for road and dirt and i'd have to clean the chain every 4 days. oil attracts more of everything. maybe wax is the way to go. finish line makes a dry wax that's about on par with white lightning, it's called kry tech. i've been switching between that and white lightning every 3 months for the past year and 11 months. almost time for a verdict.

the finish line is WAY drier than the WL and seeps into the bearings of the chain much better BUT the FL is also thinner so more has to be applied.

the WL works well all around but for some reason there seems to be a bit of inconsistancy as far as build up. some people have problems and others don't. i'm not sure why this is but i'm working on getting to the bottom of it. it could be a temprature thing...we'll see.

[TXRAiDR]

White Lightning was all right. I kept having to apply it constantly though. I'll probably go back to using Pedros ICE WAX. Didn't have any problem with that. I went on the recommendation of the LBS here. Like I said, it's only a prob on one bike, and that's what gets me!

[Weegster]

I can attest to Carlos' formula. Lake Bryant was the proving Ground for all the tricks in one's bag!:D

[Dave K]

I don't know what the funk is going on, but I can't get into the MojoMag section. It give me an error and shuts down my window everytime I go there.

I need a direct link to Carlos's MojoMag that explains chain cleaning and other bike drivetrain cleaining techniques.

[flbikerman]

Here's the link. Hope it helps.

http://bikemojo.com/mojomag/carlos_more.php?id=7_0_2_0_M

[carlos]

TXRAiDR, how's the chain?

[Dave K]

this is the one I was looking for: http://www.bikemojo.com/mojomag/carlos_more.php?id=A3_0_2_0_M

So, I guess WD40 is the chain cleaning agent of choice? Good. It smells great, but it's a bit flammable and hard on the hands.

I've got Simple Green. It seems to work OK too.

Or, what about just detergent and water in a bucket? Is that bad for the chain? My thinking is I want to rinse ALL that grit in there. It seems to work well, but maybe I'm creating more problems than I'm solving?

[carlos]

davek, yeah WD is really good and works well and is easy on parts.

but a pair of Nitrile gloves are ideal.

whatever you use to wash the dishes with and hot water is best of general cleaning of all the other parts. frame, brakes, wheels, pedals.......

[TXRAiDR]

It's good now. Pedros ice wax on it. I'm going to be switching it out to a SRAM chain here in few weeks. It's getting a little warn.

ANother question about chains. I think this one was covered before, but I can't seem to find it. What is the protocol for installing a new chain and lubing it? I've allways just left the lube fromthe manufacturer on and then relubed it after 100 or so miles.

[carlos]

for raod it's the same, get off all that factory grease then apply your favorite lube to the chain.