[qmsdc15]

Originally Posted by wild

I read this some place and it seams to work. after washing your bike pick it up about 6" and drop it on the tires a fue times it will shake a lot of water off , I think it is better than an air hose as that might push the water in places you don't want it.

I never wash my bikes. I do sometimes remove the wheels and wash the rims/tires with a brush and soapy water. Everything else gets wiped off with a damp cloth. No hose and definitely NO AIR HOSE. Although like a hammer, in the right hands an air hose, might be safe to use on your bicycle for certain tasks.

[qmsdc15]

For the sake of full disclosure, I took a picture of the cogs I forgot to clean before replacing the chain. Close up picture make it look worse than it is, the cogs are not really all that cruddy, relative tom the condition of the average bike chain... You can see gunk in there but again I'm hoping most is in places that aren't contacting the chain and the picture seems to indicate that is the case, sort of.


If I cleaned the cogs you could see the wear better but it's clear that the fourth largest cog is badly worn, evidence of cross chaining. I believe this is the cog that skips, or at least the one that skips most often, when it does skip. There is very little skipping. Although there is very little skipping, I will replace the cogs as soon as I get the new cogset. I was hoping it would arrive today.

[davereo]

Figured I weigh in on this topic. I like the tip suggested for removing the connector link.
I save old shoelaces and use them like dental floss to clean the cogs. By removing the rear wheel and holding the lace in both hands I work the lace between the cogs and move it back and forth. Works great.
I use a standard chain checker tool to check for wear. I purchase a replacement chain when .75 wear is reached so I have one on hand when 1.0 wear is reached.
I find the cosmoline like substance that the chain manufacturers coat the chain with to be a dirt magnet. I clean it off with chain lube when I install the chain.
I lube my chain twice a month and average about 400 miles riding/month. I apply the lube at a rate of one drop/roller and let the bike sit overnight. I wipe down the chain with a clean dry rag before I go on my next ride. My entire drive train stays wet with black oil. I only clean the drive train when I get caught out in the rain. I never soak my chain in any cleaning fluid or solvents.

[qmsdc15]

Dave, thank you for your input. Flossing with an old shoelace is a good tip. I did that before I got one of these Park Tool brushes. The curved serrated part is designed to remove gunk from between cogs and it works pretty well. I can't say it does a better job than a boot lace, but it maybe a little easier to use.


The idea of a wet black chain doesn't appeal to me, which is probably why I use wax based products. Before I switched to White Lightning my chain did stay wet and black. I don't know if that's a bad thing except for the occasional chainring tattoo on your calf when you accidentally touch your leg to it.

[qmsdc15]

Of course Sheldon Brown has some great advice. http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

[wild]

I have a set of the plires that Park Tools sells for undoing a speed link, quick link what ever you call them. I think thay are the best thing I have spent money on outher than my bike.

[qmsdc15]

Ah yes, I meant to say this is the easiest way to open a Sram, powerlink if you don't have the special pliers. The pliers are certainly a wise purchase for someone who removes his chain as often as you do, wild. I usually only remove my chain once. I would push a pin out with a regular chain tool before I learned the hammer trick. Since I discard the chain after removal, it doesn't really matter. This time though, it was a good thing I used the hammer because I lost half of the new chain's master link when I opened the package and I searched everywhere for it before I gave up looking and put the old power link on my new chain.

[qmsdc15]

A hammer can be used to remove a quill stem if you don't have a rubber mallet. Just put a piece of wood between the bolt and hammer so you don't mar the bolt. I have left the allen key in after loosening and tap on the wrench with the hammer, but I think it's better to use wood. I was being lazy.

[davereo]

The way I see it is a hammer is only dangerous in the wrong hands. Being a tool and die maker for over thirty years I have an assortment of hammers from a gentle persuader to a brutal enforcer. Knowing which one to use for what is important. I really dont need to go out and spend more money on bike tools if I already have something that will get the job done.

[qmsdc15]

A chain wears by contact with the gears. Each link of my chain will contact the gears three times as often as a link on a recumbent bike if both bikes are ridden in the same gears over the same distance. Therefore my chain will wear three times as fast as yours. The fact that you can't stand on your pedals means that you aren't putting as much force on your chain as I do, so the wear on your chain per mile should be even less than 1/3 of the wear on my chain per mile and the fact that I haul heavy loads with my bikes certainly will increase chain wear per mile as well.

You estimate you have used ten chains in ten years. Some years you replaced the chain twice, some years not at all. So I guess on average one chain per year or one chain per 1500 miles.

This would be equivalent to me replacing a chain every 500 miles, or about every three weeks.

The chain I replaced on the MTB was installed in October, the chain I replaced on my hybrid was installed in September.