Could do with some advice from you knowledgeable folks please.....

[peanut]

jeez Chris what is all that gooey stuff all over your chain and cassette ?

Thats what is wearing your chain out. All that oil/grease? is accumalating loads of fine grit off the road which is extremely abrasive.
I would remove the chain and cassette sprockets and soak them in parrafin and clean them up with a toothbrush.They may work better.
This is how I have always run my chains and mechs and cassettes , bone dry.
I never ever put any oil or grease on mine other than what they come with. The bike in the picture was built Jan 08 and has only done about 500 miles granted but look at the difference.

I cannot understand why so many cyclists smother every part of their bike in oil and grease ? unless they keep their bikes outside in the weather ,or don't dry them off properly after a wet ride.

 

[jimboalee]

Shall I post a photo of my Peugeot 531 Record du Monde, which does about 600 miles per year, and hasn't had a new chain since 1991.
That was when a Sram was a Sedis and the Screw-on freewheel was Maillard 6 speed.
They run, as you say 'bone dry' with only the factory impregnated lubrication.

And there is my BSA 20 shopping bike. I use this quite often to fetch lunch from Morrisons. The chain is OE and liberally coated with grease. This bike is from 1974.

The photo on my post earlier is my Dawes Giro 500, which does 6000 miles per year, and the photo is after 10,000 miles. I'm not complaining about premature wear, it was to demonstrate a chain CAN last that distance.

 

[jimboalee]

There aren't any 'hard and fast' rules on chain care. Its whatever use the bike gets.
If I get 10,000 miles from a Sram Silver on my Audax bike, I'm happy.

The Sedis Silver on my Pug probably won't get replaced until my grandson inherits the bike.

My Mom used the BSA every day to work from 1974 to 1987 on the same chain and that chain is still not near 12 1/8" over 12 links.

Here's the 'Chain care department'. Different usage, different treatment.

 

[jimboalee]

Oh PS.

Doesn't your 'Bone dry' chain make more noise than a lubed chain.

Remember, noise energy is wasted energy.

 

[Steve Austin]

To all others reading this thread apart from Jimbolee and peanut with their wacky ideas.

For a balance of measured opinion: Most cyclists oil their chain regularly.

 

[jimboalee]

This won't make you any happier.

This is a 2004 Spesh SWorks that has done LEJOG and many 200 Audax randos with about the minimum lubrication I would dare.
That must be 2000 miles at least. Do you think that transmission needs replacing?

 

[Steve Austin]

Looks like it needs oiling

 

[yello]

Looks like it needs using! No, seriously, you're obviously fastidious in your bike cleaning regime, maybe that accounts for (some of) the difference in approach to oiling.

 

[peanut]

To all others reading this thread apart from Jimbolee and peanut with their wacky ideas.

For a balance of measured opinion: Most cyclists oil their chain regularly.

Yes and most drivers drive far too close to the car in front and too fast for prevailing road conditions.
Doesn't make that any more commendable does it

 

[peanut]

This won't make you any happier.

gorgeous Mmm and the red isn't too bad either

 

[Steve Austin]

So how do I clean all this mucky oil off then?

 

[peanut]

So how do I clean all this mucky oil off then?

yipee we have a convert

you know it makes sense to keep your bike in the sitting room

 

[jimboalee]

Wherever there is an oily chain, just call for ......

 

[Randochap]

Chain of fools

you know it makes sense to keep your bike in the sitting room

My bike is in the sitting room. There's another in the hall; one in the laundry room (which desperately needs a new drive-train) -- a winter beater -- and another in my office.

Except for the beater -- I shouldn't deride the old beaut (a 1990s steel Rocky Mountain Blizzard), which carried me through Alaska, Yukon and Northern BC -- the rest have only the minimum, barely detectable lubrication.

Yes, wouldn't it be nice to have a drivetrain last like the old 5- 6-speeds did?

As the head mechanic at the shop recently said "We never used to do drivetrain replacements; now it's our main money-maker."

Can you imagine how long the new 11-speed is going to last. You'd have to get a second job to support replacement parts. The Record chain goes for around £45!

How much oil would you put on one of those 5.5mm puppies?

 

[jimboalee]

Starring, in alphabetical order....

Apollo County...

BSA 20...

Dawes Giro...

Moulton Mini...

Peugeot Recorde du Monde...

Specialized SWorks.