Fork care.

[GrumpyGregry]

I've got a feeling our bottle is finish line. I'll dig it out tomorrow. (We don't use wet here because it really clogs everything up when it mixes with the dust. The best maintenance method I've found for the drive train is to wipe the whole lot down with baby wipes after every ride, and re-lube very sparingly with a thickish dry lube.)

lulubel meet the mickle method.

 

[billflat12]

chains ?? !! prefer kmc with finish line chain cleaner kit , best way to go especially in uk. conditions. The gadget with degreaser removes any gritty mud or fine metal filings & the spray-on dry lube with teflon helps stop any grit re-sticking after the chain has dried off. .

 

[GrumpyGregry]

chains ?? !! prefer kmc with finish line chain cleaner kit , best way to go especially in uk. conditions. The gadget with degreaser removes any gritty mud or fine metal filings & the spray-on dry lube with teflon helps stop any grit re-sticking after the chain has dried off. .

runs from the room, screaming....

 

[billflat12]

Clean rag helps as any residue of degreaser left would defiantly cause a problem

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Clean rag helps as any residue of degreaser left would defiantly cause a problem

That's the problem... the degreaser has already got into the links, deep inside them, where it sits waiting to devour the lube you then apply. No rag can touch it.

 

[lulubel]

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say, Greg. The reason I use baby wipes is because the lube and the dust combine to form a sticky, gritty paste, so you have to remove the lube in order to remove the dust. The dust is also very fine, and it works itself deep into the links, so you need the "wetness" from the baby wipes to get in there and dislodge it. My chain is silent at the beginning of a ride. After a couple of hours, you can hear it grinding as you pedal.

I clean after one ride and re-lube before the next, giving the chain plenty of time to dry, so the fresh lube doesn't immediately get driven out.

I've tried the dry cloth method (I used it all the time in the UK). It works if you only stick to the roads and don't encounter dust, but not when you're riding up mountain trails.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm sayin'

degreaser is a complete and utter no-no on any bike chain
no amount of wetness from a cloth will remove grinding paste from within a chain
the mickle method works fine all-year-round off road, dry and dusty or wet and wild, if you do it right
chains are consumables off road

 

[lulubel]

I'm sayin'

degreaser is a complete and utter no-no on any bike chain
no amount of wetness from a cloth will remove grinding paste from within a chain
the mickle method works fine all-year-round off road, dry and dusty or wet and wild, if you do it right
chains are consumables off road

Well, I guess you have to do what works for you, and I have to do what works for me. We do ride in very different conditions, after all

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Well, I guess you have to do what works for you, and I have to do what works for me. We do ride in very different conditions, after all

I should hope so or else what would be the point of living in Spain?

 

[lulubel]

I should hope so or else what would be the point of living in Spain?

Precisely. I'm actually VERY scared if it gets a bit wet under the tyres. I went for a walk in the woods above town today, looking for singletrack. There are hundreds of footpaths crisscrossing them, but not all suitable for cycling unless you're a much more capable MTBer than me. I found a couple of tracks that I think I might try in the spring, when it's a bit drier. They looked far too slippy for me!

I also briefly saw some DH MTBers, as they flew past me. Forks so long and raked they looked almost horizontal, saddles right down on the seat tube, full face lids, and knee and elbow pads over the lycra (which did make me laugh after they'd gone because it looked a bit odd). I heard them coming, so I moved as far back as I could to get a good view as they came down. I'd been studying what I thought was a massive steep bit/almost a drop and wondering if I and my Cube could get down it in one piece (one day, after a lot of practice!), and they went over it as if it wasn't there. Then I carried on further up, and found the - loosely termed - path they'd ridden down. (The wet tyre marks on dry rock were the giveaway.) I was having to use my hands in some places to scramble over the rock. I can't imagine how anyone could ride a bike down that, but they obviously did. I've been trying to find something similar on YouTube, but haven't found anything to compare yet.

And on the note of me being a total wuss, here's a sample of my conversation with myself on yesterday's ride:

"Move over that way a bit, I don't like being near the edge .... I don't like sand much either .... or rocks .... What do you like, then? The road?"

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I found the mickle method works exceptionally well once you get the hang of it. and that bit is key.
I used to use one of those 'devices' before I went off on tour - used it on my MTB and if I was lucky I got 1,000-1,500 miles from cassette/chain & sprockets. Once I sussed the mickle method on tour it got much easier and it is almost the only method I use now. The tour covered some pretty hot temps (35-40C on dirt tracks in Sweden(!) and 30C in Finland on their dirt tracks, so I know the fine stuff you mention. I use old bath towels/hand towels cut up into smaller sections, just watch the cut edges because they can get caught on the chain.
Now on all 3 bikes (or 6 if you count cleaning my OH's bikes) it is mostly what I use with very little lube left on the chain afterwards otherwise you get that build up of thick 'sanding agent' that kills chains in no time - so I tend to run the chain dryer but not to the point of rusting or squeaking even after a full day of riding.

From time to time a chain is left in a pan of oil and this is warmed gently to a simmer and taken off the heat for the chain to cool again in the pan and I have found that it works really well for getting crap out of the inside of the chain and oil back into it where it is needed.

I will confess to using the same oil on all our bikes no matter what the conditions - Shimano PTFE lube. A little goes a long way. I use a separate thinner oil as the 'cleaner', no degreasers. Which reminds me, I need to order some more. 1 pot usually lasts me around 6-12 months of cycling for 2 of us, and it is 12 months since the last expenditure... It was recommened to me by a bike shop in Fishguard early on in our tour and was expensive enough to kill my old habit of putting too much oil on the chain afterwards.

 

[Motozulu]

Thanks for the Mickle method Greg.

It's too late for the Merida (I've used the degreaser gizmo several times now) but I have literally just gone into the garage and binned the chain cleaner gizmo.

When the new bike comes in feb I'll be Mickling for all my worth.