PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
I strip off all oils and use dry ceramic lube that does not attract grit.
Chain Wear
- Thread starter Bilbo625
- Start date
Do you take the tire and tube off the wheel before you dangle it in petrol?
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
A retired engineer, and not from the bike industry? (figures crossed)
Sorry, duggie but after 60 years of taking care of my bike engine oil is the LAST lube I'd EVER use...
DaveMatthews
Well-Known Member
Same routine but with wax based Squirt lube.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
I gave up on the idea of wax lubes or wax. the lubes take too long to dry to be practical for me to use and wax would not hold up in the rain and cold. I ride way too often to let the lube dry.
tomjasz
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Minnesnowta
I suppose if i was high enough…
FFS you just recently posted a photo of a chain F ed up with mud stuck to oil. Have another hit…
Hey Rome, brake fluid strips paint so it might not be the best choice.
FWIW I am serving a prison sentence (seems like it) in Charleston Westfuckingvirginia. It's a total s*it hole and I mean the entire state. This area has endless really steep hills but at least they are short. The road to my house has an 18% grade, I measured it! So the chain is getting lots of torquey workouts.
I'll replace the chain with that $50 E9 option soon and hope the cassette has some life left.
FWIW I am serving a prison sentence (seems like it) in Charleston Westfuckingvirginia. It's a total s*it hole and I mean the entire state. This area has endless really steep hills but at least they are short. The road to my house has an 18% grade, I measured it! So the chain is getting lots of torquey workouts.
I'll replace the chain with that $50 E9 option soon and hope the cassette has some life left.
m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
The SRAM EX1 chain is their ebike entry, has 144 links and, while it is labeled a 10s chain, is in fact the chain they recommend for their 8s ebike drivetrain. So this chain will work with 8, 9 and 10 speeds. The best part is at the present time you can buy if for less than its usual $25 retail price (Amazon is selling them today for $16.99). I used to swear by the KMC x9e/e9's, but none of the SRAM chains I have used have ever let me down, and who can argue with the price and the 144 links?
The chain is only half the battle. The other half is the rear cluster. Steel is real as the saying goes, and a steel cluster should be considered mandatory for a powerful mid drive. My current favorite 9s cluster is the hardened steel Microshift Advent in the 11-46T size. The 9s version sells regularly for $36, and there is also a 10s version for just a few bucks more. If you need something smaller (West-By-God-Virginia hills say use the big cluster) and you can get a steel Shimano HG-400-9 that maxes at 32-36T for about $40. Derailleur can't handle the big rear cog? Microshift Advent again. Derailleur and shifter for about $100.
Keeping a mid drive alive without any unusual drivetrain wear is doable. But you have to build it with components that will not die, and ride it right. This is one of the most popular pages on my site:
How To Ride a Mid Drive Ebike Without Breaking It
If you can ride a bicycle you already know how to ride a hub drive ebike. Not so a mid drive. Particularly a powerful one that can tear your chain apart. Fear not. The rules are simple.
talesontwowheels.com
I have to say I agree. Regardless of any other properties, engine oil will attract dust and dirt like a magnet, and that caked crud is why no bicycle component manufacturer will say anything but don't use oil. Same with transmission fluid. No need to take my word for it just try it and watch what happens.
Wear on the chain and stretching is going to vary with the bike and the rider and how they ride. Using the motor at full power while cranking down hard on the pedals is going to put a lot more load on the chain than if someone is using a 30% assist from the motor and making use of lower gears and higher RPMs.
A separate matter is the wear and tear on the teeth of the chainring and cassette cogs with a worn and stretched chain which is also a factor to consider.
A separate matter is the wear and tear on the teeth of the chainring and cassette cogs with a worn and stretched chain which is also a factor to consider.
rich c
Well-Known Member
Not a hazardous material engineer I see. Suggesting using gasoline as a cleaner is about the same as suggesting using gun powder. You offer no warnings about gasoline vapors and the explosive nature of those vapors.
OK, I was over in the land of Lycra for a couple of days camping. I rode my bike into town to the bike shop and now have an appointment next week to have things looked at. They are Trek dealers and I have a Gazelle so he doesn't know what parts it takes or what to order, or what is in stock....
He did confirm that I probably have overused the chain.
He did confirm that I probably have overused the chain.
I use kerosene, higher flash point so safer and leaves oily residue which isn't bad thing if using wet lube. For dry lubes I rinse with water then dry before applying lube.
No lube is perfect its case of horses for courses. Dry in summer and accept I need to lube every 50miles more if happens to rain. On plus side cleaning is just quick wipe with cloth. Wet lube for winter and degrease along with cassette every couple months. Only need to apply every few 100miles or more for lot of wet riding.
Ideally belt drive with IGH in which case its only service IGH every 5000kms.
I ordered the SRAM EX1 chain as Robertson recommended and also ordered the Park chain wear tool. I'll hold off on the cassette for now and see how it goes. I'll be traveling a bit so the bike won't get that much use in the near term. Barcelona in 12 Days!!!! ABCs in Jan, Paris in March. It sucks being me.
Thanks again everyone.
Thanks again everyone.
m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Clusters catering to quality bicycles typically use cogs made of some sort of aluminum alloy. It is all about light weight. So, in that same world, steel clusters were relegated exclusively to cheap/crap. They exist all over but they are cheap parts. Then ebikes came along and a whole new appreciation for steel parts emerged. A couple of years ago the only steel clusters you could get hold of were the monolithic (welded together) steel Shimano HG400-9's. At the time they were a $20 part and a very big deal. So much so they warranted a lot of attention (this one from 2017 about the 400's predecessor)
Beat On Me, I Love The Abuse : Shimano CS-HG62 11-36T 10 Speed Cassette
High power mid drives ebikes are great, in fact I believe that at power levels less than 4000W there is nothing else out there that can compete with a mid drive ebike. When running a ‘low pow…
electricbike-blog.com
Flash forward to today and we now have multiple steel clusters out on the market that are quality parts. The first of those was the SRAM EX1, which was of course ridiculously expensive (and has only gotten worse). This one is on sale for only $290. They usually cost in the mid 4's nowadays. I have one on my enduro (never again, and I sure didn't pay $450-ish for mine).
SRAM EX1 XG-899 E-Bike Cassette | Jenson USA
www.jensonusa.com
The great stuff now comes from Microshift with 9- and 10s steelies sub $50 each. Sunrace sells the CSMS7 for 11s (if you can find one) for around $80. And the Shimanos are still on sale although the price has gone up. I'm buying Microshift 9s 11-46, personally.
