MTB chain maintenance - what am I doing wrong?

[phatmanace]

Basic question, I know.. but...

Obviously at this time of year, there is lots of mud about, and the mountain bikes need washing when we come back from a ride.

My normal regime is

- Wash bike just water + hose (no pressure washer) to get the bulk of the mud off
- soapy water with a cloth to just remove the thin layer of mud that often remains.
- dry chain with cloth
- apply a thin layer of wet lube (normally the halfords stuff), gently squeezing the bottle as I crank the pedals for a couple of revs
- gently squeeze the chain with my fingers as I crank it once round to remove excess lube

... however, a few days later, the chain has quite a lot of surface rust. I'm clearly doing something wrong, either wrong lube , or wrong technique.

I suspect I'm being miserly with it, after I got a ticking off from my local bike shop for applying to much. I put my bike in for a service, and the chap said he spend most of the time cleaning congealed lube out of the rear mech and cassette.

Maybe I should give up on the lube and go back to simpler oil which is less sticky?

Grateful for any advice.

[J886ATV]

I'd add 1/2 steps to the list

After drying the chain I spray wd40 onto a cloth and run the chain through that. (or spray direct to chain then rub off with cloth)
Let that air dry, then add lube

Don't seem to get any surface rust by doing that

[lufbramatt]

Do you clean the chain and mechs at all?

My routine is along the lines of:

- rinse worst off with a hose
- Clean off properly with soapy water and a soft brush
- clean chain/cassette/mechs with degreaser (either the halfords citrus stuff or bilt hamber surfex) and a toothbrush
- hose off again
- dry with soft cloth
- spray chain and mechs with GT85/WD40
- after a hour or two once the wd40 has evaporated lube the chain and mech pivots with suitable lube depending on conditions

If you have disc brakes its also worth removing the wheels and pads to clean any mud and grit out from inside the calipers

[Hugo Stiglitz]

If I'm planning two rides in two days I wash only the cassette and chain.

Then either WD40 (winter) or car transmission oil (summer).

I use car shampoo or cheap hair shampoo.

I would never touch bike specific brands.

[Bathroom_Security]

What chain is it? My Sram NX chain was terrible. Had two, both rusted. In fact the 2nd was rusted out the box. Both ended up crusty and needed a deep clean off the bike but they moved freely after that

I would get a good lube suitable to wet weather. A durable one that doesn't wash out easily is Muc Off Wet Ceramic. Really is excellent from the two rides Ive had on it so far. Appalling weather, loads of standing water and by the end of the ride it was still running smooth with minimal noise, after a wash at home it was still well lubricated.

Had no issues with my KMC chains on different bikes, had an X01 for a couple of weeks now to replace the NX and its a huge improvement.

[phatmanace]

I read stuff about the fact that WD40 knackers the seals between the chains, but maybe that's untrue, or only motorbikes?

... also, for those of you using WD40, do you do WD40 and then some oil, or just WD40?

[lufbramatt]

There's no seals in a push bike chain, just a metal roller around a pin sandwiched between the inner and outer plates.

WD40 is to get rid of the moisture, it needs a lubricant adding afterwards.

[Gio G]

I always found the lube was more of a magnet for mud/crud so stopped using it. After cleaning the bike and drying it down, always use GT85 spray and plenty of it through chain and cassette.

G

[Ian-27xza]

Phatmanace - My process is pretty similar to yours apart from the wet lube as I use is this stuff :

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/finish-line-cross-country...

I use a soft cloth to wipe off the excess which typically takes around 6-7 full revolutions.

I've been doing this for 10 years, no issues at all. And no rusty chains!

With regards to WD40, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this if you intend to use a more bike focused lube afterwards. The reason is that the residual WD40 on the chain with dilute the lubing affect of the bike lube. However, if you WD40 and that's all you intend to use then my why not. (not my recommendation, though).

[Mars]

Everyone has their own preference.

I buy GT85 in bulk - so most days I just blast the chain and both derailleurs with that after the ride, occasionally brushing off the excess mud with a car wheel brush first. Once a week, I blast the whole with the hose, and then wet-lube the drivetrain afterwards.

And if the jetwash is out when return from my ride (my son washes cars), I blast the bike with that. Never had a problem with any bearings (been doing this for 12 years now) but I do re-grease the non-sealed ones annually and change the chain every 2000-3000 miles.

[KingofKong]

I use GT85 on everything, great stuff, cleans, lubes etc. It’s the one rattle can that does it all.

[John Laverick]

'Water dispercent' 40 (or similar) after cleaning followed by lube will see you right.

[Dog Star]

Gio G said:

I always found the lube was more of a magnet for mud/crud so stopped using it. After cleaning the bike and drying it down, always use GT85 spray and plenty of it through chain and cassette.

G

Correct, and that’s how I run chains on my enduro (motorbike) and now on my eMTB (which sees a lot of mud).

Essentially clean the chain, rub it down with WD40, GT85 wtc but essentially I run the chain dry. Covering the chain in sticky gunk just attracts grit in very short order.

[stuarthat]

Remove chain use ice cream tub or such like use degreaser or such even diesel,shake around you will be surprised how much crap comes off ,even if been through chain cleaner ,winter decent wet lube won’t attract to much crap , same for summer but may not have to put it in full degrease

[Jacobyte]

You could try experimenting with Revolube. Not cheap, but for me it's been worth it in the long run.

I put it on my road, CX and MTB in July. You have to do it properly, as per their instructions.

Once bedded in, all you do thereafter is:

phatmanace said:

My normal regime is

- Wash bike just water + hose (no pressure washer) to get the bulk of the mud off
- soapy water with a cloth to just remove the thin layer of mud that often remains.
- dry chain with cloth

I've not had to degrease anything for over 6 months now, it's great. An occasional soapy water clean and rinse of the drivetrain to get rid of the particles, but there's zero gunge or black greasy oil in the jockey wheels, between the cogs, etc. Maybe just a topup of the Revolube on occasion if it's all too dry, even though when it's dry it's still "lubed" which takes some getting your head around.

Life is much easier and particularly my MTB chain has gone twice as far any before it and it's not yet 0.5% worn.

My bottle of finish line actually has dust on it.

[joema]

Not sure if youre covering your discs but put bags on them and get liberal with some spray. Something like GT85. Then use whatever lube.