Rusty bits

[272BHP]

I got a new chain and cassette a few months ago and about 4 weeks ago treated the chain to a good clean and then some new Squirt chain lube which was working great.

Just come back from a weeks holiday a few days ago and oh my lord I have never seen so much rust! the entire chain and cassette is covered in it.

I sprayed the entire thing in chain cleaner and given it a scrub but it has barely made a difference and I think I need to get something stronger.

Any recommendations?

[Getragdogleg]

Remove, soak in 1 part citric acid to seventeen parts warm water. Agitate with old toothbrush until the rust has gone.

Stiff brush it off, hot water rinse it then dry it off a bit then oil it well.

It will rust again if you don't keep it oiled.

[irc]

I thought new chains had factory lube and did not require oiling until after use.

Cleaning them merely replaces the factory lube with a less effective lube which may not get as complete coverage.

Or so I thought. Seems opinions differ though.

[colin_p]

New chains do indeed come waxed out of the factory.

In my experience, nothing beats it, unless of course, you re-wax by using the Wife's best saucepan and make a terrible mess.

Cherish the factory wax as long as it lasts and only then slap stuff on the chain, which is another debate in itself.

And that debate is wet or dry lube. My own stance is wet lube for here in the UK, unless the bike lives in a heated garage or room and only goes out when it is dry. I say that as anything can be bone dry, but if we get what has happened a week or two ago, it is going to get wet. That was very cold temps then a sudden warming which led to lots of condensation on anything that couldn't warm up quickly, i.e. a bench vice, a bike chain.

For information, I use Ford MT75 spec gear oil, which is basically red power steering fluid. I bought four litres of it back in about 1995 to do a gearbox oil change on my then Granada which I never got round to doing. I have got just under three litres left, and that should last me out. I would use proper gear oil, but it stinks, and I don't have any lying around.

[272BHP]

Yeah the new chain wax was great and lasted awhile.

I thought the new Squirt lube was great as well but it does not seem all that great at warding off rust.

Not so confident about taking the chain or cassette off the bike so will have a crack at smothering it with some rust remover that I just purchased from Amazon.

[irc]

272BHP said:

Not so confident about taking the chain or cassette off the bike so will have a crack at smothering it with some rust remover that I just purchased from Amazon.

Taking a chain off and replacing it is a simple job. A reasonable job of cleaning a cassette can be done with the wheel off the bike but a chain is best cleaned off the bike. Various youtube videos no doubt covering it

But failing that try one of the clip on chain cleaners.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Park-Tool-Unisexs-cm-5-3-...

For a deep clean I take the chain off. Stick in a bottle with white spirit. Shake. Leave. Shake, leave.

Take it out and let it drip dry. Once dry a good way of getting the chain well coated in lubr is putting some wet chain lube and the chain in a sandwich bag. Then scrunching it around. . This gets the whole chain covered n lube without dropping any on the ground.

[curvature]

Until I ran out I always use Gunk for cleaning my chain and rear mech.

Brush on, wash off.

I then dry my bike/chain using my Ego leaf blower which ensures there is no water trapped.

With lubes I have used waxes and wet lubes. My favourite is Rock "N" Roll Extreme lube. I have been on mountain bike rides where the bike is filthy ut the chain remains clean and shiny and other rides have asked me how I have a clean chain and the rest of bike is filthy.

As others have said taking a chain off is quite easy and most chains these days with have a chain link that can be undone by hand or with chain link pliers.

Cassettes will require the correct tools and be prepared to take the skin off you knuckles on your first attempt!