Can you wash the bicycle chain with a solvent?

Hello. My question is whether you can clean your bicycle chain with an ordinary paint thinner. Will it do something and will it preserve it?

This operation helps to remove the old sand grease. After washing the chain, lubricate it properly. And there are also various schools here, in my 27-year-old Rometovian Gazelle machine oil is enough (not too much), but I know that nowadays specialized oils (with Teflon, etc.) are recommended for better chains. Interestingly, now it is enough 4,000 km to drive 3 chains and one set of sprockets (I'm talking about branded sprockets), and my sprockets are doing well since new. Well, but as a man working in a bicycle repair shop told me, these gears were once made by blacksmiths, not the Chinese.

Hello!

You can clean with a solvent, but you must remember to lubricate the chain afterwards.
Personally, I advise against lubricating the chain with various "home" methods, i.e. margarine, vegetable oil, various types of hydraulic oils, WD40 (and similar). It is best to invest in a Finish Line oil intended for this purpose (I use them myself and also in my immediate surroundings). For wet conditions, the so-called "green" to dry "Red" . If you drive a little and in the field of a typical Sunday hiker (a bit of the city and trips to the outskirts, forest), it is better to buy "green". 60ml is enough for you. In my case, I have to lubricate the chain, depending on the conditions, every 200 to even 600 km.
If you take care of the chain, you can ride even 7000 km on one!

Almost any solvent, gasoline, is enough to clean the chain. The fastest way to clean the chain is by the so-called shaking - a chain and some solvent into a plastic bottle, a few vigorous shakes and that's it. Repeat the operation if necessary Water with detergent can also be used to remove part of the muck.

As for lubrication - the cheapest and not so bad option is chain saw oil - less than PLN 10 per liter bottle. The only drawback is the need to apply more frequently to the chain links. Of the typical chain products, one of the best is Rohloff (much better than the Finish Line), unfortunately it costs its own.

Extraction evaporates fairly quickly. Lakowa is even better. Because it's fatter.
As for the chain, you used to do some strange things, you even smeared it with used oil and he was fine. However, in some old book I read to wash thoroughly in gasoline and then boil it in paraffin.
I used to lubricate with silicone oil and it was also ok with the fact that I had unlimited access to it as a need and my buddies also lubricated the chains. It was transparent and not dirty as the chain had been well washed before. The balistol also worked well. Now grease with semi-permanent wurt and it's ok too.

I also used HE only because I don't like the smell of HE on my hands. I love the smell of gasoline before and after burning.

Xylometazolin! wrote:

Hello!

You can clean with a solvent, but you must remember to lubricate the chain afterwards.
Personally, I advise against lubricating the chain with various "home" methods, i.e. margarine, vegetable oil, various types of hydraulic oils, WD40 (and similar). It is best to invest in a Finish Line oil designed for this (I use them myself and also in my immediate surroundings). For wet conditions, the so-called "green" to dry "Red" . If you drive a little and in the field of a typical Sunday hiker (a bit of the city and trips to the outskirts, forest), it is better to buy "green". 60ml is enough for you. In my case, I have to lubricate the chain every 200 to 600 km, depending on the conditions.
If you take care of the chain, you can ride even 7000 km on one!

@Xylometazolin!: From your avatar and statements, I conclude that you are a bicycle enthusiast. I also use and recommend Finish Line oils - the cost is not too big, only PLN 30, and you can really save a lot. 1-2 drops on the eye and with intensive driving, it is enough for a long time (I do about 1000-1500 km in mountainous terrain on average during the season, I lubricate it every 2 months and the packaging lasts for 2-3 years).
Special products are also used to clean the chain, but it is more expensive fun and there is a bit more trouble with it (rotational fluid change, rubbing with applying brushes), etc. The advantage of this solution is that we do not have to remove the chain.

And I'm curious how many of these "super spreads" are actually the placebo effect and marketing singing.

Why? And because, for example, my uncle traveled to work by bicycle for 30 years - 18 km one way. On average, about 250 days a year (some 9,000 km). All this on an old Russian bicycle, in which the chain was one from new and only thickly lubricated with the usual towot. How much sand was there and other muck from the road - you can imagine.
From what he said, he never cleaned the chain, but only added a lot of it when there was not enough of it. And what?
I "inherited" my bike from it and I rode my bike on it. Until they stole it from me from the basement. :cry:

And now, I have a feeling that all these "super lubricants", "teflon" ultra-high gear racks and hi-tech chains. They are only made to last a year or two.
In other words - it's just plain crap for which you pay a lot of money, filled with advertisements and "opinions" from the Internet. Now think about it - how many times do you lubricate and replace these super chains and gears and how much do you spend on this maintenance?
Quite a lot, right? ;)

And this "Ukraine" traveled for several dozen years, on a portion of the lot, under all conditions.
So which is better? Hitec grease for a few hundred zlotys per kg, or a regular towot, for PLN 5? ;)

Sand on a chain? And what is this chain that wears away from a grain of sand? It's not a chain - it's total crap. So is the rack.

I still have a Polish "Orkan" on my plot. Grandfather came half of Poland on it. I got the second half on it. And still rides. These are not "thousands of kilometers" but "tens of thousands" if not hundreds. Do you know how many times the chain has been replaced? Not once. A bit of a mess some years ago. I believe I preserved it 5 years ago. ;)

And what? And nothing. He rides like Satan. And you have to walk 10km to a stupid store. More than once and 3-4 times a day. And not along asphalt paths, but through solid forests.

So if I have to spend PLN 30 just to cover this modest 10,000 km, thank you. I am talking about normal driving. Because from what I can see, a lot of super bike lovers are "road riders" or "foresters". Those who practice extreme cycling professionally, rather few. ;)

Towot is unbeatable.

Madrik wrote:

I still have a Polish "Orkan" on my plot. Grandfather came half of Poland on it. I got the second half on it. And still rides. These are not "thousands of kilometers" but "tens of thousands" if not hundreds. Do you know how many times the chain has been replaced? Not once. A bit of a mess some years ago. I believe I preserved it 5 years ago.

And I also have my first Author's MTB from 12 years ago, on which I rode only 25,000 km, 3/4 of that in mountainous terrain. I would probably travel half of Poland, the GDR and the USSR on it and God knows what else, but in my life I will not return to the mountain area. Why? Because it was exploited to the limit in the area for which it was intended. I changed the chain twice - was it tacky? I doubt it. I am rather surprised that I have changed it so rarely. The upkeep and maintenance of a bike comes down to what style and terrain you prefer. If someone insists, he can also ride on a beech chain. And no lubrication needed

When I still felt like it, I would open the chain, put it in kerosene overnight and clean it by hand the next day. Now cleaning consists of pouring red automatic transmission oil (I found one somewhere), twisting the crank a little and wiping the chain with a rag. I also have a Dry preparation with Teflon, but I prefer red oil. Better and quieter driving. If someone has a pressure washer, you can rinse the chain well, pour oil and wipe off the excess.

After 2 weeks of riding every day on the Chełm mountain in Myślenice, the motorcycle chain is only suitable for a garbage can, it was still working in a mud bath, despite daily lubrication, it stretched out by almost 5 cm!

Madrik - riding in "Ukraine" and a heavy MTB or XC is a very big difference. After one race or marathon, it's hard to see what the color of the bicycle frame is - the bicycle (and the cyclist) is dripping with mud. Now imagine a bike that rides practically non-stop in such conditions and difficult terrain. Additionally, grease his chain with a tawot. Good luck.
I drive, depending on the number of injuries, about 7000-8000 km a year and believe me, I have noticed the difference between chains, cassettes and general bicycle drive components and its wear resistance. As I wrote above, it is also very important what we lubricate the chain with. It is possible that in the past, better quality components were made, but it must also be added that it all depends on the riding style and purpose of the bicycle. Your uncle did not use too much force to commute to work, and for example training, after which the average speed over 80km in the field is ~ 30km / h, it rather burns the chain and the entire drive. Contrary to appearances, such speed is not easy to maintain, for example in Cieszyn Silesia.
In general, you shouldn't get strange suspicions right away if you don't try something yourself.

I have an old Romet bike that is about 20-30 years old and my first chain. :)

The chain is lubricated with LT-4 grease. (and I'm not doing anything else )

My Romethorse greyhound is 27 years old and has a second chain, I was just replacing it in the summer And I don't really spoil him either. They just used to make these elements out of metal, not as nowadays cardboard, plywood and cellulose.

Since your super-hyperspecifications are light years better than the good ŁT-4, why are they not applied to the bearings of modern cars, machines, etc.? Well ... The creators of newer and newer computer viruses are ... manufacturers of antivirus programs. And the chain is the same product as the program. I wonder when they will come to such perfection that it will break by itself, under its own weight ...

Oils / greases can be washed off with kerosene, not with spills
- a greasy protective layer remains
- kerosene is a natural solvent of petroleum oils which cannot be said about the "solvent"
-has much better penetrating properties (something like WD40 or other such)
- it does not stink from a kilometer, it does not damage your hands, etc ...

If someone wants to make it difficult for himself ... let him even wash himself with water.

The painter of brushes with kerosene does not wash so do not make eggs and wash the chain in a solvent, unless someone absolutely has to and has no choice, the effects will be average anyway .....