Topic: Your chain life?

[HondaMan]

Mark you have never steered me wrong so the  Diamond Powersport non-O-ring it is.

I think you'll like it!

[754]

Had no luck with nicklecplated , seems not to hold the lube..
 Retro , an o ring chain have a lit in common, any wear particles stay inside.. Except, you can pry out a seal, flush and regrease some wheel bearings.  Let me ask you this... Would you not, clean and relube an o ring chain ...if you could..?

[Retro Rocket]

Had no luck with nicklecplated , seems not to hold the lube..
 Retro , an o ring chain have a lit in common, any wear particles stay inside.. Except, you can pry out a seal, flush and regrease some wheel bearings.  Let me ask you this... Would you not, clean and relube an o ring chain ...if you could..?

The whole idea of the seals in an  O, X or Z ring chain is to keep the muck out, if maintained PROPERLY, {which includes cleaning and lubing externally} , O, X or Z ring chains out last conventional chains, that's why they were designed the way they are. There is no need to tamper with the seals, not one chain manufacturer recommends that  as far as I know...   Just a side note, When I was working in the bike shop, we were told when washing bikes, NOT to pressure wash the chains directly, this can force out the lube from under the rings/seals.. Kerosene is recommended to clean O, X and Z ring chains {if not all chains} as it doesn't hurt  the rings and helps stop them drying out, NEVER use anything like WD40 that has solvents in it...

[cb650PK]

Had no luck with nicklecplated , seems not to hold the lube..
 Retro , an o ring chain have a lit in common, any wear particles stay inside.. Except, you can pry out a seal, flush and regrease some wheel bearings.  Let me ask you this... Would you not, clean and relube an o ring chain ...if you could..?

The whole idea of the seals in an  O, X or Z ring chain is to keep the muck out, if maintained PROPERLY, {which includes cleaning and lubing externally} , O, X or Z ring chains out last conventional chains, that's why they were designed the way they are. There is no need to tamper with the seals, not one chain manufacturer recommends that  as far as I know...   Just a side note, When I was working in the bike shop, we were told when washing bikes, NOT to pressure wash the chains directly, this can force out the lube from under the rings/seals.. Kerosene is recommended to clean O, X and Z ring chains {if not all chains} as it doesn't hurt  the rings and helps stop them drying out, NEVER use anything like WD40 that has solvents in it...

Please show me one bit of evidence where WD40 ever harmed oring.

[Retro Rocket]

Had no luck with nicklecplated , seems not to hold the lube..
 Retro , an o ring chain have a lit in common, any wear particles stay inside.. Except, you can pry out a seal, flush and regrease some wheel bearings.  Let me ask you this... Would you not, clean and relube an o ring chain ...if you could..?

The whole idea of the seals in an  O, X or Z ring chain is to keep the muck out, if maintained PROPERLY, {which includes cleaning and lubing externally} , O, X or Z ring chains out last conventional chains, that's why they were designed the way they are. There is no need to tamper with the seals, not one chain manufacturer recommends that  as far as I know...   Just a side note, When I was working in the bike shop, we were told when washing bikes, NOT to pressure wash the chains directly, this can force out the lube from under the rings/seals.. Kerosene is recommended to clean O, X and Z ring chains {if not all chains} as it doesn't hurt  the rings and helps stop them drying out, NEVER use anything like WD40 that has solvents in it...

Please show me one bit of evidence where WD40 ever harmed oring.

I'm only repeating what i've read, and it makes sense,  the WD40 gets, or can get,  behind the o rings , {its a solvent}, and dissolve the grease the O ring  protects, drastically reducing the life of the chain... Sure sounds feasible to me...

[brewsky]

Kerosene is NOT a solvent??

[Kenzo]

Had no luck with nicklecplated , seems not to hold the lube..
 Retro , an o ring chain have a lit in common, any wear particles stay inside.. Except, you can pry out a seal, flush and regrease some wheel bearings.  Let me ask you this... Would you not, clean and relube an o ring chain ...if you could..?

The whole idea of the seals in an  O, X or Z ring chain is to keep the muck out, if maintained PROPERLY, {which includes cleaning and lubing externally} , O, X or Z ring chains out last conventional chains, that's why they were designed the way they are. There is no need to tamper with the seals, not one chain manufacturer recommends that  as far as I know...   Just a side note, When I was working in the bike shop, we were told when washing bikes, NOT to pressure wash the chains directly, this can force out the lube from under the rings/seals.. Kerosene is recommended to clean O, X and Z ring chains {if not all chains} as it doesn't hurt  the rings and helps stop them drying out, NEVER use anything like WD40 that has solvents in it...

Please show me one bit of evidence where WD40 ever harmed oring.

I'm only repeating what i've read, and it makes sense,  the WD40 gets, or can get,  behind the o rings , {its a solvent}, and dissolve the grease the O ring  protects, drastically reducing the life of the chain... Sure sounds feasible to me...

Kerosene is NOT a solvent??

"O-ring" style chains soapy water, rinse with the hose and light spray WD40...works on dirt bikes in extreme service conditions. Why not light service street applications?

Many of the expensive aerosol chain "lubes" have a high solvent content. Spray on, solvent flashes off leaving a thin coating of grease just waiting for the first ride to be flung off.

Cheers,
Kenzo

[754]

I get all that about how o ring chains work , and why they are a good alternative.. But think about it..where do the worn metal particles go..? They cant get out..
 Thats all I am saying......unless someone thinks the Omega or DiD fairy comes at night and takes them out and changes lube

This is the reason why conventional chains can get high mileage, but its constant lubing..work ....that most riders no longer want to do .. Hondaman understands this, and a few others..

[Kenzo]

I get all that about how o ring chains work , and why they are a good alternative.. But think about it..where do the worn metal particles go..? They cant get out..
 Thats all I am saying......unless someone thinks the Omega or DiD fairy comes at night and takes them out and changes lube

This is the reason why conventional chains can get high mileage, but its constant lubing..work ....that most riders no longer want to do .. Hondaman understands this, and a few others..

I think people get it and part of the charm of these old bikes is get'n out the oil can and lube'n em up.

As a young man I worked on my Grandfather's lathe, drill press, etc...oil can standing at the ready. They also had those cool old school oil drip reservoirs with spring caps that you would top off periodically.

Myself coming from a dirt bike background we are more concerned about keep stuff out. O-ring vacuum grease packed chains make perfect sense. Offroad, chains and sprockets are considered consumables

A counterpoint could be made that non o-ring chains provide less of a barrier to external contaminates entering the links and are not fully packed with grease and "sealed" like o-ring chains.

Six of one and a half dozen of the other...

Bottom line with proper maintenance both style chains should provide a service life that will likely outlast the sprockets.

Cheers,
Kenzo

[754]

If i were riding an endurance race, or dirt only riding...i would prefer to use O ring.
If I were riding too much of the time in rain , O ring is a great choice.

 I am not trying to covert anyone..just pointing out that if you are willing to lube often ..you can get good chainlife..and it can be economical... Depending on lube of choice..

[PeWe]

Keep sand away from a street bike chain.
I'll clean the chain on bike when it is riveted and I have no plans to remove until time to replace it.
Bike on center stand, hold a kerosene bath with thick soaking wet cloth around the chain where it is visible and rotate the wheel. New lube when dirt and old oil is cleaned off.

Last chain lube I bought seems to be very good. Motorex Road strong, white lube.
https://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/149734/

[strynboen]

i often vash the chain in (gasiline/petrolium) or wd 40.. and blow the thain dry..before lube it....then the oil splach i get on the bike..is klean oil..and its easyer to hold the bike nice and klean.. o ring chains i just give wd 40. rnly...dirt chain oil is the vorst to make the bike look like a mess...

[HondaMan]

I think people get it and part of the charm of these old bikes is get'n out the oil can and lube'n em up.
Cheers,
Kenzo

[PeWe]

I'll probably clean the chain with white spirit as we use here as a common degreeser.

[HondaMan]

I'll probably clean the chain with white spirit as we use here as a common degreeser.

I'm not sure, but I think we drink that here?

[PeWe]

I'll probably clean the chain with white spirit as we use here as a common degreeser.

I'm not sure, but I think we drink that here?

Really?   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit
I prefer to drink Absinthe!   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe

[Kenzo]

I'll probably clean the chain with white spirit as we use here as a common degreeser.

I'm not sure, but I think we drink that here?

Really?   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit
I prefer to drink Absinthe!   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe

Absinthe?!?

I know Hipsters sneak in here and are barely tolerated...

...but Goths?!?

There needs to be a line drawn somewhere!

Cheers,
Kenzo

[strynboen]

mineralsk terpeltin. is..white spirit.??.. ???damed i have 5 liter of that nice stuff..use it for klean up oil dirty vires on the bike..and klean up elektric stuff...and  thin up paint..
have not tryed to drink it...yet....

[RAFster122s]

The bicycle guys in AZ prefer to use a dry wax lube that has a highly volatile carrier fluid for application. White lightening is one of the brands.
The sandy environments take their toll there and dust and fine sand are in the air with about any breeze above 5 mph. That is very often. Faceshields don't last long either.
So, you either maintain the chain and flush it often and relube or you are replacing it too often.

Not that I would recommend the White Lightening on a motorbike chain...

[Don R]

 The one on the bike I'm working on been sitting a while, should I run it until the kinks are out or measure it like it is? Cause I think right now it's shorter than it was new. The PB blaster lube doesn't seem to be helping at all.
 Just teasing of course. I'm not good enough with records to help here. Comic relief?

[HondaMan]

The one on the bike I'm working on been sitting a while, should I run it until the kinks are out or measure it like it is? Cause I think right now it's shorter than it was new. The PB blaster lube doesn't seem to be helping at all.
 Just teasing of course. I'm not good enough with records to help here. Comic relief?

Speaking of "shortening chains": this CAN happen! Here's how it does (it has happened to me twice)-

The chain develops a wear pattern in the pins and internal bearings early, like in the first 1000 miles. This becomes the cjhain's "Run Direction". If the chain is removed and reversed, the metal grit in the links starts to migrate out, and the other side starts to wear, but the grit does not have any place to go, really: so, it fills in the space between the pins and bushings. The biker usually swaps the chain direction unknowingly, and the chain adjustment is in the same places, when he reinstalls it (because we all used to take them off to clean them, then reinstall and lube). When the grit migration starts to occur, the looseness that was in the pins gets filled in with the grit, and the chain shortens until the grit can migrate away from the pull direction again. This causes the chain to shorten briefly, until the grit finishes moving.

The last time this happened to me, I was on the interstate south of Colorado Springs (in 1986). I had left Denver that AM, having accidentally reversed the chain while cleaning it: it took about 90 miles for the grit to move. What happened to the bike was: I was tooling along about 70 MPH, and suddenly, over about 1/2 mile, the bike started slowing down and the whole frame oddly felt "stiff". When I stopped to inspect this strange thing, I noticed that when I put my feet down, the bike was TALLER than it used to be, and when I sat on the seat, it acted like the shocks were locked. I tested the slack in the chain (which was 3/4" that AM) and it was like a banjo string(!). I loosened it to 3/4" slack, puzzling, and set off again. At the next gas refill (100 miles or so), there was 3" of slack in the chain! I rode on to Midland-Odessa in Texas that day and the rest of the week around there: on the way back home, I could feel the chian becoming very uneven. At slow speeds it would jerk and tug, and jitter vertically when ridden slowly. When I got home I again removed and cleaned it, and discovered that it had worn very unevenly in that one trip. I talked with a local chain engineer (we had one here in those days) and his first comment was, "Did you reverse the chain's direction?". Yep...