How does a bike chain get so filthy?

[gururug]

Gee I feel sorry for the MTB riders.

I only ride road but I just cannot understand how a bike chain get so filthy.

What percentage of grit on an average road chain after 200kms is road dirt and what percentage is metal ware?

[Mulger bill]

What sort of lube are you using Guru?

On a similar note, does anyone know if Shimano 9x road chains will take a master link? (SRAM or Connex)?

Shaun

[sogood]

Metal grinds, dirt sticks. Some oils are dirt magnet. A quick wipe after the ride and careful choice of lube should be able to keep your chain reasonably clean.

[Mulger bill]

Do you use solvent on the rag Sogood?

Shaun

[gururug]

Prolink...here

Very black soot

I am just surprised at how much gunk gets in there. Maybe iwasanewbie can give a scientifical breakdown if dirt has a different charge than the drivetrain thus "attracting" more grit from the air. Because I sure can see that much stiff getting "bumped" up from the ground into the chain.

[Mulger bill]

I suppose a fair bit gets flicked up by the front wheel

I've had a look at Prolinks site, it's a dry lube so I got nothin'

I thought a roadie chain would need less cleaning too, but it don't look that way with Deni

Shaun

[gururug]

Ooops, I thought it was called prolink, it actually tri-flow

[Mulger bill]

Well the Triflow dry sounds a lot like the RockNRoll extreme I use, that don't get too gungy.
The wet stuff sounds pretty much like any wet lube to me.

Methinks we need someone of a scientific bent to weigh in about now...

[sogood]

I usually just use a paper towel that has a bit of lube spread in the middle, and then just run the chain through it. Yes, I should use an old rag for environmental reasons.

If you hate dirt, then dont' use Tri-flow. I have used it but found it to be excellent in the rain and lasts a long time. But dirt stick to your chain like superglue.

From what I understand, if you want something that works in the rain, then expect dirt. If you don't want dirt, then don't expect it to last in the rain.

[LuckyPierre]

... does anyone know if Shimano 9x road chains will take a master link? ...

I can say "yes" to that one, because I've been using a SRAM Powerlink for a while now (with a CN7701 - DuraAce 9-speed chain)

[LuckyPierre]

When it comes to chain lube, I use ProLink Gold and it doesn't get gungy - but you do need to re-lube if it gets wet (only had to do it twice because of that, though).

[Mulger bill]

Thanks Pierre

Deni's gonna be getting a good scrubbing this week

[LuckyPierre]

Remember, we rabbited on about cleaners on another thread - I'd use a bike cleaner rather than anything else. I think that RockandRoll make some, or you can get the BlueBike stuff I use from Torpedo7.

[Mulger bill]

Yeah that's right.
I'm from the school of whip the chain off, soak and scrub. I don't want to fiddle with Shimanos pins so I'll go the link. I'm very impressed with
Rock N Rolls blue Extreme lube, it's giving me a good run between cleans on Princess. I'd like to know exactly what solvent is in it, I'd use it as a stand alone drivetrain cleaner too.

Shaun

[leojvs]

I use the ol' triflow, with teflon. Great in the rain, but yeah, dirt sticks. To clean, I use a stiff tooth brush and some degreaser. scrub scrub. then apply a little more triflow. Works well for me.