Chain tight spot

**quickbuck** · 16th March 2006, 20:17

CRC 5.56, and WD40 are crap for cleaning and lubing your chain.

Firstly the stuff attracts fine grit, and you don't need that near your rollers and pins.
Secondly there is a possibility that the stuff will actually wreck the o-rings.

**Pixie** · 17th March 2006, 10:05

Originally Posted by Ixion

I think I know what Mr Jackrat is talking about. It's not exactly that the sprocket is out of round, but I don't quite know how else to describe it either.

When the sprocket is new, the teeth are exactly the same distance apart as the "gaps" in the chain.So if you wrap a new chain round the sprocket and pull the top tight (as it would be with the engine driving the rear wheel) the teeth fit exactly into the "gaps" in the chain. When the sprocket wears, the teeth get thinner and the "valleys" get bigger. So if you wrap a new chain round the sprocket and pull the top tight, because of the worn teeth the top of the chain curve will move "forward" a bit . This means the rest of the curve of the chain doesnt fit the curve of the sprocket and by the "bottom" of the curve the chain "gaps" and the sprocket teeth don't line up any more. It's not really out of round, but the round of the chain and the round of the sprocket don't match.And the sprocket wear may not be consistent around the sprocket, which makes it worse.

Chain don't actually "stretch",as in elastic deformation.Well only minimally,if any.
A chain gets longer with wear because each pin is reduced in diameter a little.
over 110 links that little bit of wear on each pin adds up to centimeters.

As for chains getting tight spots... this happens when rust seizes the pin in the bush of one or more links.

**Ixion** · 17th March 2006, 10:55

Uh , yeah, "stretch" is a lazy shorthand. Actually they get shorter too. If you pull a worn chain out it's longer than when new , if you push all the links together it's shorter.

The rollers wear too, not just the pins, and they get oval which is worse.

**Pixie** · 17th March 2006, 12:03

Originally Posted by Ixion

Uh , yeah, "stretch" is a lazy shorthand. Actually they get shorter too. If you pull a worn chain out it's longer than when new , if you push all the links together it's shorter.

The rollers wear too, not just the pins, and they get oval which is worse.

That makes a good riddle:
What gets longer and shorter as it wears out?

**Bonez** · 17th March 2006, 19:52

Originally Posted by ZeroIndex

what do most people use to oil their chains? is using that CRC 5-35 or whatever it is a good or extremely bad idea?

Still got 3 litres of diff oil to go through. The first litre lasted 5 years. Use that and moly grease/plain ol grease-gets hot and seeps around the pins/rollers and forms a layer of grease/oil on the sprockets. Get around 20,000 odd kms out of cheap chains. They may get one or two cleans if they're lucky in that time with a rag soaked in deisol. Lube after every long ride, say 300-500 odd kms and on rides where its been raining. Change spockets only if I feel they need changing. Normally remove the countershaft spocket cover once a year and give that area the sprocket a degung.

No broken chains yet.

**erik** · 17th March 2006, 21:27

Originally Posted by Bonez

Still got 3 litres of diff oil to go through. The first litre lasted 5 years. Use that and moly grease/plain ol grease-gets hot and seeps around the pins/rollers and forms a layer of grease/oil on the sprockets.

I guess you just drip the oil on the chain similar to what you do with a can of chain lube?
What do you do with the grease?

**Bonez** · 18th March 2006, 15:39

Originally Posted by erik

I guess you just drip the oil on the chain similar to what you do with a can of chain lube?
What do you do with the grease?

Got an old diff oil top up bottle with a tube on it to apply the oil. Empty ATF bottles would do the job too btw.

As for the grease I smear a light coating on about a third of the chain length/bottem run, then spin the back wheel by hand about a dozen rotations. Inspect the chain and sprockets to make sure the grease has spread over all the rollers and spocket teeth and wipe any excess off with an old rag being very carefull not to catch my fingers in the sprocket/chain-VERY IMPORTANT!!.

**Bonez** · 18th March 2006, 17:32

Originally Posted by quickbuck

CRC 5.56, and WD40 are crap for cleaning and lubing your chain.

Firstly the stuff attracts fine grit, and you don't need that near your rollers and pins.
Secondly there is a possibility that the stuff will actually wreck the o-rings.

I shouldn't think either would attract more grit than non-flick chain lube, grease or any other chain lube product for that matter. I think WD40 is wax based so may not even have an the same effect on o'rings as CRC5.56 after all it's only a "possibility" that damage may occure. There's no concrete evidence from the little research I've done on the subject. I must add having used both products around other rubber components on my ol beasties to loosen up bits I've yet to see any adverse affects.

For example- I use WD40 to "winterise" outside of the engine including the rocker cover which has a rubber seals around the base of it and around the retaining bolts. Now these seals have been on the bike for well over 70,000kms, probably more like 100,000kms, without needing replacing and is still in a perfectly servicable condition with no splits/cracking at all or leaking. It has me thinking that maybe WD40 has some how conditioned it in some way. I don't know the real answer, all I can do is pass on what little experiance I've gained over the years working on my bikes.

**Sniper** · 6th April 2006, 13:18

Could someone post a pic of a tightspot on a chain. Im not too wise on what they look like.

**Troll** · 6th April 2006, 18:56

why people bother manually lubing chains is beyond me

fit a scotoiler and let it do the job properly

maintenance is then limited to refilling the oiler every oil change

**Pathos** · 6th April 2006, 22:10

Originally Posted by Jackrat

No,it will click as the new unstretched chain links catch on the end of the slightly bend teeth tips.
A lot of the time you don't see the wear until you get up close an personal.
But you feel and hear it.
If you rode for six months without lubing it, the sprokcets probably arn't in very good condition but as you say you'll find out anyway.
If you get a shop to fit the new chain you should ask them to look at the sprockets and tell you what they think,as in explain whats what.

The sprockets are sweet the chain was clonking as it tightened and the bike feels like new again with the new chain.

sorry but is was definitely the chain. many of the links in the old chain were so stretched that they were almost too big for the sprocket.

**erik** · 7th April 2006, 17:36

Originally Posted by Sniper

Could someone post a pic of a tightspot on a chain. Im not too wise on what they look like.

If you have the rear wheel off the ground and rotate it and check how much the bottom run of the chain can move up and down, like you do when you are adjusting the chain, if the chain has a tight spot, one position will have less movement than the rest.

**Troll** · 10th April 2006, 21:16

Originally Posted by Troll

why people bother manually lubing chains is beyond me

fit a scotoiler and let it do the job properly

maintenance is then limited to refilling the oiler every oil change

don't know who the tosser is who gave me bad repuation re the first line of the above posting

but i wish tossers like this could read a post in its entirity

why manually lube a chain when there is a better alternative ????

£$% me whoever you are but you are a waste of space

**Sniper** · 11th April 2006, 07:54

Originally Posted by erik

If you have the rear wheel off the ground and rotate it and check how much the bottom run of the chain can move up and down, like you do when you are adjusting the chain, if the chain has a tight spot, one position will have less movement than the rest.

Thanks Erik, bling awarded mate

Troll, no idea who red repped you, but have some green to compensate