Chain care for sand riding?

**nzspokes** · 14th May 2013, 09:53

Whats the best way to clean your chain for use at Woodhill and the best lube?

**Buddy L** · 14th May 2013, 10:37

Depends on what type of chain you have

I was quite shocked at how much sand would build up in an non "O" ring Chain, after every ride with the factory chain, i would take it off and give it a petrol wash, i would normal get a table full of sand left in the bottom of the bucket.
Now with "O" ring chains i wash my bike at the end of a ride and then just lube with WD40, then i don't lube it again untill i wash the bike after the next ride.

**george formby** · 14th May 2013, 11:12

Eons ago in Queenstown I did a ride with Dennis Columb, IIR. He ran his chains dry to stop the sandpaper effect of grit sticking to the lube & got reasonable life out of them. With an o or x ring I would consider cleaning the chain & sprockets with kero or some such before the ride to minimise sand sticking to it & cleaning & re lubing afterwards. Links in the chain will hold grit & non sealed chains hold fine sand regardless.

**Drew** · 14th May 2013, 11:20

Originally Posted by george formby

Eons ago in Queenstown I did a ride with Dennis Columb, IIR. He ran his chains dry to stop the sandpaper effect of grit sticking to the lube & got reasonable life out of them.

I was going to ask if anyone did that. But the sand would get in there anyway.

On an O ring chain, the lube is meant to be captive. The only reason to lube the outside is to stop corrosion, and keep the O rings from drying out. To my mind, let it get sandy and wash off with low pressure water.

I'm not a dirt bike rider though, so I know fuck all.

**BoristheBiter** · 14th May 2013, 12:31

All i do is clean the entire bike down with motormuk.
when dry scrub the chain with a light brush and relube with motol off road lube.

my chains last ages and most of my riding if in sand.

Also check that your chain guides are clean.

**Maha** · 14th May 2013, 15:17

Originally Posted by BoristheBiter

All i do is clean the entire bike down with motormuk.
when dry scrub the chain with a light brush and relube with motol off road lube.

my chains last ages and most of my riding if in sand.

Also check that your chain guides are clean.

Me also, Ashley put me onto that stuff after a rather dirty shity ride on a gravel road last november. It's like magic.

**gwynfryn** · 14th May 2013, 15:56

Spray and wipe is cheaper and just as good.

**LankyBastard** · 14th May 2013, 16:18

Originally Posted by BoristheBiter

All i do is clean the entire bike down with motormuk.
when dry scrub the chain with a light brush and relube with motol off road lube.

my chains last ages and most of my riding if in sand.

Also check that your chain guides are clean.

Ditto, although I do the chain wash before the rest of the bike so I can just rinse off the whole thing then lube the chain. 95% of my offroad riding is in sand and my chains are sweet.

**tnarg** · 14th May 2013, 16:49

Tricks that I used for my riding at Woodhill-

- Run the chain loose
- Don't lube on the day that you are riding.

I got an exceptional amount of hours out of my chain. Can't remember the type of lube I used but it was light and not super tacky. I used an o-ring chain as well.

**nzspokes** · 14th May 2013, 19:17

Thanks all. I think the lube I have been using is to sticky being normal chain lube. Shes up for a big service after a tree jumped in front of us at the WMC day at Woody last weekend so will whip the chain off and give it a petrol bath.

**Ktmboy** · 14th May 2013, 20:24

I'd not use an extremely sticky lub. In fact we use the Elf chain lub that is more of a wax type than a really sticky oil based product. Tnarg is on to it in that we lub after washing as opposed to before riding..

Otherwise WD40 or CRC as buddlyL alluded to would be the other option. Quite happy to spray your chain for free with Elf as a trial.

**F5 Dave** · 15th May 2013, 11:18

Originally Posted by nzspokes

. . .so will whip the chain off and give it a petrol bath.

Not if its an o-ring chain. Kero is ok with a toothbrush.

**Drew** · 15th May 2013, 15:35

Originally Posted by F5 Dave

Not if its an o-ring chain. Kero is ok with a toothbrush.

A tooth brush? My time is worth more than a chain if it needs cleaned in that sorta detail.

**F5 Dave** · 16th May 2013, 12:15

Takes about 5 min with kero & a toothbrush to give a 1/2 reasonable clean that removes most of the grit that will cause damage. You must be some high powered Eeezectutif as a chain & spkt set is a fair expense for the rest of us.