-
Introducing Image Options for ResetEra 2.0! Check the left side navigation bar to show or hide images, avatars, covers, and embedded media. More details at the link.
Bicycle ERA |OT| This Is Why
- Thread starter Jill Sandwich
- Start date
There isn't much hassle. You'll want to be a bit extra careful that the initial install is clean; sharp edges in the rim bed will eat through latex tubes more easily than butyl. Basically, you'll want to ensure that your rim taping is in good shape. Latex tubes lose air faster than butyl, but you should be checking and setting tire pressure before every ride anyway. Out on the road, latex is just as durable as butyl.
I have a question about chain maintenance, how resilient is factory lube on new chains? So, I changed the chain about two weeks ago. Today I rode through some dirt road so I had to wash my bicycle with some water and soap, including my drive train. Does this means that the factory lube is gone and I have to re-grease it?
I adjusted the speeds after washing it and the drive train was kinda noisy, IDK is this is because the lube is gone or because my speed adjustment was lousy (I'm kinda new to do that on my bike). Ty for your answer!
I adjusted the speeds after washing it and the drive train was kinda noisy, IDK is this is because the lube is gone or because my speed adjustment was lousy (I'm kinda new to do that on my bike). Ty for your answer!
I don’t know if you specifically cleaned your chain as well (with a chaincleaning tool), but when you wash your bike dirt and grime tends to be pushed further in between the rollers. That will actually make the chain more squeeky.
Degreasing the chain and cleaning it with a chain cleaning tool and then lubing it after its dried is my preferred method.
Degreasing the chain and cleaning it with a chain cleaning tool and then lubing it after its dried is my preferred method.
I'd recommend against using a chain cleaning tool. Or any kind of degreaser product.
Getting a chain totally spotless is pointless. Wet lubrication - which is what most people ought to be using - will cause a chain to get black near-instantly on the next ride anyway. And a thorough degreasing will often strip the lubricant from the internals of a chain without actually getting the grit out, which can result in a "well lubricated" and "clean" chain that squeaks.
Stripping a chain to bare metal makes sense if you're preparing the chain for a wax bath in anticipation of an Hour Record attempt, but otherwise... eh.
Most wet lubes serve as a competent cleaner for themselves. If a chain is dirty or needs new lube, just hit it with a hefty dose of a good wet lube. Come back a few minutes later with a rag, and wipe off. Easy, thorough, and 98% as clean as a chain has any business being.
Getting a chain totally spotless is pointless. Wet lubrication - which is what most people ought to be using - will cause a chain to get black near-instantly on the next ride anyway. And a thorough degreasing will often strip the lubricant from the internals of a chain without actually getting the grit out, which can result in a "well lubricated" and "clean" chain that squeaks.
Stripping a chain to bare metal makes sense if you're preparing the chain for a wax bath in anticipation of an Hour Record attempt, but otherwise... eh.
Most wet lubes serve as a competent cleaner for themselves. If a chain is dirty or needs new lube, just hit it with a hefty dose of a good wet lube. Come back a few minutes later with a rag, and wipe off. Easy, thorough, and 98% as clean as a chain has any business being.
I don’t know if you specifically cleaned your chain as well (with a chaincleaning tool), but when you wash your bike dirt and grime tends to be pushed further in between the rollers. That will actually make the chain more squeeky.
Degreasing the chain and cleaning it with a chain cleaning tool and then lubing it after its dried is my preferred method.
Degreasing the chain and cleaning it with a chain cleaning tool and then lubing it after its dried is my preferred method.
Hahaha, two wildly different opinions... But I guess that's okay.
I guess it's a matter of picking whatever works for you.
I'm in "team clean". For mountain biking it's probably a different story though. There's a whole order of magnitude more grit going in.
https://cyclingtips.com/2018/05/chain-cleaning-and-maintenance-how-to/
There's a good deal of argument against wet lube to: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/fast-chain-lube-that-saves-you-money/
https://cyclingtips.com/2018/05/chain-cleaning-and-maintenance-how-to/
There's a good deal of argument against wet lube to: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/fast-chain-lube-that-saves-you-money/
I think it all comes down to where you ride and in what conditions. One of my main commuting routes is along the seafront and the amount of sand and sandy dirt that my bike picks up means that just reapplying a wet lube isn't going to cut it - I need to get that sand out of there rather than rely on the lube to carry it away.
I actually try not to use wet lube wherever possible - I use dry lube most of the year round apart from during prolonged periods of wet weather. As I see it, when your wet lube goes black it's because it's picked up dirt, and that dirt is now being introduced to all of those lovely expensive components in the drivetrain.
I tend to do the "wipe clean and re-lube" method through the week and, if necessary, the degrease and proper clean method at the weekend when I've got the time. I quite like those Park Tool chain cleaners. Each to his own, though.
I actually try not to use wet lube wherever possible - I use dry lube most of the year round apart from during prolonged periods of wet weather. As I see it, when your wet lube goes black it's because it's picked up dirt, and that dirt is now being introduced to all of those lovely expensive components in the drivetrain.
I tend to do the "wipe clean and re-lube" method through the week and, if necessary, the degrease and proper clean method at the weekend when I've got the time. I quite like those Park Tool chain cleaners. Each to his own, though.
I use a wax lube (White Lightning) every 50-150 miles depending on the bike/conditions. Same for the mountain bike except that gets lubed after every ride. Never clean, wipe or degrease the chain. Apply and let dry.
The first chain on my commuter lasted ~8k miles. Chain on "nice" bike is almost at 4k. Mountain bike is still on its first chain as well but hasn't seen the same kind of mileage. Chainrings and cassettes look ok. Mostly dry conditions but have had a few wet rides with the unusual amount of rain we've had in SoCal. I guess I'm in the lube and forget about it camp.
The first chain on my commuter lasted ~8k miles. Chain on "nice" bike is almost at 4k. Mountain bike is still on its first chain as well but hasn't seen the same kind of mileage. Chainrings and cassettes look ok. Mostly dry conditions but have had a few wet rides with the unusual amount of rain we've had in SoCal. I guess I'm in the lube and forget about it camp.
There are multiple types of wax lubricant. White Lightning uses wax suspended in a solvent, so you drip it from a bottle like typical lubes. The other way to lubricate a chain with wax is to immerse it in a hot wax bath. (Since this lubricates the chain's internals, and since it requires removing the chain anyway, it would be kind of weird to not strip the chain to bare metal first.)
If your chain is squeaking, absolutely. If not, I dunno.
It shouldn't really matter, though. Any time you're unsure about whether your chain has adequate lubrication, you should reapply lubrication.
If your chain is squeaking, absolutely. If not, I dunno.
It shouldn't really matter, though. Any time you're unsure about whether your chain has adequate lubrication, you should reapply lubrication.
I started waxing my chain this winter. Used mineral spirits, multiple baths, installed a whipperman link, and got a cheap crockpot to melt the wax. Recycled the spirits by letting the gunk settle to the bottom, and filtered it out with coffee filters. My uncle used to do this shit when he was a kid, read about it and said why not try it, I think I’m going to stick with it. Sounds like a lot of work, but cleaning the chain initially takes the most time. After that I just drop the chain in Molten Wax, set the crockpot, and wait about an hour. Pull it out and it’s ready to roll. Shifting is really smooth, thought drive drain would be louder but I didn’t notice much of a difference.
I was recently told by the tech at Giant bikes that the factory lube is really for preventing rust and keeping the links sealed for shipping and storage and is a bit too thick for an actual chain lube.
As a result of its thickness though it does make the chain very, very quiet and actual chain lubes will never be as quiet.
I used Rock n Roll Red for a while but found it a bit too thin, I'm using Bike Milk now - I get the best results when I hose and wipe my chain until it stops leaving black marks on the rag then I give it a good coating of Bike Milk then I leave it for a few hours and give it a light wipe down.
Makes the chain nice and quiet for 100kms or so and doesn't attract gunk.
If it gets really, really filthy I'll use the Muc off chain cleaner like the one posted above.
As a result of its thickness though it does make the chain very, very quiet and actual chain lubes will never be as quiet.
I used Rock n Roll Red for a while but found it a bit too thin, I'm using Bike Milk now - I get the best results when I hose and wipe my chain until it stops leaving black marks on the rag then I give it a good coating of Bike Milk then I leave it for a few hours and give it a light wipe down.
Makes the chain nice and quiet for 100kms or so and doesn't attract gunk.
If it gets really, really filthy I'll use the Muc off chain cleaner like the one posted above.
Hey, looks familiar!
I had a Garmin Edge 500 for 8 years before getting the Bolt. Big upgrade. No more plugging into the computer after every ride and my Stages doesn't drop data anymore.
I had a Garmin Edge 500 for 8 years before getting the Bolt. Big upgrade. No more plugging into the computer after every ride and my Stages doesn't drop data anymore.
The important thing is where/how you actually sit on the saddle. Obviously this is a complex issue, because you might have a whole bunch of different ways of sitting on any given saddle, and different ways of sitting on different saddles. And height and tilt of saddles can be complicated as well, not just fore-aft.
So I was riding a woman’s saddle from Ergon and they just released the men’s version. As far as I can tell the main difference is the relief channel is shaped slightly different. Everything else looks the same except for maybe a hair difference in height.
The men’s is 17mm longer so I laid it on top of woman’s one while it was still mounted and made sure the rails were even. They were so I just measured off the rail ticks.
Based on how it feels I think I might need to slide it back to account for that 17mm. When i stand and just sit back down I feel like I’m placing to much towards the back line my bones are placing too firmly into the curve instead of it supporting.
Update: slid it back that 17mm and all feels good. My suspicion was right, it was too far forward
The men’s is 17mm longer so I laid it on top of woman’s one while it was still mounted and made sure the rails were even. They were so I just measured off the rail ticks.
Based on how it feels I think I might need to slide it back to account for that 17mm. When i stand and just sit back down I feel like I’m placing to much towards the back line my bones are placing too firmly into the curve instead of it supporting.
Update: slid it back that 17mm and all feels good. My suspicion was right, it was too far forward
Last edited:
Wankers are at it again...
Buried just under the surface. Ignore the fucking fact that it could just as easily be a horse or a kid that steps on one.
Buried just under the surface. Ignore the fucking fact that it could just as easily be a horse or a kid that steps on one.
Wow, that's just twisted in so many ways. As you said it could just as well be a kid that runs into these.
Not that the intent to harm a cyclist on purpose is any less sickening though...
People really don't think about the consequences of their actions all that well do they?
Last edited:
Also, it looks like need to adjust the HR zones on my Garmin... how do i do that!?
Started to commute reguraly again, just didn't have the energy with my babygirl beeing more or less sick since the beginning of the year and a lot of freezing and wet weather, which was a bit dangerous... since the cyclepaths weren't well maintained.
Spent a bit of time on zwift for the first time in quite a few months. Everyone has flames coming off their rear wheel.
I love technology and all my apple stuff but I need to come up with a scheme where doing a ride on zwift doesn’t cause massive havoc to my exercise data.
Edit: LOL, the flames were an April Fools thing
I love technology and all my apple stuff but I need to come up with a scheme where doing a ride on zwift doesn’t cause massive havoc to my exercise data.
Edit: LOL, the flames were an April Fools thing
Last edited:
So I'm doing a longer ride this year and I'm thinking me recording it on strava with my phone isn't going to work seeing as it'll take me about 14 hours to complete.
Any recommendations for a bike computer? Would they have enough battery time?
Any recommendations for a bike computer? Would they have enough battery time?