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Nope. I try not to use any oil/grease on my chains, but when they get dirty I’ll happily spray a load of chain cleaner on them and/or isopropyl alcohol. I’ve also put them in an ultrasonic cleaner with loads of degreaser before putting wax onto them.
I haven’t used brush cleaners though as I don’t find them very effective – dirt gets on the brushes and then you’ve got dirty brushes. Wet-wipes and/or old washing up sponges are my weapons of choice.
Out of curiosity: how many miles between wax applications on your bike? I like wax for its cleanliness (am anal about a spotless drivetrain) and it works like a charm during dry summers but I ride every day and in winter, with grit, water, road salt… it’s just too heavy on the maintenance, I needed to clean and re-apply at least every other day (ride 25 miles/day), that’s simply not realistic for me. I got rid of my Finish Line wet lube though, it’s a dirt magnet. Use Green Oil now, less dirt but it dries to a gunky, sticky mess and I absolutely need my ultrasonic cleaner to get it all off.
For the OP: I’m partial to KMC chains (have their 11 sp EL titanium nitride coated chain on one bike now) but I also like chains from Connex (formerly Wippermann). Their removable links are the easiest in use imo. I consider every Euro on quality and preventative maintenance money well spent.
I’ve actually given up on the old stove-top wax application as it was a bit of faff and only lasted about 100 miles or so before needing to be “topped” up with a wax-based lube like Squirt.
I’ve now switched to using DryFluid (https://www.dry-fluids.com/dryfluid-bike-2.html) which is a slide lubricant (similar to how I used to put graphite into the paraffin wax) and doesn’t attract dirt like oil/grease does (chain still picks up a bit of dirt though). It’s quite expensive though, especially after factoring in delivery charges.
P.S. I have also re-used the 11-speed KMC links many times without any issues, but I also carry a spare pair just in case.
P.P.S. The only time I used a Shimano chain (10-speed Ultegra as I recall) I had a side plate snap(!) so I switched to KMC. I think I’d put it on correctly, but it’s possible that I did it wrong as the Shimano chains have a specific direction to fit correctly.
P.P.P.S. With applying wax, I believe it lasts longer if you thoroughly degrease the chain first so that the wax can adhere to the clean metal. That may be why you’re only getting 50 miles or so. Topping up with a wax lubricant helps as well.
HP, do you follow the KMC advice and not use a solvent/brush cleaner?Nope. I try not to use any oil/grease on my chains, but when they get dirty I’ll happily spray a load of chain cleaner on them and/or isopropyl alcohol. I’ve also put them in an ultrasonic cleaner with loads of degreaser before putting wax onto them.
I haven’t used brush cleaners though as I don’t find them very effective – dirt gets on the brushes and then you’ve got dirty brushes. Wet-wipes and/or old washing up sponges are my weapons of choice.
But aren’t adjustable spanners continuously adjudtable, rather than having discrete size settings? So it wouldn’t matter whether you are using metric or imperial based nuts.Woosh?
I’m a fan of the KMC range,
I’m a fan of the KMC range, myself.
Approx £20: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-x10-chain/
Approx £30: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-x10-el-gold-10-speed-chain/
Approx £40: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-x10-sl-silver-10-speed-chain/
To be honest, if you’re asking, then you should go for the cheapest as you’re unlikely to notice the weight difference. If you truly love your bike, however, then you’ll happily spend more.
Actually, maybe your bike deserves one of these: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/kmc-dlc10-chain/
I carry a padlock that I use to lock the front brake on, by padlocking the brake lever to the handlebar, and I put the bike in its biggest gear.Although for caliper brakes this would be easily circumventable by just flipping up the little lever on the top of the brake caliper that releases the brakes for you to change a tyre.
or just snip the brake cable
I think all car drivers should pay VED even if there is no tailpipe emissions….I disagree – because the VED on my car is £0!
I actually think the VED for all cars should be £0 and it should all be added to the cost of fuel. That way the further you drive the more you pay, the less economically you drive, or the less economical your car, the more you pay. I could own a very unefficent car, and only drive a few miles a year, or I could have a very economical car, pay very little VED and drive thousands of miles a year. How does that make sense. Put it all on fuel tax.;
Well, I half agree with both of you.
Putting the VED tax on fuel should make it simpler (and cheaper) to administer and it also makes heavy fuel users pay more which seems reasonable.
However, we also want to penalise vehicles that are more polluting so if there’s no VED then there’s no incentive to have cleaner burning vehicles (e.g. imagine everyone driving VW Beetles everywhere).
Personally, I’d prefer having as many vehicles as possible being zero emissions as I don’t want to be breathing in more crap than necessary. Having £0 VED seems like a decent way to provide that kind of incentive.
Maybe once we’ve got rid of the majority of heavily polluting vehicles there could be a big shake up in the taxes to try and remove the subsidies for motorised vehicles, but that’s not presently a politcally popular stance.
“while 44 percent want them to pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).”Words fail me.
How do these people get out of bed without a carer?
Actually, I happy to pay the same as my car – the princely sum of £0.
But just think how much income it would generate if they got all cyclists to pay VED?
I like the bit about motorists thinking that they are being unfairly held to a higher standard of following the Highway Code. Yes – that’s because of the increased danger of a fast moving tonne of machinery.
So yes, I’m a bit of a pain in the arse. Maybe they’ve decided to placate me a bit.Maybe they’ve decided to start doing their fricking job.
With the chain alignment not
With the chain alignment not being the same, I’d be questioning whether the replacement cassette is installed correctly – either a missing spacer or an extra spacer would throw out the alignment slightly. Also, check how the wheel is installed to see whether it’s slightly skewed or not (probably more likely if you’ve got QR skewers than if it’s Thru-Axles, but worth double checking). Also, if you’ve got a new wheel, then that can affect the position of the rear cassette slightly.
If you’re happy that the rear wheel and cassette are all good, then it’s pretty easy to do the alignment using the adjustment mode (put the bike on a stand so you can spin the chain easily, hold down the Di2 junction box button until you get a steady red light and then the up/down gear buttons will perform micro-adjustments to the rear derailleur). This is probably a better instruction: https://pbandjcoaching.com/di2-secrets/
If you use the synchro shift modes, then it might be worthwhile using the PC connection and update the information about the new cassette so that the front derailleur shifts appropriately (don’t know if just going from a 28 to a 30 will actually change anything though).
From what I can see, it looks
From what I can see, it looks like the cable hasn’t frayed, so I’m guessing that the cable wasn’t tightened sufficiently where it attaches to the derailleur and has been pulled clear (i.e. not snapped). You should be able to verify this by seeing if there’s the end of the cable still attached to the derailleur – there will be a small plate and screw (cable anchor bolt) that is meant to hold the end of the cable inner.
If the inner cable has just been pulled from the cable anchor bolt, then the shop didn’t tighten it sufficiently. They should be able to just re-attach the cable and set the tension correctly – a 5 minute job.
Where exactly has the gear
Where exactly has the gear cable snapped (which end for instance)?
I’ve only ever had a gear cable snap inside the shifter which is just wear and tear on the cable (I think they’re supposed to be changed once a year or so to prevent that happening).
Maybe a picture of the snapped cable would make it more obvious what happened.
I want to know what happens
I want to know what happens to the “likes” that we got on those posts.
Tiagra with hydraulic discs
Tiagra with hydraulic discs as it’s not usually easy to upgrade from mechanical to hydraulic. Tiagra is a really good groupset so it’ll take a while before you find it lacking.
Another aspect of knife crime
Another aspect of knife crime that makes politicians rub their hands with glee is that it’s a perfect excuse for expanding stop-and-search powers which has the advantage that the police can choose who to target (hint: young ethnic males).
I’m sure my carbon wheels and frame amplify my hub, but it’s not nearly loud enough.Are there any 3rd party add-ons to increase the noise? Something like spokey-dokeys but for the hub.
There are these:
It’d be a hoot if a pack of road riders had bikes kitted out with these.
Intriguing … do they do one in carbon fibre?
They’re plastic I think. I’m sure you could get some stick on carbon fibre to make it look the part.
I’ve found some carbon fibre wrap which should do the job. BRRRRM! BRRRRRRRRRMMMM!