I’m bad. I went to my LBS, saw a QR 29er fork in the corner.
What’s this?
You want it?
Sure!
Now not only is my frame borrowed from said shop proprietor, so is my fork. Just need to shape-shift my Dyno wheel from 27.5 to 29 and I am mostly set. Ordered a new rim. Lighter than I wanted but stuff is hard to come by. Swapped my shorty stem for a longer one. Will give the short one to my buddy who possibly foolishly brought the widest Walmer bar for his Gryphon. The outer dimension is only marginally wider than his Woodchipper but the hoods are in a completely different place. Swapped my shitty x9 dangler for the nos XO. Swapped an 11-40 from the Litespeed onto the Flash. Now nicknamed the Cannibal. Put on a new chain.
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Cut this post out of a 92 RM Blizzard i picked up cheap a couple weeks ago. So satisfying when it finally let go.
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You are my dithering hero, if not for the form of your bikes but for your frequency and persistence.
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You don’t know the half of it.
Smanged my knee into the stem.
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Yesterday I sent three chains through the ultrasonic cleaner and lubed with the old wax in the crockpot method. Couple of 'em weren’t that old. Shoulda done it sooner for the KMC gold jawn. That thing came with some oily lube on it that I just ran out of the box. After a couple weeks, my whole drivetrain was a mess. I went a the cassette pretty good with the degreaser and the Park cassette brush, but it’s still terrible. Gonna run that through the ultrasonics as well.
Washed the bike. Yeah, I’m that guy now.
Rode it 45 miles and got it dirty again.
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Next time you run a chain through the ultrasonic can you measure stretch before and after? I’ve heard things.
The notion that an ultrasonic cleaner would somehow change the dimension of a chain seems outlandish to me, but sure.
Not sure what you heard though, but I wager the chain will change dimension very quickly if not thoroughly lubricated after. It will break up remove the factory lubricant from inside the rollers, which most other cleaning methods will not do nearly as well. If not replaced, the chain is going to wear.
I’ve heard the vibration and lack of lubrication inside the tank is what accelerates the wear.
I’d also like to see the deflection measured but I can’t think of a standard way to measure a chain that’s not already completely worn out.
While in the cleaner? Yeah, no. Maybe afterward.
Yea, in the cleaner is what I’ve heard.
If that were true, there are parts that are way more delicate than bicycle chains that would preclude folks from using an ultrasonic cleaner on them and yet, they’re still ubiquitous.
i’ve definitely heard that from a very seasoned mechanic i worked with. one of the more skilled wrenches i’ve ever known. i’m not sure i buy it, but someone needs to do the science on it.
The grime is structural
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Yeah. I’m happy to debunk it. Just help me define the burden of proof.
- Take an old dirty chain, measure it.
- Run it in the ultrasonic for X minutes at Y temp.
- Then measure?
This was actually my guess
i have plenty of dirty old chains, and zero ultrasonic cleaners.
also worth asking what aspect of wear are we looking at- pin, roller, or both?
I think there is something too this. If crud/lube is the chain it’s going to occupy space.
You need to ride a chain 1000km. Break it in half. Clean one half chemically only. Clean the other half in an ultrasonic. Then measure.
For science, may as well measure it before you clean, after you clean, then again once properly lubed and ridden for 100km.
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oh, my grime is certainly likely to be structural. i spent a long time working in the bike mines and i believe that the best way to clean a chain is to replace it here and there. i get that some folx like the feeling of a clean clicky precise drivetrain- i’m just thrilled that mine pretty much always works fine and i don’t need to waste time cleaning it
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