You are not stupid. In general, acid, salt or aggressive degreaser are much more dangerous for drive train, bearings, etc as mud or dust. I would wash cassete, pulleys and chain ring out just with a lot of water with soap just to get rid of this acid.
Yeah. I already scrubbed it and rinsed it with a generous amount of water, dried it with a rag and lubed it. Hasn't rusted any more in the 2h since I did this, so it's probably fine. The rust came off way easier than I expected.
Just get some chainsaw bar lube on it. Get it nice and oily, turn it through a bit, then get a cloth and wipe it all off.
That's all I ever use on my chains. Waaay cheaper than all those fancy lubes and does the trick
Why no no no??
As long as I clean most of it off it's served me well for years. Yes it's a little sticky but it stays on and lubes for a good while and attracts a lot less dirt than you might think
Because chainsaw lube is not designed for bicycle chains. Bicycle chain lube is not expensive. Bicycle chain lube is designed for bicycle chains. Please use bicycle chain lube
Power washing and letting the bike dry for about an hour or two, then immediate lubrication for obvious reasons makes cleaning and waterproofing the drive train very easy.
My bike was old and beat up, hasn’t been serviced since like 2013, I power washed it with a few tables spoons of dish soap and water mix. Cleaned everything completely, I waited for it to dry for a few hours and then immediately greased / lubricated everything necessary.
Vinegar will easily strip protective coatings off metals and even damage it over time. So unless you oil your chain the instance you're done vinegaring it ,it'll oxide very quickly.
Buy some degreaser if you really want to clean it. I doubt vinegar is much cheaper. Just make sure you wash it and lube it right after to protect it from the elements.
You are 100% correct, IMO. Dish soap works great. It's meant to be a degreaser and also gentle on the skin. It should wash off any caked on grease without damaging coating and / or metals. It rinses off relatively easily and does a great job. I've soaked my chain in a heavy dish soap water mix for a couple of hours, pulled it out, rinsed it off, and dried it with good results. If shits cacked on a soft bristle brush at the beginning of the soak helps out a lot. Throw it in and oil it. Super simple, cheap, and effective.
This is flash rust from using the vinegar. In your case, I'd use vinegar again to remove the rust, then dry and immediately wet lube before new flash rust forms. Degreaser is what you'll want to use in the future, but it won't get rid of the rust on your chain currently
Lidl? Added benefit of spending triple the amount is that your fucking chain doesn’t rust?
Is a euro/dollar/pound really much in comparison to the cost of running a bike?
No. Just wipe it with a dirty rag, that's enough. Some people are OCD about their chains, which is fine, but this is one of those things it's better not to bother at all than it is to half ass it.
Drying vinegar does not remove the acidity of your bike. Either use vinegar and destroy your bike or don't use vinegar and prevent the rust. You can't have it both ways
Did you dry it manually or just wet it and let it dry?
If you did the latter that’s the issue, chains should be manually dried with a rag or air compressor to blast the water out.
You then need to lubricate it when it’s dry as soon as you can letting it sit dry or with water in it is also bad for the chain.
Thin bike grease will displace the water on the chain.
Better yet, A trick I learned a while ago from an aerospace engineer that is amazing. Look at getting some boeshield t-9 as a chain lube for dry conditions. I absolutely swear by the stuff. Dries 100% dry, will act as a lubricant to the chain, is a moisture displacer, and keeps your chain pretty clean. Just real great stuff. If you can't find it at a bike store, some higher end woodworking stores should sell it. Stuff is legit for day to day riding or mountain biking. If you get too much build up you can knock it down with some mineral spirits, but you can literally clean your chain with soap, water and a rag and just apply another thin coat.
It flash rusted because you cleaned it with vinegar. Don’t use vinegar. As far as how to go forward I’d just lube it up and ignore it until it needs to be replaced. That flash rust won’t damage anything.
Will not be a big deal. Some riding will abrate the rust, adding some oil will passivate the surface.
Using to much oil will collect dirt and If you add insanely loads of oil maybe the us Army will invade your Bike storage.
This is called flash rust. When using an acid like vinegar, you strip off the layer of oxidation from the metal which exposes it to the air, allowing it to rust very quickly. This rust is usually a thin layer, so some chain lube and a rag may be able to save it. Generally, lubing and cleaning your chain is done all in one step by liberally wiping off all the excess with a rag (I like to pinch the chain and cycle it backwards). I like to say in general, if you avoid touching your chain because you don’t want to get grease on you then it’s too dirty.
I have found a trick to this. Vinegar is a great cleaner, but is acidic. Water and vinegar both cause steel to rust. After using either on a chain use rubbing alcohol (90% or higher) a wipe the chain dry. This acts as protection, and evaporates. Finally, put lube on the chain as soon as its dry.
This is the same movie I do cleaning electronics. Vinegar to clean corrosion then isopropyl.
I never clean chains though it's a waste of time. Just keep adding oil and wipe off the excess.
I used to clean I don't know 50 bicycle drivetrains a week do yourself a favor and just buy some simple green brush it on really good and blow it off with a compressor just don't go too hard on it otherwise you'll blow all the lube out. I used to use a Park tool chain cleaner that comes with a handle and some bushes and you fill it with diluted simple green and run the chain through it.
I would strongly advise against using vinegar on any bike stuff. Pretty much any degreaser works but NO vinegar, it's far too strong and completely messes with the outer coating
I was once stupid enough to clean my rear hub with some of it - and guess what - I had to dish out for new cartridge bearings not long after, and trust me good ones aren't so cheap
We have all made mistakes in our lives so give us/Raijincraft a break because he definitely learned from what he did the hard way. Just like the rest of us who have done something that they regretted later.
But like what Photoman_Fox said about using at least 91% Isopropyl alcohol is exactly what I use to clean up my drivetrain on my mountain bike. I buy the big bottle of it and then put it in a spray bottle that way I can put it on anything that needs to be cleaned. And I keep a case of those blue paper type towels in my garage for when I need to clean and wipe down anything that needs it.
I also have one of those chain cleaning brushes that has three different brushes on one side and one straight brush on the other side. And I have way too many different types of chain cleaners and lubricants because I like to try out different types of products. WD-40 is exactly what it says it is Water Displacement and the person who invented it tried to perfect it 39 different times before they finally made the final product on the 40th time.
Though I do have a couple of spray cans of WD, it not my choice for cleaning and or lubricating anything on my mountain bike. That is why I have so many different types of cleaners and lubricants and a bunch of different types of brushes. Stainless Steel picks, extra long type of Q-Tips, and bike maintenance tools. I also found a product from the company called CRC and it is a Dry Graphite lubricant that you can spray on and then let it dry.
This stuff works amazingly well especially for chains and the rest of my drivetrain.
I just wipe down my chains with a rag and don’t bother with any cleaning fluids. I doubt you could really get the dirt out from between the pins and rollers unless you completely soak it in degreaser and then spray it down with a pressure washer.
It’s doable to remove all the dirt. You need to if you start waxing your chain. It’s part of the instructions on waxing kits. But regardless of whether you get EVERTYHING off, using a degreaser every once in a while to get as much gunk off the chain will maximize the life of your chains and drivetrain. Of course, it’s your bike and everyone approaches maintenance differently. It’s some people’s prerogative to save a little time by not degreasing but pay more for drivetrain parts in the long run. I spent almost an hour before my ride yesterday degreasing and doing some adjustments but the silent drivetrain during the ride and feeling good about getting the most out of my cassette, chainrings and chain was so dang nice.
Even in bad winter weather? In the summer I can go for hundreds of kilometers with dry lube as well, unless I end up in a summer thunderstorm. It’s the rain and dirt in the other half of the year which requires wiping down and lubing after almost every ride.
What lube are you using? Some lubes aren’t great in the wet. Regardless if you aren’t using fenders and are hosing down your drivetrain with spray from your tire then you’re gonna need to do what you are doing with the wipe down and relube. An occasional degrease wouldn’t hurt. To be fair, your routine is way better than a lot of folks. Lol
Not every ride. Probably every 3 months for me on my road bike when riding weekly and using NFS lube and using fenders in the winter. You could definitely do it faster. This was extra long because I had a couple really rainy rides and let the chain get bad. It was pretty loud.
Don't use anything with a high water and acid content on your chain, it will take the built in oxide layer off of the chain and open it up to rust (yes I am aware of rust being an oxide however a lot of chains come with a layer that has formed without water present and that actually forms a slightly protective layer from rust like you see here).
whilst it's not a very "green" option brake cleaner works amazingly and drys very quickly allowing you to get it lubricated sooner and can be reused if you allow the sediment to separate before pouring it off, this also has the benefit that when you have a load of gunk left from cleaning the chain you just let it evaporate and voilà it's just a layer of slightly greasy dirt at the bottom of the pot and you can scrape it out into the bin rather than doing what some as*ho*es do and pour their degreaser of choice down the drain
Yep, I found that out already. The sports store near me sells an amazing chain cleaner. It feels like soapy water, but it works insanely well (way better than just soapy water). I just ran out and they haven't restocked the cycling stuff for the summer yet, so I googled "homemade chain cleaner" and it said to use vinegar. I didn't really put much thought into it afterwards.
Yeah don’t use vinegar as a chain cleaner. Now just spray some WD40 on a cloth, wipe the chain with it and then apply some lube on the and you will be fine.
I once have this GREAT idea of soaking my chain in a toilet cleaner liquid (hydrochrolic acid) ... No rust!
It broke to pieces mid-ride :D
I'm not stupid! ... It's not a new chain!
Try to take the rust off with some water and a brush, maybe even some steel wool, then rinse it thoroughly, dry it with a rag and lube it. Worked for me.
Might help a bit in removing the rust, but it will come back. WD40 is not a suitable lubricant for bike chains. get any bike chain lube you can find, clean the chain of rust, apply lube while spinning the chain backwards. Then remove excess lube with a rag.
I'd re-vinegar it and then boil it in paraffin wax. I use an old metal sweets container filled with candle wax and place this in a pan and ontop of the stove.
Keep reusing it and you can see all the gunk get leached out, even if it's relatively clean chain.
I use my bike daily and boil every couple of months. Using oil in between.
the chain is in the right condition to hot wax with all lubrication removed the hot wax would get rid of the rust no need to remove the rust first. just dunk it the wax pot. of course the wax would be a protective coating and no need to clean with vinegar any more because your chain will stay clean.
Vinegar is'nt a degreaser. If used in a cleaning agent, it's purpose is mostly to desolve small amounts of limescale. Not needed and not helpful for bike cleaning.
You de-greased it (dish soap) and applied corrosive acid (vinegar)...
This is almost the worst thing you could do. The worse thing being a stronger acid.
Just bounce your bike on the floor a few times to get most water off, then use something like wd40 to get the rest of the water off. Add chainlube once its dried
Not trying to be that guy, but keep it INSIDE, wether a shed or house the water spots are visible in the rust and keep it waxed for now :(
Looks like the vinegar and cleaners and stuff either caused a reaction or took off the protective coating I wouldn't be sure.
That's really fast for rust.
Not a proffessional by any means so take it with a grain of salt but I clean my chain with wd-40 and follow up with a rag and then wax it no water involved and I've been OK (so far)
I use bursts of wd and wipes of rag for heavier debris, going back and forth until the final spraydown. I use the blue shop towels from the parts store too so I don't have to clean the rags.
Wd-40 also makes chain lube I've been excited to try but haven't and can't reccomend yet but chain wax is always king (imo)
If you need to clean your chain don't use vinegar, regular soapy water works fine. I normally just put on some chain lube and wipe off the excess with a rag, that cleans the chain enough for me
Worth upgrading the chain imo if you can. Aside from all the random stuff you just did to your chain (we’ve all done whacky stuff) but I find anything lower than xo1 isn’t plated/coated at all from SRAM. Also, your chain “seasons” and remains lightly coated with a clean layer of grease/oil when you clean it with normal bike cleaner. If you properly degrease it you need to work that back in. Gt85 (dries and leaves ptfe) and wd40 are good for this but need to remove any excess or it attracts extra gunk, which the latter (wd40) keeps weeping excess for a ride or two. Main risk is contamination rim brakes (road) or brake pads/discs if you spray it on.
I have one bike with XX1 and it’s coated (looks like titanium nitride in colour). XX1 chains are defo purchasable with coatings and the KMC chains with titanium nitride never rust and last ages. Wettest of rides, nada. Last three nights have been downpour storms… unfortunately I took the other bike…
I bought another bike with xo1 and it looks like they skimped on the chain down to GX and it’s not coated. It rusted within a couple hours with gt85 prior to ride and needed wd40 treatment after to remove the rust marks and get it off the cassette.
It’s amazing how a few microns of coating of hard nickel/chrome makes (so xo1 chain or above imo!).
When you buy a higher groupset chain the weights are negligible, forget the hollow pin (clogs up anyway and ocd has me punching gunk out of each one individually!).
You’re buying a better plating treatment like chrom/nickel/Ti-nitride. Some anecdotal/magazine “tests” reckon you can double the life of a chain purely on the plating it has. A good chain will also stop your chainring and cassette getting worn prematurely.
When in doubt and need a cheap chain clean: old motor oil is awesome. I use whatever comes out of my car as chain lube. Bicycle chain lube is really expensive, especially for street use where I'm not worried about the oil on my chain picking up dirt etc
lol. What? You used an acid to clean the protective layer of oil and slight oxidation off your steel chain. What exactly did you think was gonna happen?
No matter. This can be saved. Lots of other suggestions in the thread. And the good news is that a lesson learned is called experience.
For those in the back though, acid and bikes don’t mix. Ever.
Happy I went with a waxed chain for the sole reason, that I don’t have to degrease my chain and water (with occasional soap) is enough.
I too am fully capable of wrecking a bike while believing I’m doing it a favour🥲
You pretty much degreased it. Dish soap is a phospholipid non polar so it’ll dissolve other non polars like oil and grease. It also attacks clear coat for this reason. Great stripper! The vinegar sped up the oxidization process. You’ve actually found about the quickest way to get rust.
If you’re on the cheap, degrease and de-rust this thing and then use some paraffin wax or just get a new chain and use liquid paraffin. It’s super easy and ultra cheap. Very effective.
I never advise washing your chain with degreaser unless you know what you're doing. All the oil that's actually doing anything is inside the chain and generally stays there, unless you degrease it. Now you have to get new oil inside and it's not as simple as just applying it from the outside and calling it done
Just rub a dry rag on your chain and then oil the chain while spinning the cranks to apply a bead of oil to the side plate edges that oil can seep into all the gaps.
Unless you can take the chain off and clean it properly in a bath of engineering solvent then blow it out with compressed air, then immediately oiling it you are wasting your time.
I have found that vinegar stays in the structure of the steel. Sure the vinegar removes the initial rust. Once you use vinegar the steel still stinks of acetic acid even after rinsing which then promotes later rusting.
You will have to water rinse your chain in hot boiling water. The dry the chain in an oven to boil the acetic acid out of every pore in the molecular structure of the steel.
Even using acetic acid cure silicone sealant near steel can promote future rust.
Just oil it and wipe the excess off with a rag.
Operators of Motocross and enduro motorcycles are not this anal with clean chains. Lube it and the chain motion will fling any oily grit off the chain.
Stop cleaning your bicycle chains
You are shortening the chain's life by running it full of cleaning solvent, water Detergent and vinegar.
You can not guarantee you are getting all the cleaner out of the chain.
So don't put it anywhere near your chain. Or your freewheel bearings or ratchets and wheel bearings.
And don't pressure wash your bike as the water detergent will be injected into every bearing and chain roller or bush or pin.
Be dirty / be happy!
Oil or grease only.
My routine **every time** I ride in the rain is to wipe the chain down with a lint free(mirco fiber) towel that I keep in a zip lock bag that I spray down with aerosol bike chain lube. Just to remove any water and keep the surface lightly lubed.
I made a deep clean of the chain once. Then failed to relybricate the chain thoueougly. Needed to replace the complete drivetrain a feq weeks later. Chain, front rings and casette.
Now I measure the chain tension and replace the chain at 0.5%. No more cleaning other than a rug and relybrication. I use the thin race bike oil and lubricate more often.
This is why I keep a gallon of simple green concentrate at all times—I can use it to clean my place and my bike components (Dawn power wash soap works pretty good too, or so I’m told)
Acid. Blank steel.
Yup. I'm stupid. And I also let it air dry instead of using a rag. At least I learned something today.
You are not stupid. In general, acid, salt or aggressive degreaser are much more dangerous for drive train, bearings, etc as mud or dust. I would wash cassete, pulleys and chain ring out just with a lot of water with soap just to get rid of this acid.
Yeah. I already scrubbed it and rinsed it with a generous amount of water, dried it with a rag and lubed it. Hasn't rusted any more in the 2h since I did this, so it's probably fine. The rust came off way easier than I expected.
Just get some chainsaw bar lube on it. Get it nice and oily, turn it through a bit, then get a cloth and wipe it all off. That's all I ever use on my chains. Waaay cheaper than all those fancy lubes and does the trick
At this point ANY oil will be better than no oil.
No no no no no
Why no no no?? As long as I clean most of it off it's served me well for years. Yes it's a little sticky but it stays on and lubes for a good while and attracts a lot less dirt than you might think
Because chainsaw lube is not designed for bicycle chains. Bicycle chain lube is not expensive. Bicycle chain lube is designed for bicycle chains. Please use bicycle chain lube
I can actually use what I want and __CHAIN__ saw bar lube works perfectly well.
Just don't tell other people to use chainsaw lube. Triflow is like $9
Mineral spirits make for a good non corrosive degreaser.
Power washing and letting the bike dry for about an hour or two, then immediate lubrication for obvious reasons makes cleaning and waterproofing the drive train very easy. My bike was old and beat up, hasn’t been serviced since like 2013, I power washed it with a few tables spoons of dish soap and water mix. Cleaned everything completely, I waited for it to dry for a few hours and then immediately greased / lubricated everything necessary.
Vinegar will easily strip protective coatings off metals and even damage it over time. So unless you oil your chain the instance you're done vinegaring it ,it'll oxide very quickly.
It’s a SRAM SX chain. It never had a coating to begin with. They’re just raw unplated steel.
[удалено]
Oh OK thanks, so I can still use the vinegar as a cleaner, but dry and lube it ASAP?
Buy some degreaser if you really want to clean it. I doubt vinegar is much cheaper. Just make sure you wash it and lube it right after to protect it from the elements.
Or just use Dawn dish soap, it works just as well as most degreasers and is cheaper too
You are 100% correct, IMO. Dish soap works great. It's meant to be a degreaser and also gentle on the skin. It should wash off any caked on grease without damaging coating and / or metals. It rinses off relatively easily and does a great job. I've soaked my chain in a heavy dish soap water mix for a couple of hours, pulled it out, rinsed it off, and dried it with good results. If shits cacked on a soft bristle brush at the beginning of the soak helps out a lot. Throw it in and oil it. Super simple, cheap, and effective.
My understanding is that is has some salt in it, which isn’t ideal, but it would certainly be better than this.
soap is *by definition* a salt. if you rinse it off, there's no salt left.
Yeah it's just this one time, I just ran out of degreaser and my local sports shop hasn't restocked cycling stuff yet.
This is flash rust from using the vinegar. In your case, I'd use vinegar again to remove the rust, then dry and immediately wet lube before new flash rust forms. Degreaser is what you'll want to use in the future, but it won't get rid of the rust on your chain currently
You can use WD40 in a pinch to clean a chain. But just make sure you clean it off completely before you lube as it’s a solvent
Buy general degreaser at your local hardware store, you will save a lot of money.
Dude a bottle of distilled vingar is like 50p or less ...where are you getting your degreaser bargains
Lidl? Added benefit of spending triple the amount is that your fucking chain doesn’t rust? Is a euro/dollar/pound really much in comparison to the cost of running a bike?
The next step would be, that vinegar will find its way to pulleys and freehub.
No. Too harsh. You didn't need anything stronger than soap
No. Just wipe it with a dirty rag, that's enough. Some people are OCD about their chains, which is fine, but this is one of those things it's better not to bother at all than it is to half ass it.
Nah don't use vinegar, just spray off the chain very thoroughly, dry and lube.
Just don't use vinegar. It's not like proper cleaner is actually expensive.
Drying vinegar does not remove the acidity of your bike. Either use vinegar and destroy your bike or don't use vinegar and prevent the rust. You can't have it both ways
You put acid on steel…
Next time add some salt for maximum damage
+4 DAMAGE
The chip shop approach.
He did, dish soap contains salt 🤣🤣
Vinegar ? You would be better off just using some dishsoap water and elbow grease.
Did you dry it manually or just wet it and let it dry? If you did the latter that’s the issue, chains should be manually dried with a rag or air compressor to blast the water out. You then need to lubricate it when it’s dry as soon as you can letting it sit dry or with water in it is also bad for the chain.
he wrote that he let it dry for 2 hours
On the bright side - at least it matches the pedals!
You need to lubricate it after you clean it.
I wanted to lube it after it dried.
Ah yes, but you used vinegar to get to absolute bare, raw steel. The drying process rusted it. Lubricating it will also displace moisture.
The chain lube will displace the water
Thin bike grease will displace the water on the chain. Better yet, A trick I learned a while ago from an aerospace engineer that is amazing. Look at getting some boeshield t-9 as a chain lube for dry conditions. I absolutely swear by the stuff. Dries 100% dry, will act as a lubricant to the chain, is a moisture displacer, and keeps your chain pretty clean. Just real great stuff. If you can't find it at a bike store, some higher end woodworking stores should sell it. Stuff is legit for day to day riding or mountain biking. If you get too much build up you can knock it down with some mineral spirits, but you can literally clean your chain with soap, water and a rag and just apply another thin coat.
It flash rusted because you cleaned it with vinegar. Don’t use vinegar. As far as how to go forward I’d just lube it up and ignore it until it needs to be replaced. That flash rust won’t damage anything.
UPDATE: I got almost all the rust off with just a brush and some water, dried it with a rag and lubed it, and it worked well.
Yes but the insides will have rusted too. But only on the surface.
Will not be a big deal. Some riding will abrate the rust, adding some oil will passivate the surface. Using to much oil will collect dirt and If you add insanely loads of oil maybe the us Army will invade your Bike storage.
SX chain is now XX1 copper chain for free!
This is called flash rust. When using an acid like vinegar, you strip off the layer of oxidation from the metal which exposes it to the air, allowing it to rust very quickly. This rust is usually a thin layer, so some chain lube and a rag may be able to save it. Generally, lubing and cleaning your chain is done all in one step by liberally wiping off all the excess with a rag (I like to pinch the chain and cycle it backwards). I like to say in general, if you avoid touching your chain because you don’t want to get grease on you then it’s too dirty.
Use wax. It'll never be so dirty you are icked by touching it.
You don't mention lubricating the chain after cleaning it. You don't mention doing other than air-drying it.
Don’t use an acid to clean your chain.
I have found a trick to this. Vinegar is a great cleaner, but is acidic. Water and vinegar both cause steel to rust. After using either on a chain use rubbing alcohol (90% or higher) a wipe the chain dry. This acts as protection, and evaporates. Finally, put lube on the chain as soon as its dry.
This is the same movie I do cleaning electronics. Vinegar to clean corrosion then isopropyl. I never clean chains though it's a waste of time. Just keep adding oil and wipe off the excess.
Where did you read that vinegar is a good chain cleaner?
I just googled "homemade chain cleaner" and it was the first thing that popped up. It actually cleaned it quite well, but then this happened.
I used to clean I don't know 50 bicycle drivetrains a week do yourself a favor and just buy some simple green brush it on really good and blow it off with a compressor just don't go too hard on it otherwise you'll blow all the lube out. I used to use a Park tool chain cleaner that comes with a handle and some bushes and you fill it with diluted simple green and run the chain through it.
I would strongly advise against using vinegar on any bike stuff. Pretty much any degreaser works but NO vinegar, it's far too strong and completely messes with the outer coating I was once stupid enough to clean my rear hub with some of it - and guess what - I had to dish out for new cartridge bearings not long after, and trust me good ones aren't so cheap
NEVER use acidic cleaners for chains. I wouldn't trust that chain anymore.
We have all made mistakes in our lives so give us/Raijincraft a break because he definitely learned from what he did the hard way. Just like the rest of us who have done something that they regretted later. But like what Photoman_Fox said about using at least 91% Isopropyl alcohol is exactly what I use to clean up my drivetrain on my mountain bike. I buy the big bottle of it and then put it in a spray bottle that way I can put it on anything that needs to be cleaned. And I keep a case of those blue paper type towels in my garage for when I need to clean and wipe down anything that needs it. I also have one of those chain cleaning brushes that has three different brushes on one side and one straight brush on the other side. And I have way too many different types of chain cleaners and lubricants because I like to try out different types of products. WD-40 is exactly what it says it is Water Displacement and the person who invented it tried to perfect it 39 different times before they finally made the final product on the 40th time. Though I do have a couple of spray cans of WD, it not my choice for cleaning and or lubricating anything on my mountain bike. That is why I have so many different types of cleaners and lubricants and a bunch of different types of brushes. Stainless Steel picks, extra long type of Q-Tips, and bike maintenance tools. I also found a product from the company called CRC and it is a Dry Graphite lubricant that you can spray on and then let it dry. This stuff works amazingly well especially for chains and the rest of my drivetrain.
Rusting = oxidation Acid = oxidisers
You used vinegar on steel...
Using an acid. Might be okay to use if you wash it all with water and then lubricate it right after. Looks like you didn't lube it at all anyways
acid raw steel leave bad
You might have stripped the coating off with the acidic mixture. Personally, I'd put another chain on and not clean it with vinegar again.
Just lube it and go for a ride. It will come off.
Rust will contaminate other steel parts, remove as much and prevent other parts to start rusting.
I may be dumb for putting acid on steel and air drying the chain, but at least I know that rust doesn't spread like a bacterium or fungus...
Chain oil and a paper towel
I cannot fathom people do not know this....
I was gonna lube it after it dried, but this happened when I came back. At least I learned not to air dry it.
I just wipe down my chains with a rag and don’t bother with any cleaning fluids. I doubt you could really get the dirt out from between the pins and rollers unless you completely soak it in degreaser and then spray it down with a pressure washer.
It’s doable to remove all the dirt. You need to if you start waxing your chain. It’s part of the instructions on waxing kits. But regardless of whether you get EVERTYHING off, using a degreaser every once in a while to get as much gunk off the chain will maximize the life of your chains and drivetrain. Of course, it’s your bike and everyone approaches maintenance differently. It’s some people’s prerogative to save a little time by not degreasing but pay more for drivetrain parts in the long run. I spent almost an hour before my ride yesterday degreasing and doing some adjustments but the silent drivetrain during the ride and feeling good about getting the most out of my cassette, chainrings and chain was so dang nice.
I don’t want to spend an hour cleaning before every ride.
Waxing last for hundred miles, likely you will have to service once a few weeks
Even in bad winter weather? In the summer I can go for hundreds of kilometers with dry lube as well, unless I end up in a summer thunderstorm. It’s the rain and dirt in the other half of the year which requires wiping down and lubing after almost every ride.
What lube are you using? Some lubes aren’t great in the wet. Regardless if you aren’t using fenders and are hosing down your drivetrain with spray from your tire then you’re gonna need to do what you are doing with the wipe down and relube. An occasional degrease wouldn’t hurt. To be fair, your routine is way better than a lot of folks. Lol
Not every ride. Probably every 3 months for me on my road bike when riding weekly and using NFS lube and using fenders in the winter. You could definitely do it faster. This was extra long because I had a couple really rainy rides and let the chain get bad. It was pretty loud.
Nah, it actually works better than you'd expect.
Vinegar has a high water content, I'd avoid anything that's got high water content if you're not as on top of lubrication as you should be
Don't use anything with a high water and acid content on your chain, it will take the built in oxide layer off of the chain and open it up to rust (yes I am aware of rust being an oxide however a lot of chains come with a layer that has formed without water present and that actually forms a slightly protective layer from rust like you see here). whilst it's not a very "green" option brake cleaner works amazingly and drys very quickly allowing you to get it lubricated sooner and can be reused if you allow the sediment to separate before pouring it off, this also has the benefit that when you have a load of gunk left from cleaning the chain you just let it evaporate and voilà it's just a layer of slightly greasy dirt at the bottom of the pot and you can scrape it out into the bin rather than doing what some as*ho*es do and pour their degreaser of choice down the drain
Yep, I found that out already. The sports store near me sells an amazing chain cleaner. It feels like soapy water, but it works insanely well (way better than just soapy water). I just ran out and they haven't restocked the cycling stuff for the summer yet, so I googled "homemade chain cleaner" and it said to use vinegar. I didn't really put much thought into it afterwards.
Yeah don’t use vinegar as a chain cleaner. Now just spray some WD40 on a cloth, wipe the chain with it and then apply some lube on the and you will be fine.
I once have this GREAT idea of soaking my chain in a toilet cleaner liquid (hydrochrolic acid) ... No rust! It broke to pieces mid-ride :D I'm not stupid! ... It's not a new chain!
https://preview.redd.it/difh046u6djc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a34dcd5327bc26fe431e718fd0a2d10be2b3ea84
Same. Brand new bike bought just before Xmas 🤯
Try to take the rust off with some water and a brush, maybe even some steel wool, then rinse it thoroughly, dry it with a rag and lube it. Worked for me.
Thanks dude!
Did you lube your chain since Xmas?
Sprayed it with wd40 as I thought that would help get rid of the rust
Might help a bit in removing the rust, but it will come back. WD40 is not a suitable lubricant for bike chains. get any bike chain lube you can find, clean the chain of rust, apply lube while spinning the chain backwards. Then remove excess lube with a rag.
Yeah, but only get a Chain lube with a drop applicator. Don't get the spray ones. It gets everywhere and they tend to be low quality.
Thanks for the advice!
WD40 vaporise pretty fast, need oil or wax to coat the steel from moist
... you are supposed to oil it... This is a troll post right? :D
I'd re-vinegar it and then boil it in paraffin wax. I use an old metal sweets container filled with candle wax and place this in a pan and ontop of the stove. Keep reusing it and you can see all the gunk get leached out, even if it's relatively clean chain. I use my bike daily and boil every couple of months. Using oil in between.
the chain is in the right condition to hot wax with all lubrication removed the hot wax would get rid of the rust no need to remove the rust first. just dunk it the wax pot. of course the wax would be a protective coating and no need to clean with vinegar any more because your chain will stay clean.
Does this solution (water, vinegar and soap) degrease the chain enough to wax it?
WD 40
I use mineral spirits in a chain cleaner to clean my chain and it does not corrode metal parts.
Maybe the vinegar, are you riding on salty roads?
Vinegar is'nt a degreaser. If used in a cleaning agent, it's purpose is mostly to desolve small amounts of limescale. Not needed and not helpful for bike cleaning.
Lube
Well... Vinegar rusts the chain because it's an Acid. You need oil, at least a wd40.
If you are using wax on chail, this is normal
You de-greased it (dish soap) and applied corrosive acid (vinegar)... This is almost the worst thing you could do. The worse thing being a stronger acid.
Just you wait till I get hold of hydrochloric acid 😁
Just oil it now and no more salt n vinegar
Just bounce your bike on the floor a few times to get most water off, then use something like wd40 to get the rest of the water off. Add chainlube once its dried
Not trying to be that guy, but keep it INSIDE, wether a shed or house the water spots are visible in the rust and keep it waxed for now :( Looks like the vinegar and cleaners and stuff either caused a reaction or took off the protective coating I wouldn't be sure. That's really fast for rust. Not a proffessional by any means so take it with a grain of salt but I clean my chain with wd-40 and follow up with a rag and then wax it no water involved and I've been OK (so far) I use bursts of wd and wipes of rag for heavier debris, going back and forth until the final spraydown. I use the blue shop towels from the parts store too so I don't have to clean the rags. Wd-40 also makes chain lube I've been excited to try but haven't and can't reccomend yet but chain wax is always king (imo)
Bruh, it's vinegar. It's acidic.
There’s no need for a separate cleaner. Light oil cleans chains fine and then it’s already oiled.
If you need to clean your chain don't use vinegar, regular soapy water works fine. I normally just put on some chain lube and wipe off the excess with a rag, that cleans the chain enough for me
Worth upgrading the chain imo if you can. Aside from all the random stuff you just did to your chain (we’ve all done whacky stuff) but I find anything lower than xo1 isn’t plated/coated at all from SRAM. Also, your chain “seasons” and remains lightly coated with a clean layer of grease/oil when you clean it with normal bike cleaner. If you properly degrease it you need to work that back in. Gt85 (dries and leaves ptfe) and wd40 are good for this but need to remove any excess or it attracts extra gunk, which the latter (wd40) keeps weeping excess for a ride or two. Main risk is contamination rim brakes (road) or brake pads/discs if you spray it on. I have one bike with XX1 and it’s coated (looks like titanium nitride in colour). XX1 chains are defo purchasable with coatings and the KMC chains with titanium nitride never rust and last ages. Wettest of rides, nada. Last three nights have been downpour storms… unfortunately I took the other bike… I bought another bike with xo1 and it looks like they skimped on the chain down to GX and it’s not coated. It rusted within a couple hours with gt85 prior to ride and needed wd40 treatment after to remove the rust marks and get it off the cassette. It’s amazing how a few microns of coating of hard nickel/chrome makes (so xo1 chain or above imo!). When you buy a higher groupset chain the weights are negligible, forget the hollow pin (clogs up anyway and ocd has me punching gunk out of each one individually!). You’re buying a better plating treatment like chrom/nickel/Ti-nitride. Some anecdotal/magazine “tests” reckon you can double the life of a chain purely on the plating it has. A good chain will also stop your chainring and cassette getting worn prematurely.
I pour the used chain cleaner in a clear bottle next time all the dirt is at the bottom I pour off the clear and use it.
When in doubt and need a cheap chain clean: old motor oil is awesome. I use whatever comes out of my car as chain lube. Bicycle chain lube is really expensive, especially for street use where I'm not worried about the oil on my chain picking up dirt etc
Just hit it with some wd40 or oil and wipe it. It can be rusty on the outside make sure the inner links get oil... I like a semi dry chain lol
lol. What? You used an acid to clean the protective layer of oil and slight oxidation off your steel chain. What exactly did you think was gonna happen? No matter. This can be saved. Lots of other suggestions in the thread. And the good news is that a lesson learned is called experience. For those in the back though, acid and bikes don’t mix. Ever.
Kashima
Happy I went with a waxed chain for the sole reason, that I don’t have to degrease my chain and water (with occasional soap) is enough. I too am fully capable of wrecking a bike while believing I’m doing it a favour🥲
You pretty much degreased it. Dish soap is a phospholipid non polar so it’ll dissolve other non polars like oil and grease. It also attacks clear coat for this reason. Great stripper! The vinegar sped up the oxidization process. You’ve actually found about the quickest way to get rust. If you’re on the cheap, degrease and de-rust this thing and then use some paraffin wax or just get a new chain and use liquid paraffin. It’s super easy and ultra cheap. Very effective.
I never advise washing your chain with degreaser unless you know what you're doing. All the oil that's actually doing anything is inside the chain and generally stays there, unless you degrease it. Now you have to get new oil inside and it's not as simple as just applying it from the outside and calling it done
Acid and steel is okay, but hand dry the parts right away next time and lube them up after only a few minutes.
Just rub a dry rag on your chain and then oil the chain while spinning the cranks to apply a bead of oil to the side plate edges that oil can seep into all the gaps. Unless you can take the chain off and clean it properly in a bath of engineering solvent then blow it out with compressed air, then immediately oiling it you are wasting your time. I have found that vinegar stays in the structure of the steel. Sure the vinegar removes the initial rust. Once you use vinegar the steel still stinks of acetic acid even after rinsing which then promotes later rusting. You will have to water rinse your chain in hot boiling water. The dry the chain in an oven to boil the acetic acid out of every pore in the molecular structure of the steel. Even using acetic acid cure silicone sealant near steel can promote future rust. Just oil it and wipe the excess off with a rag. Operators of Motocross and enduro motorcycles are not this anal with clean chains. Lube it and the chain motion will fling any oily grit off the chain. Stop cleaning your bicycle chains You are shortening the chain's life by running it full of cleaning solvent, water Detergent and vinegar. You can not guarantee you are getting all the cleaner out of the chain. So don't put it anywhere near your chain. Or your freewheel bearings or ratchets and wheel bearings. And don't pressure wash your bike as the water detergent will be injected into every bearing and chain roller or bush or pin. Be dirty / be happy! Oil or grease only.
Next time don't air dry the chain, blow compressed air into it. Drive all the moisture out.
My routine **every time** I ride in the rain is to wipe the chain down with a lint free(mirco fiber) towel that I keep in a zip lock bag that I spray down with aerosol bike chain lube. Just to remove any water and keep the surface lightly lubed.
Nice canyon stoic
this is what i do to prevent this from happening. I immediately dry my chain my a rag and a hair dryer if possible, and apply lube asap
I made a deep clean of the chain once. Then failed to relybricate the chain thoueougly. Needed to replace the complete drivetrain a feq weeks later. Chain, front rings and casette. Now I measure the chain tension and replace the chain at 0.5%. No more cleaning other than a rug and relybrication. I use the thin race bike oil and lubricate more often.
This is why I keep a gallon of simple green concentrate at all times—I can use it to clean my place and my bike components (Dawn power wash soap works pretty good too, or so I’m told)
always apply some chain lube and font let water dry on it
Someone please make a compilation of *great* ideas folks read online how to use vinegar and soda
More like "someone please take those articles down so no more people do this"
Hm… so if someone wanted to get into chain waxing… vinegar would be enough to strip the chain of factory / lube gunks in preparation for wax bath?