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Bike Oil and a Chain question

1K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  orlowskij 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

Took my rear wheel off for the first time today! (I needed to do something with my bike or I was going to explode!) That went successfully, but in reading a little on how to do it, I ended up reading a ton of articles on bike maintenance. Most of them mentioned oiling up certain parts during your routine maintenance (derailleurs, seat post, saddle contact points, etc.) I was just curious what you all use for this, and what spots do you oil regularly.

After I put the wheel back on, I tuned the rear derailleur. My issue now is that on the 4th smallest cog, the chain sounds like it is attempting to jump to a different cog (I'm not positive which way). This is the only cog on which this happens, and it does not actually jump, but does shift cleanly. The only possible explanation I've found is that a pin in the chain is sticking out slightly and causes it to jump. For reference, the bike has SRAM Apex and the cassette and chain only have a few hundred miles on them.

Thanks!

Chris
 
#2 ·
Did it do that before you tuned your RD?

When you're in that fourth cog, is the upper pulley directly under the cog teeth or is it offset one way or the other?

As for routine maintenance, I take my chain off the bike and thoroughly clean it and relube it every 1k miles or so, take the cassette off and clean that and disassemble the RD pulleys and clean them. I'll put a little fresh grease back on the pulley bearings when I'm done but I don't routinely oil dereailleurs. I definitely don't oil up my seat or seat post. If the drive train gets noisy then I'll clean it early, or if I ride through a sandy area (beach).
 
#3 ·
Hi everyone,

Took my rear wheel off for the first time today! (I needed to do something with my bike or I was going to explode!) That went successfully, but in reading a little on how to do it, I ended up reading a ton of articles on bike maintenance. Most of them mentioned oiling up certain parts during your routine maintenance (derailleurs, seat post, saddle contact points, etc.) I was just curious what you all use for this, and what spots do you oil regularly.

After I put the wheel back on, I tuned the rear derailleur. My issue now is that on the 4th smallest cog, the chain sounds like it is attempting to jump to a different cog (I'm not positive which way). This is the only cog on which this happens, and it does not actually jump, but does shift cleanly. The only possible explanation I've found is that a pin in the chain is sticking out slightly and causes it to jump. For reference, the bike has SRAM Apex and the cassette and chain only have a few hundred miles on them.
Sounds liike you adjusted your derailleur out of adjustment. When you say you can't tell which way the chain is trying to jump please explain why - you should be able to easily see if the upper derailleur pulley is not centered on the cog and is trying to move the chain one way or the other.

I do the standard ProLink/home brew chain treatment every 350 miles or so. I tear the bike down to the frame and clean/lube everything every 10,000 miles or so (every winter). Unless something requires maintenance (is not performing properly) I find that nothing besides the chain requires lube more than once a year. If you get caught in the rain a lot this obviously changes things but occasional wet weather is not an issue depending on the quality of your components and the quality of your maintenance.
 
#4 ·
push very slightly on the derailleur when it's making noise...if it get worse and then tries to shift, you have too much cable tension. if it gets quiet, then you don't have enough cable tension. adjust accordingly. it's odd that it only does this in one gear. you should check (or have checked) the alignment of the derialleur hanger.
 
#5 ·
... Took my rear wheel off for the first time today! (I needed to do something with my bike or I was going to explode!) That went successfully, but in reading a little on how to do it, I ended up reading a ton of articles on bike maintenance. ............
....After I put the wheel back on, I tuned the rear derailleur.
I think you may have started in the middle of your story... instead of in the beginning.

I would guess that you may have been having a problem with your bicycles shifting before you took your tire off.... but I can't guess why you took the tire off.

Sometimes a minor crash will bend the derailleur hanger... that would cause things like poor shifting or even the chain falling off. I guess you could have taken the tire off to replace the chain?

Ether the derailleur is adjusted correctly or it isn't. You might have needed to adjust the cable tension (a little barrel adjuster)... but you likely created a new problem by tuning the derailleur.

You might be better off getting the bicycle in the shop for adjustments before the weather breaks and a long wait for repairs and tune-ups develops. Get yourself a bicycle repair manual and read a lot here too. Youtube videos are good as well for learning wrenching.

Best of luck!
 
#6 ·
Trojan, It didn't do it before, but I got it all squared away now. Just took it for 10 miles and everything is purring perfectly. So that's all good.

Is there anything in particular you use for the grease on the RD pulleys? Also, I've been wanting to take my chain off for a thorough cleaning, and I just did some reading on it. Its a SRAM Apex 10-sp with a Powerlock link. Unfortunately this link is a one time only, easy disconnect link. I see that SRAM has chains with their Powerlink, multi-use quick release link for 8- and 9- speed chains. I really want to be able to take off the chain whenever I need to without replacing the link each time. Can I just buy a quick link and put it in place of the Powerlock link?

Thanks for all the input!

Chris
 
#8 ·
1) you don't grease the rear derailleur pulleys, you grease the bearings inside the pulleys. you grease the pulleys you'll have a huge mess. any light bearing grease will work.
2) you can either buy a new SRAM powerlink every time you take the chain off, or you can buy a Wipperman link, which you can take on and off repeatedly. your chain should never really get so dirty you have to take it off to clean it, though. if it does, you're doing something wrong.
 
#7 ·
Wow, a self adjusting rear derailer. Maybe that SRAM stuff isn't cr@p after all.

I clean my bike when it needs it -- maybe every 300 miles, or after i get caught in the rain. I take the wheels off, clean the cassette with a Park Cassette brush and Zepp citrus degreaser (from Home Depot -- $12/gallon, or get similar degreaser from a bike shop for 10X as much). I clean the chain and chain rings (both sides) with a tooth brush and the Zepp. Finally, I use a green kitchen abrasive pad and some dish soap to clean the wheel braking surfaces and the brake pads. Soap up a sponge and go over it with a hose and I'm done. It takes maybe 30-40 minutes.

All I ever lube is the chain. Once in a while I put some grease on the seatpost. I rarely ever remove the cassette, or the chain. I do use those SRAM links on all my bikes. I hate those stupid pins that come with Shimano chains. The chains themselves are great. You can buy them anywhere for a few bucks. Several companies make them these days -- even for 11-speed chains. You sure what you have is a "one time only" link? I've never heard of that.

If I were in the habit of taking my chain off, I'd keep a bottle of mineral spirits around to soak it in. That stuff works well.

I understand that when you first get into biking, you want to tinker, but the old adage, if it ain't broken -- don't fix it really applies to bikes. They really don't need a ton of maintenence.
 
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