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Got a comment about my pic
The chain is cleaned, dried and lubed after every ride. Sometimes GT 85, sometimes Viking Juice. But it still looks like it's lived in the sea. It's smooth rolling, all links move freely, so it's not affecting performance.
But it does look a little ropey.
So how do you keep yours looking nice ?
SRAM PC-1110
Oil on cloth and run chain through so its on side plates.
meh, I don't bother my arse about cosmetic issues
I putoline the chain, then wipe with a rag soaked in GT85 to get the excess black wax off the plates but enough seems to stay to keep it from going too rusty anyway (looks a bit like yours, mind)
Always use X1 11 speed and and X01 12 speed chains. White Lightening dry lube in Summer and White Lightening wet lube the rest of the time. .Never had one look like that.
I don't use GT85 on chains and every so often they are cleaned with Jizer
Two old toothbrushes with the handles taped together and the brushes facing each other. Light squirt of lanolin spray on the brushes which I clamp onto chain above and below then spin the pedals backwards. Chains last ages I check wear with calipers but don’t care what they look like.
Try not using such a shit chain?
Chain came on a £7500 bike. Blame Trek for that bit.
Manufacturers have a tendancy to do that. Fit X01 so it can be seen but skimp on the chain and fit a GX with all the problems SRAM have had with the side plates cracking on the GX ones. Always carry spare chains and swap out anything below X1 X01.
I run the same chains and have no issues.
Some tips on this thread are probably relevant https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/rust-prevention-on-chain-with-drip-on-wax/
Pc1100 is the cheapest chain evverr with no surface coating to speak of, go with what Tracey said
Not only do decent chains look better, they last much longer, so the actual cost is barely any more if you buy carefully. It reflects very badly on manufacturers who fit base level kit to top-end bikes.
I bought a few of those chains because they were really cheap. Turned out to be very poor value.
I'll leave it on there for the rest of winter, i've already got a KMC X10 i can fit along with an unknown until i look in spares box SRAM 11 speed... but i'll pick up one of those others from Tweeks as well
X10 is 10 speed, the pc 1110 is 11 speed?
11 works in 10 but not vice versa (maybe but sub optimal)
I'd also use a proper lube instead of gt85, all the time 👍🏻
Sometimes GT 85, sometimes Viking Juice.
So sometimes you add lubricant and sometimes you rinse the lubricant out and add a light smear of oil that you can rub off to bare metal with a fingertip?
yes, i want the chain lubricated 🙂 I also got the impression GT-85 was a rust inhibitor...
Hey, if you've got better products, i'm all ears.. That's why i created the thread after all.
X10 is 10 speed, the pc 1110 is 11 speed?
11 works in 10 but not vice versa (maybe but sub optimal)
The cassette is techincally a 7sp, but it's a 7 based upon a 10 (i think), people run 10 or 11... it's quite common. We've ran both/either without any issues. The only reason i'd go with 11 is because it's the same as the standard, but i'd have no worries fitting a 10sp either.
The 10 speed chain will run fine as the internal width is the same on 10/11 speed, the outer width on 11 speed is smaller.
10 speed chain may then be marginally stronger so go with a good 10 speed chain 👍🏻👍🏻 with a nickel coating or similar to keep it shiny
Not only do decent chains look better, they last much longer, so the actual cost is barely any more if you buy carefully. <br /><br />
I’ve run XT chains and the 11 speed PC whatever and seen absolutely no difference in longevity.
Some stats on different chains and their wear rates, all under the same test conditions...
PC1110 is literally the cheapest of cheap chains - Trek have sneaked that onto a very expensive bike!
When I was on 11 speed the Sram X1 was a great compromise I thought - better finish than the 1110 and 1130 but a sensible price. That tweeks deal is excellent - I bought 1 last night for my turbo bike.
If you want a bit more bling than the KMC X11EL with the gold coating seems decent too - run those on my road bike through all the commuter gunk and they never seem to corrode.
You wouldn't stick an EL on a DH bike ?
Only chain I've ever had rust badly was a cheap SRAM chain on a Trek funnily enough.
KMC, YBN and Shimano chains on my other bikes all seem happy with a wipe down of GT85 on a rag (all waxed chains so I don't rely on the lube coating the side plates) after a wet ride or wash.
Think you've just got unlucky with the chain!
Maybe not - although that’s not their lightest chain (x11sl has hollow pins / x11 el doesn’t) and I’ve banged out a few 1000w sprints on one with no dramas.
Looks like there is a standard x11 with a gold coating actually too.
So how do you keep yours looking nice ?
I buy XO1 chains. Although I only have 2 bikes rather than your fleet. So whatever's the cheapest with a decent coating on it.
If it was me I would stick the X1 on as soon as it arrives and would order a spare at the same time at that price. When you are competing the last thing you want or even be worrying about is a snapped chain.
Abigale's first race on her latest Enduro we had assumed it was X01 Eagle through out. Chain snapped on third stage. She repaired it and it snapped again. At the end of the race on inspection there were numerous side plates with cracks in them. Quick google an it was a GX chain that had been fitted which at the time was a problem that SRAM were having with them. A bit of due diligence when we bought it and the chain would have been swapped out straight away.
Bought 2
The chain is cleaned, dried and lubed after every ride. Sometimes GT 85, sometimes Viking Juice. But it still looks like it’s lived in the sea.
GT85, WD40, MO84 and anything like them IS NOT A LUBE, especially not under pressure. The idea of a chain lube is the mix of high molecular weight, and high Sulphur content (or esters, or other functional groups) on the hydrocarbon carrier bond with the metal so even when you squeeze the roller together they don't get pushed out. Plus particles that get mushed in the gap (Teflon) or bond directly with the metal (WS2), etc.
Thin oils like GT85 will get in the gaps and allow the metal to slide past each other under light loads, but can actually increase friction under pressure. Imagine the two metal surfaces being covered in small imperfections which act like Velcro. Put two bits together than they cause friction by locking together. Add a load of grease and thge vecro is packed out and can't stick, unless you put enouygh (a lot) pressure tp push the grease out. Now imagine the same with WD40/GT85, it's not thick enough to fill the gaps so barely works. It washes out any actual grease in there, and (this is where the analogy falls apart slightly) lets it slip on a microscopic level until it finds a rough bit where it can really jam together.
On top of that the lower the molecular weight, the more water soluble it is. Which will be why it rusts, GT85 will be washing off. Where an oil or wax wouldn't.
I've just lubed with Muc-off C3 Ceramic 🙂
Interestingly, the FuelEX and Privateer chains are actually without any pitting/corrosion at all.. despite all getting the same attention. So it does seem to lead towards a crap chain.
I've used nothing but GT85 for many years now. Chains last very well and don't rust. Wipe down after every ride and a wipe over. I do agree that XO1 chains seem more long lasting. However, I use chain lube on the motorbike - even though they have x ring and o ring chains, probably for (unfounded) fear of a snapped chain at speed.
Putolined chains (obviously) and give a quick wipe over with silicone oil now and then to try to get rid of water/minimise rust.
I use a few PC 1110 chains, they work and they're cheap if I was a real aesthete I'm sure I'd spend more but I'm not.
I use a few PC 1110 chains, they work
I'd never even looked until the comment what chain was/is on it... It's done the job perfectly well and will deffo be kept as a spare, along with the other 5 spare chains 😀
Does surface rust cause a problem for chains? I see plenty of BSOs riding round with chains covered in rust.
I expect the fine iron oxide powder (rust) accelerates teeth wear and gets transported inside the rollers by lube where it also causes wear.
Noticed a bit of corrosion on the chain the other day.Its the salt on the roads. Dutifully cleaned it in gt85 and a rag, went to find the oil to discover its all leaked out into my solvents/oils/fluids etc tub...bugger.
Went to buy new oil(I'll store it better this time).
NINE POUNDS 😮
The cassette is technically a 7sp, but it’s a 7 based upon a 10 (i think), people run 10 or 11
Say what......
https://www.biketart.com/products/sram-pg-720-11-25t-7-speed-cassette?variant=40809499263155
So it's the dimensions of a 10/11 but has the back 3 cogs replaced with a plastic spacer. This is i think for a number of reasons, from chainline, to not needing massive cogs, running a short cage mech, etc... So you only have capacity for 7 gears. But the 7 speed 'block' is the remnants of a 10/11 speed cassette.
"Fit Shimano Sram 8/9/10 Speed MTB Driver Body
Compatible With 11 Speed Chain Only"
Although we've run 10s plenty of times... but looking at that, i guess the 11 is correct.