| Cycle Touring Parts | Chain Maintenance |
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Over time a chain wears in sync with the
teeth of the gears. The dirtier, more gritty
the chain becomes, the more it wears.
To change a chain in the middle of a tour
without changing the rear gears can cause
problems. It is not unusual for the new
chain to never really seat properly on worn
gears, causing jumpy shifting.
A clean chain will minimize the wear but
keeping a chain clean on tour is more
difficult than at home. On a rainy day while
riding down a muddy road the grit seems
to cling to it. A clean, dry rag never seems
to appear when it is most needed.
Before leaving home the cycle tourist might
consider treating their chain with a wax
based chain lubricant such as White
Lightening.
teeth of the gears. The dirtier, more gritty
the chain becomes, the more it wears.
To change a chain in the middle of a tour
without changing the rear gears can cause
problems. It is not unusual for the new
chain to never really seat properly on worn
gears, causing jumpy shifting.
A clean chain will minimize the wear but
keeping a chain clean on tour is more
difficult than at home. On a rainy day while
riding down a muddy road the grit seems
to cling to it. A clean, dry rag never seems
to appear when it is most needed.
Before leaving home the cycle tourist might
consider treating their chain with a wax
based chain lubricant such as White
Lightening.
After six months of cycling around Southeast
Asia we got caught by heavy rains while
returning to Bangkok for an extended rest.
Rich put our bikes on a balcony at the hostel
and left them there, untouched, for more than
a week. Another cycle tourist who had locked
his bike on the same balcony mentioned, "I
think your chain is a bit rusty". Still, it took
Rich another few days to take a look. By the
time he got around to it our chains had rusted
to the point where many of the links had seized.
It took five hours of miserable, greasy work to
get them clean and well oiled once again.
Asia we got caught by heavy rains while
returning to Bangkok for an extended rest.
Rich put our bikes on a balcony at the hostel
and left them there, untouched, for more than
a week. Another cycle tourist who had locked
his bike on the same balcony mentioned, "I
think your chain is a bit rusty". Still, it took
Rich another few days to take a look. By the
time he got around to it our chains had rusted
to the point where many of the links had seized.
It took five hours of miserable, greasy work to
get them clean and well oiled once again.
| Our Own Stupidity! |
| We have not been sponsored by any company. If a product stinks, we'll tell you |
| We purchased much of our gear second-hand through ebay |