IBy James Edward MillsThe street may have thawed but your bike chain is frozen solid! On that last cold ride of the fall maybe you put your ride away wet. Or maybe you’ve got an old bike you’re restoring. But turn the crank and you’ll find that your chain is a rusty, crusty mass of immobile iron links.
Fortunately a quick Google search turned a cheap and easy solution. The blog “The Density of Unresolved Ideas” posts the answer in: “How to derust your bike charin for less than ten bucks.” http://pnunns.blogspot.com/search?q=derust. It will actually cost even less than that because chances are you have everything you need right in your kitchen cabinet.
Here’s what you do:
Just mix a little salt with regular white vinegar. Put the solution in a spray bottle and spritz your chain thoroughly wherever the rust shows. Then go town on your chain and gears with a toothbrush. A stainless steel wire one works great. You might have to massage each gear individually if they’re really stuck. But in about an hour or so you should get it going again.
With rag, wipe away the salt and vinegar. Then put on your standard chain degreaser. There will be a lot of gunk so keep wiping until you get it clean. Dry it off and apply your favorite chain lube and work it through all your mechanisms until they run smoothly.
You’ll be surprised how easy it is and you’ll have your bike ready to ride again in no time.
Comments
Nice article it is good to find salt and vinegar are good for more than just adding flavor to "pomme the terre frite". One other tip i learned on chains is chain wax. Castrol and others make it. You can heat it up in an old coffee can and dip your chain in it. It does require removing your chain from your bike but it lasts for a long time and the best thing is it is solid at room temperature so it does not attract a lot of dirt.
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