Chain skipping

[TunaPhish84]

I've just had a new chain (Shimano) fitted as part of a service on my bike and it's currently skipping badly on the sprockets.

I've done 3000miles on the bike and had a change of chain at 1500miles and now a second at 3000. Both times chain wear was acceptable (this last change was prompted by a chainchecker reading of just under 75%) so I would hope that the cassette doesn't need replacing yet.

The first time I had the chain changed there was some skipping (though not as bad as this time) which settled quite quickly and I did notice that this time the skipping did improve over the short 3 mile ride from the LBS. Is the problem just a case of riding it out?

I also noticed that the new chain is very oily/greasy, including the outer surfaces of the rollers, presumably is was coated in something after manufacture. Would running the chain through a chain bath and degreasing it and re-lubing help?

Thanks for any thoughts,

[grahamdog]

What do you mean by "gritty noises" and "dry noises"?

The LBS recommended an aeresol PTFE lube for dry chain lubrication, which I bought. Is it okay to use this lube alone after a thorough degreasing of the chain, or do I need something like White Lightning for proper internal lubrication of a squeaky-clean chain?

[TunaPhish84]

Thanks for all the thoughts. It turned out that it was sprocket wear which suprised me since I've only done 3000 miles on this cassette, changed the chain (the first was a KMC and the second a SRAM PC58) and have always been careful to clean the chain and lube it regularly. A new HG60 (11-30)
cassette popped on by the bike shop works like a dream. I guess that the sprocket wear probably led to premature wearing of the chain. The chainrings were fine fortunately.

I was surprised by both the wear on the cassette (HG40-8I megarange 11-34)
and the chain considering the amount of time I've spent cleaning and lubeing. The HG40 was a bit cheap 'n flexy (the new cassette 'feels' much nicer) but even so the wear seemed excessive. Could there be something I've been doing wrong with my maintainence routine that might lead to premature wear?

I tend to clean the chain with a rag if it's just oily or, if it's dirty, in a chainbath using Finishline Citrus Degreaser diluted with water 5:1 as recommended then rinse with water, dry and apply lube, leave to work in and then wipe of the excess lube with a rag. I've recently moved from using
Finishline Cross Country lube (which tends to attract dirt) to Finishline
Teflon Plus.

I tend to do this when the chain is either visibly dirty on sounding in need of lube. If the chain looks clean but needs lube then I usually just run it through a rag and re-lube.

Am I doing anything wrong?

Thanks for any thoughts

[super dude]

actually caused by rusty / sticking pulleys. Now I lube them when I do the chain.

Wish I'd realized that before I fiddled around with chain length and the b-tension screw :-(

[super dude]

know of anyone using it - maybe shops prefer to sell new cassettes ? :-)

Has anybody mentioned stiff link(s) as a possibility ?

As I recall, Shimano doesn't have the PowerLink (tm) or equivalent, so you press in the pin and then loosen the plates (?) with the chain tool, or by bending the chain a certain way. A stiff link might work itself loose in a few km.
I can't imagined a new chain wearing enough in a few km to suddenly stop skipping on a worn cassette.

www.sheldonbrown.com or the rec.bicycles faq or even Shimano should have something about this.

?

SRAM chains are coated with a heavy lubricant which they claim is very effective. Don't know SHimano. Some of the chain lubes, such as ProLink, advise application onto bare metal.

I usually ride a few hundred km on the original lube, then clean the chain thoroughly and swotch to ProLink. I also found
Boeshield worked well, but I can't find it locally and it needed to set up overnight. YMMV.

Lots in the above resources about cleaning and lubing chains.
Lube on the outside may deter rust, but doesn't help the pins and rollers. I usually wipe of the surplus. It's the inner bearing surfaces which must be clean and lubricated.

[warrior62]

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If everything is new or new-ish then it could be derailleur adjustment or hanger alignment. Is it climbing up a cog or down a cog? 75% wear is quite a bit. I would degrease the chain as much aas possible. Then I would check for chain wear.

[super dude]

Water affects some chain lubes more than others. I usually relube after riding in heavy rain or through deep(er than expected)
puddles.

I use an on-bike (scrubber) cleaner when the chain seems to need it. Change the solvent 3-4 times until it stays clear.

ProLink (search GOOGLE GROUPS for other recommendations)
seems to work quite well.

I'm trying to rotate chains, i.e. use A 2000 km, install new chain B, use 2000 km, install new chain C, use for 2000 km, install new chain D, use for 2000 km, install used chain A, use for ... etc.

Intuitively, this will avoid putting a brand-new chain onto a badly worn cassette.

I find that a new chain does seem to shift better, perhaps there's less side-to-side felxibility, or the original lube is more effective. I dunno.