Good Idea or Bad Idea?

[LangoPTC]

Hi all,

I am an ATGATT rider and I would rather not put on all my gear just to take a 5 minute ride to heat up my chain and then come home and take off all my gear and get into some old clothes so that I can clean and lube the chain so I was thinking....

Any downside with taking a heat gun to the chain for cleaning / lube purposes? Or would I be better off using a hairdryer so as not to get the chain too hot? Or is this idea without merit?

Any and all input is appreciated.

[CBRockers]

Just put your gear on.

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[Boomer1911A1]

It's not a bad idea, but it might be simpler to use a degreasing spray, like aerosol Berry B12 Chemtool or Gunk or Simple Green. I can't see them doing any more harm to your o-rings than the heat gun. You'd still clean the chain without having to ride.

[shisoshin]

how long does it take to put on your helmet, then
ride 5 mins wearing the old comfortable clothes..

riding, compared to blowdryer or heat gun not only raises temp
but ensures heat distribution and total chain movements..

heat gun on rubber O rings sounds a bit iffy..
hair dryer sounds interesting,, you could use it to
heat up the tires before going on the 5 min ride...

[Conundrum]

Simple solution -- Why ride for only 5 mins? Typically when I want to do the chain, I'll go out for an hour or so, and just clean and lube it afterwards.

[Jme250RA]

I also clean and lube my chain after a ride.

[MotoMike]

Back in the day, before o-ring chains became commonplace, SOP was to lubricate a drive chain that was warmed up (such as after a ride) so that the lubricant would be drawn inside the rollers, to create a film of lubricant between the roller and pin. With today's o-ring drive chains the roller/pin is factory lubed and then effectively sealed by the o-ring. So in theory, it's not really necessary to warm up the chain prior to lubricating it... your chain lube is not going to penetrate past the o-rings anyway. Unless you use a blow torch. Which would be a very bad idea.

By lubricating an o-ring chain, you are primarily accomplishing two things... preventing exterior rust, and providing a film of lubricant between the rollers and the teeth of the sprockets. Which is a good idea.

[Matao87]

If you really want the chain to be warm when you clean it, put on the gear and ride. If you really don't want to put on the gear, clean it cold, will be just as effective. But I can not recommend heating it up by any artificial means, that has disaster written all over it.

[shisoshin]

also back in the day, used to take chain off [first linking in some old chain
to pull over countershaft sprocket for easy re-install] then heating it up
in [used] oil in a pan over a small fire [like a campfire], hanging it up
to drain, then re-installing and adjusting carefully..
[saw my dad doing same as a boy]

then one day i got a nice new american made o-ring chain,
[and sprockets] which, with obsessive alignments/adjusting,
lasted forever [on cb750sohc/4]...

today they almost maintain themselves

[LangoPTC]

I'm all for cleaning and lubing the chain cold if it is just as effective. Works for me! Thanks all!