Hi Frito,
Your local bike shop can likely provide a small chunk of compatible chain, since most of the time a new chain gets cut down a bit before installation.
I'm experiencing the bicycle chain version of "shock and awe" that you "easily get about 20,000km out of one (chain) before it needs replacing", especially given the stated maintenance regimen of polishing the exterior of the chain every 300-500 km with a water dispersant product (the "WD" in WD-40) not formulated as a lubricant. Can you give more details about where you ride and your maintenance procedure? Do you use a chain wear measuring tool or a ruler to measure elongation of the chain? If so, what is the % wear or measured length increase after 20,000km? What brand of chain do you get this kind of life out of with such minimal care? I'm definitely switching brands!
BTW, no crockpot is required for waxing, though some folks find that convenient. I've been waxing chains for 25 years using just a small pot (maybe 700ml) purchased at a garage sale for a dollar or two.
Cheers,
-Jack
Sure thing braddah. I am in Tokyo, and I ride that bike (now the V20 as well) along the Arakawa river for about 85-90% of my total mileage. Tokyo is humid in Summer, and it rains a lot from the beginning of June through the middle of July usually. However, I very rarely ride in the rain unless I get caught in it accidentally, and my bike is always stored inside. 1 thing to note is that the cycling path on Arakawa is alway super clean from (1) no cars, (2) a lot of grass on both sides of it instead of dust and dirt, (3) no one throws trash on it, it does rain often enough to wash a lot of the residual dust off. My thinking on using WD40 is that it is less viscous than grease, and of course it doesn't allow water to stick to the chain.
Now for maintenance...
When I first get the chain I wipe it with rags to remove as much of the grease as possible before placing it in a jar of what I believe is Japanese paint thinner. After that I size it, and then put on the bike. Put the chain in "Biggie Smalls" and cupping a towel around the bottom, with the red straw I spray the chain along the bottom being careful not to get WD40 on the wheels. Rotate the cranks backwards to bring up a new section of chain and repeat spraying it until all the links had some WD40 blasted inside the important parts. I then wrap the chain with the same towel and rotate the cranks backwards for about 30 seconds, soaking up some of the excess WD40. Then I will use another dry rag to do the same thing until there is a very light film of WD40 on the outside part of the chain, almost dry so dust can't stick to it as easily as in if it were more wet, and there is almost no marks on the towel.
At the end of each ride, I use a wet towel to clean the wheels before bringing my bike inside, but I will also use a towel to wrap around the chain and spin it backwards to remove some of the day's dust that collected on the outside of the chain. I'll keep re-using the towel if it isn't too dirty and because it still has a bit of WD40 leftover. If it doesn't then I will spray a little on the towel so it will leave another very light coat on the chain. When I see gunk accumulating on the inside between the links then I will go ahead and blast it again with the WD40. Depending on the conditions it ranges from about 300-500km.
I didn't measure my chain to know how much stretch I had, but I am using a Campagnolo Chorus chain on my road bike. When I changed it earlier in the year it was just starting to give me shifting problems so while at the bike shop buying PF30 cups I went ahead and swapped the chain at the same time.
That is good to hear about the small pot for waxing the chain. When I took my V20 to the shop to buy and install new wheels, the front assembly fell apart and it looked like I had a fight inside the dirty cranks bin by the time I got the front wheel back on. And not 1 MFer helped me. Gobs of people just walked by with surprised looks at the foreigner who was cussing at his bike laying on some cardboard boxes like a homeless person in the middle of Tokyo. So, I might wax for the V20 for that reason alone.
