Chain Grease on My Right Leg

[kajero]

When I ride my Specialized Ruby Elite WSD size 44 cm I never wind up with chain grease on my right leg.

When I ride my hybrid Trek FX7.6 WSD size small, I always wind up covered with grease on my right leg. I have to really scrub to get it off. I have a much harder time getting off and on the hybrid.

Can someone tell my what I doing to make this happen all the time?

I don't want to wear longer bike pants/pants to avoid this.

Thanks

[Irulan]

Dawn and a scrubbee

[thekarens]

Doesn't seem to matter which of my 3 bikes I ride, somehow I always end up with grease on my leg. Once I had a beautiful imprint of the chain ring and I never had a clue how I had managed that.

I know there are others out there that don't have this problem though :-)

[OakLeaf]

What are you doing when it happens? stopped with your right foot down? try leaning the bike more to the right?

[Skippyak]

I assumed that was normal, in fact, if my leg is ever really clean of grease I know I haven't been riding enough.

[withm]

Chain ring grease is easier to wash off from your leg than it is from your clothes.

[TigerMom]

Chain ring grease is easier to wash off from your leg than it is from your clothes.

I totally agree with the above.

I use Simple Green and a rough cloth to wipe off the grease.

Team Estrogen Members: Let me know what is safe to use on clothes. I don't know if I am supposed to be using the Simple Green on my clothes or not also?

[ny biker]

I clean grease, sunscreen, road grime, gnats, etc. off my legs with Wet Ones. I keep them in my bike bag along with my other gear. I also keep them nearby when I'm cleaning the bike and lubing the chain, so I can clean my hands right away before I get up and touch a light switch or cabinet handle or whatever. They work great to get grease off your skin.

For clothes, I don't know, I just try to pre-treat with regular laundry detergent.

[Irulan]

I used Dawn and/or Simple Green spot treatments, works fine for me.

[OakLeaf]

I prefer olive oil when it's my skin.

[kajero]

Oh My,
I thought I was the only who suffered from this malady. If it is normal, I will just clean it off as suggested.

We went riding today. My SO watched me get off and one the bike. Apparently it is happening when I get on/off the bike and put my foot down by the chain. I tend to lean the bike that way. Maybe I will have to learn to get on/off from the other side.

[Crankin]

Watch how close your calf is to the chain..
I use orange degreaser to take the grease off of my skin. I have put it on cycling clothes (a little to pre-treat), but generally I use regular stain removal stuff on clothing.
I don't have this problem much, as my DH and son teased me mercilessly when I first started riding, about the chain tatoo being the mark of a newbie. My friend, who has been riding for 20+ years, always has a large one when she finishes a ride. I think when she got her new bike, this started, so it's something about the geometry.

[kajero]

That's why I wonder if I should have gotten an XS in a hybrid. It NEVER happens on ruby which is 44cm

[Owlie]

It happens more often with my road bike than with my CX bike, oddly enough. Roadie has a much more sloped top tube, whereas the CX is a more traditional geometry. I don't really care. I just scrub it off when I get home. (The cleanser I use on my face works quite well, actually.)

You can use Simple Green on your clothes, but you run the risk of getting your pants caught in the chain. Much easier just to scrub your leg off.

[OakLeaf]

Apparently it is happening when I get on/off the bike and put my foot down by the chain. I tend to lean the bike that way. Maybe I will have to learn to get on/off from the other side.

You're supposed to lean the bike toward the foot you're putting down. Leaning it the other way would be very awkward and a little dangerous. You might not be aware of it, but the way you get off a bike is by initiating a slight lean first, then putting your foot down as the side of the bike gets closer to the ground.

Chain lube is pretty much normal. But if you're getting it much more from one bike than you are from the other, my guess is it's the difference in the lean angle when you dismount. Which you can control somewhat, but you don't want to be putting your foot down too far away from your center of gravity, either.

[kajero]

OakLeaf . . Thanks.

I have to lean the hybrid way more than the road bike. I think I am leaning correctly because I have to lean it far enough to get my leg over the bike rack. I think it actually happens when I stand the bike up to get ready for riding.

I am taking note of your suggestion to make sure I am doing this lean thing correctly. Otherwise I am going to have to buy a lot of Dawn, Simple Green, Olive Oil, or cleansers. ;)

I think it happens when I bring the bike back up to get ready for riding. I seem to get too close to the chain. At least that is what I think was happening today.

[deanywalker21]

Let's make it a fashion statement: Chain Grease tatoo. I too think it is has to do with the "lean" of the bike. I belive about 1/3 of my longer rides result in this badge of honor. Yes for those wonderful single use packages of Wet Ones. I have even used them to clean my handle bar tape on occassion.

[kajero]

Just think . . . we don't have to go to a tattoo parlor and pay for the tattoos. And we can only have a fresh original one any time we want. No two tattoos will ever be the same, nor will anyone else be sporting your tatoo! :D

[OakLeaf]

There's a former ride leader who has a tat on his right calf that is NOT chain lube, but every time you look at him you THINK it is. :p

[Skippyak]

http://www.tatsandtags.com/bicycle-tattoos-2.html

[malkin]

If I ever bothered to get a tattoo it would be a grease print on my right calf, but since I haven't gotten around to a tattoo in the last half century (or so) it is probably pretty even more unlikely in the next half century (or so).

If you aren't in a place where you can wash conveniently, hand lotion and a purposeful wipe with a tissue or paper towel will usually clean it off.

[nuliajuk]

One possible solution is to apply a skin cream such as Glaxal Base to the area before you ride. That way the chain grease goes onto a barrier layer instead of directly onto your skin and should therefore be easier to remove. Sort of like actors applying cold cream before putting on stage makeup, to make it go on more smoothly and remove more easily.

[kajero]

I just wish I could get on/off the bike without even getting the grease on my leg. "Prevention is worth of pound of cure." Is that the quote though?

[rebeccaC]

If I ever bothered to get a tattoo it would be a grease print on my right calf, but since I haven't gotten around to a tattoo in the last half century (or so) it is probably pretty even more unlikely in the next half century (or so).

If you aren't in a place where you can wash conveniently, hand lotion and a purposeful wipe with a tissue or paper towel will usually clean it off.

C'mon you know you want one!!!! :)
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-xSmNJkM/0/L/i-xSmNJkM-L.jpg

.....and for real ones, as already said, single package Wet Ones ftw!!!!



I just wish I could get on/off the bike without even getting the grease on my leg.

I’d consciously pay attention to when the chain hits my calf until I learned a way to not have it happen often. When stopping I always unclip my left foot and lean that way to keep my right calf away from the chain. I also lean the bike to the left when moving my right leg over it and leave it leaning left while bringing my clipped in right foot to where I want it to power off.

When cleaning my chain after it’s clean and dry I lube each chain roller, let it seep into the internals and run the chain through a clean rag to remove excess. I’ll also give the chain a wipe before and after the first couple of rides to just remove any excess that has seeped out. That should help too.

[marni]

I almost always end up with a clear imprint of the teeth from the front derailleur on the back of my right calf because when I stop I put my right foot down and the push the handle bars away from me a bit and then stand with the bike leaning to the left . If I remember I try to pull the handle bars a bit closer after I step down, but its a hard habit to break. Like someone else commented, if I haven't got a grease imprint or at least a smudge on my leag it is obvious I am not riding enough.

I keep simple green spray bottles in the kitchen and laundry room for cutting counter grease and burn on stick and for spot treating clothes. I buy a bottle of the concentrate and then water it to 50%. I keep handy wipes, Windex window cleaners or Lysol kitchen wipes out by the bike to get the stuff off myself and the bike as I come in from a ride. If I am doing a deep clean on my bike, I use simple green diluted pretty much overall, rinse and dry thoroughly, grease and re-lube and then finish it off with a swipe of pledge furniture spray on the frame to polish it off and keep it a little muck resistant.

[OakLeaf]

Eh, just be glad they're not scars. I've got 35 year old chainring gouges that don't wash off. :cool:

[buffybike]

I prefer olive oil when it's my skin.

This or baby oil.

[thekarens]

Eh, just be glad they're not scars. I've got 35 year old chainring gouges that don't wash off. :cool:

Funny you should say that. I got my first one at Hotter N Hell 100 in August. Gouged my shin good.

[Melalvai]

Baby oil! No scrubbing needed. It just wipes right off.

[lgibster]

When I ride my Specialized Ruby Elite WSD size 44 cm I never wind up with chain grease on my right leg.

When I ride my hybrid Trek FX7.6 WSD size small, I always wind up covered with grease on my right leg. I have to really scrub to get it off. I have a much harder time getting off and on the hybrid.

Can someone tell my what I doing to make this happen all the time?

I don't want to wear longer bike pants/pants to avoid this.

Thanks

That is funny I only have grease on that leg when I ride my Specialized Ruby Elite (WXL) and never have that problem on my mountain bike go figure.

[marni]

of course another solution is to keep your chain obsessively clean but where's the fun in that? Consider them marks of honor and ride on.