Chain Grease on My Right Leg

[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!

[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.

[Skippyak]

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

[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.

[buffybike]

I prefer olive oil when it's my skin.

This or baby oil.