Favorite Chain Lube
- Thread starter jwroubaix
- Start date
Motor oil does work, but it attracts dirt like flies to a dead carcass and dirt is not good for chain. Unless you want to clean your chain after every ride I cannot recommend motor oil. Also wax like lubes are not lubes at all thus the chain will wear out faster but it will stay clean; see: http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html Also read the last paragraph concerning motor oil.
Show me this miracle oil that does not attract dust, dirt, grit, dead insects, wood pulp, crushed leaves and the detritus found on our roads.
And I want to meet the snake oil salesman that is selling it and hire him away to my company for outside sales work.
And Sheldon Brown was full of ****.
"•Automotive motor oil contains detergent, to wash away combustion products, and is made to be renewed constantly under pressure from the motor's oil pump."
Bull. ****ing. ****. As long as there is oil on the chain, be it high detergent or non-detergent, it is lubricating. End. Of. Discussion.
"I rode once with someone who had used it the day before, and her chain was already squeaking."
********! I've used detergent and non-detergent motorcycle, aircraft and automotive oils of varying weights for DECADES and unless my bike and I were blasting through hours of torrential downpours and floods of Biblical proportions that WASHED the oil off my chain...my bike chain NEVER EVER, NOT ONE TIME "squeaked" due to detergent motor oil. And other than something like automotive grease, pretty much whatever the Hell uber boutique lube we spray on out chains will wash off with equal speed those conditions. Yes, even the pro mechanics grease their riders chains for those epic wet stages of the Tour and Giro we see on the silver screen. Why??? Because whatever snake oil their sponsors give them...it ain't worth **** **** in 200 Km of Euro-rain and grit spraying the chain at 30-40 KPH for 5 hours.
And while we're on the subject...
Sheldon Brown is, frankly, full of **** when it comes to automotive oil on a bike chain...not speaking ill of the dead mind you. He's just plain clueless.
Besides, every service station in America sell NON-detergent oil for even less money than the rot gut detergent house brands they sell if you believe that line of Sterno Bum Juice he's pedaling. How tough is that?
Oil is pretty much oil.
Some kinds are a little better at corrosion control. Some cling a little bit better than others. Some break down in a slightly longer period of time. In the time period a bike chain gets used and then cleaned for the average schmuck or Cat. 3 racer type...it matters not...but, the marketing godz all have use using the stuff that makes us cool kids!
A bicycle chain / gears is not some high-speed, computer controlled device operating at extreme temperatures or pressures great enough to crush a black hole. Pretty much any oil will do...and short of any of us being Alberto Contador looking for 2.4 Watts from the latest boron-silicon-ceramic-fusion formula born out the fires of a Formula 1 engine mated with a Moto GP bike and the Space Shuttle Main Motor Turbopump's bearing lubricant we gain very little for the $8/3 ounces the local bike shops make us feel like kings of the first world for buying.
Oh wait...that's...MOTOR oil.
And I want to meet the snake oil salesman that is selling it and hire him away to my company for outside sales work.
And Sheldon Brown was full of ****.
"•Automotive motor oil contains detergent, to wash away combustion products, and is made to be renewed constantly under pressure from the motor's oil pump."
Bull. ****ing. ****. As long as there is oil on the chain, be it high detergent or non-detergent, it is lubricating. End. Of. Discussion.
"I rode once with someone who had used it the day before, and her chain was already squeaking."
********! I've used detergent and non-detergent motorcycle, aircraft and automotive oils of varying weights for DECADES and unless my bike and I were blasting through hours of torrential downpours and floods of Biblical proportions that WASHED the oil off my chain...my bike chain NEVER EVER, NOT ONE TIME "squeaked" due to detergent motor oil. And other than something like automotive grease, pretty much whatever the Hell uber boutique lube we spray on out chains will wash off with equal speed those conditions. Yes, even the pro mechanics grease their riders chains for those epic wet stages of the Tour and Giro we see on the silver screen. Why??? Because whatever snake oil their sponsors give them...it ain't worth **** **** in 200 Km of Euro-rain and grit spraying the chain at 30-40 KPH for 5 hours.
And while we're on the subject...
Sheldon Brown is, frankly, full of **** when it comes to automotive oil on a bike chain...not speaking ill of the dead mind you. He's just plain clueless.
Besides, every service station in America sell NON-detergent oil for even less money than the rot gut detergent house brands they sell if you believe that line of Sterno Bum Juice he's pedaling. How tough is that?
Oil is pretty much oil.
Some kinds are a little better at corrosion control. Some cling a little bit better than others. Some break down in a slightly longer period of time. In the time period a bike chain gets used and then cleaned for the average schmuck or Cat. 3 racer type...it matters not...but, the marketing godz all have use using the stuff that makes us cool kids!
A bicycle chain / gears is not some high-speed, computer controlled device operating at extreme temperatures or pressures great enough to crush a black hole. Pretty much any oil will do...and short of any of us being Alberto Contador looking for 2.4 Watts from the latest boron-silicon-ceramic-fusion formula born out the fires of a Formula 1 engine mated with a Moto GP bike and the Space Shuttle Main Motor Turbopump's bearing lubricant we gain very little for the $8/3 ounces the local bike shops make us feel like kings of the first world for buying.
Oh wait...that's...MOTOR oil.
I think Campy has been spot on. To further his train of thought, I think you can pretty much lubricate with whatever you want as long as you clean the Cain regularly, and then relubricate. Dirt and grime are just as big a culprit as not lubricating the chain.
Use whatever cleaner you want, use whatever lube you want... Just do it regularly.
Use whatever cleaner you want, use whatever lube you want... Just do it regularly.
The stuff I use smells suspiciously like 80 weight gear oil thinned with ATF. 
But man, does it last.
But man, does it last.
I have been using WD-40 for my chains since I started cycling years ago. It's pretty reliable and works pretty well. When cleaning my chains, I use diesel fuel and it works great.
ChainL works well. It does smell bad. But it lasts and keeps the drivetrain quiet. And just like motor oil, it needs to be changed periodically.
Quote by Jojo83:
"I use diesel fuel and it works great."
Here is the advice of a smart and practical rider.
Diesel fuel and kerosene are among the best solvents for cleaning an oily, dirty chain. They are relatively safe...although I recommend outside use only and please, no Cuban cigars while cleaning!...and both leave a light film on the clean steel.
Personally, I do not recommend WD-40, but I have known many riders that used it with no adverse effects. WD-40's bike products, on the other hand, are as good as 'most' of the other bike lube products.
Like dad explained to me decades ago when teaching me about the world of cars and snake oil, "Son, you could **** in the crankcase and be fine as long as you changed the **** often enough.".
"I use diesel fuel and it works great."
Here is the advice of a smart and practical rider.
Diesel fuel and kerosene are among the best solvents for cleaning an oily, dirty chain. They are relatively safe...although I recommend outside use only and please, no Cuban cigars while cleaning!...and both leave a light film on the clean steel.
Personally, I do not recommend WD-40, but I have known many riders that used it with no adverse effects. WD-40's bike products, on the other hand, are as good as 'most' of the other bike lube products.
Like dad explained to me decades ago when teaching me about the world of cars and snake oil, "Son, you could **** in the crankcase and be fine as long as you changed the **** often enough.".
Diesel fuel is the same, chemically, as #2 heating oil. You can put a match out in #2 fuel oil.
I use naphtha as a solvent. Not much more volatile than kerosene, and it smells better. Brings back memories of my long dead dad firing up his Zippo.
I use naphtha as a solvent. Not much more volatile than kerosene, and it smells better. Brings back memories of my long dead dad firing up his Zippo.
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