Can anyone tell me if i could use WD40 as chain lube, i was thinking of using it instead of expensive lube,what i was planning to do was spray some on eveytime i go out riding,the reasoning for WD40 is it evaporates away so it doesn't attract dirt so none of the sludge that builds up on your chain,any thoughts on this.
Been there, tried that. If it's evaporated, it won't be lubricating. Actually, it takes time for the majority to evaporate, leaving your wheel rim to get splattered by the runny liquid in the mentime, which turns black when ridden, by the way. Some dirt will still stick and work its way in and won't be flushed out by squirting more WD40 on, unless perhaps a whole can is used.
I'm afraid there's no magic answer. There's at least one considerable downside to every chain lube. The cleanest ones are very expensive for a start.
Inventors: self lubricting chain please. Get cracking! :-)
Nice answers Simon and Tone but I'd like a self-lubing *dry* chain. Metal that sheds a fine lubricating dust or something.... I do realise I'm in Cloud Cuckooland, of course.... as usual :-)
Inventors: self lubricting chain please. Get cracking! :-)
A lot of motorcycles use chains with two O-ring seals on every pin; the use of WD40 or similar on the outside prevents rust (or it would if I could be arsed to so it, which I never am) and the factory grease on the inside keeps the pins lubed. I should imagine the major cause of chain stretch (which of course is NOT stretch, but the opening up of internal clearances due to wear between plates and pins resulting in increasing pitch errors) is much reduced by sealing the dirt out - IME nothing buggers up tight clearances quicker than a nice road grime grinding paste.
Of course, motorcycle chains are much bigger than bicycle chains, it would be difficult to seal a bicyle chain using O-rings. Also I assume a sealed chain would be less efficient what with seal friction and all.
But then, bicycle chain is cheap enough (£8 for the fixer!!) so who needs seals?
Nice answers Simon and Tone but I'd like a self-lubing *dry* chain. Metal that sheds a fine lubricating dust or something.... I do realise I'm in Cloud Cuckooland, of course.... as usual :-)
Would be nice if graphite could be used in some way.
Can anyone tell me if i could use WD40 as chain lube, i was thinking of using it instead of expensive lube,what i was planning to do was spray some on eveytime i go out riding,
You can, provided you do exactly that - spray it on *every* time you use the bike. If you don't use the bike frequently, it is probably a good idea to use it after each ride too. If you use the bike a lot, all that spraying of WD40 is probably going to work out more expensive than lubricating the chain properly.
Quoted message said:
the reasoning for WD40 is it evaporates away so it doesn't attract dirt so none of the sludge that builds up on your chain,any thoughts on this.
It was the recommended chain lubricant on the Bickerton for just that reason - it stopped the inside of the bag getting horribly dirty and greasy when the bike was folded up. This is probably a good idea for folders that get put in bags, but I reckon it's better to use a proper lubricant for everything else.
If there's no more energy absorbed by an unlubricated chain, it seems unlikely it would wear faster. But that's where the "in laboratory conditions" makes an important difference. They speculate that the main job of lubricant is to be something that isn't dirt, because dirt can act as a grinding paste which does effect efficiency and wear. (So can rust, which is one reason a water dispersant like WD-40 is better than nothing.)
I'd only expect rust to be a problem if the chain got wet, in which case the water might carry more grit into an unlubricated chain than a lubricated one. If the unlubricated chain doesn't suffer from stiff links in the lab, then presumably if it does on the road that's because of dirt getting in (then not into the same place that causes "stretch"😉, or because of rust.
Unlubricated chain being ridden/stored in damp air is enough to cause rust, unfortunately, then probably stiff links because of it.
