What lube do you use ?

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've just switched to this stuff


It seems to work very well. Almost no fling, stays on well in wet weather, works it's way into the links. Smells nice, too.

[iakobski]

I've just switched to this stuff
[green oil]

It seems to work very well. Almost no fling, stays on well in wet weather, works it's way into the links. Smells nice, too.

"Green Oil is not based on petrochemicals and contains no palm oil"

Like I said upthread: Mazola. You can get ten whole litres of corn oil for the price of a tiny bottle of Green  Oil.

 

[Jacomus]

Finish Line Pro-Road Ceramic

Stays on well in the wet, no degreasing needed ever, doesn't really pick up grit, excellent slipperyness.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've just switched to this stuff
[green oil]

It seems to work very well. Almost no fling, stays on well in wet weather, works it's way into the links. Smells nice, too.

"Green Oil is not based on petrochemicals and contains no palm oil"

Like I said upthread: Mazola. You can get ten whole litres of corn oil for the price of a tiny bottle of Green  Oil.

 

But it isn't the same.

Cooking oil contains significant amounts of water and other chemicals. I wouldn't put it on my chain.

I rather use a few ml of green oil than litres of Mazola - I don't want litres of oil flinging about my bike and getting on the rims.

[iakobski]

I've just switched to this stuff
[green oil]

It seems to work very well. Almost no fling, stays on well in wet weather, works it's way into the links. Smells nice, too.

"Green Oil is not based on petrochemicals and contains no palm oil"

Like I said upthread: Mazola. You can get ten whole litres of corn oil for the price of a tiny bottle of Green  Oil.

 

But it isn't the same.

Cooking oil contains significant amounts of water and other chemicals. I wouldn't put it on my chain.

I rather use a few ml of green oil than litres of Mazola - I don't want litres of oil flinging about my bike and getting on the rims.

Actually, corn oil is > 99% triglyceride.

I was only joking, now I'm almost tempted to try it.

[citoyen]

I was only joking, now I'm almost tempted to try it.

I thought you were joking. Then I thought you weren't joking. Now I'm just confused...

I use Finish Line Cross Country¹ all year round. I've been happy enough with it so far (been using it exclusively for at least a couple of years) to see no reason to change. I used to use White Lightning but found that it washed off very easily in the rain.

Regarding price... Some people love to comment on the price of fancy specialist lubes and how you can get gallons of chainsaw oil for the same price as a small bottle of Finish Line or White Lightning or whatever, but even a small bottle of FLXC lasts ages and ages and ages, so cost is hardly a big issue - I guess if you run a bike shop and have hundreds of bikes to service, it may make a difference, but for the average punter, surely not?

d.

1. aka "Wet" - have they rebranded it or something? The bottle in my bike toolbox has a different label, but like I said, I've had it ages and ages and there's still a fair bit left, so it may well have changed since my last purchase.

[Mr Larrington]

Snake Oil

[Greenbank]

Snake Oil

with essence of chicken lips.

[innesh]

I used to use Finish Line Cross Country and found it good in the rain but mucky when dry. 

The past couple of years I've been using White Lightning 'Wet Ride'.  Despite the name, it's only OK in the rain, but stays a lot cleaner when it's dry.

[Gus]

Purple Extreme in  winter conditions   (Dec-April)

Rohloff oil in wet conditions (April-Dec)

White lightning in dry conditions ( 1 week/year)

[nicknack]

Halfords Cycle Oil.

IGMC

[TheLurker]

I use Finish Line Cross Country¹ all year round.

+1

...but even a small bottle of FLXC lasts ages and ages and ages, so cost is hardly a big issue

+1.

FL XC/Wet/Whatever it is this week has served me well for 7 or 8 years now.  I've tried a two or three  'dry' lubes during that time on the recommendation of bike shop types, but found that they were pretty crap for commuting in Britain's wonderful climate and went back to FL toot sweet.

[PrettyBoyTim]

Thread resurrection!

So I left my chain on too long and I now have to replace the freewheel on my bike. No biggy, but now I'm replacing the chain and freewheel I'm thinking that as I'll be giving the remaining bits of drivetrain a really good clean (chainset and derailleur), I could consider changing what I'm using to lube my chain.

Currently I'm using some chain oil I bought at my LBS but I'm wondering if there might be some advantages in trying something more 'exotic'. Perhaps I just never cleaned my chain enough but I always had great difficulty getting my chain properly clean although perhaps that was due to being not dilligent enough in cleaning the other bits of the drivetrain. Whatever it was, even if the chain looked clean when I put it back on the bike, black gunk would be in evidence after a few turns of the pedals. Do other lube types help with that kind of thing?

[Biggsy]

The black stuff is mostly metal from the chain, I think.

Progold Prolink stays cleaner than most/all other oil based lubes - but it is very thin and needs frequent re-application if you want your chain kept well lubricated.  This makes it expensive to use.

Hard wax lubes can be even cleaner, but they are even less good at lubricating, and even more expensive in the long run.  (Note that the chain should be thoroughly degreased before applying any wax product for the first time).

Unfortunately there is no simple, practical and reasonably priced answer to this problem.  You either have a dirty chain, or a lot of hassle/expense.

[vorsprung]

I am using prolink gold on the campag C10

It is not any good in very poor conditions and the chain developed a stiff link during a wet 400
Previous to this I used "Finish Line Wet Cross Country" aka finish line with the green lid which I liked
when the prolink gold runs out I will probably switch back to finishline green

On the single speed I use 3 in 1 as victorian technology deserves lubrication from a similar period

[Greenbank]

Summer: Finish Line Dry (the red lid one)
non-Summer: Finish Line Wet (the green lid one)

I get through a lot more Green stuff than I do Red.

[ed_o_brain]

We use the Finish Line Cross Country/Wet lubricant on our bicycles.

I've found sometimes though I either end up applying not enough and it ends up getting washed off or sometimes I apply too much and it splats everywhere.


Edit: Reworded to avoid confusing green oil with the Finish Line that has a green top

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've found the eco green oil very good, apart from one problem; it goes goopy in the cold.

My bike and bike tools are in a garage. The freezing weather has caused the oil to go to the consistency of near-frozen olive oil.

Stays on the chain and lasts a long time tho, doesn't get washed off in the rain.

[numbnuts]

I'm not saying as all I would get back "that's not a lubricant"

[Zoidburg]

I'm not saying as all I would get back "that's not a lubricant"

Are you going to say GT85?

As it does act as a dry lube.

[Biggsy]

Everything is a lubricant.  It's just that some things lubricate better than others!

[Valiant]

3in1 Spray Oil for me. Been using in the sewing machines for years too.

[Wendy]

I'm not saying as all I would get back "that's not a lubricant"

WD40?

You get lots of people saying what a bad idea it is, and then the people who actually use it, who tend to say it keeps the chain clean, lets the chain last, but it does need frequent re-application.

[bobajobrob]

You get lots of people saying what a bad idea it is, and then the people who actually use it, who tend to say it keeps the chain clean, lets the chain last, but it does need frequent re-application.

It also makes your chain sound like a big bag o' nails, with a lot of grit thrown in for good measure

[fhills]

Used to use the various wax lubes but gave up on them.  Though clean I don't think they lube very well at all.

Now use Purple Extreme (truly wonderful stuff) on the best bike and the around town hybrid, which doesn't need to be high performance  is lubed with Finish Line Cross Country all year round.

Don't bother with those fancy chain cleaners any longer either - find them a fiddle, you end up with something you then have to clean and they have a tendency to spill stuff. Also sometimes a hassle getting the bike somewhere I can easily turn the chain backwards.

Just get 2 or 3 1 litre plastic screw top milk bottles - put appropriate amount of diluted chain cleaner in - take Sram chain off bike, drop it in and shake it around, transfer to a bottle with water in - shake it around. One clean chain - no hassle. Let it dry, relube, done.

Paul