chain lube...?

[Biggsy]

That may be so but I'm not going pay out an arm and leg to prove it.

I agree a lot of these products are over-priced.  Fortunately a while back, I got a load of ProLink at half price.

I don't like the Finish Line chain lube either (basic version) - sticky oil.

[Raph]

"And forgot the better ones it seems" - just point out which ones and I'll select those too. 


PS - "I've been using WD40" - years ago (in my teens) I used to use WD40 and I got through chains quite a lot then, and I wasn't any stronger than I am now. Short of using grease, or oil that might solidify in the cold, there's no really any such thing as too thick - except that most oils that are thick are also sticky. Thin is only good for cleaning out the links while you're applying it, so I'd use WD40 to flush it out a bit, but then apply something thicker, and wipe off the outside to reduce the amount of crap it that sticks to it.

I tried GT85 for a while - seemed about the same as WD40, nice and clean as mentioned above but dried out too quick, especially on a hot day, so in the middle of a ride I'd have to rummage in garage bins for motor oil dregs.

[Raph]

"Actually I've only tried Finish Line? and that was a total disappointment." - how?

[fred the great]

To repeat myself, my transmission on a brand new bike was noisy. Hard to explain in detail but it made me look for misalignment of the chain, a tight link, faulty teeth and so on. More by good luck than judgement, I then cast doubts about the Finish Line given to me when I bought the bike.

I wiped off the Finish Line, cleaned the chain with petrol and lubricated it with machine oil. The noise has never been heard since in more than 5 years.

And I would never use WD 40 as a lubricant. It's great for protecting metal parts from rusting and helping to free things. But doesn't seem to prolong chain life.

[Wendy]

WD40 doesn't seem to reduce chain life either, assuming you maintain it often enough according to some folks on BROL who ended up convincing me.  And that's the key - regular maintenance, no matter what you use.

Oh, and whilst I tried the Mickle method with thicker oil, and found it to be a pile of crock, it actually does work rather well with WD40/GT85.  So perhaps I should eat my words, if only with qualification.

[LEE]

White Lightning wet lube was about the best I tried.  Now I use Muck-Off spray lube and 3-in-1 randomly.  

I don't like dry lube, too much cack ends up sticking to the chain (admittedly it is probably the best for keeping bearing surfaces protected)

Every now and again I'll douse a rag in WD40 and run the chain through it just to make the externals a bit shinier but I'd never use it on the bearing surfaces.

I'd be quite surprised if WD40 gave much/any protection against chain wear.

[Wendy]

Whilst oil is indisputably a better lubricant than WD40 for chain wear, that would probably only be the case in a sealed chain environment, not in the reality of open chains that most of use our bikes.  What WD40 loses in lubricant effectiveness it more than gains back in the regular regime it enforces on you.  That's why the chain is so clean and spins so easily.

Oil plus grinding paste is *such* an effective lubricant, isn't it?

[Raph]

"Actually I've only tried Finish Line? and that was a total disappointment."

and:

"To repeat myself, my transmission on a brand new bike was noisy. Hard to explain in detail but it made me look for misalignment of the chain, a tight link, faulty teeth and so on. More by good luck than judgement, I then cast doubts about the Finish Line given to me when I bought the bike."

Not much repetition between those two, but thanks for elucidating. I've never found that Finish Line causes a graunching bike. My only gripe with it is that muck sticks to the residual goo. By the way, transmission on a brand new bike often does grind a bit till it beds in. Maybe that was the reason.



" the regular regime it enforces on you" - I'd rather choose the regime myself thanks. "That's why the chain is so clean and spins so easily." - spins so easily as what? A brick in an empty bucket? I haven't found it to be such a good lubricant - it's great when you've just put it on but within a few miles I can hear the chewing as if I'd forgotten to lube the chain (no, it's definitely coming from the chainrings!). Well, that's how I remember it from decades ago and I haven't used it since - maybe the formula's changed. I'll give it another go - it's cheap so I'd much rather find that it does work.

"Oil plus grinding paste is *such* an effective lubricant, isn't it?" - er, yes... I mean no... can you clarify? Sarcasm doesn't quite make it on computer...



To be fair the only time I've been out in the middle of nowhere and the chain's started to graunch has been on hot windy days, and when I used to use WD40 - the rest of the time the only issue is whether the oil picks up cack, and it seems that is cured more by wiping off the excess than by what sort of oil it is.

Thanks for all the answers - as usual no bombshell conclusion, but it seems it pretty much doesn't matter what you use as long as it's oily!

[Raph]

Just remembered I had a phase of using Pedros Syn-lube of some sort... that was good cos it was a tiny plastic bottle and fitted in the pouch so I carried it around and never had to bother to remember to lube before going out on a ride, I just gave the chain a squirt when it got a bit dry. I might do that again.

[Wendy]

Sarcasm doesn't work on a computer?  You certainly seem to have done a good job, both of detecting it and issueing it yourself.  LOL!

[Raph]

Sarcasm doesn't work on a computer?  You certainly seem to have done a good job, both of detecting it and issueing it yourself.  LOL!

Whoops - sorry! 

ll I meant was I didn't understand what was meant by "Oil plus grinding paste is *such* an effective lubricant, isn't it?"

[Wendy]

Nah, I thought your reply was good, funny too!  No offence taken, I hope none was given by me.

[numbnuts]

I get about 6500 miles/one year out of my chains as I'm a slow rider and spin rather than honk they seem to last and all I use is .......wait for it.......WD40
The chain is washed in white spirit left to dry and then coated in WD40 and left to dry brfore going out, and I apply WD40 every other ride.

[fred the great]

Raph,
Please stop nitpicking. I have explained my transmission issues in this thread and in a few previous threads on here, on ACF and the C+ Forum.

I repeated it at  your request. I have been happy with 3 in 1 oil and latterly with machine oil for about 65 years of cycling. I have only once tried these so called modern lubricants when my Bike shop gave me a bottle of the the stuff. It may well be that the new transmission was not perfect but machine oil solved the problem whereas Finish Line did not

Also, I don't believe WD40 has sufficient body to be suitable for a primary lubricant on a bike transmission. I have never replaced a chain for years

Amen

[Biggsy]

the rest of the time the only issue is whether the oil picks up cack, and it seems that is cured more by wiping off the excess than by what sort of oil it is.

The trouble is that oil continues to ooze from inside the chain to the outside in use after you have wiped off the excess, so it does make a difference what sort it is - in terms of runniness and stickiness.

[Biggsy]

Raph,
Please stop nitpicking. I have explained my transmission issues in this thread and in a few previous threads on here, on ACF and the C+ Forum.

I repeated it at  your request. I have been happy with 3 in 1 oil and latterly with machine oil for about 65 years of cycling. I have only once tried these so called modern lubricants when my Bike shop gave me a bottle of the the stuff. It may well be that the new transmission was not perfect but machine oil solved the problem whereas Finish Line did not

Fair enough, but it doesn't answer the original question for "something that doesn't attract too much crud".  3-in-1 and machine oil does attract much crud, IME.

ps. It may be that a chain lasts for 765 million years despite the crud on the outside, but it's not nice to have the crud anyway, and I guess Raph is concerned about that as well as longetiviy.

[Raph]

WD40 and only every other ride?

I wonder if there's another element to all this - I have a sit-up-and-beg bike I go into town on, it's a single sprocket, Nexus affair... I lube that about once a month if that. Never had any gripes about running dry, except when I've forgotten to lube it for many months. I've used the same gunge on it as any other bike. Never yet used WD40 on it though.

But on any bike with derailleurs, I really notice lube drying out, so much so that I re-apply it every ride and notice if I don't. What's needed here is a blind test - it might turn out I don't actually notice the difference, but "I could swear that WD40 doesn't quite do it"... However that could also be said of all you guys that swear by one or other type of lubricant too!


ljerams - please refer your complaint to my solicitor (pure sarcasm)... seriously though, it's a discussion about chain lube, nothing more serious, so calm down mate! I take on board your suspicion of modern lubricants. There! I love you really!

"I have never replaced a chain for years" - neither have I, so I can't be doing that much wrong, but I was hoping to have less removing the gunged up black paste that gathers around the chain and rear mech. If 3in1 and sewing machine oil does it then maybe that's what I'll use! I'm nether overly skeptic nor anxiously hoping for the next magic formula but I was perhaps naively hoping that fancy modern stuff would be better than the old beef dripping.



"The trouble is that oil continues to ooze from inside the chain to the outside in use after you have wiped off the excess, so it does make a difference what sort it is - in terms of runniness and stickiness."

OK - and your recommendation was Prolink. So I'm narrowing it down - the right viscosity is more important than fancy additives, since on average I don't see that opinions go overwhelmingly for or against modern fancy stuff. So thank you all, even ljerams, for your helpful comments. (sarcasm-free zone!)

[fred the great]

As a single or two product user I don't really know how it compares with others?

But then I have always cleaned my chain regularly and very little dirt builds up. In my youth the bike was used 7 days per week, 6 days commuting to work and on the 7th day it was raced during the season or simply ridden somewhere with my Club in Winter.

I used 3 in 1 in those days and never a problem. I'm not going to change now

Raph, If you wish to compare  two statements, make sure that you are comparing apples with apples. And I don't need to consult my Solicitor 'cos I know more about the Law than he does. Seriously though, try to be a little nicer without the sarcasm.
And very seriously why not ask the makers of WD 40 if it is really  suitable for principle lubrication. They may say yes in certain circumstances but I certainly wouldn't risk it.
Perhaps you should replace the engine oil in your car with WD 40 to prove it to yourself

[Wendy]

Seriously though, try to be a little nicer without the sarcasm.

* BentMikey passes the mirror to ljerams after using it himself. 

[Raph]

"I used 3 in 1 in those days and never a problem. I'm not going to change now" - definitely no reason to change now if it's worked for you. In fact I'm wondering why I ever changed from whatever I first used... but I've forgotten what that was... hence the original question.

"Raph, If you wish to compare  two statements, make sure that you are comparing apples with apples." - which two statements? By the way as I've said above I don't use WD40 as chain lube - so I'm not sure that you and me actually disagree.

While you're comparing apples with apples though - "Perhaps you should replace the engine oil in your car with WD 40 to prove it to yourself" - good point (and excellent sarcasm if I may say so ) but I wouldn't use 3in1 either. Of the two though, point taken WD40 would be worse, but I'm not sure what that particular point proves.

Bentmikey - I genuinely didn't understand what you meant by "Oil plus grinding paste is *such* an effective lubricant, isn't it?" - sounded like a light-hearted jibe (dare I say a sarcasm!) at something but I didn't get what.

Biggsy, "It may be that a chain lasts for 765 million years despite the crud on the outside, but it's not nice to have the crud anyway, and I guess Raph is concerned about that as well as longetiviy." - well, less crud would certainly be nice, but actually it's only really a concern in the context of longevity. If the crud stays on the outside then it doesn't do any harm - I often hesitate to wipe it off cos I think it'll push it in between the links. I only usually wipe a chain after spraying it with WD40 or plusgas to give it a bit of a flush, usually trying to get the stuff out to let proper lube in (apologies to those present who regard WD40 as a perfectly good lube) - after which I apply something thicker or teflon'd or whatever.

[Raph]

PS Bentmikey,

"Sarcasm doesn't work on a computer?  You certainly seem to have done a good job, both of detecting it and issueing it yourself.  LOL!"

The trouble is, what might be said in person as light-hearted sometimes comes across on computer as aggressive sarcasm, in the absence of tone of voice. Sometimes a reply reveals that someone took it the wrong way, but by that time the rot has set in and it's a fisticuffs.

[Biggsy]

Here's an exceptionally good price on ProLink:

eBay Seller: scicoach: prolink  (Try again later if none listed at the moment).

Two bottles for £5.99 posted.

EDIT:  Seems to have sold out already.

[vorsprung]

3 in 1 on my single speed.  19th C lubricant on a 19th C transmission
Finish line green on my audax bike.  Because it's the only stuff that will more or less still be on the chain after 100 miles in the rain
Pro Link Gold on mrs vorsprungs bike chain.  Because it makes it shiney and clean really quickly, less work for me

[ed_o_brain]

My review on Finish Line Cross Country Lubricant

"I like this lube. A lot. I've tried other lubes. More expensive lubes. Dry lubes. Wax lubes. I always end up coming back to this lube. (Have I said lube enough times yet?).

It is a persistent lube. That is, in the worst of the British weather, it does it's best to stay put. I have had it all wash off a chain during a 100 mile ride along the fens of eastern England when it rained persistently for the whole day. And after that I started to try other lubes. And although they looked all fancy in their packets and made great lubey promises I discovered as I tried each lube, none of them were good. So like a naughty husband I returned to my good old faithful lube soon after I realised what I was missing.

It is a messy lube. If you forget to give a good rub down after lubing it will splash about a bit. And a well lubed drive train will go black and gunky. But it is good stuff. My drive trains last reasonably well with this stuff riding all through the winter with a total lack of any other attention, except for lubey love.

I use it all year round on all my bikes, although I might get all tarty and use a cleaner looking lube on my new ace road bike.

Lots of lubey love to you all."

[rogerzilla]

Lots of lubey love to you all.

I feel used.  And a bit sore.