Lubing for long distance...

[quixoticgeek]

Am pondering chain lube. My bottle of what ever the Dutch LBS gave me when I asked for chain lube (asked in English), Is running out soon.

I'm after something that is an effective lube and lasts a while. I'm currently doing over 400km a month, and that's only going to go up. I'd quite like to not have to lube my chain daily. Are there any options that are likely to last 2000km between applications? is this wishful thinking?
What are other peoples strategies for lubing for long distance ?

J

[Brucey]

you don't say what kind of chain you use or how many speeds you are running but there are chains where 2000km will see them in the bin if you change your chain before it gets so bad that you can't run a new chain on the old cassette.

The ideal lube varies with conditions of use; wet or dry, summer rain or winter salt, clean or dirty.

cheers

[quixoticgeek]

you don't say what kind of chain you use or how many speeds you are running but there are chains where 2000km will see them in the bin if you change your chain before it gets so bad that you can't run a new chain on the old cassette.

The ideal lube varies with conditions of use; wet or dry, summer rain or winter salt, clean or dirty.

cheers

Tiagra 4700 groupset. Conditions: mostly road with occasional gravel sections. Conditions are "Dutch"...

J

[Bianchi Boy]

you don't say what kind of chain you use or how many speeds you are running but there are chains where 2000km will see them in the bin if you change your chain before it gets so bad that you can't run a new chain on the old cassette.

The ideal lube varies with conditions of use; wet or dry, summer rain or winter salt, clean or dirty.

cheers

Tiagra 4700 groupset. Conditions: mostly road with occasional gravel sections. Conditions are "Dutch"...

J

White lightning wet lubricant. Used many option and this one I have for about the last 5 years. Nothing else needed.

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[Polar Bear]

I am a fan of Finish Line Red.   It has served me well over many years.

I am a lazy luber and tend to slap some on when the transmission rattles so it can go a couple of months between slatherings yet it still seems to slip along unhindered.

[hubner]

I use ordinary motor oil at 1/10th of the price of "bike" lube and just wipe and lube whenever necessary, and don't think about how often to lube or the oil running out.

Are there any options that are likely to last 2000km between applications?

Yes, a fully enclosed oil bath chaincase.

[quixoticgeek]

I use ordinary motor oil at 1/10th of the price of "bike" lube and just wipe and lube whenever necessary, and don't think about how often to lube or the oil running out.

Are there any options that are likely to last 2000km between applications?

Yes, a fully enclosed oil bath chaincase.

So do people doing long tours, or things like the TCR apply chain lube daily ?

J

[Karla]

2000 km between lubing your chain? You've got to be joking?

[Kim]

I've never found a compelling reason to use one wet lube over another, apart from the convenience of the container for application (I've used Purple Extreme, Finish Line something and some other one I can't remember).  Crud sticks to all of them, and the main factor in how long you can go between applications/cleanings is what conditions you're exposing it to^[1].  I expect I'll be needing a new litre bottle of chainsaw oil by 2020 or so...

Dry lube seems too much like optimism, unless you're only going to be riding indoors.


_{[1] I get very different results on the the recumbents (fair weather use and largely-enclosed chain respectively), hybrid and Brompton (all-weather city riding that requires effort to avoid rust) and mountain bike (gets cleaned of mud after most uses, so longevity of the lube is academic).}

[Polar Bear]

Finish Line Red is a dry lube.

[quixoticgeek]

2000 I'm between lubing your chain? You've got to be joking?

Well my Dutch colleagues seem to think lubrication of a chain is a one time action...

But I'm genuinely curious. We have people on here do do crazy long rides. Do people stop half way round a 1200km audax to put lube on their chains? Did James Hayden lube his chain 4 times on this years TCR?

What about people doing 2 month long bike tours?

I see some of the roadies talking about lube every 250 miles, which seems ridiculously low. Perhaps I just have over optimistic expectations...

J

[Stretch]

I've discovered Squirt this year, doesn't seem to attract as much grit as other dry lubes I've used. Lasts well too.

[quixoticgeek]

I've discovered Squirt this year, doesn't seem to attract as much grit as other dry lubes I've used. Lasts well too.

What sort of distance?

J

[Kim]

So do people doing long tours, or things like the TCR apply chain lube daily?

I expect an eye drops bottle full of chain lube would be a reasonable thing to carry on the TCR, but at that level of time off the bike the function of the lube is primarily to avoid squeaking noises, rather than preventing rust.

[zigzag]

there are some wild assumptions in the above posts.. normally i find a chain needs a clean and lube every ~500km in dry conditions or every time it gets wet and dries out. longer lasting lubes (e.g. finish line green and similar) are more viscous and draggy therefore not my favourite.

i lubed the chain once on pbp; didn't lube during the 24hr tt (772km), lubed every other day during the tcr** and/or every time it dried out after the storm. i don't count the kilometers on my commuter bike, but as soon as there is any hint of dry noise* the chain gets cleaned and lubed.

tidy and looked after chain enhances the whole riding experience.

*i "enjoy" it as much as someone scratching the glass with their nails
** i miscalculated the amount of oil required for the trip and ran out, so used some salad oil from romania onwards from a restaurant i stopped at - it worked ok

[Jakob W]

Chain-L is meant to be good (not cheap, but not exorbitant by chain lube standards; they must get printer ink manufacturers to make them or something..), albeit a bit of a faff to apply. I recall one reviewer saying they'd got > 1000 miles per application out of it.

OTOH lubing a chain's not that arduous a job, especially if you take the slapdash approach - just use whatever you've got to hand, maybe run the chain through a rag to clear off the excess, and you're good to go; repeat as necessary. Mudguards and decent mudflaps will help extend the oiling intervals...

[Pickled Onion]

Three-in-one is as good as any of the expensive bike-specific lubes. I find about once every 1000 km is fine if it's dry, as and when needed if it's been wet.

As for long rides, I took dry lube on my first tour and needed to use it once a day. With a wet lube it's rarely necessary, but on the last trip the chain was a bit grumbly so I spotted a roadside bike menders and they were happy to squirt some unnamed oil over the chain. Where there are no bike shops, motor mechanics are happy to do the same.

[quixoticgeek]

there are some wild assumptions in the above posts.. normally i find a chain needs a clean and lube every ~500km in dry conditions or every time it gets wet and dries out. longer lasting lubes (e.g. finish line green and similar) are more viscous and draggy therefore not my favourite.

How noticeable is the viscosity of the longer lasting lubes?

i lubed the chain once on pbp; didn't lube during the 24hr tt (772km), lubed every other day during the tcr** and/or every time it dried out after the storm. i don't count the kilometers on my commuter bike, but as soon as there is any hint of dry noise* the chain gets cleaned and lubed.

tidy and looked after chain enhances the whole riding experience.

*i "enjoy" it as much as someone scratching the glass with their nails
** i miscalculated the amount of oil required for the trip and ran out, so used some salad oil from romania onwards from a restaurant i stopped at - it worked ok

Ooh, that's some really useful info. How often do you replace your chain? what about your cassette? How much lube did you take for the TCR?

Chain-L is meant to be good (not cheap, but not exorbitant by chain lube standards; they must get printer ink manufacturers to make them or something..), albeit a bit of a faff to apply. I recall one reviewer saying they'd got > 1000 miles per application out of it.

Yeah, chain-l pops up at the top of near the top of every google search I've done for long lasting lube. 1600k out of single application would be lovely, would give me long enough to lose the bottle of lube between applications... And for a commuter the slight extra drag of something that lasts longer is worth the ease of not getting 2k down the road and thinking "oh yeah, that needs lube..."

OTOH lubing a chain's not that arduous a job, especially if you take the slapdash approach - just use whatever you've got to hand, maybe run the chain through a rag to clear off the excess, and you're good to go; repeat as necessary. Mudguards and decent mudflaps will help extend the oiling intervals...

Yes and no. If you store the bike in doors and live in a highrise building then it can be a right ole faff. Take bike and lube out of the building, lube chain, lock bike to railing, go back in doors, put the lube away, come back out, unlock bike, head off. Sure it's not much faff if you have a nice shed or garden or garage. But when you live in a 6th floor flat...

Three-in-one is as good as any of the expensive bike-specific lubes. I find about once every 1000 km is fine if it's dry, as and when needed if it's been wet.

How is 3 in 1 for picking up dirt?

As for long rides, I took dry lube on my first tour and needed to use it once a day. With a wet lube it's rarely necessary, but on the last trip the chain was a bit grumbly so I spotted a roadside bike menders and they were happy to squirt some unnamed oil over the chain. Where there are no bike shops, motor mechanics are happy to do the same.

Cool, useful information.

Thanks everyone!

J

[Brucey]

So do people doing long tours, or things like the TCR apply chain lube daily ?

yes. If you are going to spend all day on the bike, spending a few moments lubing the chain seems like time well spent.

BTW I have a hack bike with an IGH, dropped bars and mudguards, and I guess I don't lube the chain more often than once every 1000 miles or so. I use aerosol semi-fluid grease or thick oil depending on how it looks. I don't clean it. The chain 'lasts' a slothful 4000 miles but it takes the sprocket out with it, and perhaps the chainring too.

 But that chain usually looks like it is covered in a thick layer of sticky crud, for the very good reason that it is coated in a thick layer of sticky crud. A chain that looked like that wouldn't even change gear on a 6s derailleur system, let alone a 10s one. About 1/10th that amount of crud is enough to jam the gaps between the sprockets in a 10s system.

I would say that if you want not to wear your chainrings and cassette, you will be lucky to get to 2000km before the chain needs replacing, regardless of the maintenance regime.

If the chain goes more than ~0.7% it takes the cassette out and if it goes more than ~1.5% it takes out the most used chainrings too.

cheers

[zigzag]

to answer the above questions:
it depends how sensitive you are, hardly noticeable on hub gear and ss, more noticeable on derailleur
i change the chains when they stretch 0.75, cassettes when they start skipping under the load (3 chains?.)
took 5ml, needed about 8ml for 4500km

[ijsbrand]

Did James Hayden lube his chain 4 times on this years TCR?

He did quip to have lubed his chain far more often than he had brushed his teeth.

[Wowbagger]

I have never found anything to match Purple Extreme.

[mark]

On the multi-week tours that I've done, I've started with a clean drive train, new chain and new(ish) cassette, and packed a small bottle of Finish Line. Whenever the chain starts to look dry I drip on some lube. It's just not that hard or time consuming to do, and a bottle of chain lube doesn't weigh much or take up much space.

Living in a 2nd floor apartment, storing the bikes indoors and commuting daily, I step out the front door, oil the chain if needed, chuck the lube bottle back inside and close/lock the front door, and I'm on my way. If I had more foot traffic in the stairway to contend with I could lube the chain when I left the building and shove the lube bottle in a pocket or in my pannier/pack/seatbag/whatever. No need to run back upstairs or any of that nonsense.

I use a Rohloff chain wear measuring tool every week or so, and replace the chain when the tool tells me the chain is worn out. The Rohloff tool is faster and easier than measuring or using the Park tool, and I can see in advance when the chain is getting close to the end, and start shopping for a replacement.

The touring and commuting bikes have 8 speed cassettes and friction shifting, so they're a little more tolerant of worn chains than 10 or 11 cog cassettes.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I use ordinary motor oil at 1/10th of the price of "bike" lube and just wipe and lube whenever necessary, and don't think about how often to lube or the oil running out.

Are there any options that are likely to last 2000km between applications?

Yes, a fully enclosed oil bath chaincase.

So do people doing long tours, or things like the TCR apply chain lube daily ?

J

Only if there's been heavy rain. I use Finish Line wet.  Just put it on link by link a tiny drop at a time then wipe off the residue. 

I got fed up changing chains and decided to run the whole into the ground on my ROberts (2003, 9 spd Campag).  I don't keep a tally of the miles but it's done stuff like

Many North York Moors rides, incl. York to Middlesbrough and back one wintry day and the Moors 'illy Imperial twice,
Phil and Friends several times
Raid Pyrenean (for which I did >3000km just practising). It rained every day. Torrentially.
Cycling in Provence and up Ventoux last last year
plus innumerable rides in the Limousin which is all hills and gear changing
Everything is still in good running order.  I don't bother to measure the chain
In fact all the bike has needed in 14 years is new tyres, bar tape and brake blocks.  The Brooks saddle has a few splits but they may not be a real problem and the wheel rims may be near the end.  Maybe time for a complete overhaul this year.

My tourer is Shimano and I have had many chains, including one that broke when fairly new, and chain rings and cassettes and replaced the rims.  It got used for commuting which the ROberts didn't but I have also used it on the touring Raid Pyrenean, a ride across France and a tour in the Alps among other things.

I used dry lube once and thought it was no good, maybe I didn't put it on right?

[Karla]

I use ordinary motor oil at 1/10th of the price of "bike" lube and just wipe and lube whenever necessary, and don't think about how often to lube or the oil running out.

Are there any options that are likely to last 2000km between applications?

Yes, a fully enclosed oil bath chaincase.

So do people doing long tours, or things like the TCR apply chain lube daily ?

J

Yep. 

I once tried a two week, 1500 mile tour and forgot to pack oil.  The chain noise drove me crazy until I found a shop to buy lube!

i lubed the chain once on pbp; didn't lube during the 24hr tt (772km), lubed every other day during the tcr** and/or every time it dried out after the storm. i don't count the kilometers on my commuter bike, but as soon as there is any hint of dry noise* the chain gets cleaned and lubed.

The thing about km on PBP or the 24 is that they're all compressed into quite a short space of time, so there's less opportunity for the chain to get mucky.  While I didn't oil my chain on the 24 (713 km), but the commuter bike will need oil after fewer km than that, once it's spent several weeks being carted on and off trains and being locked up outside in all weathers.