Lubing for long distance...

[Zed43]

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

Your colleagues probably have a single speed or hubgear bike with a fully enclosed chain ("kettingkast").

Mudguards and a flap on the front guard keep the chain a little cleaner and this helps, but rain will still result in a creaky chain eventually.

Finish Line Green is on my commuter bike that rarely gets lubed. Morgan Blue on the audax bike and this gets cleaned/lubed about every 400km, sometimes sooner.

[quixoticgeek]

'scuse the thread necromancy.

I've been using Chain-L for the last 27000+km. Up until this summer I had never got more than 800km between applications. Primarily because I hadn't got more than 800km between riding in the rain. Now that when i do have to ride to the office, I tend to take the Brompton (it's just more convenient for the buildings at each end), I have managed to get 1200km since I last lubed my chain, and it seems to be running just fine. Dunno if I'll get another 400k out of it. Hope so.

But, based on 27000+km of riding, I'm impressed. I've used just under 2 of the 112ml bottles of the stuff, chain's seem to last ok, it collects a lot of gunk on the side plates, and the jockey wheels cake up quite a bit, but it's not really as horrible as the pictures I've seen of some other lubes. It doesn't last brilliantly in the wet. In heavy rain you're going to be lubing up at the end of the ride, but I get the impression that is the case for any lube.

So, to answer my own set of very naive questions from when I had just started cycling. Chain-L goes pretty far between applications, as long as it doesn't rain too frequently.

J

[Auntie Helen]

Not exactly comparable but I oil my velomobile chain once per year. It’s on the original chain still, so that’s 40,000km.

[Kim]

Not exactly comparable but I oil my velomobile chain once per year. It’s on the original chain still, so that’s 40,000km.

Wonderful illustration of the advantages of keeping the drivetrain indoors.   

(I find chain wear is significantly lower on my recumbents than uprights, I suspect due to a combination of being subjected to much less standing-on-the-pedals type force, and less road crud splatter from the front wheel.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Brompton is a skog-magnet in anything but perfectly dry conditions...)

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Most recumbents have longer chains, so each section of chain gets flexed/ tensioned less often, hence less wear.

[morbihan]

Been using rolled gold. It sloughs off along with most of the grime which is why I like it bu consequently it needs to be applied regularly so not the lightest option. I take a small bottle for an ultra like TCR. My set up is heavy AF anyway so I don't bother with the pipette of oil route.
I use guards as well that keeps the drivetrain in good nick.

[Lightning Phil]

I oil my chain when it starts making the “I want some oil” noise.  Goes pretty long between applications but haven’t noted how much riding or weather in between. I do know the lube bottles last years.

[ravenbait]

The best chain lube I ever used was the Campag spray-on stuff. Can't get it any more. I even liked the smell.

My workhorses generally get Finishline Crosscountry, the spray-on version. The race bikes used to get the Campag, but now get Fenwick's Stealth, whatever it's called now. Comes in a tiny bottle with a pipette and looks like molten pewter. I've raced in the wet a few times and it seemed to hold up. I've ridden through floods and the Crosscountry held on, but I'm not sure I could do 1000km between re-lubing, not least because the bike would be filthy long before then and would need a bath.

Sam

[giropaul]

I’m sometimes left wondering how financially and time effective some of the systems people use are, compared to sticking a new chain on more often.

[quixoticgeek]

I’m sometimes left wondering how financially and time effective some of the systems people use are, compared to sticking a new chain on more often.

Two bottles of lube over 27000+km, at €12 each. and I think something like 6 or 7 chains. Dunno what other weird systems people are using tho.

J

[L CC]

this stuff is great, and mighty convenient. My dad Father Christmas put it in my stocking a few years ago. We have a 'big' bottle that lives at home, too. I use it all year.

(top tip, if you're googling to find an alternative supplier, don't just search 'squirt' . DAHIKT.)

[quixoticgeek]

this stuff is great, and mighty convenient. My dad Father Christmas put it in my stocking a few years ago. We have a 'big' bottle that lives at home, too. I use it all year.

(top tip, if you're googling to find an alternative supplier, don't just search 'squirt' . DAHIKT.)

I ordered a couple of SPD-SL blanking plates a couple of years back, and Mantel sent me a bottle of that instead. It's been sat on the shelf since. But I have 3 bottles of Chain-L left, which if previous experience is anything to go by, should be get me past 100000km...

J

[L CC]

I can't imagine measuring how long /far my chain lube lasts. We have at least half a dozen containers of it, thanks to in-ride or on-holiday emergency purchases.

[quixoticgeek]

I can't imagine measuring how long /far my chain lube lasts. We have at least half a dozen containers of it, thanks to in-ride or on-holiday emergency purchases.

The joy of being overly chatty on twitter, means I can just search back for the last time I mentioned the word "chain" and it tells me I was moaning about lubing my chain on 27th of May. I can then look at veloviewer and see how many kilometers I had done by that day, and then how much today, and one minus the other, gives me an answer.

I only have used one type of lube, as I wanted clear data. I have a small 15ml dropper bottle that lives in the bike tool bag. On big tours I add a second bottle. I have yet to empty my second 112ml bottle, so I have a record that way.

But I appreciate that I have an abnormal record of what I've done and when and where, and can answer questions like "Yeah, but what were you doing on this day 5 years ago?" "gimme a mo *tappy tappy* I was doing x"*.

Every kilometer is logged, and I have a reasonable log of all chain use too. Tho it breaks a bit if I have a partial use, then fit a new one for something special like RatN.

J


* Doing this in the middle of an AGM meeting when you are discussing how long association records should be kept tends to confuse the hell out of people.

[citoyen]

I've been using Finish Line green for years—quite happy with it.  However, this Purple Extreme sounds interesting.

I think I’ll try Purple Extreme some time. I’ll get some when this bottle of Finish Line Green runs out - the same bottle I was using when this thread was started…

(This may be a reflection of my low mileage in that period rather than the longevity of Finish Line lube)

[ravenbait]

I've been using Finish Line green for years—quite happy with it.  However, this Purple Extreme sounds interesting.

I think I’ll try Purple Extreme some time. I’ll get some when this bottle of Finish Line Green runs out - the same bottle I was using when this thread was started…

(This may be a reflection of my low mileage in that period rather than the longevity of Finish Line lube)

I really didn't get on with Purple Extreme. It seemed to flake off and shed everywhere.

Sam

[Kim]

I’m sometimes left wondering how financially and time effective some of the systems people use are, compared to sticking a new chain on more often.

I bought a new bottle of chainsaw oil last month.  Should keep me going for another decade...

Purple Extreme was unremarkable, but I liked the colour of the bottle, and I've been using it to apply a ~50:50 mixture of chainsaw oil and while spirit since about 2009.