Finish Line Pro Road chain Lube

dombo6

Anyone use this and what am I doing wrong?

I applied the lube to a new chain, wiped off the excess and went for a ride. Chain is now black and filthy looking. Wiped down again and reapplied, again wiping off the excess and it is still black, as is the new cassette, chainset and black splashes all over the chain stays. The drivetrain looks worse than my old bike when I was a kid and used 3 in 1 oil.

What do others use that keeps their drivetrain shiny and new looking?

piedwagtail91

castriol gtx from an ( old fashioned) pump action oil can, put it on, run it over the sprockets a few times and leave it for a couple of hours, wipe the chain down,
I've used it for 20 years with no problems.
a lot cheaper tahn anything with "cycle" in front of it.

dennisn

Dombo6 wrote:

What do others use that keeps their drivetrain shiny and new looking?

Not trying to be sarcastic but about the only thing I know that will keep your driveline
sparkling clean and shiny is not riding. Maybe you could try a wax based lube. In any
case there is nothing out there that will keep your chain new looking except a daily cleaning. Your wiping off of excess lube is the way to go no matter what you use(wax
or oil).

Dennis Noward

campagsarge

Get Finish Line Dry Lube instead. Use a degreaser to get all the Pro lube off then very lightly, lube the chain. It is surprising how little lube you actually need.

Leave the lube to dry overnight.

As DennisN says, you wont get completely clean chain-rings - I don't think there is a product out there that does that. Plenty of home-made lube applications out there though.


http://www.finishlineusa.com/downloads/video/tepron-plus.wmv

faaj

just added some finish line pro ceramic to my chain and ridden it for around 15 miles this evening. Ill add some more on tomorrow like finish line said to "get my whole chain ceramically coated" and i will report back laterz this weekend.

dennisn

faaj wrote:

just added some finish line pro ceramic to my chain and ridden it for around 15 miles this evening. Ill add some more on tomorrow like finish line said to "get my whole chain ceramically coated" and i will report back laterz this weekend.

What will you be reporting? That you put more oil on your chain?

Dennis Noward

faaj

na to see if my chain gets all black and grungy like the topic poster meaning its somwthing to do with lube (according to finish line, pro ceramic is a wet lube that is made from ceramic which "shouldn't" attract any grunk". Or it could be just him....

SparkyP

I have used Finish Line Pro Poad on my new Madone and after one ride the chain was like it had been lubricated in used diesel engine oil.
Going to change onto a dry lube and see what differnce that makes.

Mark

rohloff-rich

Lube isn't designed to keep the chain clean chaps - it's for keeping it lubricated! :roll:

If you don't want a build up of black gunk it's easy: Don't use your bike

Jesus, never heard of cleaning a chain on a regular basis?! Us MTBers have to do it after most rides! :P

campagsarge

rohloff-rich wrote:

Jesus, never heard of cleaning a chain on a regular basis?! Us MTBers have to do it after most rides! :P

I get all twitchy if I have to ride through a puddle on the road

I will add that I do ride all year.

I use the Pro Gold stuff during winter but not summer.

Noclue

Use purple extreme lube, on road, off road, summer, winter, its the only lube you'll ever need!

northpole

I've recently switched from finish line dry lube to pro road and it is a very gloopy material which as noted above goes dark in next to no time.

Whether that is road grime or gunge that has built up within the chain and driveline I'm not sure. But I feel more confident that the chain is being properly lubricated than I ever did with the dry stuff.

I'm happy to give it an extended trial period.

Peter

over-the-hill

Only put a drop of oil on the joints of the chain.

I have been recommended and sold PROLINK by my LBS.

dennisn

northpole wrote:

I've recently switched from finish line dry lube to pro road and it is a very gloopy material which as noted above goes dark in next to no time.

Peter

I think everything goes "dark" in no time. Just seems to be the nature of lube - whether
it's wax or oil. As long as my drivetrain is quiet I am happy.

Dennis Noward

Kléber

rohloff-rich wrote:

Lube isn't designed to keep the chain clean chaps - it's for keeping it lubricated! :roll:

True but a wet and oily chain will retain dirt, grit and sand better too and so will wear faster than a chain with a drier lube. Remember, only the inside of the links and rollers should be lubed, you don't want the outside of the plates lubed for example.

Finish Line Dry works well for me, trick is to lube each link with a drop. Drivetrain stays shiny clean for 2-3 rides only but lube lasts long time and the chain doesn't get too mucky.

faaj

yeha i just relubed the chain with that stuff again, and its slimy black stuff. uuuurrghghg its worst than mud as it just gets everywhere. whats annoying is that we just go on roads with little dirt and it gets the chain soo dirty....

notsoracy rich

I bought some Pro Road some time ago. I hadn't used it apart from cable lubing, so when I saw this thread I thought I'd better try it. One tiny drop on each link of a new chain, about 60 miles and it has left black mess all over chain,chainrings ,sprockets.I don't think I'll use this again-I use Wet Lube on my winter bike, and that stays cleaner after a week of riding. Its back to Dry Lube for the summer, and the bottle of Pro Road is going into the box in my loft where I keep my Chocolate Fireguard!

notsoracy rich

Jesus, never heard of cleaning a chain on a regular basis?!

I think you'll find He was a carpenter--where would He have heard about cleaning a chain?

:twisted:

dennisn

For what it's worth, here's how I do it. I use a wax lube called "Rock & Roll" on my road
bike. It's supposed to help clean the chain and who can say whether it does or not. I
don't count the crud particles after each ride. I might, if I get the ambition, clean my driveline once a week or so with a solvent called "Simple Green". I just spray it all over
the chain(still on the bike), cassette, crankset, front and rear mech's.
I put it on pretty heavy, let it soak a minute or two, spin the crankset a bit, hose it all off with water, and use a small shop vac to blow it all dry. Take a clean rag and wrap it
around the chain and start spinning the crank until the chain looks pretty clean. Then I
really slather the chain with lots of lube. Let it dry for a few minutes and wrap a clean rag around it and spin until clean and with no excess lube(the bottle says "you can't wipe off too much"). Done - 15 - 20 minutes tops if you're slow. Oh, I might wipe the chain down and even add a bit more lube between "cleanings" but that's it. My driveline stays quiet and that's all you can hope for.

Dennis Noward

JWSurrey

Had some really poor Finish Line lube experiences recently.
That Gold Top stuff is rubbish - Same as everyone else - a wet black mess after less than 15 miles, leaving clothing, bike, and everything else well coated in the evil black gunge.

Going back to red top - can't beat it, and keeps the transmission so much cleaner.

Green top was not much of an improvement over engine oil, either.

To clean it, I've reverted to using a q/r chain link, and dropping the chain in a paraffin "bath" fashioned from an old takeaway lid (take care to choose something that won't melt) - much more efficient and cheaper than a chain cleaning tool/degreaser, and you can leave your chain soaking without it rusting to pieces.

AlanW

Same conclusion as everyone else really, my LBS gave me a 2oz bottle to try. Removed and degreashed the chain, added one drop per link. Rode to work and back the next day, 32 miles round trip. Hey presto......one very black, oily, shitty looking chain and chain wheels.

So next night, removed chain again and degreased and have gone back to the dry lube by Finish Line.

Also using Purple Extreme on another road bike. Now at first I thought that it was crap and over priced, now I just think that it is over priced! In fairness, I now seem to think that actually its a pretty good chain lube. But you do need to spend a fair bit of effort in prepared the chain before applying, ie making sure that every last bit of grease and old chain lube has been removed prior to the first application.

JasonRwmb

I can second the recommendation for Rock & Roll lube. I use the Extreme version it on my mountain bikes and the chain does stay clean, even in dusty conditions. Since I have been using it I have never bothered with degreasing the chain, as it never seems to get greasy. The only downside is it works out more expensive than using a traditional 'wet' lube, however I am happy to pay the premium for a clean drivetrain, plus I am sure the chain and chain rings last longer with a clean lube.

On my road bike I have just started to use Nytralube Slick Caramel, which so far seems good (and clean) but I seem to get through loads of it so it could work out expensive...

cyclingvet

I've had the same experience as many others when it comes to Finish Line Pro Road. I followed the instructions religiously and wiped off the excess several times until the paper towelling was dry and STILL get a black evil mess after only 40mile ride in the dry. What makes me laugh is that it is marketed as a clean lube that keeps your chain clean!--anything but!!

I've degreased the chain in white spirit taken off the cassette and cleaned it and wiped all the crap off the chainrings and am trying out some Prollink Progold after reading various posts recommending it.

I used to use WL and then moved on the FL Krytech (cleaner than WL, but almost solidifies at low temperatures, so no good to apply execpt in summer) but got very irritated at chain squeek apearing sometimes after only 30 miles.

I hope Prolink will keep chain as clean as Krytech but without the difficulty applying in a cold garage and with squeeks after only a few miles.

alfablue

I use Prolink Progold in winter and summer, it seems to offer the best of both wet and dry lubes, chain stays fairly clean looking, but the lube stays put for a lot longer than a dry lube and will even last a week of winter commuting before reapplication.

Over many years I have tried all the rest, and I am now happy that this is the best of the lot.

richardjallen

I'm using Purple Extreme at the moment and its very impressive. I'd say it lives up to the 400mile per application claim. It does not get all that dirty either. It seemed to have picked up some after 200 miles then but then looked cleaner after 300.

bobpzero

the castrol gtx sounds interesting, any specific type? any photos to show the results? i startd with white lightning epic and then wl wax dry. wheres the nearest place in co antrim to get a pump action oil can.?

Denny69

Summer = Dry lube
Winter = wet lube
Result....Black shi*e no matter what!

JamesB

Pro Link Gold seems to be OK - but read instructions , wipe off all excess and it seems to keep chain etc quite clean looking; too much and you get a mess of oil spray off.
Off road Finish Line, again not too much and then muc off to clean every ride, works OK