How often?

janetthompson

How often should I oil my chain? And is WD40 ok or should I use specific bike oil?

Cheers!

pneumatic

I got a terrible row from the bike shop for over-oiling mine. It was all black and gritty and they were not impressed.

What I learned from them was that, however often you do it, you should wipe off the excess straight away, otherwise it just picks up grit and wears out sooner.

I use finish line lube, but I have a mate who swears by WD40. Not sure which is best.

keef66

WD40 isn't a lubricant, it's a water dispersant, and it's quite volatile so after a while it's all evaporated leaving your chain un-lubricated.

touchy

i always thought WD40 was the worst thing to put on your chain?
As its a degreaser, you can use it to clean old oil off your chain, but if you try to use it as a lube, it will break down any oil on your chain.
(I could be completely wrong as it was just one of my mates who said this - but i have found it is very good at cleaning oil off things)

synchronicity

touchy wrote:

i always thought WD40 was the worst thing to put on your chain?

You're almost right... one thing worse would be sulfuric acid.
WD40. Please not.

Coach H

Whilst I only use it as a water displacer myself, it should be noted that until about 8-9 years ago WD40 used to be sold on the Continent as 3-in-1 Oil spray.

So if you are happy to use 3-in 1 Oil you should be happy with WD40.

chuckcork

I've been using a Finish Line Pro Road for the past couple of months, it doesn't seem to pick up the muck off the roads as much as the previous lubricants I was using.

The recommendation I offer is to clean the chain every now and then so the grit doesn't build up beyond a certain point in the first place, then apply a wet lube without overusing and wipe off excess.

ride_whenever

WD-40 to dry the chain after washing it, finish line dry at the moment.

And as sync said, there are many worse things to put on your chain... but WD-40 won't lubricate it.

beverick

I cleaned the chain on the 'hack' last week for the first time since it was installed at Easter - it should have been done earlier in the summer.

I aim to clean the chain either when it's needed or once between May and September and then threee or four times between October and April (so late Feb, mid April, mid July, early September, early November and late December/ early January as a general rule).

Usual cleaning regime is to emerse the chain (and cassette) in either a strong solution of Muck-Off or neat Gunk - usually overnight - I use an old paint "kettle". Then using a 1/2" brush remove the engrained dirt from the chain (going down both sides), cassette, chainwheel frame and deraillures.

I then wash the various components in hot soapy water, rinse them in hot clean water and then dry them off (the garden blower is actually good for this but you do have to refit the cassette to the wheel!). The chain usually gets a liberal spray of WD40 at this point before being refitted to the bike.

I then oil the chain immediately before I ride the bike again (which can be a few days/weeks) with either 3-in-1 (summer) or finish line (winter or wet weather). I always wipe off the excess.

Bob

il_principe

beverick wrote:

I cleaned the chain on the 'hack' last week for the first time since it was installed at Easter - it should have been done earlier in the summer.

I aim to clean the chain either when it's needed or once between May and September and then threee or four times between October and April (so late Feb, mid April, mid July, early September, early November and late December/ early January as a general rule).

Usual cleaning regime is to emerse the chain (and cassette) in either a strong solution of Muck-Off or neat Gunk - usually overnight - I use an old paint "kettle". Then using a 1/2" brush remove the engrained dirt from the chain (going down both sides), cassette, chainwheel frame and deraillures.

I then wash the various components in hot soapy water, rinse them in hot clean water and then dry them off (the garden blower is actually good for this but you do have to refit the cassette to the wheel!). The chain usually gets a liberal spray of WD40 at this point before being refitted to the bike.

I then oil the chain immediately before I ride the bike again (which can be a few days/weeks) with either 3-in-1 (summer) or finish line (winter or wet weather). I always wipe off the excess.

Bob

Arghhhh no no no no no no no!! :shock:

You are seriously reducing the life of your chain. Best thing to do is clean every week at least, just wipe it down with a rag then lube with proper lubricant - Finish Line is ace, wipe off excess thoroughly and if you are anal relube and wipe again. If you do this once a week our chain will last longer and obvio not get as grubby. Leaving it that long will allow grit to build up which will increase wear and tear on the rest of the drive chain. The leading chain manufacturer KMC recommend never using degreaser as all you are doing is driving out lube from the internal bushings which are very hard to relube anyway. I clean my cassette regularly as well, just remove, degrease, wipe and dry.

http://www.kmcchain.com/index.php?ln=en&fn=service#2

unclemalc

This is one of those personal threads that can cause offence to non-believers, but here goes anyway... :shock:

As a roadie, with a new chain in position on the bike, I remove the gunk it's covered in (for pre-packing) with GT85. SRAM chains in particular have an awful sticky application on them out-of-the-box.
After cleaning with GT85 run it through a dry cloth for a bit to get it as dry as possible.
Then run some 3in1 (or similar) across the links, run it around for a bit, then run it through a dry cloth to remove XS.
I do that once a week, at least, as well as dry wipe the rest of the gearing and mechs.
That way it's always clean, never 'black' and nice and quiet.
The chemicals you use are obviously up to you - I like GT85 and hate WD40. I have even used white spirit on particularly greasy examples and then re-soaked them in a (fresh) oil bath.

If you are starting with the chain from hell - black, sh***y and gritty - you can do one of two things:
i) bin it, get a new one, do the above and promise yourself you will be good and keep it clean in future...
ii) return it to its pristine state via chemicals and elbow grease, then enjoy being in 'smug mode' when its back on the bike in full shiny health.

il_principe

unclemalc wrote:

This is one of those personal threads that can cause offence to non-believers, but here goes anyway... :shock:

As a roadie, with a new chain in position on the bike, I remove the gunk it's covered in (for pre-packing) with GT85.

I'm sorry but wrong wrong wrong again! From Sheldon:

A myth that is difficult to dispell is the story that grease on a new chain, fresh out of the package, is not a lubricant but rather a preservative that must be removed. This piece of bicycling myth and lore thrives despite its illogic.

Bikerbaboon

i love hearing roadies worrie about how dirty the chains get...... my poor MTB chain gets a good clean about 5 times a week after each ride ohhh how i dream of just haveing to wipe it down and relube. with me its more like a toothbrush and gt85 till clean and then relube.

Doobz

twice a week - once after Wednesdays hilly 100mile club run and the same after the Sunday club run. Dry rag with a bit of petrol to get the shite off and then some chain lube - leave for about 6 hours but is usually the next morning and wipe over with a clean rag again

D@VE

I use diesel to clean my chain and cassette and Finish Line Pro Road to lube or Finish Line Wet on my winter ride.

Jez mon

I just use soapy water to clean the chain, wait for it to dry, then chuck a load of lube on, and then wipe the xs off.

Repeat when my best bike is slightly dirty, or when i can be bothered to clean my second bike.