Which chain lube?!

alfablue

cheapskates

always_tyred

alfablue wrote:

cheapskates

mrx

With the home made lube I recommended earlier, which was 50/50 car synthetic oil and white spirit, I apply that from a dropper bottle such as a finishline bottle...

To get the main crap off the chain I either use a rag for which I have sprayed wd40 to get the crap off and later get the wd40 off and than apply the home made mixture and once applied, wipe off the excess... it may attract more dirt but you are easily cleaning it off... you can also clean it off by spraing some gt40 over the rag instead of wd40...

It works, it works well... their is nothing new and fancy in these marketing gimmick lubes that you see on the market... off topic now but checkout compound 219...
http://www.royalpioneercorps.co.uk/rpc/ ... mpound.htm

girv73

I see there is a "six of the best - lubes" in C+ this month and the Finish Line stuff comes out as the best wet lube for all weathers.

alfablue

These reviews are always too narrow in their scope, there are many other candidates, they only really "tested" two conventional chain lubes, one wet, one dry, in fact, they may not even have tested them, they just told us about their "all time favourites". A proper test should probably encompass maybe 15 or more products, maybe even including a home-made brew such as those suggested here.

While I'm moaning - C+ reviews on all sorts of product all too often seem to omit one or more of the most obvious/market leading products, thus rendering their conclusions, er, not worth much.

Sorry C+

Littigator

White Lightening suits me nicely...and it's even pretty good on the bike!

For cleaning chains you don't need anything more than white spirit, so avoid expensive muc-off type products and wd40

wgwarburton

Hi,
I'm not a fan of WD40 for chains- I had issues with a (top end) freewheel way back that were apportioned to WD40 washing out the lubricant. I've not had the same issue since I stopped.
Chain lube is a religious topic, though. The best advice I can offer to to read Sheldon Brown (RIP) on the topic:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

Cheers,
W.

simon_e

Used to spray GT85 on it but it's a dry weather only option. It did stop the chain getting too black and worked better than I expected. Better for bikes with light use I'd suggest.

Currently using Green Oil, it seems to be staying on well in the wet. I pour some into a bottle cap then apply with a toothbrush to the inside run of the chain (it's how I used to apply spray motorcycle chain lube cleanly and efficiently while making sure enough gets into the important places). For good measure I also ran the brush along the outside of the chain to act as a barrier because I knew the front wheel would kick up spray etc.

Have considered applying used engine oil or similar as it's a tenth of the price, but then £5 every few months isn't going to bankrupt me.

The old chestnut about WD40 containing fish oil is an urban myth, it's almost entirely volatile aliphatic hydrocarbons and petroleum.

ride_whenever

fenwicks all conditions.