Recommend me a chain lube please

broachboy

Morning forum people,

:oops: right before you all have a whinge at me I did search this topic 1st but could not get the exact answer I was after, so could any of you point me in the right direction via a link to another thread, or better still recommend me a chain lube please :roll:

I did some digging on the net during the past week and found out that what I had been using for years wasn't a chain lube it was something else (but we won't go into that now...), and that if I did need a chain lube I would need one for wet weather, and one for dry weather, and one for basically all other conditions :?

So is it possible that there may actually be a chain lube for general use that I can use on my fxd for commuting, my road bike and my mountain bike too

I have added a poll to try and get an at a glance view to the favourite lube of forumgoers, I have only listed what I could remember, as there are bound to be more that aren't listed please vote for other and state your favorite choice by thread reply.

Many thanks in advance for any replies

pete.whelan

ProLink Gold chain lube for me.

nonono

me too

trashcanman

and me

broachboy

Thanks for the replies guys I take it this is the beast you're on about ..

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/29 ... e-4oz.html

It certainly has a good write up

Do you think the price in the link is good, or do you know of a better offer on this item ?

TIA

Scrumple

purple extreme

broachboy

For information only :arrow:

http://www.progoldmfr.com/products/prolink.html

http://extrauk.co.uk/product/detail/Pro ... cant/7656/

pete.whelan

The price at UKBIKE STORE is about right. Yes, it is expensive, but you don't need to apply very much. One bottle lasts far longer than othe rlubes, so works out well in the end.

Cranks

Purple extreme in the summer, if you regulary degreaser you chain.
FInish Line Wet for the winter.

hopper1

I use Finish Line XC Wet Lube, during the winter.

I'm waiting for the confession as to how you dicovered K-Y Gel wasn't a chain lube :shock:

Ben6899

Finish Line.

Red cap (dry) in summer, green cap (wet) in this weather.

what brakes

i have used GT85 from halford for past 13yrs including most of which for mtb'ing i find it great and never had a rusty chain!

Lubricates well as its sprays on and gets in all the nooks n crannies, but because its teflon based it doesnt attract the dust n crap like most lubes do!

softlad

what brakes wrote:

i have used GT85 from halford for past 13yrs including most of which for mtb'ing i find it great and never had a rusty chain!

Lubricates well as its sprays on and gets in all the nooks n crannies, but because its teflon based it doesnt attract the dust n crap like most lubes do!

+1

EKIMIKE

Finish Line XC Wet (green top) in winter. You don't need to put a load of it on, lasts well and isn't too bad at making everything black (which I cannot stand!)

Squirt Long lasting Dry for summer. Doesn't last more than 1 ride in the rain but is perfect for when it's dry. Will actually keep your drivetrain shiny silver. Lasts weeks when it's dry. Doesn't seperate in the bottle.

Tried Finish Line Teflon Dry - Doesn't last in the wet obviously. Goes black too easily
Tried Finish Line Pro Road - I swear it starts turning black upon contact with a chain. Seriously expensive too. Seperates in the bottle over time. ARGH!

All of these do lubricate well. Just depends what else you want from it.

JamesB

as above use a different lube according to time of year, Pro Line Gold in summer which is a lovely clean oil and keeps chain sparkly bright, then if wetter sometimes Finish Line Ceramic but I find it does get quite gluey / mucky black, and Finish Line wet lube (green cap) in winter and at all times on MTB. If I had one lube to do all it would be the wet lube so that gets my vote above!
What I don`t understand about chain oils though is all mfr tell apply generously then wipe off excess---is this just to sell more lube or is there a genuine benefit to applying in this method??

Velonutter

GT85 lots of pro riders put me onto this and after a 1000 miles my chain is still good for another 1000 at least.

Hint, don't use a dry lube as your chain will wear quicker and clean your chain after each ride and then lube.

plug1n

+1 for Purple Extreme

Harry182

on-yer-bike

rock n roll gold or blue

Chunkers1980

JamesBwmb wrote:

as above use a different lube according to time of year, Pro Line Gold in summer which is a lovely clean oil and keeps chain sparkly bright, then if wetter sometimes Finish Line Ceramic but I find it does get quite gluey / mucky black, and Finish Line wet lube (green cap) in winter and at all times on MTB. If I had one lube to do all it would be the wet lube so that gets my vote above!
What I don`t understand about chain oils though is all mfr tell apply generously then wipe off excess---is this just to sell more lube or is there a genuine benefit to applying in this method??

The reason why they say apply lots is and then wipe is that the lube is most needed on the chain rollers in the middle as that's where most of the wear happens, all you need on the outside of the chain is a sheen of lube and it'll be happy. Perhaps there is some marketing in there to sell more, but if you use the 2 quid Weldtite cycle oil and a bit of WD or GT when it's wet, who cares if you use a lot of it? I would be a little more careful if it was 10 quid finishline, which I see no extra value in using.

ajb72

There has not been much mention of wax type lubes here, such as the finish line or Pedros Ice versions. Is there a specific reason for this - are they not suited to winter riding etc?

EKIMIKE

ajb72 wrote:

There has not been much mention of wax type lubes here, such as the finish line or Pedros Ice versions. Is there a specific reason for this - are they not suited to winter riding etc?

It's pants in the wet. Last's no more than one ride. In the dry it's fine.

From what i've read it's hard to make a good wax lube. There's usually something the matter whether it be that it doesn't penetrate enough or it flakes off or it seperates in the bottle or it smells horrendous e.t.c.

Seems like Squirt Long Lasting Dry lube is pretty much perfect though. Doesn't seperate in the bottle, doesn't smell horrible and it lubricates and penetrates really well because it's got a 'water based carrier' which gets it to all the important places before it goes waxy. I've used it all summer and it's great. Just don't use it when it's wet. If you do, be sure to re-lube post-ride.

huuregeil

Prolink is the daddy! Although, if you're mtbing as well, you might want to look at Rock n Roll lubes. Same concept as prolink, but RnR do an "extreme" version that is meant to hang around longer in wet conditions. Either of these beats either classic wet lubes or wax-based lubes hands down.

broachboy

pete.whelan wrote:

The price at UKBIKE STORE is about right. Yes, it is expensive, but you don't need to apply very much. One bottle lasts far longer than other lubes, so works out well in the end.

Cheers Pete, tbh I though the price at UKBIKE STORE was quite cheap :oops: I certainly am tempted with this product, it is very highly rated on this and other forums, and they certainly give it a excellent write up on their own website - haha and they say advertising doesn't work

broachboy

hopper1 wrote:

I use Finish Line XC Wet Lube, during the winter.

I'm waiting for the confession as to how you dicovered K-Y Gel wasn't a chain lube :shock:

hopper... I'm quite surprised you don't remember yourself in fact ...

Don't you remember whispering it to me some time ago :? :twisted:

broachboy

what brakes wrote:

i have used GT85 from halford for past 13yrs including most of which for mtb'ing i find it great and never had a rusty chain!

Lubricates well as its sprays on and gets in all the nooks n crannies, but because its teflon based it doesnt attract the dust n crap like most lubes do!

softlad wrote:

what brakes wrote:

i have used GT85 from halford for past 13yrs including most of which for mtb'ing i find it great and never had a rusty chain!

Lubricates well as its sprays on and gets in all the nooks n crannies, but because its teflon based it doesnt attract the dust n crap like most lubes do!

+1

Slow-N-Old wrote:

GT85 lots of pro riders put me onto this and after a 1000 miles my chain is still good for another 1000 at least.

Hint, don't use a dry lube as your chain will wear quicker and clean your chain after each ride and then lube.

For all the forummers who recommended GT85 in the above quotes ...

I do actually use GT85, it is what I referred to in my original post, when I said I wouldn't go into it at the moment. Since being told by LBS, Wiggle & GT85 direct that the product is not suitable for more than a 1hr plus ride in wet conditions, not to by used as a long term lubricant in the dry, I use my GT85 as a frame cleaner & protectant, though I suppose I blow it over the mechs if they are wet after a ride .... :roll:

:?:

broachboy

Thanks so much to all who replied / participated so far, it has been an informative eye opener

dennisn

This kind of question sort of reminds me of a stem discussion going on on this forum right now. Someone writes in wanting to know about stems. After a short discussion and a few sarcastic remarks about gaining 10 MPH with a certain stem, it's decided, and rightly so, that we're talking stems here, not the physics behind the atom bomb. In the end it's only a stem.
What surprises me is that these lube discussions don't go in the same direction. Instead, people claim that this or that lube is great and an equal number will claim that that same lube is garbage. It turns into the Shimano vs Campy thing(sort of).
IMHO it's all a load of sh*t. The manufacturers would have you believe that you need a special lube for dry and clean conditions, dry and dirty conditions, wet yet clean, wet and dirty, cold and dry, cold and wet, hot dry and clean, humid yet not very hot, and on and on. So far, it would seem that consumers have sucked up this hype(if you will).
In any case, it's lube no matter what the brand and if you keep things reasonably clean
and well lubed it won't matter what you use. Except that I go 10MPH faster when I use
Rock & Roll lube.

broachboy

dennisn wrote:

IMHO it's all a load of sh*t. The manufacturers would have you believe that you need a special lube for dry and clean conditions, dry and dirty conditions, wet yet clean, wet and dirty, cold and dry, cold and wet, hot dry and clean, humid yet not very hot, and on and on. So far, it would seem that consumers have sucked up this hype(if you will).
In any case, it's lube no matter what the brand and if you keep things reasonably clean
and well lubed it won't matter what you use

:roll: maybe now you can see why I asked the question at grass roots level, I wanted genuine opinion from actual users regarding products and their separate experiences while experienced in differing weather conditions 8)

So I choose a lube from the ones recommended, and I enter a totally different senario ...

While out on a ride I experience a more silent drive chain, awesome slicker shifting, positive friction free action, all making me feel so so much better in myself as a cyclist and life, but then I realise its all psychosomatic - but hey what the heck, I felt great and it only cost the £5 for the chain lube. You can't buy happiness and positive feeling, and if you could it would be well expensive, well if it comes in the shape of bottled chain lube and a regular maintenance regime i'll buy a bottle for every ride 8)

forum people - karma

dennisn

broachboy wrote:

dennisn wrote:

IMHO it's all a load of sh*t. The manufacturers would have you believe that you need a special lube for dry and clean conditions, dry and dirty conditions, wet yet clean, wet and dirty, cold and dry, cold and wet, hot dry and clean, humid yet not very hot, and on and on. So far, it would seem that consumers have sucked up this hype(if you will).
In any case, it's lube no matter what the brand and if you keep things reasonably clean
and well lubed it won't matter what you use

:roll: maybe now you can see why I asked the question at grass roots level, I wanted genuine opinion from actual users regarding products and their separate experiences while experienced in differing weather conditions 8)

So I choose a lube from the ones recommended, and I enter a totally different senario ...

While out on a ride I experience a more silent drive chain, awesome slicker shifting, positive friction free action, all making me feel so so much better in myself as a cyclist and life, but then I realise its all psychosomatic - but hey what the heck, I felt great and it only cost the £5 for the chain lube. You can't buy happiness and positive feeling, and if you could it would be well expensive, well if it comes in the shape of bottled chain lube and a regular maintenance regime i'll buy a bottle for every ride 8)

forum people - karma

At a grass roots level that's my opinion. Most others, it would seem, think otherwise.
I've used lots of different brands during my riding "career" and can't remember EVER being able to discern any difference in lubricating abilities in any of them. I have even used an entirely different brand right on top of another brand(without cleaning the chain) and it actually worked. I've even gone so far as to put an oil based lube on over a wax based one.

softlad

broachboy wrote:

Since being told by LBS, Wiggle & GT85 direct that the product is not suitable for more than a 1hr plus ride in wet conditions, not to by used as a long term lubricant in the dry, I use my GT85 as a frame cleaner & protectant, though I suppose I blow it over the mechs if they are wet after a ride .... :roll: :?:

Practical experience suggests otherwise. I use GT85 in all weathers, and typically my rides are anything between 1.5 - 4 hours around the sh1t-covered roads of west Wales. The transmission stays clean and quiet. What else can I say - I've been using it for 10-15 years and no plans to change....