WD40 for chain lube?

snaphappyspen

Is this a good idea or not?

if not can you suggest something better?

craker

It's not lube it displaces water (WD..)

Generally considered much too thin to make much of a difference on a chain

Loads of products and opinions - search the forums :shock:

You could just go into a bike shop and buy some Finish Line.

RevellRider

Dear god no, it's in no way a lube.

Try Finish Line Cross Country lube for this time of year and Finish Line Teflon lube for the summer

snaphappyspen

Thanks guys,

I have a simlar post on another board. I am cleaning my bike for the first time (after a month of having it) and i am unclear as to what is best to clean the chain, disc brakes etc etc any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Dan

cooldad

WD40 is the juice of Satan.

nicklouse

snaphappyspen wrote:

Thanks guys,

I have a simlar post on another board. I am cleaning my bike for the first time (after a month of having it) and i am unclear as to what is best to clean the chain, disc brakes etc etc any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Dan

all answered in the link provided what is best all comes down to what someone bought.

V5ade

WD40 removes oil\lube. It's good for displacing water after.

cooldad

V5ade wrote:

WD40 removes oil\lube. It's good for displacing water after.

Except it will get in the rollers etc and dilute/displace any decent lube you put on afterwards.

WD40 and bikes don't generally mix well.

V5ade

cooldad wrote:

V5ade wrote:

WD40 removes oil\lube. It's good for displacing water after.

Except it will get in the rollers etc and dilute/displace any decent lube you put on afterwards.

WD40 and bikes don't generally mix well.

In my experience if you let it evaporate then lube properly it's fine.

diy

WD40 is an OK lube, although probably only in the summer, where a fine oil is ok, but there are better lubes which often cost the same or less. GT85 or Weldtite TF2 are all about the same money.

WD40 is fine for cleaning all the muck off before re-lubing, but then so is paraffin or isopropyl and both are cheaper. I notice lidl also do a pretty good motorbike chain cleaner for about 2 quid a can.

Bike chains aren't the same as motorbike chains, so there really isn't much you can do to keep the lube in the rollers, unless you use a chain wax and I wouldn't do that, this time of year.

weeksy59

I've ran it and had the best part of a year out of both my chains... if that's 'bad' then i'm not too unhappy as they're only £15

Northwind

This "WD40 isn't a lube" nonsense annoys me. It's a rubbish lubricant, but still a lubricant... Think about it for a second, everyone knows not to get it on their brakes! The ingredients are more or less stoddart solvent and light machine oil.

Still wouldn't use it on a chain, bad idea, it's far too light and the high solvent content'll take off anything that's already there. TF2 spray lube would be marginally better as it's got ptfe in it but still bad. Use a real chain lube.

snaphappyspen

Well i went out and looked around, a bloke sold me GT 85 and said its by far the best, i have used it this morning and will be going for a ride early tomorrow morning to see if its any good however i have a feeling it is similar to WD40

mattl80

snaphappyspen wrote:

Well i went out and looked around, a bloke sold me GT 85 and said its by far the best, i have used it this morning and will be going for a ride early tomorrow morning to see if its any good however i have a feeling it is similar to WD40

What gives you that feeling? people have already said it's better then WD40?

Northwind

It's very similiar... Another part of the weird "Don't use WD40, use <similiar product X> instead". But it does smell much better and is a slightly better lube, but still not that good at it.

pastey_boy

a little known secret i will share with the forum. egg whites make quite possibly the best lube ive ever used. 1 eggs worth is enough to fully coat the chain and it should last upto 4 weeks before it starts going off, the best bit though is when it time to clean it off you just heat your chain with a hair dryer and peel the egg white off. and dont go throwing the yolk out as ive found it to be a great replacement for disc brake fluid.

Northwind

If you grind up the shell you can use it as carbon grip paste too.

pastey_boy

Northwind wrote:

If you grind up the shell you can use it as carbon grip paste too.

for part of my parole conditions i take disadvantaged mice on cycling trips, so i have the discarded eggshells cnc'd into miniature rodent helmets.

gtd.

I use Chainsaw bar and chain oil as it has Anti Fling additives and bio degradeable and as I work for a chainsaw manufactureer fixing chainsaws I get it for free

I warm some up and leave my chain in it till it cools down then wipe off the excess and fit it though I'm using Mucoff wet lube between chain changes untill the bottle runs out when I'll fill it with chainsaw oil.

snaphappyspen

Well looking at my chain now it seems as though the GT85 has worked quite well. I guess its just trial and error when it comes to the lube until you find the right one that works for you.

diy

There are at least 50 motorbike forums having the exact same conversation and the considerations are identical. Either:

Choose a sticky lube which will stick and will protect, but will also pick up dirt.
Use a dry lube which is less efficient at lubing, but will resist dirt, but washes off easy.
Use a light oil lube that doesn't attract dirt and repels water, but doesn't last long.

There is nothing on the market which can do it all.

In the summer I use dry wax, in the winter I use a light oil, occasionally mixed with a bit of chain gel.

Northwind - which TF2 product do you think is no good and which one has PTFE? They make at least 3 chain lubes?
http://www.weldtite.co.uk/products/53/T ... ducts.aspx

Northwind

diy wrote:

There are at least 50 motorbike forums having the exact same conversation and the considerations are identical.

Yip, buy a scottoiler

diy wrote:

Northwind - which TF2 product do you think is no good and which one has PTFE? They make at least 3 chain lubes?
http://www.weldtite.co.uk/products/53/T ... ducts.aspx

Ach, I'm always doing that, sorry... When I think of TF2 I only ever think of the "Aerosol with teflon" which is their WD40, for some reason my brain has decided all their other stuff is branded weldtite, even the stuff I use myself :oops: