Chain lube - what is your choice

pkngster

Hey all,

I have bee using WD40 and 3 in 1 oil on my chain thinking this way the perfect way forward, but have been told by various friends that I need a proper lube, so what do you guys use and swear by and oh one other question also, wet and dry lube, do you use both at different times of year etc or it is a one lube for all seasons?.

Cheers,

PK

mactedder

I use wet at the mo, but you could go for something like White Lightening 'Epic' to cover all year. See link below, it has useful table to show best type to use in which conditions.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/white-lightning ... ml-bottle/

Bullet1

Finish line wet lube for me in winter. Dry lube in the summer.

Shouldn't really be using WD40 as its a water displacer and not a lubricant (so I'm told)

Calpol

Muc Off wet lube here. It smells sooooooooooooo good.

alihisgreat

I use Fenwicks stealth in the winter, and Finish Line Dry in the summer.

Scrumple

this question comes round weekly on here.

they all work - GT85 helps dry the chain, then lube it.

Bozman

WD40 all the way, there is no better lubricant out there!!!

nolight

I use WD40 as a cleaner, not a lubricant. It removes stuff.

Bozman

nolight wrote:

I use WD40 as a cleaner, not a lubricant. It removes stuff.

You were quick, but I was really expecting some real abuse within a couple of minutes.

WD to clean the chain and 3 in 1 or GT85 to lube it.

simon_masterson

I use Green Oil products exclusively; specifically in this case the wet lube, all year round.

The environmental factor picqued my interest (this being important to me, and the alternatives are pretty bad), but the performance is excellent. I'm more than happy recommending Finish Line 'Cross Country' (green bottle), however, given that it's cheap, available and effective.

damov2

Im currently using Muc-Off dry lube in the dry and Muc-Off c3 ceramic lube for wet conditions, but normally use some industrial chain lubes from Rocol or Tygris or Ambersil (I can get them from work so its nice and cheap).

smidsy

Finish Line Dry.

Sprool

i read a lot of negativity about wd40 as a lube, I hear its just a solvent, removing grease and water, leaving the chain dry, but not lubricated. I don't know if thats technically correct or not.
I do know that GT86 has teflon in it so acts as degreaser/cleaner and lube and it tends to make my road bike chain run really quiet, but it has no staying power. I also use GT86 to clean down the brushed stainless steel hob in the kitchen and it does a wonderful job, allowing further oil/grease splashes to be removed easily. For winter I use Finish Line products. Wet for winter, dry for summer. GT85 as a cleaner.

TakeTurns

Unless you're not man enough to ride in the winter, GT85 is useless.

We used to use it back when I worked at Evans during the summer time, on customer bikes. Simply because of its practicality.

Finish line cross country is good. It actually sticks to the chain( I use it). The key is to not over lube. Don't put extra lube on 'cause it's wet outside. That'll make your drivechain sweep all the dirt off the ground. Wipe off excess lube once application is complete.

Mikey41

I use Finish Line Wet lube at the moment, simply because it came in the pack with the chain cleaner, and the LBS recommended it. I'm pleased with it, works well.

For a thorough clean, I'll run the chain through the cleaner with degreaser, then drop the rear wheel and clean the cassette with a bit of WD40 and an old paintbrush. Wipe off all excess and refit the wheel, wipe excess degreaser from the chain and then re-lube. Chainrings and jockey wheels cleaned with some WD40 sprayed on a cloth.

simon_e

Sprool wrote:

i read a lot of negativity about wd40 as a lube, I hear its just a solvent, removing grease and water, leaving the chain dry, but not lubricated. I don't know if thats technically correct or not.

It's mostly solvent. It does contain some mineral oil, but not enough to lube a bike chain for long. But WD-40 and GT85 are better than a bone dry, squeaking chain. 3-in-1 would probably work fine.

I use Green Oil wet lube. Clean the chain with a squirt of WD-40 on a rag then apply Green Oil with a toothbrush on the inner run of the links. This way there is less lube on there and the relatively dry outer surface attracts less muck.

e999sam

I've been using one of these for the last 14 months on my commuting bike.http://www.patrickjames.co.uk/bic_scot.php

flasher

Prolink ProGold.

MattC59

Brilliant ! Haven't seen this one for a while !

WD40 is about as much good as a chocolate tea pot for luring bike chains. I can't be ar*ed to go into it, but search my posts for te reasons. This comes up so often that I emailed WD40 and asked then the question. They agreed, it's not the right stuff for our usage, this is also in one of my emails.

GT85 is marginally better.

I use either Finish Line krytech or White Lightening Clean Ride in the summer (think I prefer the White Lightening) and Finish Line CrossCountry in the winter.

There are loads of good ones out there and you'll get a million and one different answers, depending on what people use, but you won't go far wrong with Finish Line products. Just don't overload the chain with lube or you'll get a black mess what ever you choose !

p1tse

I assume you just lube after each proper clean of the chain?

ilm_zero7

try the Ceramic based finish line - really good, and seems not to attract grit and dust like the wax does

il_principe

Fenwicks MTB Stealth on the commuter and in the Winter
Fenwicks Road Stealth in the Summer.

zx6man

Bullet1 wrote:

Finish line wet lube for me in winter. Dry lube in the summer.

+1

zx6man

Bozman wrote:

nolight wrote:

I use WD40 as a cleaner, not a lubricant. It removes stuff.

You were quick, but I was really expecting some real abuse within a couple of minutes.

WD to clean the chain and 3 in 1 or GT85 to lube it.

Just check out sites like KMC, they say just wash the chain, then lube, no need for solvents and the like, claims it removes the oil on the inside which will bugger a chain up in no time.

My chains on an 8 speed are cheap enough to replace anyway.... probably cost more in fancy cleaners/lubes :-)

father_jack

Using new oil on every link will spread to the inside though? Capillary action and all that.

ic.

Pedro's synlube for me. A fine drizzle over the whole chain followed by several forwards and backwards revolutions then hold a rag against the chain whilst you turn the pedals to wipe off excess. Easy

tiredofwhiners

TakeTurns wrote:

Unless you're not man enough to ride in the winter, GT85 is useless.

Its all I have ever used, on any bike and I've never had a spot of rust, a seized anything and yes, I ride all year around, with only marginally less in the winter as you would expect with the poorer weather.

I'd say a better expression is that if you are going to look after your bike properly, you can use GT85, but if you're going to slack off and not look after it, you'll need a thicker oil which will look after your chainset when you CBA .

g00se

Progold Xtreme all year round. But I'll be giving Fenkwicks Stealth a go next. I much prefer these modern solvent-delivered lubes - little residue, no build up of muck (other than what the solvent seems to initially displace), and water resistant. Very quiet too.

father_jack

On the wiggle site (GT-85)

Penetrating Lubricant
Water displacer
With PTFE
NOT chain lube!

zx6man

Gt will work fine if used everyday, as will butter or lard :-)

Side note I also tend to use the wet lubes on rides of 100 miles or more as the dry stuff doesn't seem to last and i would rather not carry lube with me.

MattC59

I was also going to try Fenwicks Stealth this summer, anyone tried it yet ?