Chain lubrication

Jules Winnfield

Ive been riding my new bike for about a month now and tonight i gave the cassette and the chain a bit of a clean. Granted it was not dripping in grease and crud etc, but i thought it would be best to keep on top of these things to save any problems in the future. So now its clean again, i need to reapply some lube so what do you good folk recommend for chain lubrication?

Cheers

buckles

Have you tried chain lube?

I use this

Simply because, during a ride from Paris to Amsterdam, we ran out of lube near Overijse and this was the cheapest available.

Jules Winnfield

Buckles wrote:

Have you tried chain lube?

Hence why i asked the question to point me in the right direction so it stops me just going out to buy some crap

diamonddog

3in1 oil.

halfround

I use cross country wet lube by finish line in winter and when wet, in the dry in summer I use Halfords dry lube. Other brands might be better but I am happy with them.

wishitwasallflat

I've just gone to XC Wet too after using Muc Off Wet for the last year or so. So far it seems really good and very tenacious (recommended on here by some expert members). In the summer I use Muc Off Dry.

keef66

diamonddog wrote:

3in1 oil.

That's what I use all year round now. Big bottle from Wilkos for a pound ages ago. Just a tiny drop on each roller, spin the cranks to work it in, then wipe off any excess.

Over the years I've tried wet lube, dry lube, wax based stuff including Squirt, even engine oil and transmission fluid, but have concluded that humble 3-in-1 oil if carefully applied gives the best combination of lubrication, protection and chain cleanliness.

sungod

fit a kmc link to the chain, then it's easy to remove/refit for cleaning/maintenance

wet/nasty conditions, a nice thick sticky oil

in dry conditions you can use a ptfe dry lube - make sure bottle is shaken well before applying

but i just use sticky oil year round, remove chain to wipe or clean every now and then

zx6man

keef66 wrote:

diamonddog wrote:

3in1 oil.

That's what I use all year round now. Big bottle from Wilkos for a pound ages ago. Just a tiny drop on each roller, spin the cranks to work it in, then wipe off any excess.

Over the years I've tried wet lube, dry lube, wax based stuff including Squirt, even engine oil and transmission fluid, but have concluded that humble 3-in-1 oil if carefully applied gives the best combination of lubrication, protection and chain cleanliness.

Yup, this, had all the fancy ones, now just use 3 in 1. Granted it needs applying a little more often, but costs peanuts compared.

ben-----

With dry lube, and possibly wet lube, I've heard you're supposed to apply it hours before. What happens if you're out and about and it starts squeaking? Apply more lube anyway? Apply 3-in-1 oil instead on top of the lube?

dennisn

Jules Winnfield wrote:

Buckles wrote:

Have you tried chain lube?

Hence why i asked the question to point me in the right direction so it stops me just going out to buy some crap

I think you're making more of chain lube than you need to. Pretty much ANY type of lube will work. However if you must have the, so called, bike specific stuff then anything on the rack at the bike shop will do.

dennisn

ben----- wrote:

With dry lube, and possibly wet lube, I've heard you're supposed to apply it hours before. What happens if you're out and about and it starts squeaking? Apply more lube anyway? Apply 3-in-1 oil instead on top of the lube?

3 in 1 oil is lube. :roll:

charlie_potatoes

Jules Winnfield wrote:

Ive been riding my new bike for about a month now and tonight i gave the cassette and the chain a bit of a clean. Granted it was not dripping in grease and crud etc, but i thought it would be best to keep on top of these things to save any problems in the future. So now its clean again, i need to reapply some lube so what do you good folk recommend for chain lubrication?

Cheers

Once a month? I clean mine every day in the winter.

FatTed

You could use this
http://www.chain-l.com/
or any thing else in the bike shop

buckles

Charlie Potatoes wrote:

Jules Winnfield wrote:

Ive been riding my new bike for about a month now and tonight i gave the cassette and the chain a bit of a clean. Granted it was not dripping in grease and crud etc, but i thought it would be best to keep on top of these things to save any problems in the future. So now its clean again, i need to reapply some lube so what do you good folk recommend for chain lubrication?

Cheers

Once a month? I clean mine every day in the winter.

I clean mine once after every winter.

littledove44

Has anyone used ATF? I read it was very good. If it works in gearboxes I was thinking a chain would be not much of a challenge for it.

The reason I ask is that I have five litres of the stuff ( don't ask). So I reckon I could lubricate my bike chains till about 2080.

topdude

Any oil is ok to use,
Thin oil like 3in1 can wash out in rain and splatter around the rear end a bit.
Heavier stuff like engine / gear oil stays on better but collects more muck as it is stickier.
Tried various bike specific lubes but came back to good old oil

ben-----

dennisn wrote:

ben----- wrote:

With dry lube, and possibly wet lube, I've heard you're supposed to apply it hours before. What happens if you're out and about and it starts squeaking? Apply more lube anyway? Apply 3-in-1 oil instead on top of the lube?

3 in 1 oil is lube. :roll:

When I said lube I was meaning something like Muc-Off C3 Ceramic Lube Wet. Here http://road.cc/content/review/99691-muc ... c-lube-wet it says "apply to each link ideally 3-4 hours before you ride". So my question still stands. You've applied that 3-4 hours before a ride, you're out, it starts squeaking so you need to apply something straight away, for use straight away. Do you apply the lube or just normal oil?

imposter2.0

littledove44 wrote:

Has anyone used ATF? I read it was very good. If it works in gearboxes I was thinking a chain would be not much of a challenge for it.

The reason I ask is that I have five litres of the stuff ( don't ask). So I reckon I could lubricate my bike chains till about 2080.

ATF works in gearboxes because it sits in a sump/recovery system and the parts it lubricates rely on the ATF (or any other oil) being constantly recycled through the gearbox. It would just drip off a chain for the same reason - chain lube needs a much higher tenacity than that...

buckles

ben----- wrote:

dennisn wrote:

ben----- wrote:

With dry lube, and possibly wet lube, I've heard you're supposed to apply it hours before. What happens if you're out and about and it starts squeaking? Apply more lube anyway? Apply 3-in-1 oil instead on top of the lube?

3 in 1 oil is lube. :roll:

When I said lube I was meaning something like Muc-Off C3 Ceramic Lube Wet. Here http://road.cc/content/review/99691-muc ... c-lube-wet it says "apply to each link ideally 3-4 hours before you ride". So my question still stands. You've applied that 3-4 hours before a ride, you're out, it starts squeaking so you need to apply something straight away, for use straight away. Do you apply the lube or just normal oil?

I suspect the reason they recommend adding it 3-4 hours before a ride is because it contains a volatile solvent that needs time to evaporate.

If you bought and used that particular lube, and your chain started squeaking while out on a ride then you either didn't apply it properly OR it's not fit for purpose. If you definitely did apply it properly, you'd would realise that the stuff is no good, stop using it and instead use a proper lubricant that actually does what it's supposed to do...

dennisn

ben----- wrote:

dennisn wrote:

ben----- wrote:

With dry lube, and possibly wet lube, I've heard you're supposed to apply it hours before. What happens if you're out and about and it starts squeaking? Apply more lube anyway? Apply 3-in-1 oil instead on top of the lube?

3 in 1 oil is lube. :roll:

When I said lube I was meaning something like Muc-Off C3 Ceramic Lube Wet. Here http://road.cc/content/review/99691-muc ... c-lube-wet it says "apply to each link ideally 3-4 hours before you ride". So my question still stands. You've applied that 3-4 hours before a ride, you're out, it starts squeaking so you need to apply something straight away, for use straight away. Do you apply the lube or just normal oil?

You're making way, way, way to much of lubing a bike chain. You're not doing, so called, rocket science here. It's a chain. Put some oil or whatever on it and be done with it.

dennisn

How about this? Do whatever it is that you think you should do as far as lubing a chain goes. Soak it in solvent for a few weeks, send it out for professional ultra sonic cleaning, buy whatever chain cleaning tool you like the looks of, simply wipe with a rag and re-lube every week or so, or day or so, use the most expensive lube you can find, use the lube that promises you extra speed, use 3 in 1 oil, use used motor oil, slather the chain with heavy grease, spray on WD-40, buy a new chain, rings, and cassette every month and never buy lube again.

Lots of choices above. Pick one or two or as many as you like. They all will work equally well. Either individually or together.