Alternatives to chain lube

Tjgoodhew

I got a bit caught out over the weekend. I was way from home and had a long ride in the wet on Friday.

I needed to cycle home on the Saturday - 40 miles and my chain was completely dry. I was staying at my mums so there was no chance of anything resembling chain lube. I had to make a few calls and eventually found somebody who had some all purpose oil i could borrow

I was wondering if there are any household alternatives if this ever happens. It might sound stupid but would general household oils do the same job in this sort of situation. Something like olive oil ??

drlodge

Any kind of oil is better than none. Even a spray of WD40 or Gt85 type stuff is better than a bone dry chain

keef66

Any old cooking oil would do in an emergency. Certainly better than having a squeaking, rusty chain.

Thinking about it, even extra virgin olive oil is probably cheaper than most tiny bottles of bike specific lube...

marcusjb

Yep - olive oil, vegetable oil etc. - all work in an emergency (particularly if you've ridden in heavy rain for a few hours).

None of them will cling on very well - but it'll save you from going mad with squeaks.

Some drivetrains on the Ride London 100 the other week sounded in desperate need after the deluges.

Cool kids don't need lube of course (dual Carbon Drives on our bike!).

ai_1

keef66 wrote:

Any old cooking oil would do in an emergency. Certainly better than having a squeaking, rusty chain.

Thinking about it, even extra virgin olive oil is probably cheaper than most tiny bottles of bike specific lube...

Avoid extra virgin!