Winter Chain Lube
Can anyone recommend a chain lube for the winter? Based in Glasgow, about as brutal as it gets for chains..
Thanks in advance
S
Single speed 46x16 Traffic eliminator
Comments
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Don't whatever you do use MucOff Wet Lube!
That stuff is marketed that it "tenaciously grips to your chain". It also tenaciously grips to dirt but unfortunately doesn't tenaciously grip to degreaser, so you are left with black gunk grinding paste you can never get rid of.
Any decent wet lube is probably OK as long as you clean and reapply frequently enough - I have had decent use with Morgan Blue Syn lube but I am sure many others with have equally good experience with other brands.
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Rock n Roll Blue.
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I use Fenwick's all conditions lube for all year round riding. Stays on in heavy rain and doesn't get too black and gunked in muddy conditions. Will easily come off with degreaser as well.
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+1 for Fenwicks. Just the basic cheaper one. Works very well all year round. Not too messy/black gunk either.
Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.
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I used to work in a factory with a machine shop and I used to pinch the slideway oil which was designed to stick onto the flat slideways in the machines. It was long lasting on a chain, even in the worst conditions.
I now use Green Oil chain lube for its environmental credentials, but to my mind it works well enough. It survives rides in bad weather while being light enough to encourage frequent cleaning and fresh application which has had a beneficial effect upon the longevity of my drive train.
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Awesome, thanks for your help.
2022 Specialized Crux Comp Gravel destroyer
Single speed 46x16 Traffic eliminator0 -
I use Finish Line Ceramic all year round. (They do a summer and winter version.) Pretty cheap. Nothing much sticks to it. Chain easy to clean. Smooth changes etc.
Some of the guys in my club went through a phase of taking the chain off and coating in hot wax, which worked well apparently, but was far too much of a faff for me to consider!
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Hot waxing is ridiculously easy now - you can buy prewaxed KMC chains so no need to strip the grease off. Just run out the pack and after a couple of hundred miles pop in a slow cooker with Silca wax in it. Fish out, reinstall, turn the slow cooker off and leave the wax in the pot until the next time a further couple of hundred miles later.
Your drivetrain will always look way cleaner than with oil, no degreasing, no 4th cat tats. When you do want to clean it, just boil the kettle and pour hot water over the cassette.
Really couldn't be simpler, but not a great choice for the OPs request because there is very little protection from rust.
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Horses for courses I guess, but for me, without a spare slow cooker to hand or the desire to dismantle and relink a chain on a regular basis (*) a bottle of Finish Line is sooooooooooo much more practical.
(*) I can do this, but just CBA (particularly in winter where any bike maintenance will be undertaken where my wimpy fingers are exposed to the cold) unless it's actually needed, e.g. stretched too much.
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I seem to recall something about wax not lasting well in wet conditions, is that true? Not much use as a winter lube in the UK if that's the case.
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There's not really any substitute for actually cleaning a chain.
I gave up on bike specific stuff a while ago and just use penetrating oil. It is less effective at sticking to a chain when wet than something like the mic off lube, but this also means it is less effective at sticking things to the chain and everything else. It's also cheap and mobilizes surface crap and makes it easy to wipe the chain somewhat clean after application.
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I am actually running my winter bike on hot waxed chains this year as an experiment, but don't think it will be one I stick with (and certainly not if I was CX racing in Scotland). Not had any issues with the wax getting washed off mid ride when wet but despite being fairly fastidious about drying the chain still get rust spots.
On the flip side everything runs smooth, no grinding paste, much easier to clean - no worries about washing oil into disc brakes. You can always drip wax to top up very quickly - very easy to do after a wet ride.
Maybe it would be a good solution with fancy coated chains that are highly rust resistant.
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Agree re the benefits of regular chain cleaning. I clean mine after every wet ride with Fenwick's chain cleaner kit (foaming stuff and a stiff sponge) then once it's dry, apply lube. Chain never goes rusty under this regime. (Chain rings and cassette can be a bit iffy though.) The main rust risk re the chain that I face is after a wet drive when going on hols, but the rust seems to come off readily enough with the Fenwick's sponge.
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Not sure any chain lube can really deal with a 'cross race. My bike was once so muddy after one such outings that it took two goes with the jetwasher to get even the frame clean (first effort in the dusk when I got home was definitely a B- effort at best!) and had to cut a load of grass out of the gears etc. before I could start trying to salvage the chain.
I'm sure there are still some clumps of mud between the cogs on the cassette!
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You have too much time on your hands if you clean the chain after every ride.
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It takes about 5 minutes. The Fenwick's kit is brilliant for clean chain liking lazy g*ts like me.
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Not so much a comment on lube but what does require regular de-clogging is the jockey wheels.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.2 -
Those greasy lumps are lethal. I once cleaned them off and must of stood on them, walked it in to the integral garage. Later I walked in to garage in my slippers from the house, next thing black marks on the carpet. I blamed the 🐈⬛ fortunately it came off with some Fenwicks bike cleaner.
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