# Lubricants



## conq5 (29 Jan 2022)

Interested to know what oil / lubricant everyone uses for general maintenance. Cheers


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## ebikeerwidnes (29 Jan 2022)

Oh Gods 

here we go 
the 'What lube should I use" so - wet or dry or just 3-in-1


OK - I have no idea

off you go


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## Brandane (30 Jan 2022)

conq5 said:


> Interested to know what oil / lubricant everyone uses for general maintenance. Cheers


It's your first day at the new school, so you weren't to know.... but this is one of several topics that comes up quite regularly! 

Personally I use left over motorbike fork oil on my chain. General purpose grease on bearings (wheel bearings, headset, bottom bracket, all of which seem to get a very sparse coating at the factory).
Bits that are supposed to move like derailleur hinges, gear/brake cables, levers, and brake calipers get a drop of ACF50 (Google it... good stuff! I buy it for my motorbike, it's a bit OTT for a pedal bike but since I have it, I use it).


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## Illaveago (30 Jan 2022)

conq5 said:


> Interested to know what oil / lubricant everyone uses for general maintenance. Cheers


HI and 

I use 3in 1 for cables and pivot points and car engine oil for my chains . General purpose grease for bearings .


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## Tenkaykev (30 Jan 2022)

I have a Brompton. I lubricate my chain with cold pressed, single estate, extra virgin olive oil. 😉😁


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## Randomnerd (30 Jan 2022)

Look in the top right corner of the screen. “Search”. I’ve typed “lubricant” and chosen “everywhere”. This could help.


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## youngoldbloke (30 Jan 2022)

Progold Prolink. Used it exclusively on my bikes over the years. From new. Manual and ebikes. Apply using a hypodermic needle, wipe off surplus, a little goes a long way. Drive chain and other pivot points. My Orbea Gain is still on it's original chain and cassette after 3 years and almost 6000 miles and shows no need of replacements.


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## Ming the Merciless (30 Jan 2022)

You won’t get a consensus. Whatever is available in local bike shop.


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## CXRAndy (30 Jan 2022)

Good quality grease for bearings, oil or spray grease for chains. 

Brands Anything you fancy


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## fossyant (30 Jan 2022)

Just get a dropper bottle of oil - can't go wrong with finish line cermic wet - I use it on all the bikes. The bigger dropper bottle isn't expensive and will last forever.

Don't get suckered into the 'the expesnive stuff is best'. I also find the basic Muc Off wet lube is fine, and cheap (Aldi).


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## gbb (31 Jan 2022)

Pro's and con's
WD40, kept my chain the cleanest it's ever been but destroyed it twice as quick as 'normal' oil. But ive heard other manage quite well on WD. But then there is the environmental cost to consider as well. Hardly ideal using aerosols twice a week.

Engine oil, (was) super cheap, quick, easy, but left my chain wet and very dirty, lots of oil droplets everywhere, chainstays, rims, hubs, everywhere. Very dirty

Chainsaw oil. Quite cheap, less 'fling' than engine oil but still 'flings' a bit. Chain gets dirty.

Bike specific chain oils, tried various (barring the expensive ones)...not much between them.

Ultimately, i used to monitor chain mileages quite anally, barring WD, most chains wore out about the same time, whatever method i used.

All these are just my experiences, others may differ.


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## numbnuts (31 Jan 2022)

Grease for bearings and for everything else there's Mastercard WD40
I'm a bit like @ggb as I find WD40 on chains works for me on my bike 6500 miles is possible, now my trike you can double that
but it's all down to the way you ride, if you sit and spin I think there is less wear on the chain


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## Randomnerd (31 Jan 2022)

I don't know why I'm chipping in...surely EVERY WORD has been typed on lubrication in this place.

WD 40 is a solvent, and as such will displace oil and grease. Your chain will be clean and dry, but not lubricated for very long.


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## Brandane (1 Feb 2022)

numbnuts said:


> if you sit and spin I think there is less wear on the chain


And if you only cycle in areas without hills, it will last a lot longer too! If you're putting a lot of power down through the cranks and climbing massive hills, then you're not going to get much mileage out of a modern 11 or 12 speed chain. 
I was surprised to find that my last 10 speed chain only lasted 2200 miles, according to the stretch measurement tool from Park's Tools. I do a reasonable amount of hills, but not so much of the power thing!
Back in the day of 6/7/8 speeds on the back wheel, I rarely even thought about chain wear.


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## tyred (1 Feb 2022)

Don't skimp on chain cleaning. Do it properly. 

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html


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## ebikeerwidnes (1 Feb 2022)

tyred said:


> Don't skimp on chain cleaning. Do it properly.
> 
> https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html


OMG
Soo lucky I read right to the end


they really should make it clear that cleaning you chain does not require total dis-assembly of the whole chain before you get to the end
luckily I was able to delete the order for the 17 cleaning products and the 5 types of grease before the order was finalised
but I was lucky it is night time and cold 
if it was summer I might have been looking at a pile of links on the patio by the time I realised it was not serious

people need to be more responsible



[End Sarcasm]


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