Best chain lube for lazy mate..

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wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
I'm trying to get an increasingly unhealthy mate out on his bike more; it currently suffering from a skippy cassette thanks to excessively worn teeth and perhaps an as-yet-indeterminately worn chain.

I'll be checking and replacing these in due course; however it hurts my mechanical sympathy to think of the lack of maintenance these parts will likely get, so want to give them the best possible chance in life :tongue:

I wax all of my stuff but obviously the owner of hte bike in question is never going to do this.. however since he's only going to pop to the shops in favourable conditions I suspect he'll get a lot of rides out of the usual 300-ish miles I expect from a waxed chain.. so perhaps this isn't such a bad way to go after all..?

I'm loathe to oil it as I know it'll never see any maintenance so will be covered in DIY grinding paste in no time..

I suspect there's no real answer, but I'm interested to hear thoughts on the most low-maintenance-friendly chain lube.. if anyone has any!
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Most recent lube thread of many
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/what-chain-lube.291984/

Fwiw I use Muc off wet or dry, have used Finish Line in past and I do little to no maintenance (myself)
 

winjim

Smash the cistern
I would probably say just a can of WD40. It may not be ideal but he's never going to get into an ideal maintenance regime and WD40 is familiar, easy and widely available.

I know a lot of us enjoy fancy fiddly bike mechanics but sometimes you've got to take the path of least resistance.
 
OP
OP
wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Thanks all!

Tbh I'm wary of stuff like WD40 and maybe GT85 for lubrication of high-load areas as they're both pretty thin and I know the former goes sticky and nasty over time.

Currently I think thinking of setting it up waxed and telling him to stick some 3 in 1 on it when it starts to squeak.. whichever route's taken it's unlikely to be optimal..
 

Peter Salt

Bittersweet
Location
Yorkshire, UK
Belt drive.
 

sevenfourate

Devotee of OCD
I saw a guy wheeling a bike with a bone-dry, red-rusty chain just recently, and it suddenly occurred to me that some people might be leaving them like that deliberately because they don't want their clothes getting greasy.

Lmao

Trainees bike at work had a chain that looked like it had been laid to rest in the North Sea for a prolonged period. The noise the drivetrain made when he put some pressure on it to leave for home made you cringe….

It narked me so much I spent 15 mins getting rid of the loose ‘scale’ and then lubed it up for him without saying a word.

He might not have appreciated it. But my ears and mechanical mind does 😉
 
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