Best Drive Train Oil?

[Lovacott]

Once a week, on Saturday mornings, I give the bike a clean and I pay special attention to the drive train.

Afterwards, I oil it up with bog standard 3-1 oil.

However, if it's a wet week, by Wednesday, I find my drive train misbehaving itself and I end up giving it a clean and a fresh coat of 3-1.

I've heard about special winter waxes which reduce the need to constantly oil the chain.

Are they any good?

 

[Joffey]

 

[PaulSB]

You'll get a million opinions. Personally I like Chain Juice Ceramic. The key though is to be sure your chain cassette and rings are clean. Use a minimal amount of dry non-sticky lube and wipe your chain clean with an oily cotton rag after every ride.

https://images.app.goo.gl/XY6nytFD5TaSyPYH6

 

[Nebulous]

There are probably as many different answers / opinions as there are members.

I clean and oil my chain once a week on my commuter, for a very short commute and on my other bikes more or less every time they are out. With the length of your commute and dirty roads I’d think a mid-week wipe of your chain and relube would be worth it.

I’ve never used the dry waxes, but they are for summer, dry weather use, not the winter.

I use this stuff. It is a pump, not an aerosol and has a very concentrated jet, meaning you can get it into the precise spot you want it. Big can as well, lasts me a long time.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-maintenance/bike-lube/bikehut-spray-lube---250ml-164370.html

 

[Lovacott]

I clean and oil my chain once a week on my commuter, for a very short commute and on my other bikes more or less every time they are out. With the length of your commute and dirty roads I’d think a mid-week wipe of your chain and relube would be worth it.

I’ve never used the dry waxes, but they are for summer, dry weather use, not the winter.

I use this stuff. It is a pump, not an aerosol and has a very concentrated jet, meaning you can get it into the precise spot you want it. Big can as well, lasts me a long time.

That looks like good stuff. Is it oil based or PTFE?

I did try PTFE spray earlier in the year because that was all I had in the house at the time but it didn't seem very effective.

3-1 is what I use normally, but it seems to mix very well with dust and grit to become a grinding paste.

On Wednesday, I tried WD40 on its own which seemed to work well but by Thursday evening (20 miles later), I had to reapply.

That said, with WD40, the chain has stayed pretty clean and it's only taken me ten minutes this morning to clean the whole bike.

 

[Nebulous]

That looks like good stuff. Is it oil based or PTFE?

I did try PTFE spray earlier in the year because that was all I had in the house at the time but it didn't seem very effective.

It says “highly refined mineral oil with Teflon”

Most oil becomes a paste at this time of year, with crud from the road. I wipe that stuff off with baby wipes and relube to prevent it grinding down my chain and gears. I also spray all the pivot points on the derailleurs which is where the jet comes into its own.

 

[Lovacott]

It says “highly refined mineral oil with Teflon”
Most oil becomes a paste at this time of year, with crud from the road. I wipe that stuff off with baby wipes and relube to prevent it grinding down my chain and gears. I also spray all the pivot points on the derailleurs which is where the jet comes into its own.

I'm going to get a can later this morning.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

If the drive train is playing up, I'd say the choice of oil is neither here not there... It's far more likely to need some slight adusting.
Lube is lube, they pretty much all work.

 

[Spiderweb]

I spray WD40 or GT85 on to a rag to wipe the chain clean and then apply Finish Line Ceramic wet lube on to each roller, best lube I’ve used.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/finish-line-ceramic-wet-lubricant-120ml-bottle

 

[Paulus]

I spray WD40 or GT85 on to a rag to wipe the chain clean and then apply Finish Line Ceramic wet lube on to each roller, best lube I’ve used.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/finish-line-ceramic-wet-lubricant-120ml-bottle

I do something similar, but use white spirit. It takes all the gunk off. Then wipe with clean ish rags and then lube the chain. I personally use finish line wet this time of year, and the dry lube in spring/summer .

 

[Lovacott]

If the drive train is playing up, I'd say the choice of oil is neither here not there... It's far more likely to need some slight adusting.
Lube is lube, they pretty much all work.

It's hard to see what's going on, but the chain takes a few moments longer to settle onto its selected cog when it's not well lubricated. Bit of a pain when going up hill and shifting.

I've got the indexing bang on (after many hours of watching you tube and taking advice from others on here).

The lube I use (3-1) is good but I just wanted to know if there was something better?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

It's hard to see what's going on, but the chain takes a few moments longer to settle onto its selected cog when it's not well lubricated. Bit of a pain when going up hill and shifting.

I've got the indexing bang on (after many hours of watching you tube and taking advice from others on here).

The lube I use (3-1) is good but I just wanted to know if there was something better?

Ah I see, I misunderstood what you meant by it playing up, thanks for clarifying.

 

[mjr]

I think it depends what crud you're riding through. I found that the ceramic wax mixed very easily with fen silt and fell off, leaving a squeaky chain in less than 20 miles. I now use either Green Oil or Weldtite Pure Bike Oil so even if it still drops off quick, at least I'm not shooting PTFE pollution all over the countryside. https://www.bikepure.co.uk/our-product-range/bike-oil/

 

[Lovacott]

I think it depends what crud you're riding through. I found that the ceramic wax mixed very easily with fen silt and fell off, leaving a squeaky chain in less than 20 miles. I now use either Green Oil or Weldtite Pure Bike Oil so even if it still drops off quick, at least I'm not shooting PTFE pollution all over the countryside. https://www.bikepure.co.uk/our-product-range/bike-oil/

It may sound dumb, but chain lube to me was always either the local hardware shop 3 in 1 or a spray of WD40.

Doing more miles on shitty country roads has made me question that.

I'll get some of what you suggest as well and run a little experiment.

Cheers for the link.

 

[Drago]

Prepare for a thousand different answers from a thousand different posters. None will be wrong - ultimately the difference it makes to drivetrain life and performance is minimal, just some long as something goes on there and its kept moderately clean. The only significqnt difference is that different ungents have different characteristics that appeal to different riders.

For my own part I use hypoid diff oil, just a minimal amount. It's cheap, minimal flinging, and is designed not to flow away from high pressure metak on metal interfaces. The downside is that it smells umpleasant and that puts some people off, but I get around this by making a point of not getting doen on my hands and knees and sniffing the chain.