Best lubricants?

[Daveb99]

Looking for some advice on the best lubricant(s) to buy for general maintenance.

Long gone are the days when I used to use WD40 after hosing it down (it was about 1989 I think) but having just got back into cycling I'm looking for some recommendations.

I'm sure there have been a few threads about this so apologies but I'm just looking for some quick advice so I can get it ordered.

All I have at the moment is:

3 in 1 oil
Castrol chain wax (for motorbike chains)
Waterproof grease (the white stuff - about 20 years old!)

So I guess I need to invest in something decent, plus a degreaser as well?

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I just use Wilkinson's bicycle lube oil. It is made by Welditite and only costs around £1.19 I think. I am sure that there is better about, but I have had no problems and it is nearly a fifth of the price of the stuff I used to use. To de-grease I use Swarfega Oil & Grease Remover, I bought 5 litres of this for £9 for B&Q. I dilute it to 1 to 10 parts water (although the instructions say 1:50) and spray it all over my commuting bike (where it is dirty). I then use a hose pipe and the bike is more or less or clean. I have not used it on my road bike yet, but it appears to have done no damage to my commuter. Just I read somewhere on here to use it as it acts like Muc-Off but without the inflated cyclist price tag. You could use it stronger for the chain I guess, but it works very well at the concentrations that I am using.

 

[numbnuts]

I know many on here don't like WD40, but I use it all the time on everything, if it moves it gets sprayed.
For wheel bearing I use grease of course

 

[subaqua]

I just use Wilkinson's bicycle lube oil. It is made by Welditite and only costs around £1.19 I think. I am sure that there is better about, but I have had no problems and it is nearly a fifth of the price of the stuff I used to use. To de-grease I use Swarfega Oil & Grease Remover, I bought 5 litres of this for £9 for B&Q. I dilute it to 1 to 10 parts water (although the instructions say 1:50) and spray it all over my commuting bike (where it is dirty). I then use a hose pipe and the bike is more or less or clean. I have not used it on my road bike yet, but it appears to have done no damage to my commuter. Just I read somewhere on here to use it as it acts like Muc-Off but without the inflated cyclist price tag. You could use it stronger for the chain I guess, but it works very well at the concentrations that I am using.

just be careful it doesn't ingress into the rear hub bearings or the cassette bearings, or the bottom bracket.

for chain cleaning i take it off and wipe it down with a GT85 soaked rag until shiny then lube it . the Mickle method is the best though.

as for lubes i use Btwin chain and derailleur lube for the chain and derailleurs, it gets applied to the spd moving parts too.

seat post has a lithium grease applied.
not had to lube bearings yet.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Thanks for the advice Subaqua, I will keep an eye out

 

[Cubist]

I just use Wilkinson's bicycle lube oil. It is made by Welditite and only costs around £1.19 I think. I am sure that there is better about, but I have had no problems and it is nearly a fifth of the price of the stuff I used to use. To de-grease I use Swarfega Oil & Grease Remover, I bought 5 litres of this for £9 for B&Q. I dilute it to 1 to 10 parts water (although the instructions say 1:50) and spray it all over my commuting bike (where it is dirty). I then use a hose pipe and the bike is more or less or clean. I have not used it on my road bike yet, but it appears to have done no damage to my commuter. Just I read somewhere on here to use it as it acts like Muc-Off but without the inflated cyclist price tag. You could use it stronger for the chain I guess, but it works very well at the concentrations that I am using.

Gunk green degreaser diluted five to one in an old Muc-Off spray bottle is my favourite recipe....shifts road grime and cleans chains, cassettes and mechs beautifully without being too aggressive.

OP, use GT 85 on exposed metal surfaces, cable housings etc etc. My preferred lube is Finish Line dry chain lube, used sparingly. See this thread https://www.cyclechat.net/

 

[ohnovino]

Finish Line Dry for the chain, GT85 for just about anything else. That's probably got less to do with the effectiveness of GT85 and more to do with how much I like the smell.

 

[fossyant]

Finish Line stuff is the dogs danglies. Reminds me to go get some more of the ceramic stuff.

 

[Daveb99]

Thanks everyone - so if I get some GT85 and Finish Line Dry that should do me ?

 

[Cubist]

Thanks everyone - so if I get some GT85 and Finish Line Dry that should do me ?

That's about it. Unless you want to grease stuff like bearings/threads etc during a service, in which case just get ordinary lithium grease.

 

[Acyclo]

I like these:

http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/244-412598

http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/product/dura_ace_gease.html?action=currency&id=GBP

I've used generic products like GT85 and the Weldtite one but the Shimano spray works far better, it prevents rust and doesn't attract dirt, and you use far less. It's probably more expensive to use but, in my view worth it. As for the grease, it seems expensive but it lasts far longer so it saves you time and money in the long run.




Just my two pence worth, discovered by error and trial.

 

[Milo]

Out of interest I use dubbin on my boots and it says it can be used on chains. Would this be a good idea or would it attract dirt as I imagine it would?

 

[Cubist]

Out of interest I use dubbin on my boots and it says it can be used on chains. Would this be a good idea or would it attract dirt as I imagine it would?

If you wiped it on, and tHen wiped it off again, I imagine it would work like a dry wax lube. Used sparingly and wiped off it would be better than a wet lube at grit repelling.

 

[slowmotion]

I use Finish Line Wet on the chain. Get hold of some plastic disposable syringes and an 18g hypodermic needle and you can thoroughly oil your chain using only 1 ml of lube. I squirt some lithium grease into the pivots of the derailleurs (also with a syringe and needle). Having gone over to the dark side, I do sometimes take off the chain and degrease it with Jizer, which is wonderful stuff, before rinsing in water, drying it, and then re-oiling. It may sound like a chore, but it's all strangely enjoyable!

 

[the snail]

Thanks everyone - so if I get some GT85 and Finish Line Dry that should do me ?

The dry lube is great, but it's no use in wet conditions. I gave up on it and use finish line wet now - the chain gets dirty, but it's always lubed, regardless of the weather, so I think it's the best option if you ride every day and don't want to have to lube it whenever it rains. I've never degreased the chain, just wiped with a cloth and oiled it, and I got 6000km+ from my chain