Chain lubrication, the balance of pros versus cons

[classic33]

I see. But a grease is viscous, and during a load cycle (transmit force) it is pushed away from the pressure places, and the viscosity causes it to not return there. So how does it serve as a lubrication then?
Maybe with a sealed chain, O X etc rings locking up the grease, combined with enough grease to allow a grease pressure build up that pushes the grease back in the non loaded part of the cycle,
And against rust the grease is worth nothing, as proved after the first install of a motorcycle chain.
at the first rain day the chain was full of brown spots so I had to put oil on it.

Remove the grease from your wheel bearings and see how long they last.

 

[silva]

Remove the grease from your wheel bearings and see how long they last.

The balls of bearings are seated between inner and outer parts enclosing them so it's much harder to be pushed away from the mating surfaces than inside a roller chain link which is just cilinder over pen..

 

[FishFright]

I see. But a grease is viscous, and during a load cycle (transmit force) it is pushed away from the pressure places, and the viscosity causes it to not return there. So how does it serve as a lubrication then?
Maybe with a sealed chain, O X etc rings locking up the grease, combined with enough grease to allow a grease pressure build up that pushes the grease back in the non loaded part of the cycle,
And against rust the grease is worth nothing, as proved after the first install of a motorcycle chain.
at the first rain day the chain was full of brown spots so I had to put oil on it.

Semi liquid grease and O rings etc.

You're supposed to put oil on a chain before it gets rust spots .

 

[silva]

Semi liquid grease and O rings etc.

You're supposed to put oil on a chain before it gets rust spots .

Yes pf course, only that I expected that fabric applies white grease to have a more fluid component that acts as rust protection.
But that would be not logial, since the reason (as I was told here) to use a grease instead of oil, on a motorcycle chain, is the higher running speed which would throw off fluids / liquids. Something I overlooked.

Recently I discovered another thing that I overlooked.

After "using up" (= keep riding till too many teeth broke off) the last of 3 previously mounted Velosolo chromoly rear cogs, I had to mount a new one. The chain tensioner sat quite close towards its maximum distance position, just like with the earlier 2 cogs (also a reason for teeth breaking off). But I thought, let's keep using the chain till that no further tensioning range left.
That's a not done, since worn chains quickly wear cogs towards the pitch of the chain links, but I gave it a try, just to see.
Big surprise: with the new cog and the old chain, the tensioner suddenly returned from like 90% of its range to like 60%. I was like WTF.
But laying the old, broken teeths worn cog over another spare new one, it became clear why.
When cogs/chainring wear, the valleys between teeth get wider, BUT, they also get deeper.
What happens then: de rollers run closer towards the cogs center / the wheel axle, abit like a smaller inner diameter cog. And that decreases the distance the chain travels, so chain hangs looser, so tensioner has to be moved further away.
The same must be true for a worn chainring.
So I binned two chains without need, and faulty thought that worn sprockets increased chain wear so much that economically the gain of keep using old sprockets is offset by the loss of chain life.
So in the future, in a case of a combination of very worn cog (teeth broke off) and a less worn chain, I replace the cog and keep the chain, to then some months later replace the chain when end position tensioner reached and keep the cog, and so, alternating the swaps.

 

[raleighnut]

Yes pf course, only that I expected that fabric applies white grease to have a more fluid component that acts as rust protection.
But that would be not logial, since the reason (as I was told here) to use a grease instead of oil, on a motorcycle chain, is the higher running speed which would throw off fluids / liquids. Something I overlooked.

Motorcycle chain lube is not grease but is a heavy oil and wax emulsion, the old method or lubricating motorcycle chains was to remove them and after cleaning in paraffin put a tin of 'Linklyfe' on the cooker until it melted then immersing the chain for half an hour in that whilst still on gentle heat to allow it to penetrate into the pins and bushings then hanging the chain over the tin allowing the excess to drain down, once cold the 'Linklyfe' solidifies. It does not matter what you put on the surface of a chain if the pins are not lubricated then the chain will wear rapidly.
Grease on the other hand is a mixture of Oil and Soap and as such is semi water soluble (unless you use a Marine type) but will not penetrate into the pins/ rollers so is next to useless on a chain

 

[Fab Foodie]

Grease is the word....

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I use Saturday Night Fever on my chains.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I use Saturday Night Fever on my chains.

I tried it, but found it to be a bit of a bit of a song and a dance....

 

[GuyBoden]

I'm all for Waxing lyrically......................

Motorcycle chain lube is not grease but is a heavy oil and wax emulsion, the old method or lubricating motorcycle chains was to remove them and after cleaning in paraffin put a tin of 'Linklyfe' on the cooker until it melted then immersing the chain for half an hour in that whilst still on gentle heat to allow it to penetrate into the pins and bushings then hanging the chain over the tin allowing the excess to drain down, once cold the 'Linklyfe' solidifies. It does not matter what you put on the surface of a chain if the pins are not lubricated then the chain will wear rapidly.
Grease on the other hand is a mixture of Oil and Soap and as such is semi water soluble (unless you use a Marine type) but will not penetrate into the pins/ rollers so is next to useless on a chain

I think Linklyfe has been out of stock for a while.................

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I tried it, but found it to be a bit of a bit of a song and a dance....

It’s good for e bike chains, because it’s electrifying …

 

[DogmaStu]

I'm trying Peaty's All Weather at the moment. When it arrived in its small fancy bottle with Link Lube Premium embossed in gold my girlfriend wondered at first what I had bought...

 

[raleighnut]

I'm all for Waxing lyrically......................

I think Linklyfe has been out of stock for a while.................
View attachment 697632

Yep it stunk the kitchen out, modern aerosol chain lubes are far better but the best imo is the Scottoiler system but unless adjusted correctly can leave a very gungy mess all over the back of the motorbike

 

[FishFright]

Yep it stunk the kitchen out, modern aerosol chain lubes are far better but the best imo is the Scottoiler system but unless adjusted correctly can leave a very gungy mess all over the back of the motorbike

Aerosol lubes are one of the effective ways to waste lube ever

 

[Juan Kog]

Please don’t all shout at me , but does my chain need oiling?

 

[C R]

Please don’t all shout at me , but does my chain need oiling?

View attachment 697824

Just fling some grease in its general direction and it'll be fine