Chain lubrication, the balance of pros versus cons

[silva]

Somewhere in 'Bicycling Science' there is some information on transmission efficiency and IIRC a dry, rusty chain was still pretty efficient compared to alternatives and while worse than a new chain, it was not substantially worse (I suspect belt drives were not included and it's likely the alternative was shaft drive). Will see if I can find it later.

It's interesting, but I didn't stop lubricating my chain after reading that.

Having said that on my shopping bike the intervals between lubing are often very long- one or two times per year and wear is not a concern I have at all. Trips are short & frequent, often done instead of walking, chain is pretty chunky- likely it will not be replaced in the next five years, longer in all likelihood.

Rust (internal not external) is also a wear aggravator of same magnitude as grinding paste from oil and dirt.
It's mechanically much weaker so it wears off quickly, so it doesn't fill space to prevent chain becoming longer.
I have seen alot rain the past months. It has happened that some rollers showed brown spots. In the past I put oil on these to prevent further rust. That was unneeded - the rust gets worn off after a few km's.
So avoiding rust is as important as avoiding grinding paste.

 

[silva]

Agreed
The OP is also measuring chain wear due to having to re-tension the chain on a Fixed gear. Not exactly a scientific measurement as the slackening could also be caused by rear wheel movement and Freewheel/Chainring and roller, wear.
Moot points, but in any case, I can see no viable reason not to clean and lube a chain!

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chain-wear.html

- My rear wheel has a one place fixed mount. No horizontal dropouts. As said: the chain tensioning is done by a bottom bracket based eccenter.
- You first say fixed gear, then you say could be caused by freewheel wear.
Talking about moot points!
The other points, and actually all even if had been true, can be eliminated from the equation, because they were/would have been present with, and without lubrication, so on both sides of the equation.

 

[silva]

+1
haven't washed a bike in well over a decade.
But it's important to keep the drivetrain and gear shifting maintained/clean/kept lubed.

.... AND cleaned.
Because of this equation:
lube + dirt = grinding paste = more wear than metal on metal.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Carry on sharing @silva You can never tell where your experience and derived conclusions might find a receptive landing place.

 

[Blue Hills]

Carry on sharing @silva You can never tell where your experience and derived conclusions might find a receptive landing place.

I'm just waiting for the sex tips, appropriate use of lubes or not etc.

 

[FishFright]

I'm just waiting for the sex tips, appropriate use of lubes or not etc.

Vaseline and condoms are a poor mix because it weakens the latex

chuckle

 

[Ming the Merciless]

An un lubricated chain has been shown to wear 8.43% faster on average. This was tested over 1000s of chain not a sample of 1.

 

[Ajax Bay]

And what about the other thing (oval holes)? Got any anecdata on that? Share your metric, do!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I missed this thread. Do I dare read it from the start?

I'm tempted to press "ignore thread" and run away and pretend I never saw it.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Option 2, @Dogtrousers: a sincere recommendation, unless you are a science fiction aficianado, of the non-lugubrious sort.

 

[Rusty Nails]

.... AND cleaned.
Because of this equation:
lube + dirt = grinding paste = more wear than metal on metal.

I once bought a bike from a bloke who commuted along the Swansea/Mumbles coastal path and thought that using plenty of oil on the chain without cleaning it was a good idea.

The cassette rings were like ninja stars from the oil and sand mix.

 

[Fab Foodie]

+1
haven't washed a bike in well over a decade.
But it's important to keep the drivetrain and gear shifting maintained/clean/kept lubed.

...and rims clean if you use cheap brake blocks...

 

[Blue Hills]

...and rims clean if you use cheap brake blocks...

Of course i agree that it's important to keep rims clean on a rim-braked bike.
It's a mucky world out there.
Thunderstorms later.

 

[silva]

Carry on sharing @silva You can never tell where your experience and derived conclusions might find a receptive landing place.

This topic is about a choice for the case (my case) of a to sand / dirt / external wear particles exposed chain:
1. lubrication and alot cleaning work to avoid increasing instead of reducing wear.
versus
2. no lubrication and no cleaning work and a wear less than 1. without cleaning work.

I have had now several months a chain running dry.
Yet, the eccenter tensioner moved forward much less than before, with some cleaning of the staying mounted chain and some targeted lubrication.

So the idea of 2. didn't have to come from the other side of the ocean - it was the most obvious next option.
And since the rain cover, so rust no game ruiner anymore, that option became a reality.
And so far, it proved.
The real test is ofcourse one from the start: a new chain, and see how long that running dry can keep it in the running.
For ex, in autumn, lotsa wind, colder so chain dries up slower, condensation, it's quite possible that rust will still end the test due to force oil.
Maybe I can improve that rain cover, so that the chain is more protected against wind from the side. But there is ample room. Ideally it should be some separate addon cover parts that I can easily remove when needed.
The current rain cover, as you can see on the pic, is like that. It's mounted with knotted inner tube rubber. I can just flip it up / away from the chain.

 

[silva]

I once bought a bike from a bloke who commuted along the Swansea/Mumbles coastal path and thought that using plenty of oil on the chain without cleaning it was a good idea.

The cassette rings were like ninja stars from the oil and sand mix.

Oil on a dirty chain is mothers best kitchen recipe for wear.
But it's also oil that leads to that dirty chain.
So it's a circular story.
I broke that circle right there.