chain lubrication water cleanable

[Phil Marsh]

Hi,
I have some ideas for chain lubrication which I'm currently experimenting with.
I ride a recumbent bike, a Bachetta, and I've had issues with chains getting gunked up. In the past, I used to clean my chain using paint thinner then Dawn dish detergent. This worked OK, but then I needed to work in LA for a few years and had no good way to dispose of the waste there.
Attempting to clean the driveline with just detergent and water didn't work and I couldn't use solvents either.
So, now my solution is this:
1. Mix 0W-16 motor oil (the iowest viscosity I can find) + liquid laundry detergent which has been dried for a few days to reduce its water content + teflon powder.
I mix leave the liquid laundry detergent in a flat pan until it's dried into a thick liquid. Then I combine it with the oil in approximately a 1:1 ratio oil to detergent. I'm experimenting with this and will likely reduce the detergent content in the future. I then add a small amount of teflon powder and mix thoroughly.
This is applied with a toothbrush to the clean bike chain and worked in. The excess is toweled off.
I'd tried Dawn dish detergent for the detergent component in the past, but in LA's marine environment, that caused the chain to rust. Laundry detergent seemed to provide corrosion resistance which makes sense because the laundry detergent makers would likely try to protect washer parts from corrosion.

My chain lube seems to control wear and friction quite well. Moreover, the it allows total cleaning of the driveline using a brush, Dawn dish detergent, and water spray.
I think this is not advisable if you're going to ride in the rain, but really, how often do most people ride their bikes in the rain?
What do you think?

 

[DaveReading]

I think this is not advisable if you're going to ride in the rain, but really, how often do most people ride their bikes in the rain?

In LA, probably not much ...

 

[C R]

In LA, probably not much ...

Meanwhile, in old Blighty we don't have much of a choice if we want to ride outside

 

[Ming the Merciless]

To avoid the gunk, wipe down the chain with a cheap cloth once you’ve rotated the cranks a few times. It’s the oil inside the rollers that does the job. Not the oil on the outside.

 

[cougie uk]

In Britain if you didn't ride in the rain then you'd not get out much. It's not that it rains all the time but you often get showers.

LA is probably very different.

 

[Broadside]

I’ve got some Heavy Duty Degreaser from Screwfix, it contains alcohol ethoxylate and does an amazing job of cleaning deep grime and built up oil gunk from the drivetrain and rims.

You just paint it on any dirty bits and brush it along the chain, jockey wheels and chain rings then rinse off with a hose. Let I all dry and then re-lube the chain and it looks like new again. No oil based cleaners left to dispose of, it makes it a doddle to keep all the bikes clean with nice quiet drivetrains.