Chain lubrication

[psmiffy]

I have always used the finish line wet for touring - never worried about the chain looking a bit black as I always have had good chain life using it - only time I try to clean the chain is if it is starting to look a bit gritty if I have been cycling in areas with a lots of dust or loose sand - a bit of WD40 when it rains does the job - a bit of oil the morning after get it back to its black but non gritty self

 

[Manonabike]

I have always used the finish line wet for touring - never worried about the chain looking a bit black as I always have had good chain life using it - only time I try to clean the chain is if it is starting to look a bit gritty if I have been cycling in areas with a lots of dust or loose sand - a bit of WD40 when it rains does the job - a bit of oil the morning after get it back to its black but non gritty self

I do a lot of riding in sandy places so it gets quite gritty.

What other makes of lube can people recommend that keeps chains a little cleaner?

 

[Cubist]

I think you like assuming things

Unhappy with Finish Line products after trying the dry but mostly the wet lub.

I think the second bit of your answer refers to me asking if anybody has used silicone spray and then me saying that I have some and I'll try some on my chain. Well, of course I'd like to read comments from forum members, that is how we learn things..... in the mean time I could try it myself (doubt it very much that it would ruin my chain ) then I can contribute with my own experience and other people looking for information on that topic might find it interesting.


A friend of mine was told at his LBS that GT85 was great for lubing chains.... I use the stuff for my spd pedals and other pasts but only after a wash and once it has evaporated I use proper oil. Any comments?

My mistake, sorry! Didn't read all your post, just assumed you didn't like Finish Line

You asked which lube to keep the chain clean? I use Finish Line dry on both the MTB and the commuter. The commuter chain gets cleaned and relubed after a wet ride, otherwise the lube does the job very nicely.

On a 34 miler last year we rode the first ten or so miles on a very muddy section with cinder trackbed on an old railway line. The rest of the ride was on a mix of millstone grit and moorland, with the occasional sandy path thrown in for good measure. On one climb a guy riding behind me asked me why my drivetrain was shiny and his all covered in shite. I looked down and it had shed all the crap we had ridden through, and was indeed shiny bright. It was because I was using dry lube with the excess wiped off.

Here's a pic of the bike after that event (mines the one at the front) to give you an idea of the conditions. Use a wet lube in conditions like that and everything will be covered in a fine grinding paste.

 

[subaqua]

have had really good results so far with btwin chain and deraileur oil from decathlon.

in the winter i used mucoff wet lube and that was good too .

all applied with the mickle method (TM).

 

[Manonabike]

My mistake, sorry! Didn't read all your post, just assumed you didn't like Finish Line

You asked which lube to keep the chain clean? I use Finish Line dry on both the MTB and the commuter. The commuter chain gets cleaned and relubed after a wet ride, otherwise the lube does the job very nicely.

On a 34 miler last year we rode the first ten or so miles on a very muddy section with cinder trackbed on an old railway line. The rest of the ride was on a mix of millstone grit and moorland, with the occasional sandy path thrown in for good measure. On one climb a guy riding behind me asked me why my drivetrain was shiny and his all covered in shite. I looked down and it had shed all the crap we had ridden through, and was indeed shiny bright. It was because I was using dry lube with the excess wiped off.

Here's a pic of the bike after that event (mines the one at the front) to give you an idea of the conditions. Use a wet lube in conditions like that and everything will be covered in a fine grinding paste.

Not to worry, easily done

I think I like what you said in your post and it's worth another bottle of Finish Line Dry. I'll order some.

I will try to find out more info on that Btwin oil.... thanks for the suggestion.

 

[HLaB]

these chainlube threads do my head in

Well at least its not a Helmet thread

 

[gannet]

Anybody else use one of these?

Scott Oiler Active Fluid System


I find it real easy and always there when you feel it running a bit dry

 

[Manonabike]

Just wanted to say on this topic that I decided to test the silicone spray idea on my SS. I've been using it as often as I used to lubricate with oil and the results are amazing. So clean and smooth!!!! 4 weeks and I'm converted, at least for the SS. I will clean the whole drive train on my other bikes this weekend and start using silicone spray on them too.

I've no idea how long the chain will last but as I said before, it's more important to me to have a clean chain.

 

[Globalti]

It's inevitable that your chain will turn black; this is finely ground metal. The same thing happens when you polish the family silver or some brass with Brasso - you get black on the cloth, which is also metal, finely ground by the very fine abrasives in the Brasso.

 

[Mad at urage]

Well at least its not a Helmet thread

Yes, but should re-lubing your chain after riding be made compulsory?

 

[Manonabike]

It's inevitable that your chain will turn black; this is finely ground metal. The same thing happens when you polish the family silver or some brass with Brasso - you get black on the cloth, which is also metal, finely ground by the very fine abrasives in the Brasso.

On the contrary, I think the experiment proves to me that I can have a clean chain after all. I expect the chain to get dirty after a while, nothing is perfect I guess but this option is by far the best solution I found to date. I spent a little extra in a shiny silver chain that was getting black within two days and that was driving me mad

 

[brockers]

I'll put off lubing a new chain until it starts getting a bit noisy! I've had Finish Line Pro Road Ceramic on for a couple of years and it seems ok. Don't think I bought it for any other reason than it was on special offer. Yes the chain gets dirty, but then I'll run it through a rag after every other ride (only takes a minute), which helps to keep things shiny. I reckon you might just as well use engine oil tbh as it's what I use in the Scottoiler on my 100hp motorbike, and I've hardly adjusted the chain in 20,000 miles. Though things are slightly different as new clean oil is constantly dripped into the sytem and older dirty oil gets flung out onto the back wheel.

 

[henshaw11]

>older dirty oil gets flung out onto the back wheel

I thinks that's the main difference - any excess won't be there for long - I can't help wondering that a Scottoiler on a bicycle will just leave the chain too wet and attract muck..I guess if you did use one then Greenoil might not be a bad idea, 'cos the excess has to go somewhere..

ISTR the other thing with motorcycle chains (well, the o/x ring sealed ones) is that the lube's more to keep the chain seals lubed and reduce external chain corrosion, rather than actually getting into the internals of the rollers (if the seals are doing their job).

I haven't ridden a motorbike for years, but ISTR of two lubes I used to use, one was dryish, t'other was nastily sticky - the dry one might have been worth trying on a bicycle chain (and a bloomin' sight cheaper than bike lubes if you could apply it a drop at a time rather than spraying willy-nilly)

 

[buddha]

I normally use Prolink Gold - excellent stuff.

However, I ran out of it and found a can of White Lightning (wax) lube sitting on a shelf in the shed.
All I can say is "What a load of utter cr@p!". After 30 miles all the wax had come out of the rollers and dropped off. Leaving me with a squeaky chain for another 30. All I could see in the only village shop I passed was a bottle of basil infused extra virgin olive oil, so continued home sounding like a sparrow

 

[Mad at urage]

>older dirty oil gets flung out onto the back wheel

I thinks that's the main difference - any excess won't be there for long - I can't help wondering that a Scottoiler on a bicycle will just leave the chain too wet and attract muck..I guess if you did use one then Greenoil might not be a bad idea, 'cos the excess has to go somewhere..

ISTR the other thing with motorcycle chains (well, the o/x ring sealed ones) is that the lube's more to keep the chain seals lubed and reduce external chain corrosion, rather than actually getting into the internals of the rollers (if the seals are doing their job).

I haven't ridden a motorbike for years, but ISTR of two lubes I used to use, one was dryish, t'other was nastily sticky - the dry one might have been worth trying on a bicycle chain (and a bloomin' sight cheaper than bike lubes if you could apply it a drop at a time rather than spraying willy-nilly)

Scottoiler on for a bicycle
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http://www.patrickja...uk/bic_scot.php
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