Gear box oil for cassette/chain etc on new bike-good or bad?
- Thread starter night cycler
- Start date
-
- Tags
- chain lubrication
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Globalti
Legendary Member
"Wet" oil is a disaster for bike transmissions. There's a lot of grit flying up off the front wheel and this sticks to the chain, forming a grinding paste, which soon turns a horrible black with metal wear. This may be OK if you never touch the chain but it's a nightmare for the mechanic and if you often put the bike in the back of the car and handle it like we do, it goes all over the upholstery, your hands and your clothes, from which it's impossible to remove.
A wax and solvent based lube is dryer and cleaner although the wax will also pick up grit and the chain goes black eventually.
A wax and solvent based lube is dryer and cleaner although the wax will also pick up grit and the chain goes black eventually.
jonny jeez
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chislehurst, Kent, UK
This...please don't ruin your clean chain and your carpet...by loading on lots of smelly unrequired oil.
I've ridden around 1000 miles on my recent chain and have only just given it its first drop of oil.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
This is why one wipes the chain down following a lube. The oil gets into the rollers where it's actually needed, yet is removed from the exterior surfaces where it isn't and chain contamination is all but eliminated. Black chainitis is a question of poor technique, not of the material being used.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
New bike? Treat it to a bottle of Progold Prolink. One drop per chain roller using a syringe, wipe clean, also use on brake and other pivot points. £6.00's worth will last well over 12 months. I've used it exclusively on my bikes from new.
I always let it dry overnight. Did think it might be more to do with the degreaser getting rid of all the good stuff like the deep dishfactory grease. Also I used dry all winter - maybe it got washed off and then not replaced regularly enough. Like you say it must work for some!
Citius
Guest
Sorry, I don't agree. The only disaster is poor maintenance.
Plain old engine oil for me. As said regular wipe down and reapply seems to keep the chain good more than a particular product. After a wet ride a quick hose down and wipe dry saves the build up of dirt and oil. I avoid degreasers as the residue seems to linger meaning the new oil gets thinned out very quickly. If I'm doing a better clean I'll use car shampoo.
Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
I prefer the chainsaw oil. But the chain will come with factory lubrication, probably paraffin. That's what we used to use back in the day, heated in hot water(flammable, so no direct flame)in a seperate vessel. Once the paraffin wax was hot, it would melt, and we would put the chain in it for 15 minutes, then remove, wipe, and let dry in an airy place. From the feel of it, it seems that's what the factories do as well. A lot of faffing, though, and I would just use the chainsaw oil when next the chain needs oiling.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJSgc80W04k
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJSgc80W04k
uclown2002
Guru
- Location
- Harrogate
The rusty chain and subsequent failure was not caused by a dry lube!
didn't even think about oil.Not 'caused' as in it didn't rot my chain but as part of my maintenance routine I don't think it was adequate. Maybe if I'd been applying after every couple of rides it would have worked better. Like I say it seems to work for some people but IMHO I don't think it was good for me. I think my wet lubed chain looks and feels healthier than my dry one.
Engine oils are designed to work within a sealed environment, where all the crap from your car wheels doesn't contaminate the oil and stick to it like glue. Engine oils are designed to STICK to everything and for everything to stick to it, thus when you flush the engine oil out, contaminants come out with it rather than clog up your engine.
I would never ever put engine oil on my bike... Quickest way of wrecking the drive train. Every bit of crap from the road is going to stick to it. Its thick and gloopy and designed to thin out as it heats up, something your bike will never do.
I use GT85 on my bike, keeps the water out, doesn't attract ANY dirt and doesn't keep going black like everybody else s drive-trains, even after rides in the wet.
WD40 is also a perfectly awesome lube, does the same thing, keeps out moisture and lubricates.
I last sprayed my chain with GT85 at the start of the year and its still clean, still lubed and seriously quiet too for a Shimano 105/5700 drive-train.
I've tried all the fancy wet lubes, expensive lubes etc and found them all to be a complete waste of money, with ALL of them resulting in a black chain/cassette resulting in chain imprints on the back of my leg that doesn't wash off for days and a chain/cassette full of grit.
I could always see the grit when using the chain scrubber as it would all stick to the magnet at the bottom, it was horrible, and I don't ride a LOT of miles.. 30 to 60 a week at most, rarely when wet.
Just gave away 6 different bottles of rather expensive and well known brand lubes to a friend who cycles a LOT more than I do and he didn't want them, turns out he uses WD40 and doesn't have any problems.
Simon from GCN also uses WD40 :-)
I would never ever put engine oil on my bike... Quickest way of wrecking the drive train. Every bit of crap from the road is going to stick to it. Its thick and gloopy and designed to thin out as it heats up, something your bike will never do.
I use GT85 on my bike, keeps the water out, doesn't attract ANY dirt and doesn't keep going black like everybody else s drive-trains, even after rides in the wet.
WD40 is also a perfectly awesome lube, does the same thing, keeps out moisture and lubricates.
I last sprayed my chain with GT85 at the start of the year and its still clean, still lubed and seriously quiet too for a Shimano 105/5700 drive-train.
I've tried all the fancy wet lubes, expensive lubes etc and found them all to be a complete waste of money, with ALL of them resulting in a black chain/cassette resulting in chain imprints on the back of my leg that doesn't wash off for days and a chain/cassette full of grit.
I could always see the grit when using the chain scrubber as it would all stick to the magnet at the bottom, it was horrible, and I don't ride a LOT of miles.. 30 to 60 a week at most, rarely when wet.
Just gave away 6 different bottles of rather expensive and well known brand lubes to a friend who cycles a LOT more than I do and he didn't want them, turns out he uses WD40 and doesn't have any problems.
Simon from GCN also uses WD40 :-)
Last edited:
Citius
Guest
Whilst I wouldn't specifically advocate the use of engine oil in particular - the above is still wrong. Lubricating your drivetrain with almost anything is never going to 'wreck' it.
4th cat tattoo...
Last edited by a moderator:
