Oil and WD40

[matrix]

These may be stupid questions but here goes..............

1 Where do you apply oil? (I'm guessing oil directly onto the chain but where else?)

2 Where do you apply WD40? (I'm guessing where you don't want moisture.......so could that be gear and brake cables?)

3 If it is brake and gear cables how do you get WD40 inside the cable sleeve?

4 Also, I have just dug out my bike from a couple of years storage and there is a build up of oil on the gear cogs and derailleur. Should I fully clean the oil off and reapply fresh new oil and if so how can I get the old oil off?

Thanks

 

[steve52]

wd tends to dry out and becomer sticky so i avoid it on my bike , think ist got solvent in it too so it can be bad for bearings but im not sure ?

 

[Borbus]

Don't use WD40 on a bicycle.

You should lubricate every exposed moving part of the bicycle, so this includes the whole drivetrain. A light bicycle oil is good. Apply it liberally to the chain and derailleurs.

You should clean off dirty oil, yes. A toothbrush is good for cleaning the chain if you have some kind of degreaser. If you have a master chain link like PowerLink then it's easy to remove the chain for cleaning, otherwise you have to do it on the bike. The cassette is easy to remove for cleaning, though.

 

[Melonfish]

Oil on the bike WD40 in the bin

as far as the cassette goes, is it advisable to remove and clean or will one of those specialist brushes do the job? or are we talking once a year (twice if needed) to remove de-gunk and re-gunk?

 

[Borbus]

I just do the cassette in the sink with soapy water with a cheap cleaning brush from the supermarket. I only do it once a year really... at the end of winter when I've been using wet lube. Then I degunk and now I'm using dry lube during the drier months which doesn't seem to gunk up at all.

The chain is a lot harder to degunk, I use a PowerLink but in the sink with soapy water just isn't enough. You need a proper degreaser. In the past I've used paraffin (kerosene), petrol, alcohol etc. I'm considering getting some "eco-freindly" degreaser, though.

 

[numbnuts]

I like WD40

 

[400bhp]

Replace WD40 with GT85. Used to clean/lubricate/protect. I use it everywhere, bar the chain & sprockets. Note, Hellfrauds usually have it on offer for £2.50 a can.

 

[tyred]

WD40 has it's uses IMO. Excellent for cleaning. Just spray some on a rag and wipe the frame over with it. Also reasonably good as a degreaser in other situations, as a lube for anything which is sticking and a reasonable penetrating oil but there are better ones on the market.

Use a proper oil on chains and proper grease in bearings.

 

[400bhp]

. In the past I've used paraffin (kerosene), petrol, alcohol etc. I'm considering getting some "eco-freindly" degreaser, though.

IMO the degreaser isn't as good as what you're currently using, and costs more too.

I went back to using white spirit.

 

[Alun]

I grease most stuff on assembly including inner cables, but not brakes and carbon parts, proper chain oil on the chain, and WD40 on everything else (except the brakes and tyres obviously). I clean the chain frequently with a Park Tools chain scrubber with Gunk then rinse with water.

 

[Globalti]

Use white spirit, turps substitute, kerosine or paraffin for cleaning. Remove the chain and swish it around in the cleaner in an old baking tray then transfer the dirty liquid to a jam jar and leave it for a few days; the dirt will settle out and you can reuse it next cleaning time. I usually need to do this about five times before the chain is thoroughly clean. I use an old toothbrush to scrub the dirt off the side links.

Pull the chain through an old towel and leave it for a day to dry. Once it's dry, re lubricate it with Finish Line applied sparingly. Wipe again through the towel and allow the carrier to dry off leaving the lube inside the chain.

While the chain is off, sit down with the rear wheel on your lap and slip the edge of the towel between the cogs, pushing it in as far as it will go and sawing it back and forth, which will rotate the cassette and clean both sides of both cogs. Repeat for all cogs.

Clean the chainrings with a similar technique and a towel damped a little with cleaner.

Cables don't need much care beyond a clean with some wire wool then a pull through fingers wetted with chain lube. You will derive much more benefit from changing the cable outer where it curves around to the rear derailleur every six months; it is highly stressed and it wears but you don't notice the deterioration in hanging performance.

Other pivot points on the bike can be lubed with chain lube, not WD40 or GT85, which are not really lubricants.