Can anyone please recommend a good chain lube? - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-27-2007, 10:43 AM

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1169907139.613215.221470@v45g2000cwv.googlegr oups.com...
>
>
> On Jan 26, 9:40 pm, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> > Right now I'm getting by with a spray lube called "Rem Oil." Seems ok,
> > but it's on the light side. I've tried motor oil, but that seems to fly
> > off and makes a total mess. Any suggestions please?
> >
> > gene in Oregon
>
> Prolink-good stuff, little goes a long way, read the instructions.
>

Ditto...great stuff, and recommended by the guys at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].

Here's a link to the manufacturer's page:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

~_-*
....G/ \G
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CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

01-27-2007, 11:36 AM

> Right now I'm getting by with a spray lube called "Rem Oil." Seems ok,
> but it's on the light side. I've tried motor oil, but that seems to fly
> off and makes a total mess. Any suggestions please?

I'm a big fan of Rock N Roll gold. Not messy, thin enough that a heavy
application washes old gunk away (never mind that many say reapplying lube
simply moves bad stuff into the "bearing" areas of the chain), and the only
lube I've used which seems to actually fix shifting issues. Plus, for a
fairly thin lube, has pretty good staying power. Very good stuff for the
person who doesn't spend enough time maintaining their bike.

--Mike--
Chain Reaction Bicycles
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01-27-2007, 12:14 PM

On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 18:53:22 +1300, Fred wrote:

>
> <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].webtv.net...
>> Right now I'm getting by with a spray lube called "Rem Oil." Seems ok,
>> but it's on the light side. I've tried motor oil, but that seems to fly
>> off and makes a total mess. Any suggestions please?
>>
>> gene in Oregon
>>
> You might like to try chain oil - available from chainsaw retailers. It
> certainly doesn't fly off, sorta stretchy stuff, like honey on your knife.
> It's what I use, although I've heard a million different theories about
> what's best. Watch this space - they'll appear shortly.

I use Phil Wood oil sometimes, which is the same thing. It works great
and lasts long but is very messy -- those goopy strings of oil fling all
over everything, including rims, and take awhile to quit forming no matter
how much wiping I do.

Mostly I use Phil Oil to lubricate freehubs and my Judy fork, but if I
have to put something on my chain immediately I'll use it for that.

Motor oil would be better but I don't have a car so I don't have it around.

Otherwise I use Boeshield, which is sort of oily and sort of waxy, and
lasts a long time. It should really be applied ahead of time and allowed
to dry though. I don't like dry waxy lubes because I hate noisy
drivetrains. A little oil really quiets things down.

Basically anything will work just as well for a bicycle chain, the
problem is ease of maintenance. So use whatever works best for you.

Matt O.

01-27-2007, 12:34 PM

Home made white lightening. and Phil's Tenacious Oil
Been using nothing but for 15 years.

SN

01-27-2007, 12:37 PM

I use Phil Wood oil sometimes, which is the same thing. It works great
and lasts long but is very messy -- those goopy strings of oil fling all
over everything, including rims, and take awhile to quit forming no matter
how much wiping I do.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

You are not suppose to use that much is why.
I use a drop every six inches and keep turning the chain till it sinks in or
spreads a little. No gooey strings.

01-28-2007, 06:54 AM

In the recent past I've had two lubricants recommended to me: One is
called "Zep." It's available at industrial supply type places. Supposed
to clean and not attract grime.
The other idea someone shot my way is motorcycle chain lubricant,
available at (drum roll) motorcycle shops.
A recent issue of Popular Mechanics mentioned something called Jigaloo,
which has a lame web page: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] .
Personally, I've had acceptable results with STP silicone lube spray,
which I get at the local auto parts joint.

Bill

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_`\(,_ | Subvert the fuel-based-transportation paradigm!
(_)/ (_) |

01-29-2007, 09:29 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> Right now I'm getting by with a spray lube called "Rem Oil." Seems ok,
> but it's on the light side. I've tried motor oil, but that seems to fly
> off and makes a total mess. Any suggestions please?

Buy a can of foaming chain lube for non-O ring chains.

I.e. Froogle "Permatex Chain Lube 80075"

For spray-on products, you need a foaming lubricant if you expect it to
penetrate inside the rollers of the chain. Unfortunately, most spray on
products give you a beautiful looking chain on the outside, but they
don't actually ever reach the rollers.

If you are soaking the chain, you can use chainsaw oil. Cheap and effective.

No need to purchase any of those expensive and exotic lubricants that
cost as much as printer ink.

01-29-2007, 02:59 PM

Everyone could probably recommend what *they* consider to be a "good
chain lube", but which one is best for *you* will be determined by
your experience.

I recommend starting with motor oil (as is recommended by several
chain manufacturers), and then choosing a replacement if needed should
that prove unsuitable for some reason. The next lubricant can be
selected on the basis of the knowledge of what was unsatisfactory
about the prior one. Since not all riders have identical needs or
expectations, which lube is best *for you* can only be determined *by
you*.

--
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01-29-2007, 03:25 PM

On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:59:41 -0600, Werehatrack
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> may have said:

>Everyone could probably recommend what *they* consider to be a "good
>chain lube", but which one is best for *you* will be determined by
>your experience.
>
>I recommend starting with motor oil (as is recommended by several
>chain manufacturers), and then choosing a replacement if needed should
>that prove unsuitable for some reason. The next lubricant can be
>selected on the basis of the knowledge of what was unsatisfactory
>about the prior one. Since not all riders have identical needs or
>expectations, which lube is best *for you* can only be determined *by
>you*.

Specifically, since you noted that "mess" and "flying off" were your
issues, it appears that you want a chain lube that runs cleaner and
sticks to the chain better than the motor oil that you used. ("Flying
off" can be reduced by using less, by the way.) "Cleaner" pretty much
precludes all of the actual oils, so you're left with the dry lubes.
For recommendations in that area, I'd ask the local bike shop folks,
as they'll have an idea of which ones do and don't work in your
climate and conditions. Be aware that there may not be a dry lube
that will work acceptably for you, though, and many of them have to be
applied quite frequently if they're going to be useful to any
significant degree.

--
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Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
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01-30-2007, 04:41 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].webtv.net>,
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] writes:
> Right now I'm getting by with a spray lube called "Rem Oil." Seems ok,
> but it's on the light side. I've tried motor oil, but that seems to fly
> off and makes a total mess. Any suggestions please?

If you're going to use motor oil or chainsaw oil
or the like,
~and~
if you take your chain off the bike to clean it:

try warming the chain up after it's been cleaned,
before you apply the lubricant. This actually
takes care of /two/ treatments -- drying the chain
after rinsing the cleaner & gunk out of it, plus
prepping it for lubing.

I like to stretch my warmed-up chain straight, on a
junky old plank to lube it -- with the rollers, /not/
the plates, facing up. An old squirty decongestant
bottle (or something like it) makes a fairly plausible
fine-holed oil can for aiming discrete drops of oil
into each plate/roller interface. Hope it works its
way down to the pins[*]. That's why the warming: on a
cold chain, the drops of oil are more likely to just
sit where they land, in uptight little surface-tensioned
mounds.

Wipe the excess off with a clean(ish) rag, reinstall
the chain, and yer off 'n runnin'.

Anyways, oil flows better on warm metal. I suppose
also warming the oil itself would help too, but I can
see that becoming a stinky, smoky hassle if done on
direct heat. Maybe immersing a heatproof container
of oil in hot water would loosen it up a little.

My favourite chain-warming techique is to just leave
it on a very sunny windowsill for a while. A
crapped-out convection oven or toaster oven that you
don't use for anything else works, too. I like to
get it just a little too hot to handle (i.e: I can
touch it, but not for more than a couple of seconds.)
On the right kind of sunny day, with a good angle of
incidence, even the windowsill approach gets it there.

cheers,
Tom
[*] I guess chain lubrication is a little faith-based.

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