Best Chain lube for MTB

[LOOK695]

What about using a proper oil on the rollers...wipe clean and then apply a wax base lube for "sealing" in the oil and /or keeping dirt out of rollers??

 

I tried this a couple of times and was pleasantly surprised.

I might just try that as well

[Rapunzel]

What about using a proper oil on the rollers...wipe clean and then apply a wax base lube for "sealing" in the oil and /or keeping dirt out of rollers??

 

I tried this a couple of times and was pleasantly surprised.

I may just give this a try - just replaced my drivetrain and keen on extending it's life as much as possible.

[GoLefty!!]

Wow that's quite a detailed response. You clearly know a lot about oil, I just responded to the general question that the thread started with, which is along the lines of "why do I pay R150 for a 100ml bottle of bicycle oil?" and "can I use something cheaper without compromising ride quality and the life of my drivetrain?"

 

I did not write the above to come up with the ultimate bike oil, I just attempted to apply basic knowledge of oils and its properties to try and evaluate the use of oils that you can buy at your local hardware store in a bicycle application.

 

I believe I can learn from you, so if you wont mind, please give your thoughts as to what your preferred oil choices will be. Also as a matter of interest, I thought the pressure at the sprocket / chain interface is large due to the small surface area when compared to most industrial sprocket / gear applications. It would be interesting to have your thoughts on what additives would be relevant for a bicycle application.

 

 

Sure no problem. How much power does a cyclist output? Not very much compared to an industrial electric motor or a diesel engine.

We are applying that power through a relatively small area but is that area 500X smaller than that in a gearbox when we consider that in a gearbox only about 2.5 teeth are in mesh at any given time, compared to the number of teeth in mesh with a chain around the sprocket and the chain ring.

So our application is relatively light duty.

the closest approximation to a bicycle chain in application is a wire rope as used on the mines. Now that snot is a viscous oil they call wire rope dressing and it would be perfect for MTB bicycle chains BUT,

 

Its really messy and no ones going to put a bike with that stuff in a Range Rover Sport V8 nor do they want it on the chain stay of their Specialized because a Karcher won't remove it.

 

The bicycle chain works in a way that it simply requires some lubricant between the roller and the pin. the best thing we can do there is try to keep oil inside the chain.

In the Lubricants industry we use a tackifier to make the oil stick around longer. The oil's viscosity in this application is also important because trying to squeeze a more viscous oil out is more difficult than a less viscous oil. But we need to find a balance between the oil actually flowing into the chain and the ability of our legs to push it out.

 

Often what we're hearing with a dirty chain is the grit between the side of the roller and the end plates of the chain.

 

there are a few things we cannot get away from with a bicycle chain.

 

1) It will always need more lube

2) It will always need to be cleaned regularly

3) It will wear out

 

During SANI2C 2006 the rain was so relentless and the mud so thick that okes were pi**ing on their chains to clean it off. I had one gear, 32x 21 the rest were a solid block of mud. No lube in the world is going to beat that but after I cleaned the bike, there was still oil in the chain! I reapplied clean oil to a jet washed chain and then cleaned excess off with a rag. More dirt came out because the oil was displacing dirt but inside the chain there was still lube.

I rode that chain for another 6 months before I binned it. I think I still have the cassette as well.

 

We tend to over dramatise the chain lubrication scenario. I use viscous oil on my MTB and less viscous stuff on my road bike (5w40, synthetic PCMO)

 

I have mixed up some of my own stuff as well and can offer people biodegradable lubes thats smells like freshly roasted coffee if you like. You don't need it but there is a market for it.

 

Different oils are working for different people because they all work. Its like golf clubs or finding a wife. You just need to find out what works for you but often very often, if you asked someone "Why does it work for you" they come back to a common answer "its easy to clean".

 

I'm 100% behind that idea. I always use lubes on my chain that can be easily cleaned off the chain. I have a can of left over RON95 petrol with 2stroke oil mixed at 40:1 that's my chain cleaner. The petrol is what's left in my fuel can for my model airplane. It cleans the chain and lubes it. I filter the gunk and burn in my hedge trimmer later.

 

Diesel or kerosine (Paraffin) are great degreasers that leave some lubricity behind and helps the oil gets into the chain.because they lower the viscosity of the initial bit of oil.

 

I'm not surprised that cyclist are so confused about chain oils. Yo're bombarded with BS from brochures everyday. Everytime you go to an expo there's some cook trying to pedal (pun intended) the next best thing (probably lube oil with a prower bend)

 

Applying oil into the rollers is good. Sealing with a wax lube afterward does work, I've tried that at home and many Km on the trai but the solvent used for the Wax lube degrades the oil to a lower viscosity and you end up with a mess un;less you are very patient and sparing on the wax. Motorcycle lubes are great because they have a lot of tackifier in them to prevent the lube being flung off at high speed. their lube is closer to wire rope dressing but apply it when the chain is OFF THE BIKE. That stuff on a disk rotor is essentially the end of your rotor. You will never get the oil off unless you can soak the rotor in triClouromethane (a banned refridgerant - very nasty stuff)

 

The humble pot of Finishline Wet Lube is a fantastic product. It has good viscosity, taciness and has antiwear additve plus EP additive. Its a great lube.

Rudi made some great suggestion wrt to hydraulic oils and gear lubes. Not all conclusion were right but the hearts in the right place. If you can find those products in small containers go for it. Just use it sparingly or apply off the bike, wipe off excess and fit the chain to the bike afterward.

 

I just think its ridiculous to be charged R150 for 50ml of camel piss

Edited October 31, 2012 by GoLefty!!

[GoLefty!!]

I understand the concept of wet lube BUT, if the biggest threat to my chain is dirt, then surely for dry conditions, a lube that dust and sand is going to stick to is not good? Would this not also cause faster wear to other parts of my drivetrain?

I've found white lightning not durable, purple extreme the dirt sticks to and the best of the lot has been squirt (although the build up is difficult to remove).

 

Rapunzel, the biggest threat to yor chain is not dirt, its a lack of lube oil. Running the roller dry is the worst thing that can happen. Oil mixed with dirt is not ideal but it still leaves the Bornman "One layer thick oil film" on the metal parts that also separate the dirt from directly impacting the metal. Nolube and you have metal on metal and silica (AlSi) that will grind the chain away nicely.

 

Another thing, for wet races, put the fancy pants Titanium cassette on the print paper as a paper weight(after you clean it of course) and fit a decent steel unit.

[Kranswurm]

Rohloff is the best

[GoLefty!!]

How many camels had to be kneutered to make that stuff...?

[FlashJordan]

I have been trying to get a rock n roll extreme service bottle.... but so far no luck - anyone knows who still has or where to get/order one?

 

I have ordered from CRC before.

[Kranswurm]

How many camels had to be kneutered to make that stuff...?

 

Ha ha......................

 

And it comes in big tins

[Cassie]

Sure no problem. How much power does a cyclist output?Not very much compared to an industrial electric motor or a diesel engine.

We are applying that power through a relatively small area but is that area 500X smaller than that in a gearbox when we consider that in a gearbox only about 2.5 teeth are in msh at any given time, compared to the number of teeth oin mesh with a chain around the sprocket and the chain ring.

So our application is relatively light duty.

the cloest approximation to a biccyle chain in application is a wire rope as used on th mines. Now that snot they call wore rope dressing would be perfect fr MTB bicycle chains BUT,

 

Its really messy and no ones going to put a bike with that stuff in Range Rover Sport V8 not do they want it on the chain stay of their Specialized because a Karcher won't remove it.

 

the bicycle chain works in a way that it simply requires some lubrincat between the roller and the pin. the best thing we can do there is try to keep oil inside the chain.

In the Lubricants industry we use a tackifier to make the oil stick around longer. The oil's viscosity in this application is also important because trying to squeeze a more viscous oil out is more difficult than a less viscous oil. But we need to find a balance between the oil actually flowing into the chain and the ability of our legs to push it out.

 

Often what we're hearing with a dirty chain is the grits between the side of the roller and the end plates of the chain.

 

there are a few things we cannot get away from with a bicycle chain.

 

1) It will always need more lube

2) It will always need to be cleaned regularly

3) It will wear out

 

During SANI2C 2006 the rain was so relentless and the mud so thick that okes were pi**ing on their chains to clean it off. I had one gear, 32x 21 the rest were a solid block of mud. No lube in the world is going to beat that but afterI cleaned the bike, there was still oil in the chain! I reapplied the oil to a jet washed chain and then cleaned excess of with a rag. More dirt came out because the oil was displacing dirt but inside the chain there was still lube.

I rode that chain for another 6months before I binned it. I think Istill have the cassette as well.

 

We tend to over dramatise the chain lubrication scenario. I use viscous oil on my MTB and less viscous stuff on my road bike (5w40, synthetic PCMO)

 

I have mixed up some of my own stuff as well and can offer people biodegradable lubes thats smells like freshly roasted coffee if you like. You don;t need it but there is a market for it.

 

Different oils are working for different people because they all work. It like golf clubs or finding a wife. You just need to find out what works for you but often very often, if you asked someone WHy does it work for you they come back to a common answer "its easy to clean".

 

I'm 100% behind that idea. I always use lubes on my chain that can be easily cleaned. I have a can of left over RON95 petrol with 2stroke oil mixed at 40:1 thats my chain cleaner. thepetrol is whats left in my fuel can for my model airplane. It cleans the chain and lubes it. I filter the gunk and burn in my hedge trimmer later.

 

Diesel or kerosine (Paraffin) are great degreasers that leave some lubricity behind and helps the oil gets into the chain.because they lower the viscosity of the initial bit of oil.

 

I'm not surprised that cyclist are so confused about chain oils. Yo're bombarded with BS from brochures everyday. Everytime you go to an expo there's some cook trying to pedal (pun intended) the next best thing (probably lube oil with a prower bend)

 

Applying oil into the rollers is good. Sealing with a wax lube afterward does work, I've tried that at home and many Km on the trai but the solvent used for the Wax lube degrades the oil to a lower viscosity and you end up with a mess un;less you are very patient and sparing on the wax. Motorcycle lubes are great because they have a lot of tackifier in them to prevent the lube being flung off at high speed. their lube is closer to wire rope dressing but apply it when the chain is OFF THE BIKE. That stuff on a disk rotor is essentially the end of your rotor. You will never get the oil off unless you can soak the rotor in triClouromethane (a banned refridgerant - very nasty stuff)

 

The humble pot of Finishline Wet Lube is a fantastic product. It has good viscosity, taciness and has antiwear additve plus EP additive. Its a great lube.

Rudi made some great suggestion wrt to hydraulic oils and gear lubes. Not all conclusion were right but the hearts in the right place. If you can find those products in small containers go for it. Just use it sparingly or apply off the bike, wipe off excess and fit the chain to the bike afterward.

 

I just think its ridiculous to be charged R150 for 50ml of camel piss

 

Great post!! Thansk Lefty

[Chain-L]

Chain'L no.5

 

Lube and forget.

 

Another happy customer! thanks for the mention.

 

www.Chain-L.co.za

[DR ◣◢]

Call me strange but I love the smell of the Chain-L

[Lamber]

Sure no problem. How much power does a cyclist output? Not very much compared to an industrial electric motor or a diesel engine.

We are applying that power through a relatively small area but is that area 500X smaller than that in a gearbox when we consider that in a gearbox only about 2.5 teeth are in mesh at any given time, compared to the number of teeth in mesh with a chain around the sprocket and the chain ring.

So our application is relatively light duty.

the closest approximation to a bicycle chain in application is a wire rope as used on the mines. Now that snot is a viscous oil they call wire rope dressing and it would be perfect for MTB bicycle chains BUT,

 

Its really messy and no ones going to put a bike with that stuff in a Range Rover Sport V8 nor do they want it on the chain stay of their Specialized because a Karcher won't remove it.

 

The bicycle chain works in a way that it simply requires some lubricant between the roller and the pin. the best thing we can do there is try to keep oil inside the chain.

In the Lubricants industry we use a tackifier to make the oil stick around longer. The oil's viscosity in this application is also important because trying to squeeze a more viscous oil out is more difficult than a less viscous oil. But we need to find a balance between the oil actually flowing into the chain and the ability of our legs to push it out.

 

Often what we're hearing with a dirty chain is the grit between the side of the roller and the end plates of the chain.

 

there are a few things we cannot get away from with a bicycle chain.

 

1) It will always need more lube

2) It will always need to be cleaned regularly

3) It will wear out

 

During SANI2C 2006 the rain was so relentless and the mud so thick that okes were pi**ing on their chains to clean it off. I had one gear, 32x 21 the rest were a solid block of mud. No lube in the world is going to beat that but after I cleaned the bike, there was still oil in the chain! I reapplied clean oil to a jet washed chain and then cleaned excess off with a rag. More dirt came out because the oil was displacing dirt but inside the chain there was still lube.

I rode that chain for another 6 months before I binned it. I think I still have the cassette as well.

 

We tend to over dramatise the chain lubrication scenario. I use viscous oil on my MTB and less viscous stuff on my road bike (5w40, synthetic PCMO)

 

I have mixed up some of my own stuff as well and can offer people biodegradable lubes thats smells like freshly roasted coffee if you like. You don't need it but there is a market for it.

 

Different oils are working for different people because they all work. Its like golf clubs or finding a wife. You just need to find out what works for you but often very often, if you asked someone "Why does it work for you" they come back to a common answer "its easy to clean".

 

I'm 100% behind that idea. I always use lubes on my chain that can be easily cleaned off the chain. I have a can of left over RON95 petrol with 2stroke oil mixed at 40:1 that's my chain cleaner. The petrol is what's left in my fuel can for my model airplane. It cleans the chain and lubes it. I filter the gunk and burn in my hedge trimmer later.

 

Diesel or kerosine (Paraffin) are great degreasers that leave some lubricity behind and helps the oil gets into the chain.because they lower the viscosity of the initial bit of oil.

 

I'm not surprised that cyclist are so confused about chain oils. Yo're bombarded with BS from brochures everyday. Everytime you go to an expo there's some cook trying to pedal (pun intended) the next best thing (probably lube oil with a prower bend)

 

Applying oil into the rollers is good. Sealing with a wax lube afterward does work, I've tried that at home and many Km on the trai but the solvent used for the Wax lube degrades the oil to a lower viscosity and you end up with a mess un;less you are very patient and sparing on the wax. Motorcycle lubes are great because they have a lot of tackifier in them to prevent the lube being flung off at high speed. their lube is closer to wire rope dressing but apply it when the chain is OFF THE BIKE. That stuff on a disk rotor is essentially the end of your rotor. You will never get the oil off unless you can soak the rotor in triClouromethane (a banned refridgerant - very nasty stuff)

 

The humble pot of Finishline Wet Lube is a fantastic product. It has good viscosity, taciness and has antiwear additve plus EP additive. Its a great lube.

Rudi made some great suggestion wrt to hydraulic oils and gear lubes. Not all conclusion were right but the hearts in the right place. If you can find those products in small containers go for it. Just use it sparingly or apply off the bike, wipe off excess and fit the chain to the bike afterward.

 

I just think its ridiculous to be charged R150 for 50ml of camel piss

 

In conclusion, what should i use, where can i find it and at what price?

 

(for mtb riding)

Edited November 1, 2012 by Lamber

[Pusher]

Rohloff is the best

Why?

[Dirty Sanchez]

Call me strange but I love the smell of the Chain-L

You are strange

[Sheriff]

Castrol DWF with a dash of Squirt on top for the MTB and straight up Castrol DWF for the road bike .

 

Easy to clean off and the chain/rings and cassette last forever .

[GoLefty!!]

In conclusion, what should i use, where can i find it and at what price?

 

(for mtb riding)

 

Personally, I vote for Finishline WetLube. You can get it at any bike shop.

 

Other alternatives are 5W40 engine oil (new not used)

80w90 Gear oil

or ATF as used for powersteering systems.