Best Chain lube for MTB

[Thug]

Did a 50k ride this a.m. up and down the Spruit on the Surly. Chain is filthy as one would expect from that type of lube but the chain looks like it could last another 200k's before I even contemplating lubing again.

[Hairy]

Damned predictive text!

 

Will retype that from my pc on Monday.

[vgb]

Chain-L is the best stuff around. Been using it for years and - be sure not to over apply. Wipe off the excess and you are good for four or five rides.

[Mojoman]

After reading through this I have decided to try some left over gearbox oil on my chain over the weekend. I usually use squirt but at around R75 for 100ml its getting expensive. I see my gearbox oil was around R30 for 500ml.

Have done two rides this weekend using the oil and frankly the chain looks no scruffier than when I use Squirt and it certainly sounded less 'squeeky' and dry (1 40km ride at VG and 1 32km ride at Northerns, both pretty dusty with a little water and mud). The chain also doesnt seem to have that gunky oil look about it. Will give it a wipe and carry on!

[Redlight]

motor oil has bee designed to work inside an engine.

thats why on a bike chain it just makes one moer of a mess, and gets everything to stick to it.

 

stop being a cheapskate

[arendoog]

During CPT we had dry dusty for 3 days and rain for 3 days .Squirt works for dry and wet better than moterx .Oily lube does not work well in the wet .I clean my chain with WD 40 ,then remove excess and lube with Squirt long before you ride so that it is dry when you ride .Used 1 bottle for the year at R100..The only solution for chainsuck in wet muddy conditions is to wash the stuff off as often as you can .No lube stops chainsuck ,but squirt made it a lot better even in wet conditionsThere is a good reason squirt is popular and it is a local brand

[Johan Bornman]

What I don't get with the entire chain lube thing, besides any German at all, is why it should be necessary to lube a chain on a MTB after just 40 km.

 

I rode off road motorbikes when younger and we rode rivers, mud and all sorts. Loads of power and tough conditions and chains stayed lubed for a lot longer than 40 km. yet on the Berg & Bush guys were attending to chains after just 40km. Sure I get that with spare power on a bike we used tackier lube and so on but still

 

Something is just not right.

 

Motorcycle and bicycle chains share similarities in appearance only.

 

A motorcycle chain comprises sideplates, bushings, pins, rollers and o-rings whereas bicycle chains don't have bushings (only flared sideplates that act as vestigal bushings) or o-rings.

 

This difference in design means that motorbike chains retain their lubrication much, much longer than bicycle chains. They also don't allow contamination in as easy as a bicycle chain that's effectively open to contamination. Once dust gets inside, it mops up the oil and falls out at the next available opportunity. This can easily be observed if you compare a MTB chain that rode in the dust with a road bike chain not so exposed, ridden over the same distance.

 

The lubrication on a MTB fails due to mopping and depletion long before its service life is over. That's why oils with tackifiers are not the best for MTB use - they remain on the chain far longer and the wet look convinces the owner to ride with it longer. This causes more damage than lube that's gone after 80 kms and replenished after a good chain wash.

 

I'm saying that sticky, long-lasting oil is not optimum for good chain life.

[Goodbadugly]

Chain oil is like a religion. It is like trying to tell women that their R2000 pot of cream does not make them look any younger. But they believe it does make them look younger. Because how can a 500g pot of UEA cream for R25 do 99% the same as the R2000 (50g) combination of ground oyster shells, some or other snail snot, moon rock extracts, root of unpronouncia etc.

In marketing you need to elevate the price to give people a sense of how "good" the product is.

[Chro Mo]

Sheldon Brown swore by transmission oil.

 

That's enough for me.

[Mackie]

I tried Rock n Roll Extreme this weekend at the Berg & Bush, all I can say is that: I am converted. No issues, stayed cleaner and did not need a relube once.

[Hairy]

You have not been paying attention have you?

[Andymann]

My chain and cluster is due for replacment soon, so I'm going to try a trick we used to do years back as kids when we all rode MX and had no money for fancy lube - we got a pot of Castrol MS grease - the black stuff - and dumped it all into a half-GTX tin, slowly heated the tin on the stove (when my Mom wasn't home) until the grease turned to liquid, and then dumped the cleaned chain into the hot liquid grease... the theory was that the hot liquid grease would flow easily between the rollers of the chain, and then when it cooled, it would turn back to grease inside your chain. I'm not saying this was definitely the case, but I sure as hell remember that when the stuff cooled, the chain was covered in a nice layer of grease, and didn't seem to have to lube chains for months thereafter. Surprisingly, it also never flew off. I also don't remember having to buy too many new chains either. I know I'm probably going to get flamed for heating grease and upsetting the molecular structure etc, etc, and I'm a bit worried about heating a thin bicycle chain in hot oil/grease, but if it works, I reckon this type of solution will be a good one....

[Hairy]

My chain and cluster is due for replacment soon, so I'm going to try a trick we used to do years back as kids when we all rode MX and had no money for fancy lube - we got a pot of Castrol MS grease - the black stuff - and dumped it all into a half-GTX tin, slowly heated the tin on the stove (when my Mom wasn't home) until the grease turned to liquid, and then dumped the cleaned chain into the hot liquid grease... the theory was that the hot liquid grease would flow easily between the rollers of the chain, and then when it cooled, it would turn back to grease inside your chain. I'm not saying this was definitely the case, but I sure as hell remember that when the stuff cooled, the chain was covered in a nice layer of grease, and didn't seem to have to lube chains for months thereafter. Surprisingly, it also never flew off. I also don't remember having to buy too many new chains either. I know I'm probably going to get flamed for heating grease and upsetting the molecular structure etc, etc, and I'm a bit worried about heating a thin bicycle chain in hot oil/grease, but if it works, I reckon this type of solution will be a good one....

 

Open a window in the kitchen and make sure the room is well vented, do the hop dip and let us know how it goes.

 

P.S .... using the wording of flamed and hot oil together makes one think a big bang/boom, so play it safe.

[KarooLam]

Wel Kevin and david used Q20 in the cape pioneer!

[Hairy]

Wel Kevin and david used Q20 in the cape pioneer!

 

Sorry Karoo ... quoting that Kevin and David used Q20, can in no way be used as motivation for us to use Q20.

[DR ◣◢]

Wel Kevin and david used Q20 in the cape pioneer!

 

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