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Chain Lube

Discussion in 'Detailing and cleaning' started by Jody, Sep 1, 2016.

  1. What chain lube do you all use ?

    I've tried various ones now and my wheel always ends up looking like the wall of an chimpanzee house after a bout of shit flinging

    The only one I've not tried is dry ptfe spray, but I ride in all weathers and I've heard it's not so good for rain

    Is there a no-fling wet-weather-OK spray or do I need to stop moaning and get the brush out ?

    Cheers
     
  2. Würth dry chain lube, using a grease ninja tool. Which once you own one you will never go back too manual spraying!

    Motorcycle Accessories | Pittsburgh, PA - Grease Ninja (buy both sizes!)

    My older bike usally gets done with putoline tech chain lube, which is a ceramic chain wax non-fling formula. It's a waxy white substance & is clearly visible even after riding in the rain.
     
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  3. This is likely to be a controversial thread :smileys:, I have gone back to using nice, sticky, visible wax (Halfords is one) that you can see because after years of using anti-fling/minimum mess/dry type 'chain lube' I decided that as I couldn't see any deposits of what I had just applied even after 50 miles or so, I couldn't be certain it was doing the job properly.
     
    #3 Chris, Sep 1, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2016
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  4. I've decided to not re-grease mine at all - i'm going to treat is as a disposable item and change it out frequently - it is cheaper than a tire for a new one! I have done 1500 miles so far on this one and it still feels greasy to the touch and works fine. Just made a first adjustment to take up slack.
     
  5. It will be interesting to see how well it lasts.

    It's an o-ring chain, so the rollers are permanently internally lubricated, until the o-rings break down anyway. It's just the roller to sprocket interface that gets lubricated by chain lube - fascinating to see what effect no lubrication there will have.

    Please keep us posted!
     
  6. Wurth dry, used happily for years. Swapped to WD40 chain lube this year on all 3 bikes and all a right mess now. Will clean up over winter and use the WD40 lube on the push bikes.
     
    #6 Cream_Revenge, Sep 1, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2016
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  7. I have a 14 tooth steel front sprocket and a 39 tooth alloy rear sprocket. I only do dry miles with this bike.

    My other rider is a 2013 all weather commuter - I use Motul road chain wax in an aerosol on that - it is filthy but i could care less - it has been washed once this year, and once last. Poor thing!
     
  8. I try to only do dry miles on my 999. Hard to achieve sometimes in our changeable climate :/
     
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  9. Im watching this thread with interest as im clueless about chain maintenance.
     
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  10. Whatever ive got in the garage I use - most of it leaves "fling" but I'm not going to go and buy something else without using what ive already got...although when I have ill try the Wurth dry stuff...
     
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  11. I tend to clean mine with WD40 and the use the chain lube afterwards...
     
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  12. There is a definite argument for early replacement of chain. This then preserves the sprockets. The chain stretch is what wears out the sprocket. I haven't decided the limit of stretch i'm going to tolerate yet. Probably 1%? Once I reach that i'm gonna get a new chain to run on the old sprockets (as long as they have an OK profile).
     
  13. I use WD-40 Chain Cleaner, which in my opinion one of the best out there. Powerful spray, non-corrosive and breaks down all sorts of crap quickly. Suitable for all chain types too!

    Follow with a good application of WD-40 Chain Lube. No fling, no mess - job done!!
     
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  14. From riding pushbikes for 8 years and hating every minute of it I found that if any one part was changed (ie chain front or rear cassette - as they like to call it) then the other parts would wear down faster. That was always a constant. The only thing that prolonged the changing of a whole set was the quality of the set that was bought...you get what yer pays for...
     
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  15. Was this some kind of punishment regime then?
     
  16. People have drifted into cleaning the chain now, which I use premium grade paraffin with a tooth brush. Even with a D.I.D heavy duty chain & sealed o-rings, I'd clean & lube it. Seems maddening to not lube something the manufacturer recommends.
     
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  17. I have a hazy recollection of at least one chain manufacturer saying their o-ring chains don't require additional lubrication
     
  18. I use WD-40 and a specific brush to clean my chain, approximately every 2k km. Then I wash it out with my Kärcher high pressure washing machine and after that I blow air on it in order to dry it. After a quick but hard riding, at the ring road, and while the chain is warmed up I use Castrol Chain Lube Racing, with which I'm pretty happy.

    At the past I used Bel Ray Chain Lube but it makes my chain links to "stack" somehow.

    I don't think that there is a chain lube that will keep the rear wheel totally clean.
     
    #18 GiannisMulti, Sep 1, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2016
  19. Yeah - I stupidly thought one day "ill see if I can ride to work" (10 miles) and did and then thought that it would...

    a. Be cheaper
    b. Help me loose weight and retain some level of fitness....

    Which in the end after 8 years I never lost a pound in weight and it cost more than a car to run...
     
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  20. It must have made you fitter and healthier. You probably got to eat more because you were cycling :) And im guessing it only cost more because you blinged your bike [emoji1]
     
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