Road Bike Lubricant ? ?

[vfrkenny]

Been back on the bike exactly two years now and have been using light machine oil on the chain, problem is when I ride in the rain it goes everywhere and is a real bastard to clean off the frame. Is there a better/more suitable lubricant? My motorcycle has a specific chain lubricant but that chain gets real hot and the lube is real sticky, I doubt if it is suitable for a bicycle chain. Chain lube does'nt seem to get much coverage or advertising in the popular mags. Any suggested alternatives?

[rkelsen]

Purple extreme!

[Mulger bill]

Purple extreme!

'Nuff said!

[Cinder]

I reckon I'm about two lube threads off ordering some of this purple extreme...

[Aushiker]

Hi

Rock n Roll Gold and that is based on my cleaning regime and actual wear rates ... I did consider trying Purple Extreme but given the lack of reliable evidence I just ordered two 32 oz bottles of Gold and will continue with that.

Andrew

[bmxbandito]

Purple Extreme is awesome.Love it so much I put it in my coffee as well.Chain stays clean & it gets a little sqeak when its time to lube again.Just changed shops Im working in & they use Rock & Roll so I have given it a go for a few weeks.stays lubed longer than the purple but my chain looks like it came out of my car sump.Good for the training bike but the race boy stays with Purple extreme I"ve got at home.

Jeff

[Sepoy]

Hi

Rock n Roll Gold and that is based on my cleaning regime and actual wear rates ... I did consider trying Purple Extreme but given the lack of reliable evidence I just ordered two 32 oz bottles of Gold and will continue with that.

Andrew

Is Rock and Roll Gold a substantial improvement over Red? I used Red for a while and wasn't tremendously impressed, but this prolink progold stuff I use at the moment only seems to last 100-150 kilometers.

[Thoglette]

Any suggested alternatives?

I'm a wax fan. Current bottle is "squirt". Oh - see the "Search" button - use it, this has been discussed to death

[handle]

The Word on chain cleaning and lubrication, from none other than the legendary Sheldon Brown.

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

[Aushiker]

Hi

Rock n Roll Gold and that is based on my cleaning regime and actual wear rates ... I did consider trying Purple Extreme but given the lack of reliable evidence I just ordered two 32 oz bottles of Gold and will continue with that.

Andrew

Is Rock and Roll Gold a substantial improvement over Red? I used Red for a while and wasn't tremendously impressed, but this prolink progold stuff I use at the moment only seems to last 100-150 kilometers.

Hi

I haven't used Red so really cannot comment on the comparison but I easily get 1,000 km out of Gold with dry weather riding and around 500 km comfortably in wet months.

Andrew

[brentono]

The Word on chain cleaning and lubrication, from none other than the legendary Sheldon Brown.

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

Perfect, love that explanation, made my day. Thankx Handle.
(there's only one thing that needs to be lubed, before I put some miles on it )
And there will be the ones here that will debate, on and on, endlessly,
how they did all that, and their chain, still has a squeek, and Sheldon is wrong.
Just get out and ride it.
Cheers,
BrentonO
Dislaimer:That was nothing personal to you, Vfrkenny, (Singer oil would do it)

[stusf]

Dumonde Tech Lite is great, chain stays quiet and relatively clean.

[Rhubarb]

The Word on chain cleaning and lubrication, from none other than the legendary Sheldon Brown.

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

You bugger !!!

I read that entire article in sheer disbelief. Right to the disclaimer at bottom.

[Solirossi]

Where do you purchase purple extreme from?

[Baldy]

I got a bottle of White Lightning clean lube[blue and white bottle] when I got the roadie. Its a wax lube and it ran nice and clean. Not great in the wet but not terrible either. I used it on all my bikes last summer.

When that ran out a couple of months ago I grabbed a bottle of Green Oil to try. chucked it in with a bunch of other stuff I'd ordered from wiggle. Its biodegradable all natural oils and even the bottle is able to be recycled. It is a bit messier than wax lube but lasts better in the wet and is not really sticky like some of the wet weather lubes[which are great in the wet but dust/grit magnets in the dry]

Its worth a try.

cheers

[TimW]

Where do you purchase purple extreme from?

I am waiting on a delivery from CRC, i ordered 3 bottles of purple extreme (AT) $13 per bottle. It's approx $25.00 here in lbs's. Reason i bought 3 was to make the postage worthwhile and i bought a park tools chain cleaner as well for 30 bucks.Tim

[Solirossi]

Cheers Tim, ill check it out.

[m@]

Where do you purchase purple extreme from?

If you're in the ACT, I think Cycle Surgery has the best price in Aus.

[aeroslave]

CHAIN-L No. 5

[blue151]

only ever use rock and roll gold... simple fast and does a reasonable job... even better if u clean the chain with kero first

[eeksll]

aushiker and blue151, can you comment on the differences between cleaning with kero first vs not cleaning with kero?

I thought the whole idea with rok'n'roll gold lube is no cleaning required ...

i find i need to apply about 3 times before the stuff stops turning coming out black. I dont quite squirt it on, i more drench the chain, back pedal a bit, wipe, repeat ... Is this what everyone else does? I seem to go through the stuff like water, probably used just short of 1 oz (1/4 small bottle) to clean/lube.

[Aushiker]

aushiker and blue151, can you comment on the differences between cleaning with kero first vs not cleaning with kero?

Hi

I don't clean with kero so can't help sorry. Also I always clean my chain before reapplying the lube. Given my experience I see no reason to change that mode of operandi or test not cleaning, unless of course you are happy to pay for the chain and cassette

Regards
Andrew

[blue151]

aushiker and blue151, can you comment on the differences between cleaning with kero first vs not cleaning with kero?

I thought the whole idea with rok'n'roll gold lube is no cleaning required ...

i find i need to apply about 3 times before the stuff stops turning coming out black. I dont quite squirt it on, i more drench the chain, back pedal a bit, wipe, repeat ... Is this what everyone else does? I seem to go through the stuff like water, probably used just short of 1 oz (1/4 small bottle) to clean/lube.

rock and roll is kero based (i think?) so it does clean it pretty good given that its a quick clean... but if i want to get all the grit out particularly between the links then i take off my chain and soak it a little... its definetely not necessary but only if u want a really good clean...

90% of the time when i clean my chain.. i just rock & roll it once.... unless its really gritty then i mite use R&R twice... but if it looks like ur chain is covered in black mud then i'll degrease it first (either with kero or degreaser)

[fail]

on a serious note; I use Purple Extreme, just got some more from CRC yesterday and a Park Tools chain cleaner.

Was at the lbs the other day when a guy comes in saying his bike shifts crap, LBS asked what lube he uses... WD40

[eeksll]

aushiker and blue151, can you comment on the differences between cleaning with kero first vs not cleaning with kero?

Hi

I don't clean with kero so can't help sorry. Also I always clean my chain before reapplying the lube. Given my experience I see no reason to change that mode of operandi or test not cleaning, unless of course you are happy to pay for the chain and cassette

Regards
Andrew

My question did not come over the way it meant to. I meant to ask the difference between cleaning the chain first with degreaser then lubing vs not degreasing first (and using the rock'n'roll lube as the cleaner).