Chain lube?

[stevos]

do you have to buy a special lube or will WD40 do the job , thanks[/list]

[europa]

WD40 is NOT a lubricant. It displaces water and evaporates very quickly leaving whatever you sprayed exposed to rust. It has its uses, but a lubricant is not one of them.

Use either engine oil or a purpose built chain lube. You can go for either wet chain (liquid oil on it) or a dry chain (you spray on a wax that goes solid when the solvents evaporate). Wet lubes can be messy, dry lubes aren't. Proponents of wet lubes claim better protection than dry lubes. Proponents of dry lubes point to the lack of mess.

If you don't know better, use a purpose made chain lube from your bike shop - there are alternatives but you need to understand the compromises you are making.

It doesn't really matter what chain lube you use (provided it is a lubricant) if you use it often (especially after a wet ride), use it before it's needed and keep the chain clean of grit and gunk.

Richard

[sogood]

As mentioned in multiple past threads here and on other cycling forums. DO NOT use WD40 on chains, nor any other lubrication requiring areas on a bike.

ProLink gets good reviews on the net and it's certainly a worthwhile consideration. But you should also consider your riding style. If you ride in the rain or other high dust areas, a wet lube might be a better choice eg. Triflow. I use Weldite's spray on stuff. It works well but requires respray every 100km or so. And definitely not very durable in the rain.

[stevos]

thanks guys that clears that up for me, lucky i dint put any on but ill go to my lbs tmrw to buy some lube before i try and ride 100kms:P

[twowheels]

Inox spray has the qualities of WD40 plus is a lubricant

[tuco]

do you have to buy a special lube or will WD40 do the job , thanks[/list]

I'm only new to this maintenance but shouldn't you clean the chain before lubing?

I use some type of citrus spray which I forget the name of and some type of chain oil I also forget the name of. See, I'm good at this maintenance thingy.

[MJF]

WD40 is NOT a lubricant. It displaces water and evaporates very quickly leaving whatever you sprayed exposed to rust. It has its uses, but a lubricant is not one of them.

Actually, WD40 is both a light lubricant, and (according to the manufacturer) it does have some anti-corrosion compounds which stay behind. But not robust enough for lubing chains, IMHO.

WD40.

I prefer light machine oil (eg. air tool oil, sewing machine oil etc). Engine oil has additives suitable for car engines (high temp, combustion by-products etc). Oil will hang onto grit, but it doesn't wash off like a lot of the "doesn't attract dirt" lubricants (ProLink as an example).

[chain_reaction]

what lube is good for other areas of my bike?

[rider06]

I use rock n roll extreme lube on both my mountain bike & road bike - it is supposedly self-cleaning and seems to work pretty well, however i still clean out both chains every couple of weeks - depending on weather conditions - with a degreaser & chain cleaner thingy like this one.

[sogood]

what lube is good for other areas of my bike?

I just choose one type of lube that does both chain and other areas.

WRT Tuco's question of using a citrus degreaser to clean the chain before lube. That subject seemed to be a little controversial in the sense that yes, it would be idea. But in practice, it's damn impractical for most, especially if you don't use a wet lube. I do what others do, wipe the chain after each long ride and depending on the condition, I'll just relube as needed.

[Mulger bill]

I use rock n roll extreme lube on both my mountain bike & road bike - it is supposedly self-cleaning and seems to work pretty well, however i still clean out both chains every couple of weeks - depending on weather conditions - with a degreaser & chain cleaner thingy like this one.

X2.