Chain Oil
- europa
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Chain Oil
Postby europa » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:24 am
What do you prefer and why?
I'm still working on the first bottle I bought a month or so back and can't remember the name. It's just oil though. Nothing flash. I remember back in the eighties, they were experimenting with spray on waxes and some of them were brilliant. Some were horrid. There were thick oils and thin oils and oils that crawled out the bottle, lovingly caressed every link and roller in the chain then fought to repel every piece of grit that dared approach the chain.
The absolutely most wonderful product I found was in a 2 dollar shop back in the eighties. Spray can. Purported to clean and lubricate your chain. Yeah. Right. It was darned near all solvent but by cripes it did a good job cleaning your chain (the pressure helped), wipe with a rag and then a squirt of oil. Great during a very wet winter (I was cleaning the chain every couple of days that year). Sadly, being the sort of shop it was, once I'd bought all their stock they stopped stocking it
But that was then and this is now.
Chain care and protection.
What do you use and how?
(at the moment, I'm using the 'think about it during the ride, forget about it at home' method )
Richard
- LuckyPierre
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Postby LuckyPierre » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:46 am
I've never cleaned the chain on my regular bike. But then ,it's only 4 months old and has only got wet twice. I use Pro-link lube - see http://www.australiancyclist.com.au/sho ... s=9&a=1382 regularly. It takes a bit of mucking about to get started - the instructions take you through a process to get rid of any old lubricant, but it's more time than anything else. My chain seems to like it, I haven't heard it 'say' a thing!
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Postby heavymetal » Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:14 am
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Postby Bnej » Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:25 am
Now I use "Finish Line" wax based lubricant, which sets up dry and stops sand and grit sticking to the chain & parts. Basically you put it on (it's liquid from the bottle) then leave it over night, next day you're good to go. Supposedly it builds up a protective coat with each application too.
I've heard someone swear by a teflon based lubricant that also sets dry, but don't know what it's called.
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Postby BMC NZ » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:19 pm
- europa
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Postby europa » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:28 pm
Chain cleaners eh? That sounds like doing the job properly. Not sure I'm into doing things properly - it can become a bad habit
Richard
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Postby sogood » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:43 pm
I am still learning at present, the last time I used chain oil was Singer's sewing machine oil.
The on bike chain cleaner definitely works. I got mine off eBay for a good price. Citrus degreaser cleaned the chain pretty well, although it's not as perfect as taking it off an hand scrub it with a toothbrush.
As for lubrication I tried recently, Tri-flow worked well but it is wet and sand particle and dirt sticks to it very well. Right now I am trying this spray on thing Weldtite TF2. It has a low viscosity but dries soon after leaving a coating of something on the chain. The chain seemed to shift with a little more noise than Tri-flow, but there's very little dirt on the chain after a ride. I also understand from others that this is not very durable ie. More regular applications required, which = $$$.
That's all I know for the time being...
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Postby europa » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:53 pm
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Postby mikesbytes » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:21 pm
I had wondered about using motorbike chain oil, as motorbike chains move consideribly faster and therefor are designed not to flick, so from that viewpoint would be fine for a bike. AND its a lot cheaper to buy.europa wrote:I'm guessing that like on motorbikes, the best time to oil a chain is AFTER your ride, the theory being that the chain is hot from the ride allowing the oil to thin and seep in, but also to set (if using a wax) before you go riding next.
Chain cleaners eh? That sounds like doing the job properly. Not sure I'm into doing things properly - it can become a bad habit
Richard
Harley owners have chain driven bikes and are very picky about how clean the bike is. I wonder exactly what product they use.
In the meantime I'll stick to wet lube, as it is the most effective even though it provides the uglist result.
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Postby europa » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:26 pm
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- Mr888
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Postby Mr888 » Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:50 pm
Apparently it's wax based and he swears by it. Has anyone tried Mr Sheen and can elaborate? This might turn out to be the cheapest and best alternative ever!
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Postby europa » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:42 pm
Use Mr Sheen as a cleaner, not as a lubricant.
Richard
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Postby timbo » Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:36 am
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Postby sogood » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:12 am
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Postby Mr888 » Sun Dec 03, 2006 2:42 pm
I went to Supercheap Autos today and enquired about TF2 and other teflon based sprays, they tell me they've never heard of it. Where do you get it?sogood wrote:I've now had a bit more experience with this Weldtite TF2 spray on chain lubricant and have to say that I am now a convert. Shifts are quiet and there's hardly any dirt attached after long rides. The trick seemed to be to leave overnight for the solvents to evaporate after each application and apply twice.
I stuck to the good old silicon spray and Castrol's Chain Oil.
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Postby sogood » Sun Dec 03, 2006 3:46 pm
My first small can was bought as a trial at a LBS but also seen in a number of other LBSs. Then I found a large can with bonus of 25% extra quantity at Rebel Sports (in the city). The pricing at Rebel was quite a few dollars cheaper than the LBS's markup. So now I have two cans.Mr888 wrote:I went to Supercheap Autos today and enquired about TF2 and other teflon based sprays, they tell me they've never heard of it. Where do you get it?
I stuck to the good old silicon spray and Castrol's Chain Oil.
I am sure there are better as well as worse options out there. But I am settled on this one for the time being.
I went back to Tri-flow for that wet Gong ride a few weeks back and has just had a chance to do the full degrease job on the chain and drive train components. The running gear is now lubricated with this spray on thing again, although I still use Tri-flow on the bearings of those jockey wheels.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Postby Mr888 » Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:13 pm
I wouldn't have guessed Rebel of all places. I'll try the Parramatta store tomorrow.
There's got to be a product that not only works as good as all the other products mentioned, but also non dirty/grimey/black????
It's so far like a catch 22. You can't ahve your cake and eat it too...
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Postby sogood » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:33 pm
This one is definitely cleaner, but can still be helped by a simple wipe of the outside of the chain every so often before a re-spray.
Hey, after washing out this morning's planned ride, the rain has finally stopped. I am outa here to stretch my legs.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Postby LuckyPierre » Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:52 pm
Rain - what's that?sogood wrote:Hey, after washing out this morning's planned ride, the rain has finally stopped. I am outa here to stretch my legs.
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Postby sogood » Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:03 pm
I found it in the one in Mid City Centre (I think), the one b/n George St and Pitt St and next door to Hobbyco. I don't remember seeing this product at the Broadway store. The city one seemed to be better stocked for bike equipments.sbra9635 wrote:is that the broadway rebel sports? thats one is right next to my uni so if it is i'd love to check it out
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Postby ShanDog » Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:35 pm
Ah yep I know the one. Thanks. I'll be sure to check it out.sogood wrote:I found it in the one in Mid City Centre (I think), the one b/n George St and Pitt St and next door to Hobbyco. I don't remember seeing this product at the Broadway store. The city one seemed to be better stocked for bike equipments.sbra9635 wrote:is that the broadway rebel sports? thats one is right next to my uni so if it is i'd love to check it out
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Postby tinstaafl » Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:30 pm
I ride a Trek Fuel twin suspension mountain bike and I used to live at Byron Bay where chain maintenance was a nightmare with so much sand flicking around. I tried a number of products and settled on Rock n Roll to lube the chain.
Cleaning was a huge problem and even one of the 'on chain' solvent based chain cleaner wasn't working so I resorted to a pressure cleaner which cleaned the cluster as well ( I had to keep the angle dead square to protect the seals)
See ya
Robert
I now live at Melbourne so cleaning is not a problem.
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