non mineral lube

[mick skinner]

i've just watched a couple of documentaries about 'peak oil' and thought; ha, if people will become dependent on their cars then it'll be there own fault when petrol is so expensive.....(etc), i'm glad i'm good at cycling.

but i still need to lubrcate the moving parts and at the moment i use mineral oil based lubes; greese, spray lubes, teflon etc.

how about using lard instead of greese in the barrings and cheap vegatable (cooking) oil on the chain.

i've been planning to get a fixed wheel bike for commuting and i think it would be a good experiment to use lard and cooking oil when i set it up.

any thought, suggestions...........?

[GrahamG]

Green oil?

http://www.green-oil.net/

I've got some - like a wet-lube but not as gloopy so a really nice balance between traditional wet lubes and teflon style lubes.

[Deckie]

While lard is nice & viscous at low temps (0 to 10 deg C) at higher temps (see outdoors now) it becomes VERY liquid, so not really a substitute for grease...

As for veg oil, I recall from Ellen McArthurs book about her record breaking round world voyage, the engine for her generator had an oil leek the result of which was she did not have enough motor oil to last the voyage. She substituted Olive Oil, no problems. Try it on the chain & see, the only issue might be selecting the oil to give off the correct aroma!

[mick skinner]

green oil; good. not cheap but well worth it! i got carried away and ordered a solar powered light too.

[ncutler]

One of life's great pleasures is to be overtaken by a motorcycle using castor oil: the smell is wonderful.

N

[gilesjuk]

Maybe with all the obese people around we can extract the fat and convert it into oil for bicycles. Pretty disgusting thought though.

[Mick F]

You can leave my beer belly where it is please!

I've paid for it, it fits me perfectly, and I like it!

[squeaker]

Whale oil? But that opens a different can of worms
Green oil does seem to work OK for me.
Grease is oil in a suspension medium - I'm sure the chemists have some ideas on renewable sources.

[Mick F]

The good thing about standard mineral oil, is that it has been developed by industry to have the right viscosity at the right temperatures and for the right pressure and uses. It would be difficult to develop an green alternative for all situations.

I'm sure it can be done, but it's one heck of a mountain to climb considering the petrochemical giants that exist.

I suppose that every journey starts with a first step, so we cyclists should lead the way.
(Now, what's White Lightning made from?)

[hamster]

Pure electrons

[random37]

White Lightning is paraffin based.
The thing is, I think we **can** use mineral oil and grease if we want; it's not like we need a lot, and it will prevent wear to our bikes, making them last longer. I think going through components at a faster rate than we should do because we haven't lubricated them properly has a higher environmental cost than using mineral based oils.

[rogerzilla]

The trouble with veg-based oil is that things like to eat it, so it goes gungy and turns into jelly. Castor oil (the real stuff) can only be used in total-loss lubrication systems like a Sopwith Camel's*, or in race engines that are regularly rebuilt.


*the pilots constantly had the trots from inhaling the stuff.

[CREPELLO]

I use Motorex Bikeline wet lube. I don't know what it's made of but it's bio-degradable and much cleaner running than mineral oil ( comes of the hands easier to). It doesn't get excessively sticky but it stays stuck on the chain so no rusting.

I would like to try other bio oils, after just having tried out White Lightening Clean Ride wax lube - I didn't like it at all, mainly cause I had to relube to often. I've considered chainsaw oil (c £10 for 5L! ) and it could probably be thinned with isopropyl alchohol. I have a sample of this (buy it from cleaning suppliers) and it dissolves bike crud and oil really well, so gonna try as a chain bath agent.

There will also be endless possibilities in the future for perfume enhanced bio oils. But you can add a few drops right now of your favourite essential oil. Something stimulating for race day like chilli perhaps, or a little bergamot for your club ride bike (mmm, smell that Earl Grey). I think a little lemon would be nice for the mediterainien weather we're having right now. Urban mountain bikers might get a nice uplift from the addition of some pine oil to their mix if they're not getting out to the forest trails enough.

[CREPELLO]

Tourists who camp could save some weight by just carrying one oil for chain lube and cooking. Although I don't usually cook as such, cold food instead, rapeseed oil (French organic) has a wonderful fragrant aroma, superb for salad dressings and not half bad in a chain sandwich either.

[rogerzilla]

Chainsaw oil can be too viscous, leaving stringy bits all over your rear wheel.