Chain lubricant!

[Brucey]

yes, I think so.

cheers

[roger]

Many years age an oil industry techy recommended EP oils for bike chains. I have used them ever since and do not seem to be eating chains.

Check stretch every once a month, 20 links measuring over 10.1" goes. I am using 8 speed so it not an expensive deal. FWIW Halfords sell 8 speed KMC for £4.

Roger.

[GuyBoden]

Candle wax and engine oil. About 3 parts candle wax and 1 part engine oil, the cold mix should be slightly soft and easily pressed with your thumb.

Remove your chain and clean it.
Roll up the chain neatly and tie a wire to one end.
Melt the candles and add engine oil. 3:1 mix. (*This mix is highly flammable and causes smoke, so I'd use a slow cooker, outdoors and on a low setting.*)
Lower the chain into the wax/oil mix by the wire.
Check that the chain is fully submerged.
Leave for a few minutes, keep it on a low heat, not too hot.
Turn off the heat, remove the chain by the wire and hang it on a hook.
Clean the excess wax/oil mix off the chain's side plates.
Refit the chain on your bike.

The melted wax/oil mix can be poured into a container and reused.

[Debs]

This year my chain cleaning/lube routine has changed from using a neat paraffin wash in a Park Tool Cyclone Chain Scrubber, and when dry; re-lube with WD40 and wipe excess off chain with old cotton rag... to a far more modern environmentally friendly acceptable way of degreasing; using the same Park Tool scrubber but with a water based detergent which comes with nice smelly citrus flavour, rinse out with water hose, leave [indoors] a few hours to dry then carefully lube each inner roller link with a dab of Muc-off 'wet' chain lube, after some turns of the chain and allowed to soak-in wipe off excess lube with very small [2" square] piece of sponge with polishing action to the outer links. I repeat this every 150 miles - which works out 2 or 3 times a month.

Anyway my new improved environmentally friendly water based method does take more effort to get the chain clean, but i accept this if it means i won't be killing all the fish in the sea with the disposal of dirty degreasant, but my concern is the citrus degreasant is [IMO] too expensive, and some negative reviews state the product is nothing more than washing up liquid + water in a plastic bottle and sold for 10 quid. They may or may not be correct on that assertion i really dunno, but it does get me thinking why not use a generous squirt of Fairy Liquid [fruity flavour of ones choice] and save money.

However, i am hesitant to go ahead with the washing up liquid plan due to fears of unforeseen detrimental effects; mainly removal of all rust/corrosion protection... although isn't this is the point of degreasing anyway? and as long as one is very thorough with the re-lube there shouldn't be a problem....?

I suppose another highly cost effective chain degreaser could be a strong mx of car wax shampoo in hot water [and used in the Part Tool chain scrubber] which at least will leave some residue wax to help prevent corrosion. Don't know if this would work but if it does - it would be very cost effective

[old_windbag]

to a far more modern environmentally friendly acceptable way of degreasing; using the same Park Tool scrubber but with a water based detergent which comes with nice smelly citrus flavour, rinse out with water hose, leave [indoors] a few hours to dry then carefully lube each inner roller link with a dab of Muc-off 'wet' chain lube, after some turns of the chain and allowed to soak-in wipe off excess lube with very small [2" square] piece of sponge with polishing action to the outer links. I repeat this every 150 miles - which works out 2 or 3 times a month.

Thats seriously fastidious chain care, you really must have patience lubing every link. Is this on an off-road mud covered bike or a road bike? I use green oil degreaser( http://www.green-oil.net/Clean%20Chain%20degreaser.html ) and have used finish-line citrus degreaser and halfords( hardly got to use much as aerosol can leaked it's pressure away ). The green oil stuff is fine for my needs and the finish line gave good results. Wilko sell lowish cost citrus degreaser spray:-

http://www.wilko.com/all-bike-parts+accessories/wilko-citrus-400ml-degreaser/invt/0342669

and screwfix sell low cost citrus degreaser too:-

https://www.screwfix.com/p/zep-commercial-citrus-heavy-duty-degreaser-750ml/8004f

I treat my chain as a 3-4000mile disposable commodity so simply clean off with gt85 normally, then relube with muc-off lube. I try to change at the correct wear using a chain gauge but have gone beyond and not had cassette issues.The chains I use cost around £15 on my "all year" bike and about £25 on my road bike. So not very expensive on the grand scale of things, but they aren't used in heavy mud conditions, just roads+ sustrans rough tracks.

[NUKe]

recently been using wd40 Chain lube,
https://www.towsure.com/wd-40-all-condi ... lube-250ml.

if you are like me and time poor its great, as it spray lube. I do it every couple of weeks, in the relative dry of the British summer. Doesn't attract the dirt and on the recumbent the chain runs quite so I assume its doing its job.it easy to apply as the aerosol has a short built in straw in the spray cap.

As we head into winter I will revert to chainsaw oil as a wet lube.

[Debs]

to a far more modern environmentally friendly acceptable way of degreasing; using the same Park Tool scrubber but with a water based detergent which comes with nice smelly citrus flavour, rinse out with water hose, leave [indoors] a few hours to dry then carefully lube each inner roller link with a dab of Muc-off 'wet' chain lube, after some turns of the chain and allowed to soak-in wipe off excess lube with very small [2" square] piece of sponge with polishing action to the outer links. I repeat this every 150 miles - which works out 2 or 3 times a month.

Thats seriously fastidious chain care, you really must have patience lubing every link. Is this on an off-road mud covered bike or a road bike? I use green oil degreaser( http://www.green-oil.net/Clean%20Chain%20degreaser.html ) and have used finish-line citrus degreaser and halfords( hardly got to use much as aerosol can leaked it's pressure away ). The green oil stuff is fine for my needs and the finish line gave good results. Wilko sell lowish cost citrus degreaser spray:-

It may appear to be a bit OCD at first [ obsessive chain detailing? ] but in practise my chain is fairly quickly and easily Park Tool Cyclone scrubbed at the same time as i wash my bike clean with wheels removed and chain keeper fitted [like the photo below] with the aid of muc-off spray cleaner + cleaning brush set, and a bucket of warm car wax shampoo, a small bit of sponge helps clean the nooks and crannies in the mechs too, so it's not really that time consuming, and all good clean fun using products that are water-based lubricants so they can be applied / removed with water-based degreasants and water rinsed off clean with hose pipe.
Apparently, what causes bike chains to wear mostly is small particles of road-grit trapped inside the inner rollers, and metal fragments from chain wear that is left to remain and build up inside the inner rollers, so it's good practise to remove this inner crap, get the chain proper clean inside out, leave to dry, and carefully re-lube. However, i'm also of the opinion that chains are on borrowed time due to their exposed to the elements nature, so there has to be a compromise between what one considers efficient cleaning/re-lubing for time/cost effectiveness. Taking the chain off the bike for cooking in oil type treatments is too much faff IMO although i admit it may get a fine result cleaner chain, but life is too short.., and regular on the bike cleaning is a good idea IMO because it doesn't take long, doesn't cost much, and does a good enough job at the same time as the rest of the bike getting clean. I know bicycle chains will wear out in due time anyway but it is nice to have a clean and freshly oiled chain which will feel better to ride

[old_windbag]

and all good clean fun using products that are water-based lubricants so they can be applied / removed with water-based degreasants and water rinsed off clean with hose pipe.

I prefer environmentally friendly products as far as are easily available and work well. GT85 doesn't fall in that camp but I still use it only sparingly though. The green oil is nice because I have the spray bottle to use diluted down as they reccomend as a cleaner, it's good. I also tend to do a lot of jobs using those rubber gloves you buy in a box as I was in an environment using so many lubes and chemicals I felt it better to do so( bike oriented ). Bikes also tend to be a bit messy( or is that my lack of chain detailing ). My road bike isn't bad because it only sees sunny days at 15 degrees plus( so not used enough ). But my "winter" bikes are workhorses.

On the OCD front I've always found it quite therapeutic to take a dirty car through to being sparkling concourse condition via polishes and detailing products. Also I'd like to have a go at "perfect" stone chip repair using paint, cocktail sticks and ultra fine wet and dry but would need a sacrificial panel from scrap yard to practice.

[Gattonero]

This year my chain cleaning/lube routine has changed from using a neat paraffin wash in a Park Tool Cyclone Chain Scrubber, and when dry; re-lube with WD40 and wipe excess off chain with old cotton rag... to a far more modern environmentally friendly acceptable way of degreasing; using the same Park Tool scrubber but with a water based detergent which comes with nice smelly citrus flavour, rinse out with water hose, leave [indoors] a few hours to dry then carefully lube each inner roller link with a dab of Muc-off 'wet' chain lube, after some turns of the chain and allowed to soak-in wipe off excess lube with very small [2" square] piece of sponge with polishing action to the outer links. I repeat this every 150 miles - which works out 2 or 3 times a month.

Anyway my new improved environmentally friendly water based method does take more effort to get the chain clean, but i accept this if it means i won't be killing all the fish in the sea with the disposal of dirty degreasant, but my concern is the citrus degreasant is [IMO] too expensive, and some negative reviews state the product is nothing more than washing up liquid + water in a plastic bottle and sold for 10 quid. They may or may not be correct on that assertion i really dunno, but it does get me thinking why not use a generous squirt of Fairy Liquid [fruity flavour of ones choice] and save money.

However, i am hesitant to go ahead with the washing up liquid plan due to fears of unforeseen detrimental effects; mainly removal of all rust/corrosion protection... although isn't this is the point of degreasing anyway? and as long as one is very thorough with the re-lube there shouldn't be a problem....?

I suppose another highly cost effective chain degreaser could be a strong mx of car wax shampoo in hot water [and used in the Part Tool chain scrubber] which at least will leave some residue wax to help prevent corrosion. Don't know if this would work but if it does - it would be very cost effective

You could soak the chain in a degreaser that you won't pour away, but maybe reuse to light up a BBQ?
If you have the facilities to work outside, petrol or white spirit will do, but not inside a shed, please!
working outside would also allow you to use a compressor to blast out all the residuals of degreaser+grit. that is the most effective way to properly clean a chain, and it doesn't even take that long.

If you are concerned about environment, consider the Muc-Off chain cleaner. It's different form the others because the degreaser is dripped onto the chain, rather than the chain dipping in the degreaser.
This means that you only need 30ml (or 5 tablespoons) of degreaser to clean an average chain. In practice, you're left with hardly anything to dispose, and you can blow off the chain with a rag that can be disposed easier than contaminated degreaser. The little bottle in the picture is their degreaser, it works well and is safe on plastic and paint, but has a strong smell. With that little bottle I could clean 5 chains
Btw, I've used the Finish Line citrus as well, and it does a good job. It's not "washing up liquid sold for 10 quids", let the people talk rubbish of things they don't know

[ossie]

I use a parktool chain cleaner with a watered down mixture of water / screwfix degreaser. I then lube each link with Finish line dry lube, just dotted on each link and excess wiped off. I used to use TF2 spray but it seems to have gone from the shelves.

I do however use the chain cleaner very sparingly. Its not easy to handle and makes a mess and I'm still not a convert 100%. Between cleans its wet wipes and dry lube. I'm past the stage of taking chains off and leaving them in jars of white spirit.

I don't commute any more so the above is on the road bikes. I do tour however, same routine but I use wet lube (as I did when commuting). On one occasion in deepest France I'd forgot my lube and popped into a chainsaw dealer. That stuff was excellent - no idea on price but it got me home and the rest with very little pick up of grot.

[RickH]

You could soak the chain in a degreaser that you won't pour away, but maybe reuse to light up a BBQ?
If you have the facilities to work outside, petrol or white spirit will do, but not inside a shed, please!
working outside would also allow you to use a compressor to blast out all the residuals of degreaser+grit. that is the most effective way to properly clean a chain, and it doesn't even take that long.

If you are concerned about environment, consider the Muc-Off chain cleaner. It's different form the others because the degreaser is dripped onto the chain, rather than the chain dipping in the degreaser.
This means that you only need 30ml (or 5 tablespoons) of degreaser to clean an average chain. In practice, you're left with hardly anything to dispose, and you can blow off the chain with a rag that can be disposed easier than contaminated degreaser. The little bottle in the picture is their degreaser, it works well and is safe on plastic and paint, but has a strong smell. With that little bottle I could clean 5 chains
Btw, I've used the Finish Line citrus as well, and it does a good job. It's not "washing up liquid sold for 10 quids", let the people talk rubbish of things they don't know

I bought one of those MucOff chain cleaners earlier this year & have been pleased with the job it seems to be doing.

One good thing, if you have a tandem, is that the chainline though the cleaner is straight, meaning you can use it on the timing/intermediate chain. All the other cleaners of this sort I have come across pass the chain though offset roller brushes meaning you need some chain slack for them to operate properly.

[MikeDee]

I've been using Lilly Lube on my mountain bike lately. It is a penetrating lube, has EP additives, and was developed by an engineer. The chain is quiet, has lasted pretty long on the bike so far, and the chain stays pretty clean. To early to tell for sure how good it is because it hasn't been too dusty here, and that is what seems to make the lube go away.

[Vetus Ossa]

Reading back through the words of wisdom here on this site I stumbled across mention of Purple Extreme, so as I needed some chain lube I bought some.
After a couple of 30 mile rides, some over very muddy ground I have to say I am very impressed with it. Usually I would expect my chain to look like it was covered in grinding paste, but is actually quite clean to the touch.
My thanks go to the person who mentioned it.

[freeflow]

Purple extreme works very well but you need to be quite minimalist in how you use it. You need a thoroughly degreased chain to start then apply a tiny tiny drop to the inside edge of each roller. Allow to dry overnight. Takes three minimalist applications over a few days to be properly up and running but the bike can be safely ridden between times.