Chain oil .....whats all the fuss?

[OldBean]

Regularly clean and lube my chain after every long ride....
Needing some more oil ...Muck Off offer 6 types of oil why?
Garage cupboard is full of oils. chain saw oil, gear oil, hypoy oil, steam oil, 3 in one , penetrating oil, sewing machine oil, etc etc and of course ACF 50 anti corrosion oil.
Why cant I use any of these?.......maybe not the steam oil as that is water soluable .
What do you use?

 

[Gary]

Use them if you want but bear in mind most of the oils you mentioned are going to be stickier and that will mean they'll pick up way more crap when you ride.

As luck would have it I am currently using mucoff wet as it was half price.
I generally choose one of 3 or 4 brands I know are a consitency I like and buy whichever is on offer. (regularly used weldtite wet as it's always cheap).
What's most important is making sure the chain rollers and pivots are lubed. wet oil covering any more than that is simply going to attract dirt more/faster.

Don't waste your money on any lube that says E-bike specific unless it costs exactly the same. (it won't, that's the whole reason the words E-bike were put there).
There's no such thing as an E-bike specific chain or chain lube.

 

[MattyB]

There's no such thing as an E-bike specific chain or chain lube.

I disagree - they’re specifically more expensive! ?

 

[Cisco]

Another for Muc-Off wet lube.

 

[Akiwi]

I have been using the Finnish line Ceramic Wax for about a year. It is great as it seems to lubricate well, and it doesn't pick up loads of muck. Keeping the chain clean is easy.

 

[Russ]

Regularly clean and lube my chain after every long ride....
Needing some more oil ...Muck Off offer 6 types of oil why?
Garage cupboard is full of oils. chain saw oil, gear oil, hypoy oil, steam oil, 3 in one , penetrating oil, sewing machine oil, etc etc and of course ACF 50 anti corrosion oil.
Why cant I use any of these?.......maybe not the steam oil as that is water soluable .
What do you use?

Never use any chain oil as such
After ever ride bike washed , dryed with compressed air , then libraraly sprayed with ultimate bike solution, especially chain and sprockets, stays looking showroom fresh and doesn't wear out any faster.
I hate seeing drivetrains covered in messy sticky overlubed with oil , all the crap of the day stuck and acting like a grinding paste! UBS all the way??
Russ

 

[HikerDave]

Regularly clean and lube my chain after every long ride....
Needing some more oil ...Muck Off offer 6 types of oil why?
Garage cupboard is full of oils. chain saw oil, gear oil, hypoy oil, steam oil, 3 in one , penetrating oil, sewing machine oil, etc etc and of course ACF 50 anti corrosion oil.
Why cant I use any of these?.......maybe not the steam oil as that is water soluable .
What do you use?

I have used chainsaw bar oil on my bikes for many years now. 1000 miles on my eBike with no perceptible chain stretch.

One ride after the oil has soaked in I usually use WD-40 on a paper towel to clean the sides of the plates, trying not to get any in the chain pins.

 

[Doomanic]

Another for Muc-Off wet lube.

Because

it was half price.

I've tried all sorts over the last year but keep going back to the Muc-Off. Wet in the wet and Dry in the dry.

The cleanest my chain has ever been after a wet ride was after I cleaned and lubed in an ultrasonic bath. Cleaned with several doses of Muc-Off chain cleaner and lubed with SRG75 transmission oil. However, it was pretty much bone dry by the end of the ride and is far too labour intensive for a lazy twat like me to do more than once.

 

[steve_sordy]

FinishLine Wet for the wet season and FinishLine Dry for the dry season (a few weeks in the UK).

I tried Muck Off Wet and I had chain suck, back to FL Wet and no chain suck. So I'm using the Muck Off to lube my stanchions to use it up. I'm not saying chain suck is caused by Muck Off, just that if your transmission is sufficiently worn that chain suck is imminent, then FinishLine seems to delay the onset, Muck Off not so much.

 

[Gary]

FTTT*:
Certain cheap thicker/stickier alternative oils work a dream if you simply dilute them with a touch of GT85 (thins and reduces the stickiness).
For years I used Tesco/Asda own brand multi oil (like a thinner 3in1) adding a little GT85.
either of those multi oils used to cost about 59p for a 250ml bottle and I always have cans of GT85. Unfortunately they no longer sell it at any of my local shops so i'm back to paying cyclist tax on my chain lubes

*For The Terminally Tight

 

[Doomanic]

With all the talk of labour intensive home made wax solutions, has anyone tried proprietary stuff like Putolene Chain Wax?

 

[Gary]

That's what all the chain waxers I know use Dom.
Smelly and messy but they're happy with it.

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

Squirt chain lube.

End of thread.

 

[Akiwi]

With all the talk of labour intensive home made wax solutions, has anyone tried proprietary stuff like Putolene Chain Wax?

As I said above, I use the Finnish line ceramic wax.
I am happy with it, However, yesterday I did a ride with my wife and washed our bikes afterward as they were absolutely covered in mud. I went to lubricate the chains with the wax, and it was so cold that it came out all clumpy, and I ended up using much more that I needed.
Probably not a problem, but I thought I'd mention it.

 

[khorn]

As I said above, I use the Finnish line ceramic wax.
I am happy with it, However, yesterday I did a ride with my wife and washed our bikes afterward as they were absolutely covered in mud. I went to lubricate the chains with the wax, and it was so cold that it came out all clumpy, and I ended up using much more that I needed.
Probably not a problem, but I thought I'd mention it.

Put your wax can in a bucket of hot water for a few min and you are good.

Karsten

 

[Akiwi]

Put your wax can in a bucket of hot water for a few min and you are good.

Karsten

Figured that, but you know haow it is. the bottle is in the hand, and I was about as dirty as my bikes were before I washed them.

 

[R120]

I have recently started using Fenwicks Foaming chain cleaner and am super impressed with it. I use it with their chain cleaning sponge. Now there is always an argument as to whether you need, or if a chain specific sponge is even a thing, but having used both for the last few weeks after a ride, even if not fully cleaning the bike, its the best quick cleaning method I have tried to date.

Been using some other Fenwicks products too, and really impressed.

Foaming Chain Cleaner - Fenwicks Bike Maintenance Products

 

[Doomanic]

That video is a modern version of a Haynes manual where they’ve used a clean car without several years of road grime on all the suspension components. I seem to recall spending longer getting the crud off than doing any actual maintenance.

 

[Gary]

Cif bathroom moose is way cheaper for a bigger can and better than that.
spray it libberally on your entire drivetrain (after washing the worst of the mud off) leave for a minute or so and rinse off.
it leaves chains (and any other bare metal components) sparkling.

 

[R120]

Cif bathroom moose is way cheaper for a bigger can and better than that.
spray it libberally on your entire drivetrain (after washing the worst of the mud off) leave for a minute or so and rinse off.
it leaves chains (and any other bare metal components) sparkling.

I prefer Ajax

watch

 

[Gary]

Haha... been ages since I've seen those films

Seriously tho. Add Cif mouse to your grocery shopping list
I only really use it if I'm cleaning bikes for sale.

 

[Bazippy]

On my motorbike ive started using Kerosene after some expert explained it cleans an oring chain without damaging the orings and chain. It works an absolute treat on a heavily used commuter motorbike(far muckier then any mountainbike chain ive ever seen). I imagine it would work just as well on a mountain bike. Might try it at some point seen as i have tons of it in the garage. always wondered if it would be a good idea or not.
As for oil im yet to invest in the good stuff for the mountain bike. Reading this thread to choose my next purchase.

 

[R120]

I used Kerosene on my commuter motorbike. I was doing 20,000 miles a year on it, and was pretty lazy with chain maintenance, but it kept it going and tended to change out the chain and sprockets annually.

 

[Pdoz]

Has anyone ever done the maths on all these products?

I can understand a competitive road cyclist getting excited about polishing chains and minimising friction, but I struggle to understand the economics of dedicated cleaners / oils / waxes on an emtb , especialy if people are cleaning and lubricating every ride?

A good chain is worth, perhaps $100 ? How many chains to a set of sprockets? Do you realy extend the life enough to justify the expense / time involved?

( I come from a motorbike background so have been spoilt by o ring chains and hardened steel sprockets that easilly last 30 k )

 

[Kernow]

White spirit or paraffin is the best chain ‘drivetrain cleaner , iether brushed on or used in a chain cleaner , or the foaming gunk is brilliant if your sounding more .
As for chain oil I use normal motor oil 5/30 lite oil seems best , and if I want it a bit thicker add a little chain saw oil

 

[R120]

For me I am not that fussed about replacing chains/sprockets when necessary or looking to extend longevity - my maintenance regime is driven more by the fact bikes, especially on E-Bikes which tend to shift under more load, ride so much better with a clean and lubed chain.

Nothing more annoying that going out for a ride with crunchy gearshifts.

 

[Oldnomad52]

Hi Has anyone ever tried using hot candle wax to lubricate their chain. Found this on YouTube and looks cheap and easy way to get into all those hard to reach places ??

 

[Indigo]

I saw that video last week and thought I would give it a try, but haven't got around to getting the ingredients. Woolworths for the candle and Bunnings for Paraffin Oil and Xylene.

 

[Oldnomad52]

I saw that video last week and thought I would give it a try, but haven't got around to getting the ingredients. Woolworths for the candle and Bunnings for Paraffin Oil and Xylene.

Dont remember hearing about the Xylene ??

 

[Indigo]

The Xylene is shown at 2:00 into video. He says Mineral Turpentine will also work but not as good. Xylene can be found in paint section of hardware store. It is used as a thinner to help the wax get into the chain. He adds it last (5:30 into video) after filling containers to two thirds full.