Originally Posted by phantomcow2
I dont get it. Is there any reason for cycling specific lubes to be so expensive? Besides marketing. At autozone you can get a quart of Castrol Syntec oil for 3 dollars! Then theres the 4oz bottle of pedros ice wax for 5 dollars....
I've tried the name brand lubes and the household lubes. No difference. Or none that I can tell anyway. As a recreational rider I don't think it matters.
3in1 or some lightweight gear oil seems to lube a chain as well as the "cycling" branded lubes for considerably less moolah. I'm also switching over to marine bearing grease from cycling grease for hubs and headsets. Wally World sells it for cheap. Peeled off the cardboard tube and put it into an old peanut butter jar with a putty knife. Works great. I thought about getting something like Slick 50 grease but at the last minute I went with Wally World's Technium brand (or whatever it is) as I thought it would help repel moisture better. Kind of irrelevant since I'm a fair weather rider.
The only cycling lube (which really isn't a cycling lube) I'm using now is Boeshield T9. I have mixed opinions of it. It does seem to work but it's kind of sticky and tacky. My thoughts are if it's that sticky in my fingers, then how does that make for a better lube? I'm going to use it for the rest of the summer on my road bikes but I'll most likely switch back to 3in1.