Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
I use homebrew that is made from 1 part semi synthetic oil and 3 parts mineral spirits or WD40 year round... it flows well in the coldest temperatures and the solvent carries it into the rollers and displaces moisture.
WD40 by itself is a very poor lube because it contains very little oil and is primarily solvent / mineral spirits but boosting the oil content to 25% makes this mix very effective.
Sorry to bring an antient thread to life, you seem quite experienced and I have 3 questions.
1) Would fully synth motor(cycle) oil also be OK?
2) About WD40. Can it be used on its own on commuter bicycle and is it at least decent?
I used WD40 on a mountain bike for about a year. Lubed it with WD 40 only. It was great for not sticking any grit/sand/dust on the chain. It all just fell of. Practically I never had to clean the chain, just lube it about every 100 kms (used to do weekend mountain rides of roughly 50 kms per day). However, I didn't know then about chain wear etc and sold the bike before measuring/changing the chain. So I'm not sure if WD40 is good enough, or the chain was almost busted quickly.
Regular bike oil sold in LBS is too sticky and at least mixing it with WD40 like you did is great idea.
3) I washed the chain on pressure car cleaner (one that sprays hot water through a jet on a hose - it costs 0.50 e to do it in about 1-2 minutes of spraying). Is that an OK way to clean the chain?
I immediately took it for a shord ride to dry, then put some WD40. Now the chain seems perfect (probably WD40 mixed with leftovers of old thick oil).
If I had 2 bikes and more time, I'd do an experiment myself. One more thing that confuses me is that my first chain on current bicycle went busted in some 1500 kms (september to march). I lubed it with thicker LBS recommended oil. Didn't clean in regularely though, perhaps that was what killed it. The new chain is at 50% said the LBS man. That is after about 1000 kms. And this one was both lubed and cleaned. Am I doing something wrong, or is 2000 kms out of a chain normal? Sprockets look great, as well as freewheels.