Old 02-11-09, 08:08 AM
  #17  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
 
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Originally Posted by DaveSSS
Some of you folks will believe any ridiculous crap posted on the internet. That video is hilarious, since the guy making it apparently believes what he's saying.

WD-40 contains about 30% oil. It is a light weight oil, but it's plenty heavy enough to last for a least 100 miles on a bike chain. Flushing a chain with WD-40 is not the least bit harmful. As long as the chian is wiped before it's applied, the WD-40 will help to flush out the grit that accelerates wear.

I've used a homebrew lube that contains even more solvent and less oil for years. I apply it every 100 miles at the minimum. I've used a Campy 10 chain for 6,000 miles and measured only about 1/64 of an inch per foot elongation, so this very thin lube did a great job of preventing wear at the pins.
The old geezer at my shop tells people that WD40 is a poor substitute for proper chain lube and can cite many examples of folks coming in with badly rusted and seized chains that thought WD40 was adequate. Another problem is that a lot of people don't clean and lube their chains often enough or in a proper manner.

He'll go on to tell you that WD40 is a solvent and de-greaser and the quantity and quality of the oil in WD40 is not suitable for bicycle chains whereas home brew lubes tend to use different base oils and do work very well.

He is also pretty firm on the less is better methodology of lubing chains as they only need to be lubed on the inside and any residual lube just works as a dirt magnet... we live and ride in a very dusty climate (summer) and a cold, wet (and dirty) climate in the winter that is hard on drivetrains.

He seems to know his stuff backwards and forwards... people trust his advice.

He is of course... me.

And I would also be hard pressed to find any other mechanic here who would tell anyone that WD40 is adequate as a chain lube.

Because it isn't.
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