Bicycle Mechanics - What are you using for lubes and oils?

I've started commuting by bike again after a decade in the cars. I remember back in college I used to spray my mountain bikes down with WD-40, but I don't know where the devil I got the idea of using a degreaser to protect bike parts! This time around I've been using M-Pro cleaner on the chain and CLP on the external metal parts. They're designed for firearms but seem to be doing very well on the bike at protecing it from water damage and keeping things lubed without getting gummy. The problem is, they're very $$ and I'm thinking of going over to cheap household oil instead. What are other people using?

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20-weight motor oil in my Sturmey-Archer three-speeds, Phil grease for bearings, Park grease for anti-seize applications, White Lightning on chains and Phil Tenacious for most other applications. I use automotive wax on the frame and usually use Pledge wipes for cleaning. Simple Green is my degreaser of choice.

I use Tri-flow and Finish Line, Teflon Plus. They are a little pricey but when it comes to chain lubrication, I want to use the correct product especially since I ride dusty, sandy trails. I use the same stuff on my road bikes.
Edit: Like others posting here, I use automotive bearing grease when lubricating bearing surfaces.

Bar and chain oil on my bike chain and hubs. The stuff made for a chain saw. You can buy it by the quart or gallon. It is made to flow into the chain parts and the stuff is sticky so it stays on the chain. I also use it in hubs that have an oil port. I have 1,542 miles on a set of hubs and the chain on a bicycle I use for touring with no problems at all. The chain still checks good with a chain gage as well.

I have a drawer full. Depends on the bike, the weather, the use. I buy WD by the crate in winter.

Just about anything (and often nothing) works on a clean well adjusted drivetrain.

I have 1,542 miles on a set of hubs
NO WAY!:rolleyes:

T-9 for the chain, Phil Tencious Oil for the freehub, and Park bearing grease for hub and headset bearings.

NO WAY!:rolleyes:

I am retired, do 50 miles every other day for fun, and do at least a 500 mile trip once a month averaging 150 miles a day, WAY!

I still don't understand your point. I have over 4000 miles on my Spinergy wheels, and about 2500 miles on my Gipiemmes with no maintenance to the hubs whatsoever.

Teflon grease, and Pedro's Syn-Lube.

Oh, and "blue" medium-strength loctite, for those times I do want to use a threadlocker.

The problem is, they're very $$ and I'm thinking of going over to cheap household oil instead. What are other people using?

Household oil like 3-in-1 sucks. It's too thin, and flings off during rides onto your rims and tires -- good luck braking. :)

For the chain, I use 20w50 motor oil mixed w/ 99% isopropyl alcohol (though I have used paint thinner in the past) in an old dishwashing detergent bottle. It's like $3 for the oil and $2 for the alcohol, making about 1L of lube for $5 CDN. The drip cap makes it perfect for lubing without waste, as long as you don't squeeze too hard. Generally, I mix it to be about 60% oil/40% alcohol, but you can change the mix to get the viscosity you want. After I lube it, I protect the rim with a rag laid lengthwise across the bottom of the tire, and spin the cranks vigorously. Then I clean off any spray that might have occurred, and wipe the excess off the chain. It's pretty much good too go after the solvent dissipates, maybe about 5-10 minutes.

For the frame, I use Turtle Wax to wax after I wash with dish soap and hot water/cold to rinse.

In hubs, I just use whatever bearing grease that my local auto shop has on sale. Auto bearing grease is more than sufficient for bike applications, like hubs and BBs. One squeeze tube will last a year or so dependent on rebuild frequency.

Motor oil, any type, for oil, including chain. Any grease for grease, although CV joint grease is very convenient because its in a tube and its cheap.

The loads and temps on bikes are so miniscule compared to any motor application that the cheapest oil and grease is overkill.

I am retired, do 50 miles every other day for fun, and do at least a 500 mile trip once a month averaging 150 miles a day, WAY!

I am sure he was joking. 1500 miles on a hub is nothing. My Mavic hubs have over 5000 miles and have never been opened......and that is still low milage.

Back to the question:

I have used several things. Just about anything will lubricate the chain enough. The real issues are, something that will stay on the chain for a while, resist rain and water if you need it to, and the big one is will it stay clean.

WD40 will lubricate a chain, it just dosen't do it for very long.
Silicon spray works great, but not for very long. It stays very clean in sandy environments.
Chainsaw or motorcycle chain lube will lubricate. The problem is that they are sticky and attract dirt. Not good on the road, and REALLY bad on a MTB.
I was using BoeShield, but I would get a sticky reidue that I didn't like.
I tried ProLink and thought it ran a little dirty.

For off road wet conditions I use Cross Country.
On the road I use White Lightning.

Just my personal opinion, your milage may vary.

You might try the various chain wax products and home brews. The have to be applied more often but do leave less residue on cloths.

i'm using phil wood grease on my bearing and bb threads and purple extreme on my chain and anything else not sealed.

For hubs and BB's that use grease I use that red flight rated aircraft grease. That stuff never ever dries out and is impervious to water. The local airport or aircraft supply shop has it in small tubes for a couple of bucks all the way up to 40 Gal drums. For bicycles the small Tube will last you for years. Grip shifters need lube as well. A small pack of Shimano shifter grease that comes in a small pack like ketchup at the local burger joint will set you back mucho bucks and you only get enough for one set of shifters. White Lithium grease is the same stuff and is available for $1.98 a tube at your local auto parts store and will do many bike shifters.

T-9 for the chain

I use Pedros Dry for lube, I only ride my Sarthe when it's dry, unless caught in a rainstorm on a long ride. I've used T-9 for framesaver, but wondered what it's like as a lube.

Is T-9 better as a dry or wet Lube? and how dirty does it get?

The pedros works really well as a dry Lube, I never have to "clean" the chain, except by lubing and wipping off the excess.

Regular auto shop grease.



And a teflon dry lube for the bike.

Pedro's Extra Dry as a regular lube for the chain

Park PolyLube as a grease, so far i've used it for the headset, BB, and various threading, good stuff!

For the drive train: What matters most for good and reliable running is a clean and lubricated drive train. Whatever you use, wipe and clean often. What you use should depend on the conditions you ride in. I tend to only ride in dry conditions, so ProLink it is. I've tried home-bru 30w motor oil mixed with mineral spirits. That concoction drew too much road filth, as did lower weight bar/chain oil (Ever seen the guts of chain saw after a couple uses? Real messy). ProLink really is nice. As to the cost, new chain + cogs on a road bike = between 5 and 15 ProLink bottles, depending on the chain/cog setup.

ffff

Phil Wood waterproof grease for the hubs and headset.
I'm using DumondTech lite chain lube.

I get all my lube from work. I'm an aircraft mechanic....if it's good enough for aircraft, it's good enough for my bikes....and besides, it's free.

I get all my lube from work. I'm an aircraft mechanic....if it's good enough for aircraft, it's good enough for my bikes....and besides, it's free.

+1

I get all my lube from work. I'm an aircraft mechanic....if it's good enough for aircraft, it's good enough for my bikes....and besides, it's free.

bison33, could you please then tell us the aircraft lubes that you use, and also how do you like them?

Regards,

So far, I've been happy enough using park grease. One tube for $8 has lasted through total rebuilds of 3.5 bikes, with enough left for another two at least. I use Ice Wax for the chain (never ride in the rain), and Tri-flo for everything else. I've got the feeling that it's too light, but haven't ran into problems yet.

I discovered a neat trick for lubing cable casings. Drop by your local Wally World and look for Super TECH White Grease in the spray can. It comes with a straw taped to the side of the can and make double sure its there before you buy it. When you need to lube your cables simply remove the cable, put the straw in the spray nozzle, and put about 1/4" of the straw in the cable casing on the shifter or brake lever end and shoot the grease into the casing. A quick shot is all that’s required. When you push the cable back in the housing the cable will help push the grease into the casing.
I put a Moustache Handlebar with bar end shifters on a classic bike and with all the bends and casing length required the shifting was hard from cable friction in the casings. Lubing with white grease took care of that and now shifting is very easy and smooth.

On my chain, I have been using a tube of "Engine Assembly Lube" with "Moly Graphite". It's what I have and it works. A bicycle chain isn't going to get hot like an engine. I put more on when the chain looks dry or starts to talk to me.

+1

Ken, could you please let me know the aircraft industry lube(s) you use? I posted the same question for bison33, but it appears he has not been able to get to the question.

Thanks.

Regards,

and besides, it's free.
for me too!...but I work in a bike shop:p


While everyone has their preference of lubes (I use prolink personally), for suspension forks Englund slick honey is hands down the best stuff out there. It makes a noticeable improvement on the action of your fork. It is also great for any metal to plastic or plastic to plastic interface, like grip-shifters.

3 in 1 is actually a decent lube no matter what anyone says. It is thin, because it's suppose to seep into cracks. Good for things like chainringbolts, crappy headset threads, brake nuts, shifter things, and spoke nipples. I even use it on my chain. Wipe excess off.

I also use tub of Park aka monster blood on anything with threads and loose ball bearings.

For grease, I use white lithium grease from the auto shop, and for chain lube, I am currently using a 1:4 mix of Mobil One andpaint thinner. I reapply after every ride, and it keeps the chain clean. The solvent helps to clean the chain, and the light residue of oil remain after. I keep this as a ritual after every ride, the chain has never been cleaner ar easier to clean. I much prefer this over using one of those chain cleaners, which I have gathering dust on a shelf...

And of course, I got the idea for chain lube on these forums...

Cheers

Dave

We use motorcycle chain oil - easily found in any auto spares store, is cheap, and comes in a handy spray can (with long thin nozzle attachment) so you can spray it onto your chain.

Lucas Red n Tacky >>>>joints -threads
honda ATF- for my chain (gets dirty but quiet)needs wiping down after application
soon-finishline dry teflon / Pedros Ice wax

Purple Extreme is my favorite bicycle specific chain lube. I also use "home brew", one part Mobil One synthetic motor oil and 3 parts mineral spirits.
For bearings I use Phil's water proof grease or boat trailer water proof grease.

Al

The bodily fluids of my bikes:

Usual degreaser: undiluted Simple Green, rinse with water
Degreaser when the part is hard to air-dry: VM&P naphtha
Critical surface prep (press fits, before paint touch-ups, ...): denatured alcohol
General oil (brake calipers, trigger shifters, spoke nipples, ...): Phil Wood Tenacious
General grease (seatposts, pedal threads, ...): No-name hardware store lithium grease
Bearing grease: Phil Wood grease
Chain lube: No-name hardware store lithium grease, applied as a solution in VM&P naphtha
(I make no advertisements of being resistant to grit, etc...it just works for me)
Sturmey-Archer hubs: SAE 30 automotive oil
Anti-corrosion coating for frame tubes: boiled linseed oil
Finish protectant: One Grand Blitz carnauba wax (gives an amazing look!)

And that doesn't really even cover the products used for paint/clearcoat touch ups. I never thought until now of just how many types of goop I go through!

Cool thread! :)