Bicycle Mechanics - What kind of lube do you use and what's the best?

I'm using Pedro's Ice Wax chain lube. It looks like a really thick gooey substance. Is this any good?

When I hear you guy's talk about chain lube it sounds like the lube you guys use is not thick at all.

Do a search. Everyone has their own conditions which they ride in and opinion of what lube is best. There are countless threads on this subject.

KY Warming.

Wai.....

KY Warming..

Kentucky Jelly, nothing better. Ice Wax is a decent lube, Tri Flow is also good though a bit lighter.

KY Warming.

Wai.....
:beer:

Oil, any oil, motor oil is great. Wipe the chain with a rag after every ride, oil when you can start to hear difference in sound from the drive train. Never clean chain with solvent, check chain for wear and replace well before wear limit.

Less is more in chain maintenance.

Lube is the most overdiscussed topic in my opinion. I have used them all, and generally just grab whatever at the LBS and use it. The only exception is that i have never liked wax lubes because they don't last. Also wet lubes are to thick for normal conditions.

Lube is the most overdiscussed topic in my opinion. I have used them all, and generally just grab whatever at the LBS and use it. The only exception is that i have never liked wax lubes because they don't last. Also wet lubes are to thick for normal conditions.

Me too. I not only think that lubes are over discussed, I think they are often way overused. I buy the hugely overpriced little drip bottles at the LBS. I think I've been using Pro-Link for the last few years. I don't worry about the price because I only apply it a drop at a time on each chain link so one of those tiny bottles easily lasts me over a year - maybe two years.

This is the collection of my various lubes for different situations:beer:

Never clean chain with solvent
:roflmao:

Spit

See this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=235749) I started about Pedro's ice wax. Since the fall I've been using Phil Wood's Tenacious Oil. He does not lie about the name. This stuff is GOOPY. I'm not sure yet if I love it or hate it.

Welcome to the world of religion.

A.T.B. made in Mesa, AZ

Al

Now that I come to think if it. I was going to ask another follow-up question on another thread.

I cleaned and relubed my chain about 50 miles back. Per the advice I read on here, I got a towel and ran the chain through to take off some of the chain lube. Now I hear the chain squeek.

I'm going to try an actual oil and see how that works.

I apply gobs of used axle grease then clean off the excess with WD-40.

The best is almost anything else.

:D

This is what works for me...
Every week I clean the chain down good w/ a rag, relube w/ a drop per link of pro-link in dry conditions or white lightning if its wet. Let sit for atleast 20-30 minutes, whipe off all extra.
Every month I clean the chain w/ a cheap chain cleaner & degreaser. Re-wash w/ water to remove all degreaser and let dry, then re-lube.

Oil, any oil, motor oil is great. Wipe the chain with a rag after every ride, oil when you can start to hear difference in sound from the drive train. Never clean chain with solvent, check chain for wear and replace well before wear limit.

Less is more in chain maintenance.

Sounds true. Speaking of checking for wear how do you do it?

I do it the cheap way, with a ruler.
Visit Sheldon Brown's chain page (http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html) towards the end.

IMHO if your neat and can keep your body parts away from the chain tri-flo or any oil is good just keep it to a minimun, I met one world traveler using olive oil. If you tend to rub your your chain a lot most of waxes work well, especially good in rain free regions.

In our family we tend to use oil for local use, less hasstle, more mess, but more durable, wax is nice on tour especially when dealing with dry roads.

Motor oil is not good except in emergencies. Motor oil is a very wet oil that every little and large piece of dirt will cling to it like a magnet to steel. It does lube very well though, but once the dirt gets attracted to it then you will start to wear you chain and cogs out faster. Motor Oil works great in cars because cars have oil filters to take out small dirt particles that would normaly score the internal engine parts; bike chains have no filters to keep the oil clean.

By the way there are a lot of good lubes out there. I don't happen to like any wax based lubes because they don't seem to last more then 60 to 80 miles before having to reapply. Brands like Finish Line, Triflow, SpeedSkate Lube, and a few other brands are all very good. I happen to use Finish Line Teflon Dry.

Has anybody tried RD50? Speedplay recomends it for their pedals

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