Bicycle Mechanics - Using WD-40 as lubricant?

Is WD40 a good lubricant for the gears or the parts in general? If not, what is a good cheap alternative.

Thanks

In my view, no WD-40 is not useful as a lubricant. It's OK to spray it on to keep corrosion out of parts immediately after riding in the rain, but it's not a long-term solution. Personally I use Finish-Line Cross-Country.

Noooooooooooo!!!!!! It is not. Do a search and check out some of the posts on WD-40. Tri-Flo is a good lube.

I don't think WD-40 is a lubricant. WD stands for "water displacement." It preserves metal, but doesn't lubricate it (very well).

Welcome andykupe to the bikeforums. I can tell you are rather interested in bikes, posting questions here and there so that you can get all the information possible. Good start for you andy. Anyway, I used to use WD-40 as a lubricant but found out soon enough to know that it is not suitable. I changed to using a chain lube, any brand should do fine. I'm using Finish Line for dry riding.

A question here : Is the Finish Line Cross Country a better lube even for dry riding?

I don't think there's really a massive amount of difference in the dry. I use the Finish Line Cross Country because so far it's been the only thing to stand up to tropical downpours.

'Wurth' make some good prods. Rost Off is like WD40 but it has a lubricant in it , HS 2000 is another excelant prod they make ,it is a grease in a either like spray that penitrates then evaporates quickly, leaving the grease behind in the most inecesible places , even past seals !

DO NOT USE WD-40 AS A LUBRICANT. It is designed to degrease and will get into all the little crevaces and dissolve the grease.

A comment on Finish Line Cross Country... I found that it was like a munge magnet. I'd recommend using it only if your riding conditions warrant.

pro-link when properly applied lengthens component life.

I think I will pick some of this stuff up http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=103&subcategory=1121&brand=&sku=3331&storetype=&estoreid= When I am going to gear up when I buy my new bike. I want to keep my bike in tip top shape and not let it deteriorate like my old sear's bike. lol, like it was worth saving ;)

What's this? A WD-40 post and no remarks from D*Alex? Something's amiss.

WD-40 will work decent for trying to unfreeze a rusted nut or displace moisture from a set of ignition contact points.

Keep it away from your bike components.

I don't think WD40 is a lubricant. I think its just kerosene(correct me if i'm wrong).. Good for cleaning and as an antirust agent..

Bike oil is a cheap "alternative" to WD-40 as a chain lube, but it does attract dirt.
You can get solid wax lubes, which come dissolved in a solvent, eg White Lightening/Pedros.
Dry teflon-based lubes which spray on the chain.
Wet teflon enhanced oils which are sprayed or drizzeled onto the chain.

I use WD-40 as a rust inhibitor inside the steel tubes, and as a short-term lube forbrake and derailleur pivots in the wet. I have used it as a short-term chain lube when nothing else was to hand. Its better than running a dry chain, but wont give lasting protection.

Yeah, as everyone already noted, it's not really meant to do the lubricatig functions, but it sure is better than nothing, if your life doesn't depend on the chain and you are not riding hundreeds of miles a week in bad weather, I'd say, you could use it, the chain would stay quite and resistance would not be noticable...

So, if you have coupple of free cases of it, it would seem to be a reasonable idea...

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Ride Wal Mart Bikes!

A good idea is to check with the shop guys in your area and ask them what they would recommend for your riding conditions and riding style. By the time you pay for shipping if you mailorder that lube you're going to pay more than you would in the shop anyway.

ok so lets say that i squirt some WD to ungoo some parts, then relube without taking anything apart, its fawked? should I bust everything apart and regrease everything?

As long as you relube the parts they should be fine. WD-40 works great as a cleaner, just not as a lube.

werd. the WD seemed to get the gunk out and stoped whatever stupid creak I had in there. I lubed it up after I was all done and let it sit over night, am Im going to check it out tonight when i get home. If still busted, ill have to start takin crap apart

Would anyone out there really select kerosene + vanilla extract as a lubricant? However, WD-40 is a decent metal parts cleaner and rust inhibitor.

Originally posted by Inoplanetyanin
Yeah, as everyone already noted, it's not really meant to do the lubricatig functions, but it sure is better than nothing, if your life doesn't depend on the chain and you are not riding hundreeds of miles a week in bad weather, I'd say, you could use it, the chain would stay quite and resistance would not be noticable...

So, if you have coupple of free cases of it, it would seem to be a reasonable idea...

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Ride Wal Mart Bikes! Kiss your drivetrain goodbye

Not to try to re-open an old topic, but this may shed some light on the whole wd-40 issue...

A page that I saved (I think it was originally on Sheldon Brown's site, though I can't find it there now otherwise I would post a link... regardless, I give him original credit) contains the following:


There have been many opinions posted here on WD-40's composition, but
here is what the Material Safety Data Sheet [MSDS] says (it's from Oct
93, the latest I could find):

50% Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits) [8052-41-3]
25% Liquified petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant)
[68476-85-7]
15+% Mineral Oil (light lubricating oil) [64742-65-0]
10-% Inert ingredients

(The numbers in square brackets '[]' are the CAS numbers for the
ingredients, as listed in the MSDS.)

Mostly, WD-40 is a solvent, with a bit of light oil mixed in. It
doesn't contain wax (except incidentally, since it's not exactly a
reagent-grade product).

Based on that, I searched and read through several different countries' versions of the MSDS's and found that the above percentages are correct.

More research uncovered that Stoddard solvent is (or more accurately, is closely related to) Naptha, a.k.a. Zippo lighter fluid----my personal favorite all-around petroleum based solvent/cleaner. Wear gloves. Don't smoke. (Maybe a chemistry type could clarify this point for us...)

Liquified Petroleum Gas = Propane.

Mineral Oil = Baby Oil.

Personally? I only use it for cleaning and degreasing really gunky stuff on my motorcycle... only to wash that off with soap and water!

FWIW...

-Erik

We use it at work for making locknuts go on bolts easier, so it must have some lubricating properties, however it tends to attract dirt and grime when it is on your chain, personally I like White Lightning for a lubricant, it is pretty expensive but it keeps everything nice and clean. A friend of mine uses sewing machine oil, which he say's works pretty well and it is also fairly cheap.

WD-40 actually makes a very good parts degreaser! WD-40 has solvents in it which will flush out needed lubricants.

Just stay away from the stuff.

Spit...if used in the right places.....has lubricating properties.

Drain the oil in your car and re-fill it with WD-40....you'll find out how well it lubricates.