Bicycle Mechanics - Info Needed on Chain Lube

Need input on chain lube. Have been using WhiteLighting for a number of years however lately have noticed that it seems to not last as long as it once did . Seems that after approx.100 miles the birds start cherping. Always liked it, but looks like they have changed their formula? Have not tried RaceDay.
Would like to hear from anyone that has experenced the same .
Also what anyone else is using with good results.
Ride mtn/rd.

Yeah it has been my expeience as well. I get consistent good results with Pedro's Ice Wax and Motorex dry lubricants.

i use wd-40. works real good, an it's cheap, to

i got some dry lube, i think its from pedros. it works real well, have you taken all of the gunkout of it before you lubed it up? is the chain getting rusty??

I like to use the wax in small bottles when I can get it...but other then that I must use wd-40 or 3-1 oil...and they wonder when we don't support our own town,like I would buy from my own town whenever possible?:)

pro-link seems to work well in all kinds of weather.

I'm a fan of Pro-link as well. I stay away from waxes and such like White Lightning because they thicken in cold weather and tend to build up on the chain. Cleaning the chain is as important as lubing it. Pro-link does a good job of flushing out grit as well as lubricating, but it's no substutute for an overnight soak in mineral spirits.

RichC

I still use a Teflon infused wax lube that I have to use a double boiler to melt before dipping my road chain in for 5 mins. I usually go 200-300 miles on a "waxing" and never have a problem with it. On the MTB, I use Finish Line Cross Country during spring/winter and Boeshield T-9 in the summer/fall. Those are just my preferences.

Chuck

I use Pedro's Extra Dry for the chain and either Finish Line Cross country or Phil Wood on the pulleys/other pivots/cables. Stay away from WD-40 - it's not a lube, but simply displaces water. I would also stay away from regular motor oil unless you enjoy scraping have an inch of gunk off of every link after even a short ride. I used to use White Lightning, but have found that the Pedro's stuff works much better.

-Moab

I wouldnt recoment WD-40 as some people have said as it eats away at the chain and allows it to wear out faster. I would recomend Ice Wax and triflow teflon spray for cables and gears.

Try Liquid Wrench Super Lubricant with PTFE (Teflon). About US$2 a can at Wal-Mart and works very well in wet conditions. Hellova lot cheaper then Tri-Flow or T-9.

Wax is crap boys and girls. Name one chain used in any other application that advises using Wax base lubricants...you can't, because they don't due to fast wear out! Maybe that's why a lot of folks here get only 3,000 to 5,000 miles on a chain? I don't know what the "best" is, but I now use Finish Line Teflon Dry and it is the best I ever used (Tri-flow Teflon might be similar?). When I first used it I tested it to see how far the stuff would last before chain chatter, and this stuff lasted about 1,200 miles before the chain got way to black for my taste-but still no noise! I now clean and reapply the Finish Line product every 400-450 miles.

The only product that I used that lasted the second longest was Speed Skate Lube and that stuff went about 700-750 miles. One thing odd about this Speed Skate stuff though, was my Sach freewheel started to make a alternating loud and soft ticking sound; so I hosed it with the Speed Skate Lube and all ticking stopped! Complete silence, that was over a year ago and I haven't heard a tick out of it!! My LBS was a bit amazed by that, but said that the unit was working perfectly-so I don't know what happen there.

I use an industrial lube called CRC 3-36 ultra light lube. I spray it on untill the chain is soaked, then run the chain around while wipping off the excess with a paper towel. It is much cleaner than anything I have ever used and the chain is very quiet.
I don't know how good this stuff will work for MTB or very wet riding conditions, because I don't ride much in the rain or do off road.

http://www.crcindustries.com/default.asp (This company) offers some products that may be of intrest.

I got 1,700 miles out of my last chain and 1,500 on the one before that (road bike) using Pedro's Ice Wax exclusively (the chains grew 1/16"). Many of the miles were rain rides. I don't consider this great mileage, especially since I lubed after every ride and kept my chain clean.

I've switched my MTB over to Tri-Flow, but I'm using up the last bottle of Ice Wax on the road bike. Once finished I'm going to Tri-Flow or something similar. I'm done with wax-based lubes.

My observations. . .

Wax based lubes are not appropriate for wet rides (duh!). It just melts away. Here in the east it's either raining, about to rain, just finished raining, or it might rain.

Wax based lubes must be applied frequently for best results - every ride or every other ride. And that may still not be enough.

Wax simply doesn't lube that well, but makes your chain look nice and clean as it's less likely to attract dirt. Your drivetrain will be clean, but will it be. . . slippery?

Most people use too much lube. Lube only needs to be inside the rollers. Lube on the outside of the chain only collects dirt. After applying lube, and running it into the chain with some cranks of the pedals, the excess should be wiped off. Frequently, as the lube works into the rollers dirt and grime will be displaced. When you wipe off the excess you also remove the dirt and grime.

Since lubes have become a minor obsession recently, I'm interested in other opinions and suggestions than confirm or contradict my observations and experiences.

I pretty much agree with everything you said, Woody. ProLink seems to be excellent for that grit-displacement process you refer to. Wax seems to dampen noise more than liquid lubes, and that may make some people think it's doing a better job. But that's just the mass of the wax dampening vibration, IMO. Like padding.

I went through a period several years ago where I was driving my bike to where I was starting my rides (I was rehabbing, so I was riding on a state park path). I was trying White Lightning, and kept it in the car. One fine chilly morning I found the stuff had congealed enough that I had to warm it on the engine block to get it to flow out of the bottle. That's when I realized I rerally didn't want this stuff on my chain.

RichC

1,700 miles on a chain is ridiculas, heck, your changing chains more than tires! I average about 15,000 miles on my chains. In fact my previous chain only lasted about 6,000 miles because of the wax crap I was using; and I reapplied the wax lube every 75-100 miles max! My longest chain life was about 22,000 miles and that was using Tri Flow. I now have just over 8,000 miles on the current chain which I used Speed Skate Lube for about 4,500 miles and then switched to Finish Line Teflon Dry; so now I must wait and see. But I do know that the chain makes less noise and the lube lasts a heck of lot longer than the wax crap I used before.

Finish Line Teflon Dry - Summer
Finish Line Cross Country - Winter

The Cross Country does attract more muck but is pretty tenacious in the rain.

Richard