Bicycle Mechanics - How much oil is too much. (Chain.)

I really cleaned up my bike quite thoroughly for it's Spring inspection. I took my chain cleaning tool and did a real thorough cleaning of the chain. I knew it was not yet ready for replacement. .
The wrench said use less oil. I only put one drop per link.. Spun it around . And wiped it clean the next day before taking it into the shop..
.. How can one put less than one drop of oil per link.?

I don't really see what the problem is. 1 drop per link is just fine, in my opinion. Wipe off any excess (use some terry cloth), a little oil film will be left on the exposed surfaces for corrosion resistance, and you're good to go. Maybe spin the drivetrain to bring any more excess to the surface and wipe again. A rider or wrench who thinks this is too much is obsessing needlessly.

Smaller drops? More wiping? After wiping, let it sit awhile and wipe again. If you're not always riding in the rain, try a wax-based dry type lube like White Lightning Clean Ride. That's what I have been using lately and my chain stays real clean. No more chainring tattoos. Rainy season's here now so I'll need to reapply more often, or switch back to an oilier formula. I'm going to try the reapply option first. The nice thing about the wax lubes is that you don't need to do a full blown cleaning job every time before you reapply it.

.... Maybe spin the drivetrain to bring any more excess to the surface and wipe again. ...

:thumb:

He was not obsessed about my over oiling. He just suggested in passing. Use less. As, said, I did wipe off the excess the following morning.

He was not obsessed about my over oiling. He just suggested in passing. Use less. As, said, I did wipe off the excess the following morning.

Good. Then you're there.

I just did not think it possible to subdivide drops into droplets. ?

And I quote:


A crumb is a great thing: If you break a crumb in half you don't get two half-crumbs, you get two crumbs, Man!

Cool. Sounds just like a Carlin quote.. Have to get my knife out and see if I can cut a drop into two pieces. ...

It's more about removing the excess oil than putting too much on. You can drown the chain in oil if you liek... that's fine, you just have more to remove. Also, if you use tons of oil don't forget to clean the cassette. I will put between 1 and 1.65 drops (:p) on each link and then wipe it down thoroughly afterward. Then wipe it down again in the morning before my commute. You want oil in the rollers, not on the links. Oil on the links just collects dirt.

I just did not think it possible to subdivide drops into droplets. ?

Minims= 10 equal one drop.

Good luck trying to measure a minim with oil.:thumb:

If you want the minimal amount of lube needed on a chain, soak a spot about the size of a quarter on a nappy washcloth. Then hold it against the chain while you rotate it. One app this way should do it. I do it twice on my double recumbent chain. Capillary action takes it right into the chain. bk

Only way to get/use less than one drop is to use a syringe or needle oiler. But does one have to be that precise or have the time to do all the rollers in that fashion?

I take the opposite approach and apply my home brew heavily, to flush out as much old lube and dirt and lube as possible. Motor oil thinned 4/1 with mineral spirits or naptha will never build up on a chain. I hold a folded paper shop towel under the lower section of chain and apply a small stream. I also wipe the chain before and after lubing.

BTW, is anyone using Pedro's Extra Dry (http://www.pedroscatalog.com/product.aspx?productID=6020041) lube?

Just a week or two ago I cleaned the chain (just with a rug) and lubed it with Pedro's Extra Dry (one droplet per link). I had to take the bike to the shop with some problem and the person that worked on the bike said that the chain was dry. They like to use "Wurth Rost Off (https://shoponline.wurthusa.com/wurthusa/servlet/CyberVendor/category/G4231078/catalog/group.jsp/)", which is quite wet lube, similar to WD-40.

Is the Pedro's Extra Dry lube just too dry? I didn't ride the bike in rain, so I don't think that it was necessary to apply any wet lube.

Dry lubes need to be applied more often and the chain is not likely to last as long.

Dry lubes need to be applied more often and the chain is not likely to last as long.

If you apply it often enough, shouldn't it help the chain last longer? I was under the impression that it's the dirt and grime that wears out a chain even more than friction between the metal rollers and the pins. If a dry lube attracts and holds less dirt, assuming the chain's not *really* dry, less wear should result. Right??

I used to use one of the Pedros lubes and the chain would be black in less than 100 miles. I switched to White Lightning Clean Ride and use it a bit more often, about every 120 mi. if it doesn't rain, and my chain never looks grimy.

If you apply it often enough, shouldn't it help the chain last longer? I was under the impression that it's the dirt and grime that wears out a chain even more than friction between the metal rollers and the pins. If a dry lube attracts and holds less dirt, assuming the chain's not *really* dry, less wear should result. Right??

I used to use one of the Pedros lubes and the chain would be black in less than 100 miles. I switched to White Lightning Clean Ride and use it a bit more often, about every 120 mi. if it doesn't rain, and my chain never looks grimy.

Is "White Lightning Clean Ride" and "WHITE LIGHTNING Self-Cleaning Wax Lubricant (http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442121413&FOLDER% 3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302847386)" the same thing?

Dry lubes need to be applied more often and the chain is not likely to last as long.

It only lasts not as long if you don't lube it in the required interval. GG.

If you apply it often enough, shouldn't it help the chain last longer? I was under the impression that it's the dirt and grime that wears out a chain even more than friction between the metal rollers and the pins. If a dry lube attracts and holds less dirt, assuming the chain's not *really* dry, less wear should result. Right??That's the common belief, but actual in-the-field experience with empirical evidence says otherwise. Dry lube were getting popular at the beginning of my 10-year stint in a bike-shop. During that time, people would come in for chain-replacements and the majority and most of the worst worn-out chains were from people using dry lubes. Believe me, I've sold and tried them all I wasn't at all unhappy about selling the dry lubes because I knew they'd be back in a couple months to buy another chain... and more dry-lube.

Usually you get 2500-4500 miles out of a chain with dry lube. With oil and frequent flushing and re-lubing, you can expect 4000-8000 miles. Some have claimed over 10k, but I personally haven't done that myself as I limit the wear to 1/16th inch.

That's the common belief, but actual in-the-field experience with empirical evidence says otherwise. Dry lube were getting popular at the beginning of my 10-year stint in a bike-shop. During that time, people would come in for chain-replacements and the majority and most of the worst worn-out chains were from people using dry lubes. Believe me, I've sold and tried them all I wasn't at all unhappy about selling the dry lubes because I knew they'd be back in a couple months to buy another chain... and more dry-lube.

Usually you get 2500-4500 miles out of a chain with dry lube. With oil and frequent flushing and re-lubing, you can expect 4000-8000 miles. Some have claimed over 10k, but I personally haven't done that myself as I limit the wear to 1/16th inch.

How do you recommend to flush a chain? And how often? How often do you recommend to re-lube?

Thanks!

You can subdivide the drops by putting two drops of oil on a clean toothbrush and apply it to 20 links of chain then two more drops on the brush, 20 more links. Then wipe down the chain.

You can subdivide the drops by putting two drops of oil on a clean toothbrush and apply it to 20 links of chain then two more drops on the brush, 20 more links. Then wipe down the chain.

I apply my homebrew with a toothbrush, but ... pretty liberally.

I do it after rides, to allow evaporation of the mineral spirits, but I do wipe the chain down after application.

I run the long headed (not compact) toothbrush lengthwise (pretty parallel to the chain). It's nearly the same width as the chain, giving good coverage and not much else....

I'm with DaveSSS: I'm not stingy with the stuff.

How do you recommend to flush a chain? And how often? How often do you recommend to re-lube?!I just use WD-40 to wash a chain on the bike. Spin the crank backwards and spray it on the top of the chain on the bottom run. Lay a rag down underneath and over the wheel so you don't lubricate the rim. The WD-40 flows through the chain, taking the old lube and any particles with it (fine metal powder from the worn parts). Spin the chain through 2-3x with constant flushing with WD-40. Then spin it some more to work out the rest. Then wrap the chain with a clean rag and hold your hand around it as you spin it through some more to clean it.

Then apply your own favourite lube on. I've found the boutique lubes work about as well as home-made brew such as motor-oil thinned with mineral spirits. Honda recommends using 80-95wt tranny oil on their motorcycle chains. The ATB lube works quite well and the guy that makes it posted some tech-notes on it a couple months ago. I find the application technique doesn't matter, I just drip, sprinkle, spray it on. Spin the crank several times or ride around the block to work in the new lube. Some people go a full day. Then wrap a rag around the chain again and spin it through to remove the excess from the outside. Sure, if you're buying expensive boutique oil, you'll want to drip it on to stretch your pennies. But you'll still want to wipe off the excess on the outside. This step makes how much you applied previously irrelevant.

Frequency of maintenance is probably the most important factor in chain longevity. I usually do it every 500-miles or so, about every two weeks. More frequently if you're in dusty, dirty environments.

What I did was buy a three-pack set of gun oiling drip plastic bottles from Brownells and use this in oiling my chains. I use either Boeshield-T9 or ProLink lubes. The oiler bottle has a metal tube that helps in delivering exactly one drop on each chain link, and of course I let it sit for at least two hours, then wipe the chain down.

The Brownell bottle helps to deliver the lube exactly where it's needed, and of course, no squander.

I take the opposite approach and apply my home brew heavily, to flush out as much old lube and dirt and lube as possible. Motor oil thinned 4/1 with mineral spirits or naptha will never build up on a chain. I hold a folded paper shop towel under the lower section of chain and apply a small stream. I also wipe the chain before and after lubing.

What viscosity? Synthetic or regular?

I've been going through wax lube at an alarming rate, and I rather like the idea of buying bike oil in quarts.

Motor-oil has zinc in it for contact-lubrication. Look up what the zinc does.

From Mobil:

"All engine oils have an additive called ZDDP (Zinc DialkylDithioPhosphate) for wear protection. In general, heavy duty engine oils (truck oils like Mobil Delvac) have a higher level of ZDDP."

I use synthetic motor oil, but I've never documented that it works any better than a conventional oil. With synthetic, you can choose from 0W-30 to 20W-50 weights. Only the first number is relevant, so all of them are relatively light in weight at lower temperatures.

I've also used 80/90W synthetic gear lube, since it has more EP (extreme pressure) additives. Once again, I can't say that it works any better. It does stink and needs to be thinned more and/or applied less often or you will get more dirt buildup. I'll have a better idea if it yeild any advantage later this summer. I'm still comparing two 11 speed chains - one lubed with WD-40 and another lubed with gear oil. That's about as extreme a difference as you can get. FYI, the WD-40 lubed chain is holding up just fine with nearly 1000 miles on it.

I always wipe my chain down after every ride. Oil always oozes out of the chain and collects on the outside, where it's of no value to the chain. If you never wipe the chain, that oil just collects dirt. Eventually, you will get very little or no oil on the chain's exterior. Then it's in the process of going dry. You never want a chain to go dry and start squeaking, IMO. I'm always wiping and lubing.