Road Cycling - Cycle specific chain lube? no thanks!

Yesterday I popped the power link off my chain and coiled it up falt and put it in a square container then filled it to the top of the chain with a penertating oil we use ( I'm an industrial service tech). It's just mostly a kerosene based product. I shook the container back and forth for about a couple minutes and watched the gold liquid turn black! Poured it out, wiped the chain off with a cloth and repeated ; the color didnt get as dark. Cleaned it off again and let it hang outside while I did yard work. Put the chain back on and lubed each pivit with Mobile 1 motor oil. If it's good enough for a twin turbo charged Evo it's good enough for a frekin chain for God's sake! Wiped off the excess thoroughly. Just got back from a 35 mile ride and my cain is not any different than when I use that hyped up teflon/wax $5.00 per ounce junk. It shifted like silk the for the entire ride! I think the cycling industry figures a guy that will drop $2,000+ on an average road bike will probably spend whatever amount to enhance the experience and is banking on the probability that that type of person is not mechanically oriented! They blend up a crock of reasons why we need their type of product, even though no other lube application on Earth needs it! They are taking advantage of our love for the sport. It's synthetic oil for me from now on; I feel really stupid for not thinking for myself earilier! Gee, I bet a this 1/2 of a quart will last me a few years! :rolleyes:

Yeah we must be really stupid to buy synthetic lubricants. What a revelation.

Yesterday I popped the power link off my chain and coiled it up falt and put it in a square container then filled it to the top of the chain with a penertating oil we use ( I'm an industrial service tech). It's just mostly a kerosene based product. I shook the container back and forth for about a couple minutes and watched the gold liquid turn black! Poured it out, wiped the chain off with a cloth and repeated ; the color didnt get as dark. Cleaned it off again and let it hang outside while I did yard work. Put the chain back on and lubed each pivit with Mobile 1 motor oil. If it's good enough for a twin turbo charged Evo it's good enough for a frekin chain for God's sake! Wiped off the excess thoroughly. Just got back from a 35 mile ride and my cain is not any different than when I use that hyped up teflon/wax $5.00 per ounce junk. It shifted like silk the for the entire ride! I think the cycling industry figures a guy that will drop $2,000+ on an average road bike will probably spend whatever amount to enhance the experience and is banking on the probability that that type of person is not mechanically oriented! They blend up a crock of reasons why we need their type of product, even though no other lube application on Earth needs it! They are taking advantage of our love for the sport. It's synthetic oil for me from now on; I feel really stupid for not thinking for myself earilier! Gee, I bet a this 1/2 of a quart will last me a few years! :rolleyes:

Is the inside of you Evo exposed to dirt like the outside of a chain? Prolink works fine and its made for the chain as Mobil 1 is made for the inside of an engine. I'll save my engine oil for my engine. If it works for you{in the long run** great. A bottle of prolink last me well over a year.

Is the inside of you Evo exposed to dirt like the outside of a chain? Prolink works fine and its made for the chain as Mobil 1 is made for the inside of an engine. I'll save my engine oil for my engine. If it works for you{in the long run** great. A bottle of prolink last me well over a year.
"it's made for the chain" , says who? Prolink maybe? Yeah I've used that too, tri Flow, White Lightening, Pedro's stuff, used them all. Same old same old, they all got dirty and after about 50 miles sounded dry. I see this is taking a negative turn; was just trying to be helpfull. I should have known better!

How exactly did you apply the Motor Oil? I mean did you just pour it out of the quart bottle or what?

We are trying to be helpful to. Maybe you overlube. My chain is still clean after about 300 miles since the last cleaning. You dont figure the oil industry loves that you speed 4 bucks a can or more for M1? M1 or 99 cent Mobil oil,as long as you change it before 5000 miles,nothing will tell the difference,imo. Dont ask what i use.

"it's made for the chain" , says who? Prolink maybe? Yeah I've used that too, tri Flow, White Lightening, Pedro's stuff, used them all. Same old same old, they all got dirty and after about 50 miles sounded dry. I see this is taking a negative turn; was just trying to be helpfull. I should have known better!

Your martyr complex is showing. If you post something! controversial! with lots of! exclamation! points and strong! opinions, are you really! surprised it provoked different! opinions?

You're certainly entitled to your choice in lubes, but some vegans who ride, myself included, prefer other things. I used TriFlow for 10+ years and other than a propensity to attract dirt more than some, was very happy with it for all weather commuting. I currently use ProLink and find that I have to reapply it about every 300-400 miles of fair weather riding and 100-250 miles of foul weather cycling.

Paul

We are trying to be helpful to. Maybe you overlube. My chain is still clean after about 300 miles since the last cleaning. You dont figure the oil industry loves that you speed 4 bucks a can or more for M1? M1 or 99 cent Mobil oil,as long as you change it before 5000 miles,nothing will tell the difference,imo. Dont ask what i use.
Mitsubishi Motors requires that synthetic oil is used on the Evo because you can not use mineral oil with it because the way the turbos designed. There are many differences in synthetic oil, I know for a fact because of the field Im in, and it seems like an argument not worth getting into. Oh and what's this about the "sheep"? eewwww!

Thats an idea,M1 and sheep,na.LOL

Dude quit arguing and answer my question. How do you apply the motor oil to your chain? Thanks.

Dude quit arguing and answer my question. How do you apply the motor oil to your chain? Thanks.
I put some left over oil in a Zoom Spout Oiler bottle. It's a plastic bottle that has a capillary tube at the end that telescopes out that is about 6" long with about a 1/16" inside diameter. Just a very small drip on each link, spun the chain a few revs and wiped it off with a thick cloth. Without one of those oilers you could probably use a baggie, put a small amount (tablespoon?) or less in one of the corners, tie it off in a knot and just prick the end of the corner with a pin; that would work, just a suggestion. oh and BTW, thanks for asking.

The problem with motor oil is it attracts dirt like glue...

The problem with motor oil is it attracts dirt like glue...

There you have it folks, owned.

Dude quit arguing and answer my question. How do you apply the motor oil to your chain? Thanks.

I use a dropper. My mix is 25% oil and 75% mineral spirits.



The problem with motor oil is it attracts dirt like glue...


Take the time to wipe the chain down after oiling and you won't have this problem.


Here's my routine:

-Remove chain (Powerlink'd)
-Dunk chain in can of kerosene
-Agitate and remove
-Dunk chain into Big Slam Mountain Dew bottle with Simple Green added
-Agitate chain
-Dump fluid out
-Fill with very hot water
-Agitate
-Dump and fill again
-Agitate
-Remove chain
-Dry on paper towels
-Remount chain
-Oil using dropper
-Wipe exterior of chain with rag wetted with WD40
-Ride briefly
-Repeat wipe

Works for me, might not be your cup of tea though.

Hoppes gun oil, here. Wipe the chain when finished. It works. Of course, I didnt have to go out and buy a bottle to try it.....just opened the gun cabinet. The idea of spending huge (relatively speaking) amounts on a small bottle of suspectedly repackaged lube just doesnt make sense when you can use something else. If you are using a dry lube than that's different.


Olds

I use a dropper. My mix is 25% oil and 75% mineral spirits.


Take the time to wipe the chain down after oiling and you won't have this problem.


I thought about that when I posted, actually. I'm not talking about the amount of lube... use any lube excessively and it will attract diry, but I've experimented with various lubes, including Mobil-1 (always had an bit left from my VW) and it was the worst stuff I've used, aside from WD40 (I was 12, ok?). Its too thick and is GLUE for dirt. So far GT85, 3M, and Volvo spray are the only lubes I've foudn worth using--they are all very light, and contain PTFE... on my roadbike I *maybe* clean my chain once a month, and even then its not necessary. On our group rides people often remark how my drivetrain looks new, when in reality it hadn't even been cleaned in weeks.

I thought about that when I posted, actually. I'm not talking about the amount of lube... use any lube excessively and it will attract diry, but I've experimented with various lubes, including Mobil-1 (always had an bit left from my VW) and it was the worst stuff I've used, aside from WD40 (I was 12, ok?). Its too thick and is GLUE for dirt. So far GT85, 3M, and Volvo spray are the only lubes I've foudn worth using--they are all very light, and contain PTFE... on my roadbike I *maybe* clean my chain once a month, and even then its not necessary. On our group rides people often remark how my drivetrain looks new, when in reality it hadn't even been cleaned in weeks.



Is it the "lighter" weight oil that seems to work best in regard to attracting dirt?



Olds

Is it the "lighter" weight oil that seems to work best in regard to attracting dirt?


Yeah they are very light--but the way the PTFE stuff works is that it leaves a very thin durable coating on the chain. Motor oil is pretty thick and heavy, and almost sticky in a certain way. It "clings" to the chain, as its designed to in the engine. The PTFE just leaves a nice thin coating. You probably do have to apply the PTFE based lubes more often than say Triflow, BUT I will gladly apply it more often if I'm only having to clean my chain once a month.

I use a dropper. My mix is 25% oil and 75% mineral spirits.



Take the time to wipe the chain down after oiling and you won't have this problem.


Here's my routine:

-Remove chain (Powerlink'd)
-Dunk chain in can of kerosene
-Agitate and remove
-Dunk chain into Big Slam Mountain Dew bottle with Simple Green added
-Agitate chain
-Dump fluid out
-Fill with very hot water
-Agitate
-Dump and fill again
-Agitate
-Remove chain
-Dry on paper towels
-Remount chain
-Oil using dropper
-Wipe exterior of chain with rag wetted with WD40
-Ride briefly
-Repeat wipe

Works for me, might not be your cup of tea though.


Overkill,imo.

Overkill,imo.

Opinion noted. And mine is that Prolink and it's ilk are overpriced snake oil.

Yesterday I popped the power link off my chain and coiled it up falt and put it in a square container then filled it to the top of the chain with a penertating oil we use ( I'm an industrial service tech). It's just mostly a kerosene based product. I shook the container back and forth for about a couple minutes and watched the gold liquid turn black! Poured it out, wiped the chain off with a cloth and repeated ; the color didnt get as dark. Cleaned it off again and let it hang outside while I did yard work. Put the chain back on and lubed each pivit with Mobile 1 motor oil. If it's good enough for a twin turbo charged Evo it's good enough for a frekin chain for God's sake! Wiped off the excess thoroughly. Just got back from a 35 mile ride and my cain is not any different than when I use that hyped up teflon/wax $5.00 per ounce junk. It shifted like silk the for the entire ride! I think the cycling industry figures a guy that will drop $2,000+ on an average road bike will probably spend whatever amount to enhance the experience and is banking on the probability that that type of person is not mechanically oriented! They blend up a crock of reasons why we need their type of product, even though no other lube application on Earth needs it! They are taking advantage of our love for the sport. It's synthetic oil for me from now on; I feel really stupid for not thinking for myself earilier! Gee, I bet a this 1/2 of a quart will last me a few years! :rolleyes:

When I use to commute in winter I would use motor oil on the inside of my 6 spped free wheel to prevent it from seizing up from the road salt (lay bike on its side and drip the stuff in). I would also use it on my chain.

The reason for this is because it was more....tenacious or it stuck better for the winter conditions and, of course, I needed alot more of it and it was cheap. Worked great.

However, for my road bike I use White Lightening (it never sees rain). For my touring bike I use TriFlow (which sees rain). White Lightening, IMO, is hopeless for wet conditions, but it does not attract dirt as much as a wet lube like TriFlow.

I can't agree that the motor oil will not attract as much dirt as White Lightening tho, I think that you'll be cleaning your drivetrain more often using motor oil than I would using White Lightening.

I do agree that it works better in wet conditions and is alot cheaper.

It comes down to what you want to live with - cheaper, but dirtier chain and more cleaning, more expensive but cleaner chain and less cleaning.

At the end of the day, I'm sure it does a very good job of lubing a bicycle chain.

IMO, if you want to use it, well...then use it. If noone likes it, so what?

Digger

The idea of spending huge (relatively speaking) amounts on a small bottle of suspectedly repackaged lube just doesnt make sense when you can use something else.

Olds

But you will spend five bucks for 3oz of Hoppes, I see where your priorities are located. Mobile one works fine for guns too (this is the on-going lube debate on gun forums). :D

I use Shooter's Choice!

I've now run the gammit with bike lubes. Wax based stuff is very clean but does not protect as well (rust), imo.

I spray mine with WD-40, wipe it down, add a thin coat of prolink, wipe it down. Especially after it rains. I found that if you use the little red tube on the WD-40, you can blast a lot of crap out of the chain into the cloth you hold below it.

Here we go again,keep the wd away from your chain.

did somebody here just advocate WD-40?

whoa...

whats wrong with the WD??? I use it to clean, not lube.

I use Rem-Oil. It's a light, teflon-based gun lubricant. The oil doesn't seem to attract dirt, and the lubricating properties are quite good.
As for rust-I carried a bottle of this stuff whenever I went in the field while I was in the Marines. CLP(the government's gun oil) did nothing against dirt or rust. With the Rem-oil, I never had problems with either.
Also, it comes in a small bottle with a capillary tube.
I've tried all the others, but this stuff seems to do the trick nicely.

"it's made for the chain" , says who? Prolink maybe? Yeah I've used that too, tri Flow, White Lightening, Pedro's stuff, used them all. Same old same old, they all got dirty and after about 50 miles sounded dry. I see this is taking a negative turn; was just trying to be helpfull. I should have known better!

VeganRider, chain lube is a religion. Suggesting you can use an inexpensive alternative to the high dollar boutique lubes will only get you burned at the stake.

Personally, I have been experimenting with using a thinned down moly grease on my chains. I mixed a little grease with some white gas and drip that on the chain links. My theory is that the thin solution penetrates the links, then the gas evaporates leaving a thin coating of grease. Hopefully the grease left has enough cling to stay on the pins.

So far my tests have been quite promising. The chain stays as clean as any other expensive lube I've used and seems to last quite a while. The times I have checked the pins of the powerlink, they always seem to have a thin coating of grease. I used the lube on a 650 mile tour with good results.

I have also considered using Mobile 1 as one quart will probably last many years. I believe Mobile 1 is PAO (Polyalphaolefin) based. Do you know if this is true? It's my understanding that PAO is non-toxic. It's also about impossible to get out of your clothes!