General Cycling Discussion - Emergency chain lube

I've always used White Lightning, but when I went to lube my chain today, I discovered I was out. I searched the house and came up with WD40, silicon spray, and white lithium spray grease. I went with the lithium spray lube. Anyone ever use this?

Nope...

Never tried it on a chain. I usually root through gas station island trash bins for an oil can with a little left in it. They all have enough to oil chain with

I use white lithium for a variety of uses, never have used it on a chain before, but if it works. I had a buddy of mine use olive oil one time to quiet a noisy drive train on a camping trip. :P

Aaron :)

If I had those three choices, I'd use the WD-40. Easy to clean up then relube with your usual lube.

Silcone = NG. WD40 barely OK but really too thin and too little lube. I would spray some grease into a container, then spray in some WD40 and stir to get a thin enough consistency that it'll soak into the chain. IMO, that'd make an excellent chain lube.

Never tried it on a chain. I usually root through gas station island trash bins for an oil can with a little left in it. They all have enough to oil chain with
That's my standard operating procedure when touring. Unfortunately cars don't need nearly as much oil added as they used to so the 'empty' containers are harder to find. When I noticed my chain needed some lubricant before a club ride I got enough oil off one of the other member's dipstick to do the trick (I had ridden and he had driven to the start).

Why not just lube the chain before you leave home? The concept of a chain lubrication emergency is sort of funny.

Even if I didn't have a bunch of chainsaw oil and some Dumonde Tech samples lying around, I've got the spare container of oil I keep in my car. Oh, and I have a bunch of pre-CJ4 Rotella hoarded for my Volkswagens.

If I had a need for "emergency chain lube", it would mean things are seriously off for this guy. :eek:

Why not just lube the chain before you leave home? The concept of a chain lubrication emergency is sort of funny.

It happens. Last time I had to hit a station's trash cans was on a 60 mile ride from Salem to Portland, OR. It was pouring rain for the first 30 then the sun came out, chain dried out and was howling something awful. No way I coulda weathered another couple hours of that din!

+1 on slim pickin's these days. I might have to start hitting up jiffy lube with an empty coffee cup and asking them for a little squirt.

Why not just lube the chain before you leave home?
When leaving on a tour I do. But the chain may need more lube before the end of the tour, esp. if there are some rainy days along the way.

On the club ride I happened to notice a bit of extra noise on my ride to the start so I dribbled a little oil from a friend's dipstick on the chain. No, it wasn't an emergency, but seemed better for the chain and made for a more enjoyable ride than to wait until I got back home.

I've always used White Lightning, but when I went to lube my chain today, I discovered I was out. I searched the house and came up with WD40, silicon spray, and white lithium spray grease. I went with the lithium spray lube. Anyone ever use this?
So is there someone else in the house sharing your lube cache or did you just mot take note that you used it all up last time? Never used lithium spray myseld but have cleaned up more than a few bikes whose owners used it to winterize their bikes - its a mess to clean up after.

The best approach with those three choices has already been suggested IMO - I'd do with the grease thinned down with WD-40 and dribble it on.

But for those on tour, I'd suggest a small bottle (really small like a 3ml bottle for artificial tears) would be easy to refill with your favorite lube and would hold enough for a couple lubes, and be easy to stash.

Never tried it on a chain. I usually root through gas station island trash bins for an oil can with a little left in it. They all have enough to oil chain with
If you can't find anything in the trash bin you can sometimes find some Santorum in the mens room:)