jim p

but I am beginning to believe that maybe some chain lubes are better than others. I have never given much attention to chain lube and I usually just use a thin machine oil like 3 in 1. I finally got fed up with all the chain tatoos on the leg, socks and anything else that touched the chain. I saw some liquid wrench dry lube in a spray can and decided to give it a try. The spray comes out in a liquid and has some ptfe in it. The liquid evaporates and leaves the ptfe. As I sprayed the chain all kinds of dirt and oil was washed away. I let the chain dry overnight and went for a ride the next day. I noticed that the chain was much quieter. I have sprayed the chain for the last 3 days and now the chain is not leaving any tatoos and is much quieter today than it has ever been. To me a quite chain means a better lubed chain. For now I am lubing every 20 miles but after I feel that the ptfe has worked its way into all the links I will try going for 100 miles or more before lubing. If the chain starts getting noisy I will pull the lube out before the 100 mile mark.

So if you are like me and have not given much thought to chain lube, then you might want to give some different lubes a try.

operator

Rock N Roll Lube does the same thing. Finish Line and Tri-flow collect black grime on your chain while this does not.

upside-down

What about White Lightning https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...te%20Lightning
how does this compare in the performance department?

Wordbiker

I avoid spray lubes of any kind for chains. It tends to get everywhere and waste a good amount of lube.

shakeNbake

Not to rag on you or anything, but coming from 3 in 1, ANY chain lube will be a great improvement.

Camilo

As far as the messy chain - I believe this is more a function on how you lube it vs. what kind of lube you use. A properly lubed chain should not make a mess like you're describing.

When you lube your chain, after you spin it around the cranks for a while to distrubute the lube, you should wipe the exterior of the chain thoroughly. The chain should look clean and dry.

The lube that is needed is inside the chain. Any oil that is causing problems is exernal and is not providing lubrication. It should be cleaned off. I run the chain through a rag until I'm not getting any thing off it. I often do the same the next morning just in case some seeped out of the internal areas.

There still might be a little dirty oil on the chain if you grab it with your hand, but it is pretty darn tidy.

Tapeworm21

I like the Finish Line dry lube. A Finish Line rep came through the shop the other day and gave us some sort of Ceramic lube. It's fantastic! It comes in a tan bottle, give that a try. Kinda expensive.

White Lightning kicks ass too.

jim p

You guys have me pegged. I am not a cleaner just an oiler and then ride. Lucky for me this liquid wrench does the cleaning for me. Maybe I will get a chance to use some of the other lubes one day.

I just wanted to let others like me know that there might be a better way and maybe an old dog can learn a new trick, a blind hog can find an acorn, and who knows what else might happen.

bhtooefr

I decided to snag a can of this... went to Home Depot... and they had TDL Blaster, which is pretty much the same stuff, for a lot less.

Works great!

DMF 

I dunno. Liquid Wrench is pretty nasty stuff. It probably removes bike lube. Unless you allow the chain to dry very well or blow it out after applying LW, your lube may not be doing much of anything.

bhtooefr

Keep in mind, Liquid Wrench and PB Blaster are totally different products from Liquid Wrench Dry Lube and TDL Blaster.

I would never lube a bike with one of the first two products (unless I was making something that was stuck... un-stuck.)

DMF 

Misread. I thought he was using LW to clean.

Jesse Smith

You hit on the universal rule of chain lube preference. Every cyclists with an opinion to share will swear that the lube they're using is superior to others. Most often, chain mileage is used as supporting evidence. The only superior lube will be the lube we switch to in the future. Then, we'll have our previous lube as a point of reference.

robo

I've used White Lightning for years. The best thing about it is that it doesn't leave chainring tatoos, or at least if it does, you can just rub them off.

As for the best lube, i'm starting to think that whatever you use, as long as your drivetrain isn't making bad noises and shifts well, your lube is adequate.

I do think that dry lubes (ie. ones that leave a 'dry' film, rather than oils that stay 'wet') are generally better because they don't make grit and dirt stick to the chain, and are cleaner as mentioned above.

musician

yup, that's how i do it, too. i used to spray on way too much and not wipe -- always had a messy, sticky chain.

wiping thoroughly is a tip i learned from the mechanics at my LBS. always good to ask them stupid questions, and watch them work.

DMF 

I don't like a messy chain either, but I wonder if the above reasoning is sound. Dirt that sticks to the outside of the chain doesn't penetrate to the inside of the chain where it can do damage. Ever wonder why the human nose is so messy? It's there to grab any dust and crap that would otherwise enter the lungs.

trek1

I White lightning and just ordered (2) 3-4Oz. bottles for $26 shipped from Performance. I ran out and used other lubricants for a couple of weeks and the chain was dirty to work with vs the Lightning. The WL will clean as it wears off as long as you keep the derailuer gears and such clean with a rag of any gunk but will not leave you with greasy hands like the others and that is nice when on the road.

wroomwroomoops

I am very happy with the performance of motor oil as chain lube, but you do have to clean the chain carefully after applying it.

This is what I do, and it has worked wonderfully: clean the chain (with paper tissue or such), clean the cog and the chainring as well. Then apply the motor oil onto the chain. Backpedal (unless it's a FG, in which case you have to raise the rear wheel and just rotate the pedals any direction you like) to distribute the oil, and leave it be overnight. Then in the morning (or several hours later (this very much depends on the temperature where the bike is stored, if it's very cold it takes more time) ) clean the excess very carefully, first with paper tissue and then with an old rag. Again, remove the excess oil from the sprocket (cog) and chainring as well. Ride! Initially you'll probably have to use the rag to clean the chain and other drivetrain components, after each ride, but after 2 to 4 rides that will be it.

One lubing will last 300-500 Km. Seriously.

comradehoser

I think crap is more likely to work it's way into the internals if it sticks to the chain--and it also forms a nice abrasive paste for grinding down chainring and cog teeth.

Portis

I'm suprised that this has never been discussed before.

Wasatch

Anybody else use T9? I've been using it lately and really like it.

tvphobic

I like the detailed blow-by-blow that wroomwroomoops treats us to. It is the same process I use, and I use
SAE30 almost exclusively except in the subzero months when I have lots of 5W laying around so I use that.

blamp28

+1

I use the White Lightening Epic on the road and MTB and have zero issues.

operator

It's not. Lubes like Tri-Flow and proline or whatever always leave a black residue oozing from the chain no matter how much you wipe it down with a rag.

It never does that with Rock n Roll lube. Everything stays cleaner, your hands when you need to change a flat and your pants when you brush against the chain.

rodrigaj

Chain tatooes are caused by the open drive train design in bicycles.