trevoruk

What lube is recommended for bike maintenance. I have been using 3 in 1, but wonder if that is suitable.
Should I spend on quality lube?

DOS

Lube choice depends on conditions you ride in. Damp /humid climate you want something that is a bit heavier that wont was away. Dry /dusty use something lighter that wont pick up dust. 3in1 is generally too heavy for bikes so will pick up alot of gunk, although you will be fine so long as you clean chain alot. I use prolink progold, it doesn't wash away but also doesn't pick up a lot of dirt.

hawkegihm

Two words: home brew.

Looigi

I suggest a distinction be made between chain lube and lubes for other purposes like brake, lever and derailleur pivot points, shifter,etc...

rydabent

These days more and more of the better bikes are comming with sealed bearings. That means that about all that is under discussion for lubing is the chain. On that subject you will have about as many opinions as there are bike riders.

Clawed

Sheldon Brown regards talking about lubrication as being like talking about religion. Some motorcycle and scooter forums have outlawed any thread or questions about oil or chain lube. I guess I am an agnostic.

3 In 1 oil is widely regarded as BAD STUFF. I have even read that it is vegetable in origin. Probably not true, but most avoid it.

If you want a simple one product that is adequate for almost everything use Tri-Flo. Women think the smell is sexy so put a little behind your ears.

Whatever you put on your chain, let it sit a while, over night is good, and then wipe off as much from the outside as you can with a dry rag.

If you feel drawn to a fundamentalist denomination use Chain-L, it is the True Blood.

DOS

Progold, progold, progold and progold (I am too cheap to use multiple lubes).

pierce

if you HAVE to use 3-in-1, get the blue label 'electric motor' 20W stuff, its an OK machine oil. the regular red-n-blank label stuff is nasty.

do NOT use motor oil of any sort.

ball bearings typically use grease, not oil. many of those 'sealed' bearings are just loose ball-n-cone behind seals, and should be torn down, cleaned, and greased periodically. I use green marine waterproof bearing grease, same stuff you put in boat trailers.... bottom brackets nowdays are often maintenance-free cartridge bearings, but wheels and headsets are generally still loose ball-n-cone.

fietsbob

Bike Maintainence is overbroad, Maintain what part of the Bike ?

ask a better question ,and be specific..

Chains and Hub Bearings have different requirements

Looigi

Why not, specifically?

pierce

its detergent oil, with a bunch of additives that have little to do with lubrication.

davidad

Fine as long as you understand that the seals are not really designed to keep water out. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/sealed-bearings.html

rogerstg

You can relax, 3 in 1 is fine to use. It's practically the original bike lube after all.

mapeiboy

I have been using chain-L for years , very quiet chain .

ABdan

Tri-Flo is cheap and works pretty well in most conditions. Can't really go wrong with it.

pdlamb

The additives in motor oil are such a small part of the oil that they can be neglected safely for bicycle uses. It's fine.

Paramount1973 

And automobiles don't require lubrication? Auto engine oil is mainly oil and functions very well as a lubricant. I use Mobil 1 to prep freewheels. Works great.

Sixty Fiver

Baby seal fat... mixed with 3 parts mineral spirits.

Wanderer

I use a combination of 5W20 synthetic motor oil, chain saw bar oil, and mineral spirits......... works great.

That being said, Chain-L seems to be the best alternative.

rogerstg

I prefer my baby seal fat mixed with 4 parts sperm whale oil - just sayin'

bikeme

I've been using ProGold's Pro-Link on both my road and mountain bikes with lots of happiness. It lasts a long time on the chain and doesn't collect dust or get gunky. The chain stays amazingly clean.

bikeme

Agree. I use it on everything.

vins0010

This is one of those topics people can feel (or reason, if you prefer) very strongly about. The consensus is usually that any lube is far, far better than no lube....and many bicycles are under lubed. Like others have said, I would not use 3-in-1; however, it is still far better than nothing. If you go to a bike shop, just about any lube there will be fine but relatively expensive (you know, 8 or so dollars per bottle) - and they can tell which they like as a general purpose lube. I'd stay away from Phil Tenacious Oil because it is so thick. My favorite bike shop lube is ProGold but I also used a Finish Line Teflon based lube for awhile and it was fine. I stay away from "dry" lubes because I don't live in dry, dusty conditions (may be good for you if you do). From the hardware store, I have used tri-flow (in the drip bottle). It also worked fine but didn't keep the chain as quiet as prolink. Now, I mostly use it on pivot points. A lot of people like home brew, which is usually 1 part motor oil to 3-4 parts mineral spirits (some people stay pro-link is essentially Mobil 1 Synthetic mixed in this way). The thought is that the solvent thins out the oil, gets it into the chain, flushes out some of the gunk there, then evaporates and leaves the oil where it needs to be. Obviously, home brew is much cheaper per unit of lube created, but the expensive bike shop lube will last awhile for most people. Application is important (maybe more so than the lube). 1. Wipe down chain, 2. Drop of lube on each roller on the part that faces inside (so inside of the circle/oval a chain makes around chainrings and freewheel), 3. Wait a bit (like an hour or the next time you ride), wipe down chain again to get off excess on outside of chain (so it doesn't attract dirt). Do this regularly (every 100-200 miles or after riding in rain/water), and your chain should stay pretty clean, quiet, shift well, and not get rusty. Even just doing it a few times a season is far better than nothing. I wouldn't get a lube that is in a spray can, because it gets everywhere and will attract grime everywhere (and possibly get on rims and affect braking in rear). One special addition to the above is that in winter/spring riding (in MN), I use a mix of mineral spirits and chain saw bar oil on my winter bike. It is thicker/tackier but seems to stay on the chain better (and protect against rust) during salty, sloppy, slushy, snow melt messes that we get in MN springs (and even January, this year). If I am lubing a friend's bike, who I know just will not lube a chain on his/her own, I use this lube - figuring it sticks around a little longer.

davidad

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/chain-care.html

ThermionicScott 

Plus finely-ground elephant tusk as a wear additive.