no motor?

I bought some after reading "long lasting" on the label, and didn't notice the instructions recommend cleaning and relubing before every ride. I guess that's fine if every ride in a long, but mine are usually about 10 miles total and chain cleaning every 10 miles is pretty silly to me.

DallasSoxFan

I use Bar and Chain Oil at $3 per quart. Its available in the chainsaw section of Home Depot. Works just as good as any cycling specific lube I've found yet.

I filled an old travel sized contact lens solution bottle with it for dropper application.

What's awesome is that in that quantity, you can be more creative with application.

My infrequent major cleanings are thus:

1. Pull the chain off the bike. put it in a 2 litre coke bottle filled 1 litre with wd-40. Shake vigorously.
2. Remove chain, wipe clean, repeat.
3. Get a disposable pie plate, put 1/2 inch of bar and chain oil in bottom.
4. Put chain in oil, stir around a few times.
5. Wipe clean
6. Put back on bike.

Its a lot easier than it sounds.

Sirrus Rider

I don't use any Perdro's chain lube products.. Why? My drivetrain wore out prematurely using road rage and Ice Wax. I've since moved back to triflow and prolink and I'm now getting reasonable life out of my chains etc.

CliftonGK1

I'm a fan of Finish Line products. For $15 a year I buy the combo pack of Wet/Dry formulas and that's typically enough to get me through an entire year.

d2create

This is all the rage in motorcycles.
https://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/motor...chain-lube.htm

https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Perform.../dp/B000GL19TY

I figure if it works great on my motorcycle chain, it will be great for my bike.
So far so good.

woodway

I just use tri-flow. I lube once, maybe twice a week in the winter (depending on how wet it is), and approximately every 2-4 weeks in the summer (depending on how lazy I am). I average around 160 miles/week.

BTW - my wife bought this huge box of baby wipes at Costco, and decided that she does not want them. I took them and it turns out that they work *amazingly* well for cleaning up the chain before I apply the lube.

thenomad

I've used it, it works well initially but attracts everything. I also am trying finish line dry lube and it wore off after two rides. I'll be doing the bar/chain lube next to save money. My CX bike sees sandy offroad so that thing needs lots of cleaning/lubing.

no motor?

I've got about 15 miles on the chain after the first application of Road Rage, and it's already dirty. I've used Triflow and White Lightning before, but I'm going to try the chain saw lube next. I've heard that mentioned enough times to try it.

thenomad

I'm also thinking of used motor oil. Plenty good enough lube left in it but the only thing is that it may not stick well. Of course, it's thicker than most other offerings so maybe an overnight soak would do nicely?

KD5NRH

Get the gallon and a 2-gallon lidded bucket or similar sized deep storage tub. Anything that needs cleaning up and medium-to-heavy oil can just be tossed in until you're ready to mess with it. I've got two cheap freewheels and a chain from junk bikes and one chainsaw chain (gotta remember to separate those - that could make for a really bad chain snag) that weren't completely seized in the tub right now, and when I checked one of the freewheels yesterday, it spun smooth and steady like it was brand new.

I use the DuPont Teflon Dry Wax in the squeeze bottle for regular on-bike lubing and small parts, but when something needs soaking, bar and chain oil works great.

benda18

i end up replacing my chain after each winter. because of that i've stopped even cleaning my chain. phil wood tenacious oil when it squeaks.

i'm just not interested on maintaining the chain. they're cheap and i'm lazy.

DataJunkie

I use Finish Line dry lube on my road bike, Finish Line wet lube on my fixed gear, and whatever I feel like on my mountain bike.
I also have wax lube and Phil's tenacious that I just used on my roadie's wheel bearings.
In the past I have used Pedros and it was fine.

cyccommute 

You use one lube that attracts everything and you want to go to a lube that attracts more Sandy riding screams for wax lubes, not for gloppy heavy oil lubricants like chainsaw lube. A chain doesn't need to be dripping oil to be lubricated. I've used wax lubes (White Lightning) for 15 years without any issues. I don't apply it after every ride. I don't even necessarily apply it every 5th ride. I usually go 4 to 6+ weeks between application. If I ride in the rain, I'll apply as soon as the ride is over but I seldom ride in the rain.

I went through the 'thick oil is better' phase of bicycle maintenance long ago. I use Phil's Tenacous Oil. Thick, gloppy stuff. It didn't just attract dirt, it attracts boulders. I suspect that if you used it long enough, it might even develop an event horizon

CliftonGK1

The only reason to use the gloopy stuff is for long rides or outside storage in the rain. Water will displace a lighter viscosity lube, but not the heavy stuff like Phil's Tenacious or Finish Line Wet. Of course, you did catch the downside of using these, which is that they pick up road grit like a vacuum cleaner.

rex_kramer

Rem Oil (gun oil) or Tri-Flow here as well.

Sixty Fiver

Homebrew my own...

AzTallRider

I use ProLink, but can't say I'm entirely satisfied, because of how often I need to reapply. Seems to last what, maybe 60-70 miles before I start to sense/hear the need to lube? Maybe I was just neglectful back in my youth, but it seemed I'd oil a chain with 3in1 and it would last a long time.

Every few weeks, I remove the chain, clean it in gasoline a few times stirring with a brush, let it dry, then soak it for awhile in the ProLink. Doing that shows how nice a grinding compound the metal dust and lube makes inside your chain, huh? Easy to imagine the wear it is creating. In between those I hold a paper towel under the chain and lube with the squeeze bottle, running the chain through the towel with repeated applications of the lube until it looks clean and oily.

I think the idea of just replacing the chain each spring is a great one.

4SEVEN3

What are yall doing to your poor chains! dunking them in lube....using chainsaw oil...???

To really clean i use Simple green in a 2 liter bottle (as said before) shake, agitate, soak for as long as I can rinse and dry. To lube it I apply a well shaken bottle of teflon based lube, oil each roller individualy and try to let it set for 20min or so so itll dry.

The more lube on your chain the more crap it picks up....and grinds your drivetrain to peices then you complain about the lubricant sucks when it was never applied properly.

To each his own on lubes....always been a discussion topic...always will!

no motor?

Showoff, it's probably made with good beer and Cuban cigars.....

cyccommute 

I'd say that there's no good reason to use gloopy stuff...except, maybe, for outside storage in a rainforest. Like I said I went through the 'thick oil is better' phase long ago. Thick oil isn't better, it just makes you think it is because you can see the oil on the chain.

I use wax lubes now for everything. I apply it to my commuting bike about once every 6 weeks here in dry Colorado (~100 miles per week). I've used it on a 450 mile tour in Arkansas and only had to reapply once because I had a rain day. I've ridden 700+ miles from Missoula, Montana to Astoria, OR and never had to reapply. I've done 1000 miles from South Dakota to St. Louis and only had to reapply after rain storms. I've used it on the Katy Trail where it's a real plus because it doesn't attract the crusher fines from the trail. I even used it in Vermont when I was working there for 2 summers. I wouldn't use a gloppy lube now for love or money.

no motor?

I picked up some of that yesterday and plan on putting it on tonight after another chain cleaning.


Edit: Wow, I like this stuff so far. I've only put abut 10 miles on so far, but it looks way better than any of the oils I've used so far. I cleaned the entire drivetrain last night before I rode home (well I thought I did but missed the nondrive side of the cassette and cleaned that this morning): cleaned and flossed the cassette and cranks, cleaned the jockey wheels etc and then applied the lube to the chain, cassette and cranks. It's been a while since everything was that clean, and it still looks pretty good after a round trip.