Stevie47

Here we go.. Back in the '70's before all the designer chain lubes came out, I just used wd40. I remember it worked just fine although after a few hundred miles the chain would appear to be gummy, although it didn't squeak or seem to drag. When it finally got too icky for me I would wash it out with solvent and start over. My chains lasted for thousands of miles with no problems.

The WD part of the name stands for "water displacement" and boy does it do that! If you have an old car and the distributor gets wet and it wont start, just spray wd40 in there and you are good to go. I've done that many times.

So here's the deal. I've gone to the "wax" lubes in recent years (Rock and Roll brand, mostly) and they work fine and don't seem to build up. However if I forget to lube for a few hundred miles, or if I get the bike soaked, which seems to be happening lately I start getting squeaky links. I tried White Lightning brand and I can barely get a hundred miles before it goes dry.

The other day I got caught in a downpour and got soaked and filthy so after I washed the bike I decided to try wd40 for the chain knowing it would displace the water inside the chain rollers. On today's ride it was noticeable how smooth the chain was running. 80 miles and it just purred. I may convert back although I would never tell my riding buddies!

What say ye?

DiabloScott

I say I'd rather re-lube more frequently than have a chain that didn't squeak because it was coated with the glop that WD40 attracts.

Never tried wax... the squeeze bottle stuff works fine for me.

jmiked

An old and continuing topic among bicyclists. I use regular WD40 to get rid of residual moisture after a bike wash, then use a real lubricant. WD40, in my experience, actually attracts dust and grime.

prathmann

WD-40 certainly qualifies as a real lubricant, but it's a very light one and must therefore be reapplied fairly often. Apply it sparingly and relubricate frequently. I prefer ones that are a little thicker and last longer, but WD-40 certainly works ok

etw

WD now makes a line of bike products

WD-40 BIKE | A comprehensive line of bicycle care products developed for cyclists and mechanics

Duo

I just use a heavy gear oil, and prolly good for 500 miles or more. Just let it soak in good and wipe off, occasionally I will wipe off the dirt on my chain. A quart of automotive gear lube should last 30 or more years and I thin it down a bit with paint thinner to help it get in the chain.

This advise is only for recreational bikers. The high end or racing crowd needs the pricey stuff, probably better my guess. The folks riding the expensive stuff, prolly automatically reach for high end oil too. For a regular bicycle, any oil should work, just let it soak in and wipe off. The heavy oil lasts a lonnnnnng time. If you ride dirty streets then wipe chain after every use. In my county the chains don't seem to get very dirty.

And if your like me, you may only need to use that automotive gear oil once or twice a year. Better that way, us recreational riders ride for the love of it. Worrying about chains etc, takes away from the joy. Slap a little grease on them bearings, adjust brakes and derailleiurs and off we go. The high end people don't see it this way and that generally is why there is so much oil discussion here.

qcpmsame 

The various wax lubricants are not getting hot enough to melt and soak in to the pins and bushings, as was pointed out to me recently. I had begun using Bel-Ray Superclean, from my MX racing days, because it didn't sling off. A member here reminded me about the melt factor, thankfully. I use WD-40 strictly as what it is intended to do, water displacement, after cleaning, or a rainy ride. It does have some weak lubrication properties, and the solvents in it allow it to wick in to the pins and bushings pretty well, but its lubrication additive is too weak to use over any extended time period. Also, the solvent evaporates more of that lubrication effect.

I like to clean everything good, with either WD-40, or another of the penetrating cleaners, that are lubricant (petroleum) based, then wipe it down after it has soaked through and had time to drip off a good bit. then I wipe it off by backing the wheel and turning the drive while holding it with a towel. Then I lubricate it with Tri-Flow, wet formula, and after that sits, I wipe the excess off. too many cyclist over lubricate, as do a lot of motorcyclist, and it attracts and holds on to dirt, grit and gunk that grinds away at the metal parts, and slings everywhere.

But, before this goes in the crapper, do what works for you, and that suits your needs. Chain lube threads never last, or go well. So, I B T L.

Bill

BlazingPedals

In before the lock!

JanMM

Blended vegetable oil, anyone?

Dudelsack 

I bought some cool lube at the NAHBA recently. I forget the name.

Zinger

The reason it gums up, according to clock collectors I've heard from, it that part of it eventually evaporates out leaving the gummy residue. I like generic silicon spray but have to admit that nothing I've sprayed on fails to attract a certain amount of dust.

Having used both I'd say the silicon is marginally better at reducing that. I use a cheap chain cleaning attachment with kerosine a lot to keep the buildup of gunk in check.

OldsCOOL

As a glop preventer, pull an old tshirt rag tightly across the chain every other ride or so. I use Marvel Mystery Oil. Why spend more? On a chain?

irwin7638

I use WD-40 as a cleaner, especially in the winter. When I get the gear all covered with snow and ice, I brush as much as possible off with a wisk broom then give it a good dose of WD-40. When the snow and ice melt down it's not on the component. Then I lube.
I still soak my chains in paraffin occasionally and use White Lightning Epic ride in between. The Epic ride is a paraffin/oil hybrid from what I understand. The chain stays reasonably clean and the lube lasts much longer than the Clean Ride formula. During the winter I soak the chains in Wet Ride a couple of times during the season and apply it from the bottle in between soakings.

Marc

qcpmsame 

As said in an earlier reply, the manufacturer has a complete line of bicycle specific products, including a lubricant. The dirt bike (motorcycles) world has heated exchanges about using WD-40 as a chain lubricant, some old timers are vicious about proclaiming that its the only thing they ever use, and they get at least 4 seasons out of a chain and sprockets, and that they walked 10 miles to school, barefoot, in the snow, uphill both ways while it was 99ºF in the shade, and pouring down rain and sleet, between hail stones the size of grapefruits (whew, I finally got that out of my system, from 10 years ago, on the AMA, D37, Desert Racing BB.)

Trombone Al has some good threads on using parafin wax for chain lubricant, he has some good logical arguments for using hot parafin wax, and a how to in one of them.

Bill

Retro Grouch 

That's an interesting point. I wonder what would happen if a chain waxer and a WD-40 advocate met. Would the universe implode?

OldTryGuy

WD40 + lighter = bug killer (from the past)

qcpmsame 

Possibly, kind of like the theories about matter and antimatter meeting up, one humongous implosion/explosion, simultaneously.

Maybe it would be like the way REM put it, "Its the end of the world as we know it..."

Bill

JohnJ80

This is WD-40's main purpose. It's predominantly naphtha with a light oil added.

WD-40 is pretty much at the bottom of Friction Facts evaluation of lubes. Their bike Lube is in the bottom third of lubricants for lubrication efficiency. Do use WD-40 to help clean and displace water on your chain but as a chain lubricant, it's not the right choice. If you are getting a quiet chain after using WD-40 then your chain must have been pretty (seriously) dirty. With some of the better and more bike specific lubricants, you will have a *silent* chain, not quiet, but pretty much silent for several hundred miles.

The top lubricants are waxes, which are typically harder to apply. Right in with waxes, but very easy to apply there is a new (to bikes) class of lubricants that are heavy on PTFE that are now out that clean and lube in one application. Rock 'n Roll Gold is near the top of the list for lubrication and it is used to do that. You apply it relatively heavily while rotating the cranks forward, let it sit for a few seconds and then spin it backwards for about 5-10 seconds. Take a rag and wipe the dirt and extra lubricant off. There are others that are similar like Rand Momentum.

You can get the lube capability of waxes with the ease of application in the PTFE based lubes (PTFE in a carrier that evaporates to a greater or lesser degree depending on the "wetness" of the lube).

That said, the spread from bad to good in lubes is about 20% efficiency. Bicycles are not exactly a tough lubrication application - it's low speed, metal on metal. The main issues are keeping chain wear to a minimum because replacing drive train components gets expensive and noise. I would not pick WD-40, as much as I love the stuff, with either of those two issues in mind.

If you're interested in lube efficiency, the Friction Facts report is worth the purchase.

J.

10 Wheels

WD video.

https://vimeo.com/57245552

Panza

Been thinking about trying this... Always found myself using WD-40 frequently over other lubes had less problems with it. I only got problems when I used "wet" chain lube. The thing seems to turn my my components black faster than a marshmallow on a stick. Keeps the chain bright and silver and the components sounding good. If WD-40 decides to become a dedicated lube for bicycles, who am I to argue with the solvent's geniusity?

rydabent

WD-40 is not a good lube. Save your money on designer "bike" lubes. A chain is steel, use a high quality oil like Mobil 1.

10 Wheels

The NEW WD 40 is a Good Lube.

Carbonfiberboy 

IME the whole secret to long chain life is to have lube in the rollers, not water or solvent. The chain comes lubed with lube in the rollers. Keep it that way. Therefore don't solvent wash, and don't use a lube that's easily displaced by water. Do wipe dry, reapply lube, and wipe dry again, frequently, maybe every 100 miles or so, unless I'm on a 200+ mile ride. I use a wet lube because I ride in the rain and also like to wash my bike. It lasts 100s of miles without lubing, but it's nicer to keep it cleaner and fresher. I couldn't care less if my chain is bright and shiny. I want it quiet, efficient, and long lasting. Bright, shiny chains don't last or stay quiet for long.

John E

"the whole secret to long chain life is to have lube in the rollers"

I learned that lesson in the 1970s when the head of technical marketing for Bullshot used to test chain lubrication by trying to spin the rollers with the torn-off end of a match. As you noted, freely-spinning rollers are the key to chain efficiency and chainring longevity. The second key is free rotation of the inner links on the rivets.

JerrySTL

Friction Facts tested various cycling lubes and WD-40 was actually better than a few cycling specific lubes. However they didn't test it for durability as they did some other lubes.

FYI: WD-40 does make a cycling specific lubricant and some other bike products.

I use wax. I drop my chain into a crock pot of hot paraffin wax about every 300-400 miles. It's amazing how clean the chain is and stays. Interesting the Friction Facts test shows that paraffin wax is one of the best lubes for both reduced friction and durability. In fact wax gets even better as it's being used.

Many of the cycling lubes that contain wax have the problem of the wax not actually getting to the pins, bushings, and rollers of the chain. Simmering a chain in hot, pure wax does a very good job of getting the lube in all the right places.