Hogwild13

My mtb is my primary mode of transportation and living in NW Arkansas conditions vary quite often; wet, dry, hot, cold, snow, mud, dirt, etc.; I see it all! Any drawbacks on constantly changing from a wet to dry lube depending on conditions?

Fable

Just do a quick degreasing of cassette chain and chainrings. If your bike is your..ahem, car, your cleaning it often, yeah? A cheap garden pump sprayer and some Simple Green mixture work quickly and quickly-er. Maybe a fast dry towel wipe if your feeling a bit peckish. Bobs your uncle.

rydaddy

You could probably stick with one (wet), and clean/re-lube your chain more frequently as conditions warrant. It's usually comes down to preference. I don't see why you would have to switch.

RIC0

Wet & Dry lube is a funny sales pitch. As flava flav once said, Don't believe the hype.

!on

i clean the drivetrain with wd40 (light oil). it loosens up grime then lubes it. but needs drying off a bit before applying proper stuff. much prefer the waxy parafin based stuff as it helps clean the chain & gives protective film.

Cheeto

WHats the main difference between dry and wet lube??

RIC0

The difference is the amount of BS on your shoes, it's either a little or up to your knees.... Just spray some WD on it, wipe it clean and go ride....

mtnbiker66

......wd?

Dannihilator

WD40 is bad m'kay?

santiago

Wdf?

blue_neon

Erm lol, no thanks.

RIC0

Explain why**********

I understand it's name is derived from it being used for water displacement but it took 40 tries to accomplish that goal that is where the 40 came from, of the other 39 tries a good lubricant was one of them. Also if you look on a can of WD-40 it states that it can be used on chains. I'm guessing they didn't do any test and figured they'd use up space on the can and put in some bogus info. I've been using WD-20 on chains for over 20 years and have yet to see this "BAD" effect everyone says it has on chains. I used it on ATV chains for over 10 years and I would think they are put under a little more stress than a sissy ass bike chain. It's all hear say bull**** and false info that they read on the internet or word of mouth that is based on no real test. So with that being said I'd like for someone to give me a good explanation as to why wd-40 is so bad for chains with proof behind their statement....

Go out to their website and do some reading and research, you'll be surprised at what you find. Your days of going to the LBS and buying $10 snake oil for your chain is over.

born2bahick

It's not designed to be a lubricant. I've used it in a pinch, it was better than no lube at all.

Tyrell

WD-40 = Water Displacement, 40th Formula.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

RIC0

I think already pointed out how it got it's name but thanks for the link...

This takin from that link....... The WD-40 company claims it is safe for use on all motorcycle chains, but recommended cleaning products vary among chain manufacturers. Tsubaki Chain[4] and RK Chain recommend WD-40 to clean or displace water on all types of chains, including sealed ring.[5]

Another good quality about WD is it prevents rust, which is a chains worst enemy, but who would want to put something on a chain that prevents rust....

I've used other types of lube that I won in races and they seemed to gunk up and turn my drivetrain into **** as I expected the thick crap to do. I gave them away.

You can use what you want on your chain. I just want to argue the point that saying WD is bad for your chain is pure bull****, there is nothing wrong with using it. Anyone that says different is talking out their ass and has no proof to back up their accusations.

!on

no, it's very good, good for cleaning that is, acts as water displacer, or spray on tubes to help shed mud. it's too thin for oiling it's a penetrating oil really, which means nuts & bolts may come loose if you use it too much. try not spraying onto bearings as it will dissolve the grease.

it is NOT meant as a substitute for proper bike lubricants. too thin.

as for wet or dry i use both the finish line stuff i dunno if one is better i really can't be bothered measuring it

Cheeto

My BMX I used to use WD40 or 3-in-1 Oil.
My chain never rusted out, just after 3+ years (yea I know I never replaced the chain, as I quit racing) the chain finally snapped on me. resulted in a painful crash.


On my Mountain Bike I haven't experimented yet, because the LBS gave me a free bottle of Finish Line XC wet lube.
Might as well use it.
I've noticed that it is way thicker and does gunk up after a dirty ride.

As for the WD40 on bearings things, I agree, don't use it on them. When I would clean my Cranks bearings on my BMX I used WD40 to eat off the old grease, worked great.
Had to re-grease them though, the WD-40 wasn't thick enough to lube em.

cryptid01

Excellent post RIC0.

I used WD40 for BMX, ATV, and moto chains for years, and never saw any problems either. I'm using something else now because I don't feel like lubing before every ride (or twenty), but to me the conveniece is worth the marginal cost difference.

Chris_F

WD is good for some things, not for others. Using it as a chain lube is kinda like using a hammer to drive screws. It will work, but a screwdriver will work SO much better. WD, as others have said, is a penetrating oil. I use it all the time in electrical connections and places I want to get water out of. It also works great for giving a nice shine to my socket wrench set. For stuck bolts PB Blaster works better. Nobody would dream of using PB to lube a chain, so why use WD? It will work, but a real lube will work better and last longer.

As for dry vs. wet lube: Dry doesn't last long when exposed to wet conditions, yet wet works just fine in dry conditions. I'd stick with the wet.