Lube or Motor Oil?
08-26-09, 04:49 PM
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Lube or Motor Oil?
Umm, I had a question, should I buy chain lube which my lbs. carries, but btw a good one costs 15 bucks. I am dead broke, but I do have some motor oil sitting on my shelves. I dont have a 1k costing bike, I have a cheap walmart road bike. The chain is cheap, and I was wondering can put motoroil instead of lube to keep it nice and greasy? Or should I buy the lube instead? I want to keep the bike nice and maintained as I want to ride all year. I know about barrel adjusting and getting the most out of my gears. I also tighten my brakes and tension. And later on will buy and learn how to put on new tires.
08-26-09, 04:56 PM
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Motor oil might be a little heavy and sticky for summertime use (I assume you're in the N. Hemisphere). Just make sure you wipe off any excess. Then wipe some more. After your ride, wipe it again.
08-26-09, 04:59 PM
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Go back to Wal-Mart and get some chain lube. $5.99 for White Lightning and only $3.99 for Tri-Flow.
08-26-09, 05:04 PM
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Portland Fred
Motor oil will work fine for your purposes, but it is messy
08-26-09, 05:21 PM
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Motor oil can work, but it soaks in less readily than bike lubes, so you need to let it soak in or work it in manually. Also, motor oil attracts more dust/dirt/grime than most bike lubes.
08-26-09, 05:36 PM
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Some guys do a home brew of Chain Saw Bar Oil and mineral spirits...
They say it's like Pro-Link
I use the real Pro-Link myself, it seems to work well as both cleaner and a lube...
–when everything's dirty, the solvents in it do a good job of dissolving and "floating out" the grime, then cleaned with a brush and rag...
–and then applying more to clean drive train and leaving for day for solvent to evaporate, acts as a good lube that does the job for awhile.
They say it's like Pro-Link
I use the real Pro-Link myself, it seems to work well as both cleaner and a lube...
–when everything's dirty, the solvents in it do a good job of dissolving and "floating out" the grime, then cleaned with a brush and rag...
–and then applying more to clean drive train and leaving for day for solvent to evaporate, acts as a good lube that does the job for awhile.
08-26-09, 06:06 PM
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I use motor oil. No problems.
08-26-09, 06:11 PM
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which motor oil is it?
a cheap chain lube that you can make is 1 part 10W30 mixed to 3 parts paint thinner/mineral spirit.
I'd only use motor oil straight if you ride in really wet weather.
a cheap chain lube that you can make is 1 part 10W30 mixed to 3 parts paint thinner/mineral spirit.
I'd only use motor oil straight if you ride in really wet weather.
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08-26-09, 06:51 PM
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I sold off one hobby to fund my newfound biking hobby and now have a ton of CLP Breakfree gun lube that I use to great success.
08-26-09, 07:50 PM
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08-27-09, 02:58 AM
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after reading a bunch of home brew threads here, i've bought a couple of big bottle of motor oil and spirits to make some lube. unfortunately i still have some white lightning which i hate with a passion. i'm using it very liberally just to finish it off.
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08-27-09, 07:45 AM
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Why do you dislike White Lightning so much?
08-27-09, 11:08 AM
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08-27-09, 11:14 AM
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08-27-09, 11:15 AM
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08-27-09, 12:46 PM
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gunky. nasty build up of wax in the RD. also a bit of rain would wash it out and spots of rust develop.
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08-27-09, 12:55 PM
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I will have to keep an eye on that because I am currently using that on my Felt.
I have been using this stuff for a while and it has been pretty good on my Jamis for 1500+ miles. https://www.maximausa.com/products/ch...chainguard.asp
It is also "cleaner" than home brew chain lube.
08-27-09, 01:39 PM
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Liquid Wrench with Cerflon (ptfe).
You can buy big spray cans of it for $2 at Walmart. I've been using it for years, and it is fantastic. It's the same as Tri-Flow.
You can buy big spray cans of it for $2 at Walmart. I've been using it for years, and it is fantastic. It's the same as Tri-Flow.
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08-27-09, 10:06 PM
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60/40 Odorless mineral spirits and Multiweight synthetic blend hypoid gear oil, one small drop on each roller (on CLEAN chain).
It takes a while for the vehicle (the spirits) to evaporate... wipe down thoroughly, mount, wipe again.
Quietest, cleanest, bestest - it's ProLink Platinum; the Gold uses cheap aiz vehicle and low film strength lubricant.
It takes a while for the vehicle (the spirits) to evaporate... wipe down thoroughly, mount, wipe again.
Quietest, cleanest, bestest - it's ProLink Platinum; the Gold uses cheap aiz vehicle and low film strength lubricant.
08-28-09, 12:59 AM
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The key is to use the stuff with "Cerflon" (ptfe). Regular Liquid Wrench does not lubricate as well for long term use.
The stuff I use, is great for penetration, and lubes well. However, you really notice it several hours later, or even the day after lubing. That's when all the distillates evaporate, and leaves just the ptfe lube behind, which does a wonderful job of lubricating. I did the 200mi STP using this stuff. And yes, by the time it was over, my chain was getting dirty, but it still ran quiet all the way.
Most of my chains have slowly stretched over time, so stretch will wear it out long before the lube will. As an experiment in Campagnolo longevity, I installed a 2005 Veloce group on my commuter. I have been riding the same group since. It has roughly 8,000-10,000mi on the groupset by now (original chain), and still runs and shifts like new. I'm sure by now the chain is getting stretched though, but the cogs aren't dolphinned out yet, so I'll just keep riding it until it all needs replacing. That may be another 5 years or more at this rate.
The stuff I use, is great for penetration, and lubes well. However, you really notice it several hours later, or even the day after lubing. That's when all the distillates evaporate, and leaves just the ptfe lube behind, which does a wonderful job of lubricating. I did the 200mi STP using this stuff. And yes, by the time it was over, my chain was getting dirty, but it still ran quiet all the way.
Most of my chains have slowly stretched over time, so stretch will wear it out long before the lube will. As an experiment in Campagnolo longevity, I installed a 2005 Veloce group on my commuter. I have been riding the same group since. It has roughly 8,000-10,000mi on the groupset by now (original chain), and still runs and shifts like new. I'm sure by now the chain is getting stretched though, but the cogs aren't dolphinned out yet, so I'll just keep riding it until it all needs replacing. That may be another 5 years or more at this rate.
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