hhnngg1

I'm looking for the 'cleanest' bike chain lubricant. I live in Northern CA, and am a fair-weather rider. I don't ride in anything remotely sloppy, such as rain, damp conditions, snow, mud, etc. (Ok a few damp roads, but that's about it.) I don't care if I have to reapply before almost every ride - that's easy.

I've used a bunch of lubricants, including Triflow, Finish Line Teflon, and another one, and while they've all been perfectly good for as a lubricating agent, they all pick up gunk pretty quickly.

Before you shoot me down and say "duh - that's what they ALL do", I'll attest that when I bought my bike a few years back, the chain and lubricant it came with (I doubt it was the new-chain manufacturing stuff as it had zero tacky stickiness to it, and was likely a reapply by the LBS) stayed remarkably clean for 6 months, despite riding a lot (70-100 milers every weekend and 50 mpw on top). I was shocked how clean it stayed, actually - chain tattoos were minimal, and the chain and the cassette even looked 'like-new' until I finally applied more lube to it and ruined the whole thing. I also know it's not a 'new chain' effect, as all my prior new chains (ultegra, KMC x 2) were so tacky and sticky that they turned like black within a single ride, to my disgust.

So if anyone has any ideas what that original LBS stuff they may have used on my chain that kept it clean for so long, I'm all ears.

Silvercivic27

White Lightning Clean Ride

Tuc

+1 but you have to put it on a completely clean (ie: NEW ) chain and you have to be prepared to reapply it while on a ride. The best results on this have been off road in the our deserts, really does not attract that powdery dust, but it will run out by the end of the second ride and leave your chain squeaky and tight.

Tuc

Thought about it, and decided to make another post - I only use this White Lightening on my mountain bike anymore because it fails to go the distance I ride on a road bike and just don't want to take the little bottle with me every time. Having said that, I do take a bottle mountain biking because I will often need it. This stuff is the greatest, the waxy nature of it "flakes" off taking the fine powder desert dust with it leaving my gears clean.

How I prep a NEW chain for White Lightening is important, IMHO, I squirt WD40 on a clean rag and wipe all that factory grease from the chain before putting it on. Don't spray the chain directly with WD-40, it will penetrate the o-rings and draw moisture in with it. Over time the solvents in the White Lightening will replace the factory grease deeper in the chain rollers. I apply it one little drop at a time on each link roller on the outside of the chain after I have heated up the chain by leaving it in the sun. I put it back in the sun for an hour or so and then repeat the one little drop on each roller this time on the other side, the inside. And then I put it on and go for a short ride to listen. When it is lubricated properly it is very quiet and smooth. When the White Lightening needs to be reapplied you can hear "squeaks" from the chain - and that change from silent to squeaky can happen very quickly. But one major advantage to using this WL stuff is that when you reapply it you don't have to clean the chain first - it really is self cleaning.

pdxtex

ooo boy, prepare for a big can of worms. uncle sheldon would disagree stripping the factory lube on new chains though....

"New chains come pre-lubricated with a grease-type lubricant which has been installed at the factory. This is an excellent lubricant, and has been made to permeate all of the internal interstices in the chain. This factory lube is superior to any lube that you can apply after the fact. Some people make the bad mistake of deliberately removing this superior lubricant. Don't do this!"

but hey, read it for yourself if you like...

https://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

personally, ive had marginal success with wax lubicants, and in the winter they are worthless. i have the best success with a liberal dose of wd-40, let it soak, wipe it down with a rag and then just a few drops of tri-flow. as far as new chains, i just leave them be until the factory stuff wears off.

Tuc

Sheldon is right, there is no reason to strip ALL the factory lube from a new chain, just the part outside leaving the inside intact. Anything you do to remove the interior grease behind the o-rings (or whatever seal you get on the chain) is bad, the WL will eventually replace it over time as the grease wears out but since wax doesn't mix with grease it might take a few hundred miles. And true, White Lightening and all wax based lubes are worthless, worse than worthless below about 40 degrees F. FYI, I use Tri-Flow on my road bikes too.

canam73

A lot of the black that shows up in chain lube is actually little bits of metal dust from you drive chain. OP, on your original chain it could be that when you started adding lubricant you flushed some of these grindings loose and that's why they suddenly appeared, not because the new lube was attracting more dirt. From that point on it wouldn't matter much what you are using, the lube is going to get black.

hhnngg1

As right as Sheldon Brown may be, I find that the ugliness and tacky sticky feel of a brand new chain that attracts dirt at an insane rate is totally not worth it. In all my 3 chains, within 2 rides, those stock new chains got so ugly even in good conditions, that I didn't want to look at my bike anymore as the whole Cervelo would be looking great and the drivetrain was this black, unevenly colored mess where dirt stuck onto parts of the chain. Worst part - once the dirt's on that tacky stuff, it's EXTRA hard to get off. SimpleGreen doesn't touch it, for real. WD40 seemed to work better, but I was still rubbing it like crazy just to get the outside schmear off. I hate that stuff and will never use a stock chain as is again despite the increased wear theoretically.

Tuc

Not really sure if all those chain manufacturers are still putting on the good stuff on chains like they did back in ol '96 when Sheldon wrote that. I think it is mostly cosmoline type stuff to prevent rust in the package. It is like glue for dirt, or metal scrapings so I take it all off the outside of the new chains. That thing on Sheldons website about boiling your chains on a stove with detergent was rather interesting and far more trouble than just getting a new chain!

Anyway, OP? Try one of the wax based lubes on a very clean or new chain and see what you think. I think a combination of real lube with teflon in the rollers that lasts a long time and the wax on the outside has worked for a lot of people. I had some great stuff that was used on old airplane cable wires but can't get anymore of it, don't know what it was but it sure smelled strange. Dripped like thin red honey on a hot chain and then simply disappeared with only a weird dry invisible film on the surface of the chain. Weird because it wasn't oily at all, bone dry and made the metal really really slick. Wish I knew where to get more of it, I got it from a vintage airplane mechanic.

Shimagnolo

Whew! And here I was worrying there hadn't been a new chain lube thread this week...

hhnngg1

Funny - I actually used to use this stuff all the time on my mountain bike, with pretty decent results. I stopped using it mainly because if it drips anywhere, on anything, it leaves a white mark from the wax that has to be scraped off. I was getting these little spots on my bike, the floor, places I didnt' expect. Of course, with a mtn bike, you don't really expect too clean a chain given the chaos you're riding through, so it didn't matter as much.

I may have to give this a try again on my road bike and see if it works out. While it could be the stuff my LBS used, I don't think it is as I remember that lube to feel like a real oil-based lube, and not a waxy finish like I would have on my mtn bike chain.

Thirstyman

sounds like boshield

pdxtex

resistance is futile....ill play along. boeshied!! so i bought a can under the guise of finding the ultimate winter lubricant. that stuff totally gunked up my drivetrain bad. lets suspend wax in petroleum for the ultimate chain gunker upper....nah, im sure it works but tell me how to apply it correctly. i think i just used way to much....

Capecodder

Dumonde Tech (Lite). The OP doesn't care how long it lasts or if he needs to apply after every ride. He does not ride in rain or wet conditions so most any lube will last well. What he wants is CLEAN....... Dumonde Tech (Lite) will be clean and will last 300-500 miles between applications.

Tuc

Boeshield, eh? Looks like it is worth a try for me since I live and ride in a hot climate. Wax type lubes do not work in cold weather, they get all gummed up. Here - the sun is not up yet and it is a wonderful 72 degrees and it will be over a 100 degrees before I get back from my ride.

https://boeshield.com/features-benefits/bicycles/

This Boeshield stuff wasn't the amazing lube I had, there was no wax in it all all. Like a liquid Teflon, and like I said it stunk when applied. Smelled a lot like 2 stroke motorcycle racing fuel from like Motul or F1 stuff. Real exotic stuff that causes brain cancer upon contact, I'm sure. It seems like Chain L is very similar to what I had, only it had a lot of "solvents" in it, which the Chain L FAQ mentions they experimented with before deciding to leave it thick and sticky. Maybe I had an early batch? https://www.chain-l.com/index.html

big chainring 

Why do you want a clean chain? Oil in whatever form is a good thing.

Sixty Fiver

I use home brew which is a 1:3 mix of oil and mineral spirits which is applied sparingly and then I wipe the chain down with a clean rag until the chain is dry to the touch... it cleans and lubricates extremely well.

My winter bike sees some of the most extreme duty and this chain has 7000 km on it and has no measurable wear... it does benefit greatly from having full fenders which keep the wheels from throwing snow, sand, and crud into the drive train which greatly extends the life of any chain and drive system.

I use the same lube on all my bikes and if I ride on sunny days the interval between lubrication and cleaning can be a very long time.

The biggest failure I see when people lube their chains is that they use too much lube and do not wipe them down properly... the exterior of the chain should be clean and almost dry to the touch when you are finished.

rangerdavid

I found the stuff Team Sky has been using and bought some. Morgan Blue cleaner and race lube. Hard to find in the USA. The cleaner is good, but the lube is awesome!! I'll probably not get the cleaner again, because there are a bunch of cleaning products I can buy locally for much less, but for the lube, the Morgan Blue Race lube is the best I've ever used. The other stuff the our local shops have here, of places like Performance, nah, not even close.

StanSeven

White Lightning is definitely the cleanest. 200 miles is the most you get. The secret is apply it more frequently at first to get a good base. It stays clean by the lube flaking off when it gets gunk buildup. So you need enough lube for that to happen.

Tuc

All things considered, I cannot see any advantage to a layer of dirt or metal shavings on a bike chain but there are several to a clean but lubricated chain. As for black, well, some of my bikes have KMC chains which are black to begin with but not from dirt. My old Schwinn with the 3speed SA hubs has a chainguard and I don't care how wet the the lube is on it really, but I still wipe it down when I see it is collecting smegma from the road.

Yo Spiff

I would think one of the wax based lubes would be the cleanest. Before there were commercial wax lubes, I used to remove my chain periodically and soak it in a double boiler of melted wax. Got the crud out and the liquid wax got into all the little bits of the chain. I still think that would be the most effective approach, but it is time consuming.

My biggest issue with the wax lubes is buildup on the jockey wheels of the RD, so I've been using Finish line dry teflon lube these days. Not as clean as the wax stuff, but I think every option has it's plusses and minuses.

Mayday328

I've had very good(clean) success with Prolink.

ahsposo 

You realize this is like offering pearls to swine, don't you.

Hunt-man

Wipe your chain with a rag after every ride. It will look almost new. Lube is lube, get it on.

Digitalfiend

Prolink Gold here as well. I clean my chain, rd pulleys, and chainring about every third ride (sometimes every ride, depending on conditions.) That might seem tedious to some but it is a 15 minute affair and keeps everything running smoothly. Once the chain is well lubed I simply wipe it down to take out any excess and that's it. My chains seem to last forever.