View Single Post
Old 05-13-10 | 12:17 PM
  #19  
JeremyZ's Avatar
JeremyZ
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
From: Chicagoland

Bikes: 1997 Schwinn Searcher GS, 2007 Dahon Curve D3

This is always a touchy topic, but I'm going to breech it anyway.

Consider WD-40 and do it more often. Some will jump in and say: "It is not really a lube, it dries up." I believed this for many years until I read a story by a motorcyclist who ignored that "wisdom" and used it anway. He just oiled it every couple thousand miles and he got over 30,000 miles out of his motorcycle chain, and the typical chain life is more like 15,000. (they are O-ring chains, unlike our traditional ones) He phrased it well when he responded to the "It's not a lube!" argument with: "That doesn't change the fact that my chain went 33,000 miles while using it."

The thing about WD-40 is that it is a lube AND a water displacer. (hence the WD) I am using it on more and more things.

The lube that came on the chain of my new TriCross is some kind of sticky oil. After only a few rides, it has bits of sand stuck to it. That can't be good for it. I'm going to clean that crap off with kerosene and apply WD-40. It is so easy, I can do it weekly or even more frequently. It is cheap. Since it mostly evaporates, it doesn't attract dirt & grit once dry.

I started using it on my garage door wheels; works great there too.

Just something to consider before you go with an expensive, bike-specific product that needs to be re-applied frequently anyhow.
JeremyZ is offline  
Reply