Thread: Bio chain oil
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Old 06-23-05 | 08:41 PM
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DCCommuter
52-week commuter
 
Joined: Mar 2005
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From: Washington, DC

Bikes: Redline Conquest, Cannonday, Specialized, RANS

Don't get too satisfied. Manufacturing your bike, and eventually disposing of it, creates significant toxic waste. The bike factories in Taiwan are environmental disasters. So are mines, and there's almost nothing on a bike that didn't come out of a mine or an oil well.

Lubricating your bike, on the other hand, is pretty environmentally benign. You might use 8 oz of oil over the life of your bike. In the miniscule quantities we use it in, oil will degrade due to the effects of sunlight and oxygen and is not an environmental factor.

Cleaning your bike, particularly the chain, can be problematic. There are vegetable-based and biodegradable degreasers, but they still aren't stuff you'd want to pour down the drain.
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