Originally Posted by
Joe Minton
The most important chain life factor is lubrication. The most effective available lubricant I know of is "Chain-L" (
Home Page Chain-L High Mileage Bicycle Chain Lubricant). It works simply because it is thick enough to 'stay put', excludes dirt and -- most importantly -- keeps the moving parts , well -- apart.
True Believers and suppliers make this matter more complicated than it has to be; chains need thick, sticky oil. Period!
Joe
Meh. While this is eminently reasonable in a clean working environment, it is not so obvious in a drive train exposed to the elements.
Based on my experience using both thick, tacky oil lubes and wax-based lubes applied through a light solvent carrier; there is definitely something to be said for a lubricant which not only sets up 'drier' -- hence less prone to attracting dirt and building up dirt+oil sludge around the drive train -- but also goes on as a solvent/water displacer.
More precisely, since I have been using T-9, I have seen a substantial increase in chain wear-life over other lubes which I have used in the past. Admittedly, I end up lubricating my chain more often than I would have done using some other lubes, but that is in good part counter-balanced by the radical reduction in dirty, oily drive train clean-up. And given the way that T-9 goes on, with its solvent carrier, it seems to do a better job of flushing dirt and wear-particles from the chain's innards.
So, different strokes for different folks, and everything -- but to be quite so emphatic as you were in your post, particularly on such a perennially contentious issue, is a little much.