Coasterbrakefan

I've heard of this option before, and thought it was a good idea. Problem is is that I'm not sure how to melt grease. Double boiler? Also, some greases don't melt (tri-flow). What grease would work best for this process?

Coasterbrakefan

My current grease of choice is Valvoline NLGI #2 grade lithium complex EP grease (great stuff). Will that work?

grizzly59

Dirt / grit / sand really likes to stick to grease. I'm pretty sure you don't want to do this.

55murray

OP, somebody is pulling your chain! Seriously, @grizzly59 is spot on.

3alarmer 

.
...a brand new KMC chain that will work on 6-8 speed clusters costs about ten dollars online.
It comes pre-lubricated with some stuff that will probably go 1,000 miles or so. It's pressure applied.

The biggest issue with trying to get grease to work is that it's very difficult to get it where it needs to be, inside the chain at the rollers.


As stated above, the stuff that remains on the outside not only won't help, it will create quite a mess.

trailangel

Buy some 80w90 gear oil and mix a bit of STP oil treatment in it while heating it up in a pan.... outside.

Andrew R Stewart 

Common story has the Tour de France wrenches coating their rider's chains with grease for the really nasty stages, getting light weight lube to maintain for 100+ miles of heavy rain and road grit is hard. But then after the stage the chains get replaced... Andy.

Andrew R Stewart 

And use an electric heating pad, not a gas flame. Andy

Iride01 

There are all kinds of gimmicks for lubing your chain. Just use what appeals to you. IMO, none make any big difference on chain life. If you ride in the wet or wash your bike with a water hose, you might need to take some extra care.

Chains are cheap. Why spend a lot of money and time worrying about a 12 to 35 dollar item. About all I worry about on mine is to wipe the grime off the outside to keep from getting it on my right leg.

RowdyTI

One benefit of good lube is a quieter drivetrain.

Matt Gaunt

Some coat their chains with melted wax. I've not heard of people using melted grease though.

Crankycrank

I could be wrong but I believe the coating of grease is to just provide a barrier from water on wet days. Keeps the water from penetrating the links and washing out the lube.

Racing Dan

There are special greases for the purpose*. Normal grease does not melt easily.

*https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Putoline-Dx...d=121884077581

I have such a tin (from Castrol). Cant really recommend it, unless you have nothing better to do ;-)

I happen to use a mc spray lube. It has a solvent carrier that gets the lube into the chain and then evaporates. It dries to a dry(ish) grease that does not pick up much dirt. I favour that over oil.

squirtdad

Why, just why? there are a ton of good bike specific chain lubes available for any number of needs and preferences.

The cost is minimal, why bother with the mess, risk of melting a petroleum product?

What benefit?

I just don't get the alternate lube threads..... rant over

AnkleWork

That's a great idea because plain old oil just doesn't work.

fietsbob

have the dry powder fire extinguisher right next to you, to smother that grease fire..

Coasterbrakefan

Thanks for all the insightful information everyone!

All I know is that I read about it somewhere awhile back and thought I'd ask.

Wet or dry, roads are filthy and my chain gets messy fast.

And I'm no noob when it comes to oiling my chain BTW.

But anyways... I'm probably making a big deal out of something everyone just learns to except.

cyccommute 

If you didn't like their responses, this will really chap yer hide! It's not a good idea for a number of reasons. First, bearing "grease" doesn't have a low melting point. It's meant to stay in place even up to some very high temperatures...like around 400°F. For point of reference, deep friers are typically run at 375°F. Extremely hot and dangerous.

And that's not the melting point but the point where the lubricant starts to fail. The melting point is probably much higher.

Second, most modern "greases" are like bacon grease or other edible greases or even like axle greases of 30 or 40 years ago. They are plastics and, as such, probably don't "melt" in the traditional sense. If you heated a modern polyurethane "grease" to try to "melt" it, it would either degrade and/or polymerized and harden...if you could even find something to get the temperature high enough.

On a side note: if you did get the grease hot enough to melt, it probably isn't that flammable. Cars don't often catch fire from grease melting and igniting.

If you do consider an edible grease...don't! Edible greases are reactive. They have to be because they have to break down in an animal's gut or they are of no use. They oxidize quickly. They decay rather quickly. They have low melting points so they won't stick on parts that get even just "warm".

Then don't use a lubricant that serves as a place for stuff to stick. Any oil you use...or grease for that matter...serves as an adhesive for all that gunk from the road to stick to. Want a clean chain, use a clean lubricant. This picture was taken in the depth of winter and the chain had been cleaned exactly once...when I installed it.

IMG_1155 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

I can't say exactly how much mileage the chain had on it but it was not new. I use White Lightning. I don't even use it that excessively. I lube my chains about every 600 miles and the chains last about the same as everyone else...about 3000 to 4000 miles.

easyupbug 

I tried this back about 1970 as a GI stationed near Fairbanks with a used Hodaka 100cc trail bike that got me to new fishing locations. Tundra and mud so deep I did not need the kickstand at times. Cleaned the chain (no doubt with TCE which got dump out back) then ran through a pot of heated MIL SPEC grease of some kind, probably heated up on a small electric burner we all had in the barracks. IIRC it worked better than the MIL SPEC oil I was using but way too much work for the slight benefit.

europa

My lbs bloke, when asked what he uses, replied that he doesn't do anything to his chain... and then he sold me a bottle of chain lube. You say you're an experienced chain luberator, well, just keep doing what feels right to you. For my money, anything that requires a lot of stuffing about probably isn't worth the effort and in this case, melting grease onto your chain just seems wrong for all sorts of reasons.

Gravity Aided

I've used paraffin wax in a double boiler before, wax lubricates, stays where it needs to stay, inside the chain, flakes off everywhere else so it doesn't attract dirt. So it keeps the chain from wearing by both lubricating the chain, and keeping dirt out of the chain rollers. It does a good job, but may be a bit more trouble than just cleaning the chain regularly and using a good lube on it.

andrewclaus

Ditto the paraffin. I haven't heard of paraffin being used on a chain for over fifty years, so I think it's an obsolete technique. I think the risk is too great for the benefit, if any.

Coasterbrakefan

This is what I hoped would be possible to do with grease. But I guess its not worth the hassle. I may consider using wax though. Thanks!

cyccommute 

Not all "waxes" are created equally. Canning wax, which is what most people use, is a hard wax that quite frankly doesn't work all that well. It's too hard. Soft waxes like petroleum jelly are a bit more fluid but tend to be sticky which doesn't solve the problem of cleanliness all that well. A mixture of both would work well and is what is used on new chains. But it would take a lot of experimentation to find the right proportions.

Melting waxes and greases isn't all that easy and has hazards associated with doing so. Products like wax based lubricants like White Lightning use a solvent to "melt" the wax, deposit it and then evaporate leaving you with the same effect without all the hassle.

fietsbob

And there is spray on grease, if you still want to go that way it thickens after it is sprayed on.