Wow, that's really condescending. Make friends quickly, do you?

I just got samples at a trade show of some stuff called "Air Systems Lubricants." These are non-flammable, non-toxic, and made from plants. The majority of the product line is intended for industrial use, where the lubricants can be spilled without consequence, as the products don't form oil slicks on water. This characteristic relieves a lot of EPA concerns when working on docks and around navigable waterways.

The samples I was given were intended for rods, reels, & guns, but they should work fine on my bicycle too.

I'll try these and see.

The main issue with chains is cleanliness. Regular cleaning + any lubricant that penetrates the chain links & pins and stays there is the way to go. No mechanical system can tolerate excessive contamination.

Once my chain looks grotty (yes a totally subjective term :)) - typically every couple of hundred miles or so, it is removed for a good clean. It is replaced and carefully re-lubricated. Yes, it is a pain but:- I built the bike in Dec 2004, new cassette & chain (SRAM PC68). After 2800 miles of use in all weathers, wear on the chain is barely discernable, less than 1/32". Lubrication was castor oil, by the way. I'm pleased with this performance.

Before I knew better, I had chains that measured 1/4" elongation over 12" :eek: even though I'd tried various bike specific chain oils from that nice "rack of expensive promises" in the bike shop.

Yes it was and so too was the question and yes I do, thanx fer askin.

Me thinks you need to tune your interpretation-of-other-peoples'-comments meter.

More like go out and buy one. Can't tune what you don't have.

I would say that my question was more sarcastic or facetious than condescending, but I guess I'm splitting hairs. Let me be more direct: stv, your comment was derisive and unnecessary.

Do not use vegatable oil on you bike (including 3-in-1 oil because it is vegatable based). Vegatabel oil becomes very sticky and gummy with time and will cause dirt and grime to build up on your chain.

or just look up white lightning's patents...
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...&RS=PN/5472625

calcium stearate is easy to come by and vegetable based, paraffin wax could be substituted by soy based wax or beeswax, petrolatum might be replaced by jojoba and/or castor oils, and the volatile solvent could be turps, ethanol, etc.

i'm going to order the ingredients this weekend and make up a several variations soon. anybody have any ideas for non-anecdotal testing?

Really?

I thought my advice to the OP was solid.

I have worked in the technical side of speciality lubricants industry for 25 years now. Our USA operations alone manufacture nearly 70 million pounds of industrial greases a year, not to mention the ten's of millions of gallons of speciality lube oils and other non-automotive products.


......... you can ruin your Mom's food processor or for a $1.79, you can buy yourself a tube of chain lube.

Some people take the position that lubing a chain does more harm than good: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html see the first paragraph under "oiling chains"

NOTE: I'm not saying that Sheldon Brown says you shouldn't oil your chain. I am merely offering the link as evidence that others have encountered this school of thought. I oil my chain, and I'm sure that Stv could offer us a whole host of reasons why everyone should oil theirs.

you can get anything 'preassembled,' but that sounds like a pretty sterile life to me. same reason i prefer to build my own wheels and paint my own bikes, personal betterment outside of physical activity - a great hobby biking is.

I don't disagree with your outlook in the least. I admire your initiative and self-reliant independent and creative outlook to your hobby.

However.......................

I read the patent link and I may not understand everything in it but I do understand the complexities of grease saponification and formulating thixotropic lubricants. This isn't "stuff" you just stir-up with a wooden spoon on a hot-plate in the back shed............then again...maybe for some folk ...... it is!

Calcium soaps? ...hydrated or anhydrous? ....stearate or complex? ........ know the difference? Cold grease reformulating vs. heated? Temperature curring and Age setting? Grease/oil separation? Paddle blending?

FYI : Calcium anhydrous grease made from 12-hydroxysterate soap have excellent water-resistant but rust metal easily unless a proper RP package is added in the correct proportions. EP and AW packages? Thickeners? Catalysts? Anti-oxidants? Adjuncts? VI improver's? Double jacket heated kettles?? It just goes on and on.

My point is this, any unadulterated by you, calcium grease that you buy, say in a 14oz. can is most likely going to ALREADY have more than enough lubricant performance that you will ever need and at 14 ounces is most probably enough lube for at least a decade of use or more per bike.

............$1.79 will buy you a fully formulated lube product and then some.

Have fun, good luck and try not to set the kitchen on fire. Please dispose of the experimental grease "goo" safely at an Authorized Community Waste Disposal Site when your done.





.......... and to you two other tyre-biting dogs............. bite this...(!)

I tried some experiments with weathered chains to see if I could remove the rust. For light, spotty rust, I was successful by first soaking for 5 or 10 minutes in bleach, then right into simple green then bleach then simple green again, followed by thorough rinse and immediate lubrication to prevent new rust.
For heavily rusted chains, strong acid may remove the rust, but I won't try it because I would not trust a chain treated with anything that attacks metal such as strong acids and bases. It's better to buy a new inexpensive chain.

Or, UCSDBA, you can try soaking the chain in a weak acid: Coke or generic white vinegar. I've used both of these to remove rust from parts, and it works well. I think overnight wouldn't be too long. You may have to scrub the rust off with a steel brush afterwards, though.

...go Tritons...

I'm using white vinegar right now to clean the rust from some old files and chisels, and a casette. I'm very impressed with how well this works. My use of this method includes soaking and periodically brushing with a bristle brush to speed the process. I follow with a rinse in a baking soda solution to neutralize the weak acid, rinse in plain water, dry, then a spray of thinned oil to give the cleaned tool or part some rust-resistance.

IMO this should work well on a chain, but also promote drying within the links somehow. A bit of time in the ol' toaster oven, maybe?

I tried this, it really works! the chain is screwed, ...but you don't really care.

If you do this often you may want to check into electrylosis. Works great.

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/ru..._derusting.htm

it is a solid below about 70 degree's a liqued above that temp

@alancw3, can you advise me the proportions of each of these ingredients. Thanks

Many thanks for the link! I could set that up in my shed and leave it pretty much unattended while I did other stuff. Now I want to experiment...

You can use whatever you want to use.