Cyclepath

Definitely crucial to increase the efficiency on moving dry cleaner racks! The whole industry might find new life.

The study didn't say if they removed the factory coating, which might be a factor in the results....

peripatetic

method.

That word is almost always misused.

Pete Hamer

That was in the second link I gave. I should have said something about what it was, sorry. It has more details. Here is a clip.
"In addition, the chain used for
the lubrication study was fully
degreased and was re-tested for effi-
ciency. This degreasing operation con-
sisted of a five-minute scrub with
kerosene followed by a cleaning with
Castrol Degreaser. The measured effi-
ciency of the de-lubricated chain for acquisition allows the temperature..."

neil0502

Though I DO take your point, I'm far more willing to drag this thread dramatically OT than I am to concede so quickly on this one

and [emphasis mine]

Phantoj

I was looking at that HPV pdf. Pretty wild how LOW the efficiency of the chain is at high RPM's and light loads in small sprockets - 85% or something or worse. And it's pretty common to ride at low power and high RPM... I'll leave the small sprockets to the compact Microdrive weenies...

urbanknight

Well, like I said I'm not convinced until I've had this stuff on for more than the 2 weeks I've had it, but it claims to "clean" the chain as I ride, the formula apparently repelling dust and something or other. I wouldn't use automotive oil since it has a different application. They're both supposed to reduce friction on gears, but motor oil is for much higher temperature, wider tolerances, and a much faster speed. Plus motor oil is inside the engine, so I doubt it's designed to repell dust as much as cogs out in the open get. Not that I think it's ruining anything, since the important part is that you're reducing the friction between the chain and cogs so that they don't grind each other into oblivion.

wroomwroomoops

OK, I just never heard of a lubricant that would actually repel dirt. I am glad I learned something new. What is the brand/type of the lube you are talking about, so maybe I can try it out?

As for my usage of oil: I never claimed that it wouldn't, in fact, cause durt/dust to stick to the drivetrain components. I just said that I prefere it to other lubricants I tried. There's a lot of cyclists to whom motor oil is the lube of preference.

Portis

I said it doesn't do much in the way of lengthening chain life. I never said it didn't do good. I lube because it helps with shifting and runs quieter. Also I lube to extend chainlife as purported but like i said it really doesn't seem to make a HUGE difference.

And lubing once or twice per week very lightly is absolutely necessary when you run on dry chalky dirt and gravel roads. I just put in 30 miles this morning and my drivetrain was squealing like a stuck hog by the time i got home. And i lightly lubed last night.

Eatadonut

Switch lubes, or lube techniques. 30 miles between lubes is appalling unless you're riding through rivers or getting mud up to your chain. I've ridden some dry, dusty texas roads, and I've never had a need to lube more than once every 100 miles or so.

cascade168

Hmmmm... Here is your own quote from post #12 in this thread:

"I've learned a lot from personal experience as to the limited effect that lube has on chain life. I used to clean and lube like a mad man, but eventually learned that it does no real good. In fact it causes more harm in some instances where a person lubes too much. (dirty environments are examples)".

Please pardon me for quibbling, but you did say "it does no real good". If you had not said that, I never would have questioned your post in the first place. I'm not trying to flame here, but your own statements appear to be contradictory to each other.

urbanknight

It's called Prolink by Pro Gold Lubricants. I'm an "I'll believe it when I see it" person, so we'll see how it's doing a few months from now, but if it really does keep the chain clean, I'd be thrilled!

AnthonyG

I'm a fan of Prolink. Its an excellent lubricant and it keeps the drivetrain fairly clean but not perfectly clean. I think one of the tricks is that after application its best to leave it for a short while and then wipe down the chain completely and thouroughly. leaving some excess on the outer surfaces of the chain will still atract some grime.

Regards, Anthony

froze

Also there's Finish Line Cross Country which has been proven very effective in wet conditions.

unkchunk

Did anyone get one of the serious ramifications of this study? They didn't use WD-40 as a test lube. Therefore WD-40 "may" be beneficial for chain efficiency. White Lightning, Pedro's Syn Lube, and Castrol Dry Lube cannot make that claim. They have been shown to be the equivalent of no lubrication at all. Scary isn't it?

froze

Time to stop smoking the funny weed! I find it fascinating how someone can read into something that's not even remotely hinted at.

AnthonyG

Its called irony.

From personal experience I just don't buy it anyway. I can feel a difference before and after lubricating a chain and I don't buy it that its just in my head. Yes on a brand new chain more lube doesn't make any difference but paticuarly AFTER say 1000 km and the first complete clean of a chain where I have soaked it in methelated spirits then I can REALY notice a difference if the chain is lubed or not.

Regards, Anthony

urbanknight

Makes sense. When I first started cycling I didn't know you were supposed to wipe the excess off in the first place (what 12 year old young man reads directions anyway?) and my chain would get caked with grime in days! Oops!

unkchunk

As you have so well proven in your own post.

Okay, it's not that fascinating. More like mildly amusing.

miamijim

I agree. My drivetrain gets very dirty when I lube often. All that dirtiness acts like sandpaer on the components leading to a decrease in life. Chain lubing is one of the most overrated aspects of bicycle maintenance.

I think the point of the Johns Hopkin test was that it doesnt matter what you use as long as you use something.

froze

OK that was fun, but now lets discuss this "theory" about oil not making a difference. First off I know that proper lube will increase or decrease your chain life. When I was using hot wax with teflon additive and TriFlow my chain's life averaged about 15,000 miles, when I switched to wax based lubes like Pedros and White Lightening the chains life decreased to only 5,000 mile average. Like a fool, I used this wax crud for 5 years thinking somehow I might have gotten bad chains. When I finally wised up and stopped using wax and went to Speed Skate Lube and Finish Line Teflon Dry, my chains life went back up to 15,000 mile average.

Also with the wax based crap I had to reapply the lube every 60 to 70 miles or the chain would make noise, and where there is noise there is wear happening. With the other lubes the chain won't make any noise between cleanings which I do about every 100 to 150 miles-depending on how lazy I feel that week!

Now I agree with you that over lubing can have a negative effect, but when that happens you just wipe the excess off with a rag. Also most lubes require that you apply it and wait at least 12 hours before riding; the lube then drys to the touch so dirt doesn't fasten itself to the lube then grind away at your gears and chain. But I don't relube between cleaning like I had to do with wax because most of time the damm chain would start to make noise on a ride so I carried a bottle to relube on the road; but in effect I'm not overlubing.

froze

By the way, the outer, or outside plates of the chain is completely useless to lube, there's no need to lube those plates. The friction and wear occurs on the rollers or bushings (whatever their called) and that is where you need to apply the lube. So if you overlube or get some on the plates side you simply wipe it off the outside sides of the chain before it drys then let the chain dry for about 12 hours.

miamijim

froze, I understand where your coming from. It seems obvious your wax based lubes were losing thier lubricating properties sooner than the teflon/oil based lubes. That alone will lead to a shorter life span. Its also possible the wax based lubes attract and hold more grip which we all know grinds away at the metal.

100-150 miles is too often for cleaning. My basic guideline for cleaning is this....If you can see/read the writing on the sideplates your chain DOES NOT cleaning. I clean my mountain chain every 400-500 miles. It has about 3 thousand miles on it. I clean my cogs, pulley wheels and chainrings as I notice build-up.

froze

The reason I clean BEFORE I relube a chain is because it's possible that if you relube before you clean you could actually drive dirt into the rollers or bushings increasing your chance of wear.

But Miamijim, your probably right, I'm probably over cleaning the chain, but I'm a little weird that way even with my cars I change my oil every 2,500 to 3,000 max and I use synthetics! But the reason I do this is because years ago I read a web site that tested various oils and found that all natural oils lose their viscosity after only 1,500 to 2,000 whereas synthetic won't till after 3,000. So I don't really buy into all the car companies suggesting 7,000 mile oil changes. But cars don't have much in common with bicycles; but clean engines last longer thus my logic is so will clean chains.

Big_knob

+1. Best to let dry before use.