Jynx

Seems like most wear is from dirt held in by a grease that grinds away at the cogs/chain.

Anyone run their chain/cassette/chainrings just completely clean and dry with no lubricant on them at all?

Would this work?

Wordbiker

Yes, definitely. You should go dry all the way.



Did I mention that I sell chains and drivetrain components?

Az B

Not to mention that it would be noisy and shift less than smoothly.

Az

mtnbiker4791

This is where the wax lubes excell but you have to apply them fairly often. I like the wax lube called squirt as it has alot more wax and is longer lasting than the other wax lubes

DMF 

... holds in the dirt ?? How did the dirt get in there?


A dry chain will stay dry, but it won't stay clean.

Metal-to-metal contact between moving parts produces wear. Lubrication helps by keeping the parts apart. But when something harder than the metal - like sand - keeps the parts apart, the metal disintegrates a lot faster. Bike lubes a) keep the parts apart, b) seal out the sand - and chemicals like hydrogen oxide.

cyccommute 

Metal-to-metal contact between moving parts produces wear. Lubrication helps by keeping the parts apart. But when something harder than the metal - like sand - keeps the parts apart, the metal disintegrates a lot faster. Bike lubes a) keep the parts apart, b) seal out the sand - and chemicals like hydrogen oxide.[/QUOTE]

Lubricants that seal out the sand will only do so if they don't attract the sand particles in the first place. If you have a matrix that holds the particle, some of them will eventually grind their way into the mechanism. Waxes do a very good job of not attracting particles and sealing out dihydrogen monoxide.

If you are riding where there is a prevalence of hydrogen oxide, I feel very sorry for you...that's gonna hurt like hell and your aluminum parts aren't going to last long

mx_599

most people who will see this as a bad thing on this site have probably not actually tried it. i am not refering to those above...just in general.

i say give it ago. i am thinking about trying it myself. just haven't got around to it. i would start by cleaning everything really well.

although one thing to consider is rust. i have used only wd40 on my chain in the past...but again, this is still something wet and not dry as you mentioned above.

assuming rust wouldn't be too big a problem, only noise would irritate me if it were present.

try it, things aren't going to self-destruct. if it doesn't seem like it is working, go back to lube. its not like the whole chain is all tight tolerances. chances are, you would never realize any extra wear during a trial period.

i have heard of people running heavy equipment machinery dry at some of the pivots rather than using grease... hahaha

operator

What a horrible troll.

cachehiker

+1.

I hate applying constantly applying wax lubes but usually use a wet lube that goes on pretty dry once most of the evil spirits evaporate, Dumonde Tech Lite.

Where dihydrogen monoxide cannot be avoided I use something that stays put, Phil's Tenacious.

SOS

Some years ago, I tried a dry chain for one year or thereabouts. The drivetrain became rather noisy but other than that there was no noticable difference in wear or any other attribute.

DMF 

As opposed to having no matrix, but an open passage into the innards.

Lubes don't attract the sand; they only hold it (hopefully out of the innards). It shows up all on its own.


Picky picky picky.

H2O acts as both an acid and a base (and I don't ride no steenkin' aluminum anyway).

Retro Grouch 

I read an article about some university study of bicycle chain lubes. The upshot was that the pronciple benefit of lubricants was that it filled in the space between the moving parts of the chain and kept dirt out. Makes sense to me.

I haven't personally tried it nor do I see any reason to.

raleighrider75

I figure the chain would wear out really quickly due to the lack of lube.There'd be nothing to stop the dirt from getting in.Also what's to stop the dreaded rust from developing?

raleighrider75

??

sunnybiker

Sheldon!!! Damn.

MudPie

I would expect rust to form, unless the environment is desert like. Anyone know how abrasive ferrous oxides (rust) are? If rust is "abrasive", then a dry chain can be expected to wear.

Michel Gagnon

Yes it works!
Ride in any densely packed urban area and you'll see lots of cyclists who ride for transportation. On the Plateau and Mile End districts of Montréal, for instance, about 1/3 the bikes I see had their chain greased when the bike was new... in 1970 or 1980. Even with auto traffic, you hear them about 1 block away.

Booger1

With that money you save,you can get a good supply of earplugs.

Torque1st

Try a dry lubricant like dry Teflon.

cyccommute 

Iron wheels? Iron crank? Where do you get the iron derailers? You must have huge thighs