motob

I know this is a risky thred to start with chain lube being almost a religion. I have 6 kids and 10 bilkes in the garage, and my kids have learned the importance of cleaning and lubeing their chains. Problem is, I was going through a 16 oz bottle of Rock n Roll gold lube ($35 LBS every 2-3 months). I decidid to come up with my own lube.

70 percent mineral spirits
20 percent 0W20 fully synthetic mobile 1 motor oil--lightest weight syn oil I can find
10 percent teflon PFTE (superlube)
1 marble

I needed to heat this in a double boiler one time to get the teflon to mix, then I keep it in doors in the winter at 70 degrees, then just needs to be shaken until the cloud of teflon mixes at the bottom (that is why the marble--to help mixing).

This brew functions exactly like Rock n roll gold. You put this on real heavy and wet, run the chain backwards for one minute, then back run the chain in a clean rag for another minute, and clean the mess off of the drive train and frame. I come back at least 2 hours later and back run the chain again in a clean rag until the chain and rag are dry and clean. Mineral sprits have evaporated leaving the PTFE teflon and synthetic light weight oil inside the rollers and pins. The chain tends to stay clean, quite and smoothe for about 100 miles--no rust and very little dirt attraction. If it rains real hard, I blow the rain off with an air compressor, then lube it again--just cause I am anal. I got about 8,000 miles out of my last 10 spd ultegra chain with RnR gold this way. It showed minimal stretch, but didn't want to take a chance on the STP ride.

I can make a gallon of this brew for under 20 bucks (I put it in quart oil cantainers and drill a tiny hole in the cap). Kids and thier friends have at it now, just put paper towels under the repair stand.

BCRider

Good for you on rolling your own.

I do the same thing but for me I prefer a thicker oil that tends to stay in place more firmly and I don't bother with the teflon addition. I just use mineral spirits and oil. And a slightly richer 50-50 mixture of the thick grade of chainsaw bar oil and spirits.

One thing about using a made up lube in a thin recipe like this is that if it is used often enough the solvent and blotting the excess away like you and I are doing will also clean the chain. "Relube" often enough and it would never get dirty at all other than the dirt of the day or three.

The bar oil, being a fair amount thicker, even works well on my motorcycle chains. I dribble it on and wipe away the excess and the solvent dries leaving a nice grippy oil that stays in place quite well and is a thin enough film to not hold every peice of grit that touches it.

motob

I like to relube once a week or 100 miles which ever comes first. I added the teflon for a stickier hold that went deep, but I am concerned about how it hods in the rain. I am too paranoid about rust damage with all the money wrapped up in a road bike, I always blow it, dry it and lube it after a rain ride. Maybe in the winter months go with a higher concentration of motor oil. Summer here is pretty dry, so the thin mix keeps things clean and quiet for me.

|3iker

Count me in as one of the home-brewer. 3 unit motor oil and 1 unit OMS. Works fantastic. Apply little but often.

davidad

Remove and clean every 650 miles. Lube with 4 parts unscented mineral spirits to 1 part chain saw bar oil from Ace hardware. I even reuse the Prolink bottle to apply my lube. I wipe the excess off to keep from pickin up dirt. Oil on the outside doesn't do any good.
Teflon is a waste of money for our use.

MudPie

How do you guys develop your lube?

Got the recipe from a Rock and Roll insider?
Have an advanced degree in tribology?
An old family recipe from the home country?
Settled on a concoction after years of trial/error?

cia dog

Why not just get a bottle of Lucas Chain Lubricant? Just a silly thought.

electrik

With your homebrew you gotta make sure it has a rust inhibitor also...

cia dog

Lucas Chain Lubricant has rust inhibitors built in.

DaveSSS 

I first started using home brews about 12 years ago. IMO, the teflon is a waste. The lubrication expert who makes and sells ATB lube agrees. I've used synthetic motor oil, chainsaw bar oil and synthetic gear lube. I suspect that the gear lube is the best since it's got more extreme pressure additive than either of the other oils.

Naptha will evaporate faster, but it's also more flammable. Lacquer thinner is much faster evaporating, but a spill could be hard on some paints if not wiped off immediately.

The best lube can vary with riding conditions. Mine are gritty but dry, never wet, so rust is not an issue, but a sticky lube attracts too much grit.

Wanderer

I don't like bar oil, because it is so sticky, and attracts dirt. And, the things they put in hypoid gear oil just plain stinks (odor.) Any low viscosity synthetic motor oil, flows well (especially if cut 25% with mineral spirits,) has excellent detergents for cleaning, excellent corrosion inhibitors, way above average abilities to keep offenders in suspension, good penetration thanks to the mineral spirits, very stabile viscosity, and extremely consistent molecules for lubrication and separation.

For about $20, I can make 5 qts of very good bicycle lube, using Shell Rotells T Synthetic 5W-40, which is a true Heavy Duty lubricant. And, a qt of clean mineral spirits. In this instance, WalMart is your friend..... Since I use it in everything anyway (car, truck, motorcycle, lawnmowers, snowblowers, etc) I always have gallons of the stuff around, and usually just mix up a qt at a time. 24 oz of oil, 8 oz of mineral spirits. I pour 8 oz of the mineral spirits into a qt oil bottle, add some oil, and shake it up, add some more oil and reshake, doing this several times until the bottle is full.

I have several old Tri-Flow bottles, the ones with the small tube applicator, and just keep refilling them.. I always shake well before using, as I do with every lubricant, to ensure that the additives are mixed.

And, it's easy to clean off, when you want to.

Shimagnolo

Glass, clay, or agate?

motob

I called RnR and asked them what the cloudy stuff is at the bottom was, and what kind of lube the use--synthetic or mineral based. They said the solid is teflon (PTFE) and their lube is synthetic based with a solvent. Exact perportions and what they use I did not ask, but the stuff I now use shure works alot like theirs.

If you are not keeping up with 6 kids and 10 bikes, you will get a bottle of RnR gold to last a long time and probably isn't worth it to you to make your own.

BTW, I also strip clean the chain every 500-600 miles with a park tool chain cleaner that I run the chain backwards through 3 roller brushes and is filled with degreaser and mineral oil. I then wash the chain off with a mist spray of water, let dry, wipe clean, then lube. I am kind of a clean chain nut. Nothing like a smoothe quet chain

motob

I don't know, I stole it from my daughter. I hope its not her lucky one

That's what RnR lube inc did in theirs. Chinese engineering

BCRider

Why the water mist? I'm pretty obsessive with keeping my drive lines clean too but to deliberately add something that serves no purpose and is actually an oxidizer that causes what I'm attempting to prevent seems counter productive.

I use a chain gizmo as well but I just rinse with mineral spirits until the solvent isn't dirtly or is only lightly clouded. Between the three washings this generally takes I blot away the dirty solvent with a rage or paper towel. This wicks away teh solvent held by the chain and carries extra grit with it at the same time. By the third wash (OK, maybe the fourth if it was neglected for a while or the weather was really sloppy that week) the paper towel isn't showing much, if any, signs of blackness. I apply the oil and solvent soup I use and wipe the excess of that away. In effect this is an addtional cleaning. By blotting dry the chain between washings I avoid the dirty solvent from the last wash contaminating the clean solvent of the next.

My solvent gets dumped into a settling jar where the grit settles and I can reuse the clear but tea coloured solvent many times over. So there's no big waste to this method. And no need to wait for the water to dry away.

cia dog

I too use the Finish Line Chain Cleaner and I use it till it runs almost clean which only takes 2 or 3 at the most. I've been using my now for about 6 years and use it every time I need to reapply lube to the chain. I wipe the chain with a rag after cleaning but let it air dry for about 8 hours then apply the lube and let it dry for about 12 hours. I don't use water or Simple Green I just use plain old solvent...and recycle as well, but I pour in the used solvent into my parts washer and reuse it.

motob

Retired bike tech taught me to rince the degreeser with a garden hose spray. The degreeser is from Harbor Freight water soluble with some min spirits mixed in well. He did tell me some would razz me about using water, but using the air compressor to blow off most of the water deep in the chain, wipe the rest, then using the chain lube/mineral spirits to displace and flush the rest of the water a couple hours later seems to leave the chain very clean with no ill effects. Thats what a forum is for, different ideas. Next cleaning I will try using mineral spirits 3-4 times until clean.

davidad

No you don't. I never have a rust problem I use the cheapest chains you can buy and get well over 8k miles on them before they hit the 1/16" wear mark.

electrik

Yeah, but are you using them in an area which applies road salt all winter? I'm trying the multiple chains to cassette... seems to be ok so far, we'll see once the chains get to 1/16"

Mike T.

I've been using Homebrew for, hmmm, maybe 15-20 years, never used a "rust inhibitor" and never had a rusty chain. And yeah they get wet. I always thought oil was a rust inhibitor

DaveSSS 

Now many miles you get before a chain reaches 1/16" per foot elongation will vary substantially, depending on the riding conditions. Shimano chains ridden in the Denver area will reach that in 4,000 miles or less, even with a light rider like me (135 lbs). At least if you climb a lot, like I do. I never ride in the wet, but the grit is unavoidable. A Campy chain will never reach 1/16" per foot elongation before other parts wear out.

electrik

It is... but there are better chemicals which seem to stick on the chain longer. Plus in order for the oil to work you must have the chain constantly slathered, but if you were to apply a rust-treatment to the chain(which they do at the factory i bet) after you destroy it using your spirits the chain would last longer i bet.

noglider 

I've been using ATF lately. It seems to clean my chain as well as lubricate it.