cyccommute 

I'd not do the hot wax thing every again. It certainly wasn't the same as solvent based lubricants in that it didn't last as long nor was it as effective. I have no particular love for the method. However, it was much less messy than sticky oils like Phil's Tenacious Oil. But then so are dry lubes. Dry lubes like White Lightning are just wax dissolved in a solvent. They are more complex and sophisticated than that as I've pointed out elsewhere.

If you could keep your engine hot all the time, wax would work just fine inside an engine. At the operating temperatures of the combustion chamber of engines, waxes might even last longer than shorter chain oils and stay in the cylinder better. In fact the 2 numbers on oils such as 10W30 is so that the oil flows enough to start the engine but doesn't thin out too much at temperature.

Comparing a bicycle chain and it's lubrication requirements to those of an automobile engine is a red herring.

I've had chains wear out using wet lubes in 2000 miles. I have results similar to yours with dry lubes. It depends on how you are using them and what you are subjecting them to. Off-road in dry environments...and probably in wet environments...grit does far more damage to the chain than whether or not the chain has lubricant at all.

If you are worried about corrosion, why are you letting any mild steel chain near water? You are doing more damage to the inside of the chain than miles of riding an unlubricated chain could ever do. Especially if you are allowing the water to remain in contact with the steel for a day.

I've stated above that I get as 500 to 600 miles between applications. You don't need the chain to be dripping lubricant to have it effective chain lubrication. I get well over 2000 miles per chain using White Lightning and I don't have to clean the chain once a week. I clean the chain once when I install it. The stuff works. It works well...as well as sloppy wet lubricants in many conditions. I know because I've used it in all kinds of conditions.

bezzer

I've just had a look on ebay, just out of interest.
I paid £5.50 for a bottle of wet synthetic lube, for £5.99 plus £1.99 postage I could buy a brand new chain.
which would be a better investment, a bottle of chain lube or a new chain? certainly you would get more mileage out of a new chain than a bottle of lube.
ok so a new chain would still need some form of lubrication, but if you managed to find a decent chain for not too much money, surely you wouldn't need to spend that much on a bottle of lube. it has been said on here that there is no point buying expencive lube.

bijan

Could be that you didn't clean out those little pulleys on the rear derailleur (or there was a lot of gunk on the chainrings and cogs, that went back onto the chain).

rekmeyata

All you wanted was advice, so instead of going and doing a web search you came here, a place full of opinions. There are web sites that show you and tell you how to clean your driveline. I even gave you web site concerning Chain L that discusses how their oil works in wet and dry conditions, but I can tell by your terse words you didn't bother to do that either. All I'm going to tell you is that it's not complicated, you can use one lube for all conditions as I do, and I ride and tour in all sorts of weather, or go through the headache of changing from one lube to another as the weather changes. In addition, we provided sites about the lack of good lubrication wax provides. Now it's up to you, buy something and use it.

bezzer

in reply to bijan: I made sure that the whole chain, front chain rings, rear cassette, rear mech and jockey wheels were spotless, done using hot soapy water and a scrubbing brush, I then dried the chain and used the muc off de greaser to make sure there was nothing on the chain to get it ready for re lubing.

in reply to rekmeyata: I did read the information you gave me, even though I know that things such as chain lube is all down to personal prefference and what works well for you might not work for someone else, I just wanted a few different oppions thats all.

bijan

For me the biggest drain on mileage out of a chain is rust. I mean you can argue about getting 3000 miles vs 8000 miles. But you can get near 0 miles if your chain just rusts up... On the other hand I get cheap chains... But the combination of cheap chains + cheap oil + low maintenance, ends up being most cost effective for me.

It sounds like you live in the UK. So it is probably wet. Just keep your chain well oiled to avoid rust. You can worry about grit and dirt in the drivetrain and that might affect chain life, but a bicycle != motorcycle != car and there is nowhere near the heat,pressure, etc. So you don't need fancy expensive oil. If you ride thousands+ miles per year, you'll have better things to worry about that the price of chains and oil.

bijan

I don't know if hot soapy water is going to do much (it might even promote rust). Try using some sort of degreaser/solvent to get things really clean. I mean I don't see why you would use degreaser on the chain but not on those other components.

bezzer

I got my information from here, https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/articl...our-bike-18259
just thought it might help.

bijan

Quite thorough. I'm sure the soapy water will get rid of the encrusted mud in those pictures, but I would do as in step 10 in those instructions and take a toothbrush with solvent or degreaser to all those parts.

WD-40 or other spray on general purpose lubricant+solvent sprays while terrible for lubing chains are great for cleaning those pulleys and other light degreasing jobs, very cheap as well and useful around the house too.

It is so cheap that I don't agree with the advice given there of using hot soapy water to reduce costs... I mean it might be better for your health to avoid contact with (harsh) solvents, but given the total ineffectiveness of hot soapy water in getting my hands clean of bike grime even with thorough scrubbing vs a touch from a $3 tub of mechanic's hand degreaser, I am unconvinced of its effectiveness in getting tiny mechanical parts squeaky clean...

ElCiclista

For your road bike the best lube is Test One Lubricant I know of several shops and pro mechanics in my area that use it. It is a teflon based lube, I put it on my chain, cleans and it lubricates it in on single step!

AEO

the hot soapy water is for scrubbing off the dirt and mud that's caked onto the chain lube. It's not directly for degreasing. Soap will cut down oil and grease, which increases surface area, so that a degreaser or enzyme can attack it easier and faster.

FBinNY 

I can't believe how emotional and worked up about chain lube people can be. It seems that everyone has found the one true chain lube, and considers others to be idiots or simply unenlightened. You'd think we were discussing religion, politics or mid-east peace.

I have something of an excuse since it's my living, but am the first to say that you should experiment until you find a chain lube that works for you. Each type of lube has advantages and drawbacks, so there isn't one perfect solution for everyone, including my stuff.

Often it isn't even a technical issue but one of taste and temperament including considerations of how much you value clean appearance, weather resistance, or required frequency of application. Pick a lube, any lube, use it a while and decide what you like and don't like, then read reviews to see which way you want to move from there.

After a while you'll settle on your personal one and only lube and will be posting here, calling everyone else ignorant.

DannoXYZ 

I think also there are differing goals when it comes to chain-lube and usage. Personally, I have the following requirements:


1. as infrequent application as possible. I lube my chain every 250-500 miles depending upon conditions I've ridden in, sometimes in the rain.

2. as long of chain-wear as possible. I get 6000-8000 miles out of my chain before 1/16" stretch and replacement


Sure, other people's requirements may be different and they have their own lube that meets their needs. For me, I use the same stuff Honda recommends for their motorcycle chains. I've found it to be fairly inexpensive (about the same as engine-oil for autos).

Also be careful about using mineral-spirits to cut your oil, it reacts with some oils to create a sticky gooey film. That practice has really only been needed for bushing chains that have very tight gaps that the lube needs to crawl into. The solvent thins the oil and allows it to flow into the bushing better. That practice has really not been necessary since the invention of bushingless chains. Their larger clearances allow regular engine-oil to flow to their innards easily without any thinning needed.

BTW - I wouldn't use soap & water to clean my chain. It is a horrible solvent for non-polar compounds and the water is difficult to remove completely without some rusting, which accelerates wear. I prefer a light non-polar solvent like WD-40 or mineral-spirits.

cyccommute 

First, given the nature of oils (long chain aliphatic compounds), the nature of mineral spirits (short chain aliphatic compounds) and the relative unreactivity of all aliphatic compounds, I doubt that mixing the two would result in any kind of reaction. Reaction, in a chemical sense, means a chemical change of the material. A sticky goo implies polymerization and those kinds of reactions between hydrocarbons just don't occur at any kind of conditions that you could find at home. You'd need catalysts, hydrogen, pressure and a few hundred degree celsius to make those kinds of reactions occur. If you had water present...from cleaning the chain with a water based degreaser...you might make a good emulsion but that's a physical change, not a chemical one.

I've corrected you last sentence. Water is polar while oil and mineral spirits is nonpolar. Soap and water is actually a pretty good solvent for nonpolar compounds...that's why detergents work...but you have to remove the soap following cleaning or else the oils don't go anywhere. That's why you rinse after using soap along with some corrosion issues that might arise from the ionic nature of the surfactant. You are correct that you have to remove the water that is left behind.

rekmeyata

Regardless of what others will say about this, you and I must be on the same track because I too average 7,000 miles on my modern thin chains (after I stopped the wax crap), but average 12,000 miles on my old school wider chains. I no longer soak my chains in solvent just do a light cleaning with the Finish Line Chain Cleaning Machine and never use soap and water or Simple Green to clean a chain. We differ a bit in that I don't use WD40 nor Honda Chain oil, but the Honda chain oil is good for chains I just came to like the Chain L #50 because it lasts a long time and its clean (heck it could be motorcycle chain oil for all I know!).

FBinNY 

Hey, is someone ripping off my parody of the famous perfume label? It's Chain-L N°5. but thanks for the endorsement.

rekmeyata

If that's your oil? I really like it! Thanks for putting it out. It's the best oil I've ever used and I've tried a lot of different brands trying to find the Holy Grail of oil...and I think Chain L is it, but long mileage chain wear is still not in yet. But the chains are quieter, the lube last longer and the chain stays cleaner longer, and the driveline seems to react smoother when shifting. I started using it on two of my bikes that got new chains this last spring so thats the only lube those chains will see is the factory lube and Chain L. Needless to say it will take a few years to accumulate enough miles to check the chain wear since I have several bikes I ride.