Simple question - best chain lube?
 

Newbie here - I ride about 4.5 miles to/from work every day, and I need to start greasing my chain. I have a Cannondale Adventure 400, and am looking for advice on which products to use to keep the bike in tip-top shape. Thanks!

D.J.

You might want to post this in the Bicycle Mechanics forum. Or, better, search the forums first. I'm sure you'll find at least a few threads on this subject. I use Triflow, myself. It seems to work just fine.

Whichever quality chain lube you like. Your choice has very little to do with drive train efficiency and everything to do with wear. Find one that will last as long as you want to go between applications.

I use Dumonde Tech on my mountain bikes, Dumonde Tech Lite on my road bikes, and Phil's Tenacious Oil in the winter. I reapply every 20 or so 25 mile commutes or 10 or so longer rides and use whichever lube generally lasts that long. I didn't like Pedro's Extra Dry, which I guess attracted dirt because it wasn't dry enough, or White Lightning which never seemed to last long enough to reap the benefits it supposedly offered.

I used FinishLine Wax during the winter and it seemed really durable. I'm currently using (and loving) the Boeshield T9 for my road bike. It's another suspended wax style of lube. It sticks the the drivetrain pretty well, but in higher temperatures, stays a pasty liquid consistency on your chain.

Pro Link.

+1 and smells nice too :D

I've recently picked up a bottle of something else which is supposed to be good in the wet because my lbs didn't have my triflow. Only to go a couple weeks later to MEC and discover that they sell triflow at 1/2 the price of my local lbs :mad:

+1 on the Triflow. I use this both on drivetrain as well as all over the rest of the bike.

The best lube is the one that gets used. It's useless if it just sits in the bottle. :D

I use Finish Line Cross Country Wet all year round. Honestly, you can use pretty much any oil on a bike chain. I have a couple of comments on my personal experience with some common products:

Wax-based lubes [White Lightning, Pedro's, Krytech, hot wax dips, etc.] - Not much luck with these, regardless of how clean or dirty my chain was before applying. They were fantastic until exposed to any water/dirt/dust/mud/beer and then just flaked off.
Phil's Tenacious Oil - This might actually be an adhesive of some sort, but it sure does work as protection against winter road salt. In warmer times, it collects dirt and dust like crazy, fusing it into a Tenacious goo that often needed solvent to remove.
MEC Chain Lube - Cheap like borscht, and just as effective. Similar to Phil's, but with very low viscosity, so it gets everywhere. It had some sort of weird reaction with the road salt last winter, creating a semi-plastic coating on my chain and cog[s]. It just didn't want to come off the chain, and it was causing some chainsuck [on a SS no less]. I had to throw out the chain, and use a screwdriver to scrape it off the rear cog. It also somehow never dried, meaning that even the slightest touch would leave dirty oil marks on pets, skin and clothing.
WD-40 - It's great for silencing squeaky hinges and as a tiny flamethrower, but sucked for chain lube. It's basically a light penetrating oil mixed with a solvent that evaporates at room temperature. It is not water or dirt-resistant. It does a great job of dissolving grease, so keep it away from any bearing assemblies [BB, hubs, etc.]
Tri-Flow - Not bad, but didn't last very long when things got wet. Didn't attract dirt too much.
Synthetic motor oil - Not bad, but didn't last very long when things got wet. Didn't attract dirt too much. Doesn't smell as nice as Tri-Flow, but is 1/4 the cost.
Finish Line Cross Country Dry - Not much resistance to water or dirt, but it was a very clean lube.
Finish Line Cross Country Wet - Pretty decent stuff overall. Not as tenacious as Phil's in the winter, but much easier to work with when it's warmer out. It lasts quite a long time between applications. I don't have to clean the chain per se, when it gets dirty I simply apply more lube and wipe off the excess, removing 90% of the dirt in the process. It doesn't stick to the sideplates like the MEC stuff, which is nice.

My $0.02, YMMV...

I'm a fan of Phil's Tenacious myself, maybe the name does it for me :D . It's easy to apply and at least when I was commuting in CA I had to clean my chain all of the time (gunky roads) so lasting power was never an issue.

Rock 'n Roll Gold

www.rocklube.com

If you can find it, Dumonde Tech is great.

+1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 DO NOT use WD-40 on your chain people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I honestly can't remember what I'm using now (don't have it with me) but it's not White Lightning which tends to gunk up a chain. However...to OP, besides lubing the chain, it's also important to clean it. Guy at my LBS holds that you're probably better not lubing if you don't intend to clean it.

Chain lube is for wimps. Just buy a new chain every week and replace it.

Actually, +1 for TriFlow

WD-40 rules in winter. I use it daily in bitter cold and sloppy snow/slush. It has it's place. With chain lubes, I have a drawer full depending on season, conditions, bike, etc. There is no one answer.

According to Lennard Zinn, author of a well-respected bike-repair manual, AVOID wax-based lubes. I read that after I bought mine and used it, naturally. The drag? To switch to a non-wax lube, you have to buy a special wax-lube dissolver. Now I use Pro Link. I think it's great. I'm sure TriFlow and Phil's Tenacious are too.

Phil's tenacious oil, here...

I normally clean my bike up every Monday. This includes the chain as well. I use Phil's Tenacious oil on the chain and the front and rear derailleurs. Be sure to wipe off excess.

It is dirty though. :rolleyes: If you have to carry you bike upstairs or anything train yourself to carry on the non-chain side or else you will have grease on you clothes. (Done that).

There are lots of fine lubes. Mostly pay attention to your chain. :)

I think it's just been a lucky spring (though pouring rain the last 2 days), but I've only put triflow on my new chain twice in 1200 miles. I was lubing up at least weekly during the winter (verrrrrrrrrry rainy). Tried this colossaly messy homebrew mixing auto trans fluid w/ 10w30or40. That could be like Phil's, I don't know. Wasn't completely tenacious, found a lot all over the rest of the bike too. Going to see how well the triflow does during this next rainy season, maybe can retire my oil cans...

I know, I just read that about the wax lube in the Zinn book I just bought and now I'm using White Lightening. so I have to dissolve the wax now??

There's a White Lightning-specific cleaner I used. I have to say, I did notice a difference when I switched.

Is the purpose of the lube to reduce friction between side plates, friction between rollers and cogs/chainrings, friction between the linkpins and rollers, or...?

ProLink.

... Brad

I dig the Finish Line Wet and Dry ones, depending on the conditions.

Dry for the summer because it's really clean. It doesn't attract dirt at all, and my drivetrain stays shiny clean. The downside is that you have to re-apply it every few days if you're cranking out more than 10 miles a day. It's fast, clean, and very impermanent.

Wet for when it's the way Seattle usually is. Yeah we get 3 nice months a year, and then the rainy season kicks in. Finish Line Wet is great at resisting water, but the higher viscosity has the downside of gathering dirt like a vacuum cleaner. Especially all the ground up cinders and sand that the DOT uses on the roads here during the winter. Gotta clean the drivetrain once a week, pretty much.

Dupont Teflon MultiUse Lubricant, comes in squeeze bottle or spray, is my preference.