jonahmano

Is it ok to lube the chain with sewing machine oil? One experienced bike mechanic was suggesting me when I asked him for the best chain lubricant. He was saying why do you waste so much of money on a chain lube?

Any comments?

wschruba

Sure...

But good sewing machine oil costs about the same per ounce as Finish Line wet or dry...

Cyclist0108

I use sewing machine paraffin.

canklecat

Pretty much any oil will do for bike chains. Some folks even use food grade oil, sometimes experimenting with stuff like heating the oiled chain to thicken the oil into a film. Some will last longer than others. But with dedicated bike chain lubes we're getting into hair-splitting territory over which is better. They're all good.

If sewing machine oil is all you have handy, go for it. But eventually it'll be cheaper to get a larger container of a cost effective lube that's a bit more tenacious.

I mostly use paraffin wax because it's clean and my bikes are in the living room. But I'm using wet lube on one hybrid over the winter. It's my errand bike and casual group ride bike.

My main wet lube is Park CL-1, which generally tests as a middling lube, nothing special -- not the slickest, not the slowest. But what I like about it is how tenacious it is. A few days after applying it converts from a typical slick wet oil into a slightly tacky film that does not wash out easily under heavy rain or even bike washes with detergent. A single good application may last all winter or spring. Because of that property -- forming a tenacious, tacky film after a few days -- the film feels a bit like a heavy duty Post-It Note adhesive. It's not an all purpose lube. It'll gum up cables inside housings, it'll make rear derailleur jockey wheels sluggish, etc. It's pretty much just a chain lube and a good value.

But there are lots of good lubes. Just don't overpay. If you want to spend minimal time on chain lubing and cleaning, try Park CL-1 or Chain-L. Both have reputations for tenacity in wet conditions -- I can definitely vouch for Park CL-1 in wet weather. Others I've used, like Tri-Flow, WD-40 and Boeshield T9, need to be reapplied often -- once a week or more often depending on mileage and weather.

DiabloScott

Unlikely to cause chain disintegration, despite what others may say.

Hoopdriver

TriFlow is the oil of choice for vintage sewing machines, one of my other hobbies. I don't like it much as a chain lube though.

rydabent

Why not. Almost any oil is good for lubing chains. OTOH WD-40, wax, and other high priced mouse milk probably is not.

rhenning

I also have 3 old Singers and TriFlow is the oil of choice for them. I suspect it is partly because it isn't a dirty oil that stains fabric. I have a Singer 201-2, a Singer 192K Spartan and a Japanese 99K clone called a RAICO. Roger

HillRider

Waste so much money on chain lube? Let's see, unless you are maintaining a rental fleet of bikes, a $5- $10 4-oz bottle of most chain lubes advertised as bike-specific will last well over a year. How much is sewing machine oil? I expect it's priced about the same and just as much a "waste of money".

There are dozens of threads on this forum arguing (often heatedly) about "what's the best chain lube" and every poster has his or her reasons for what they use. Since there are so many brands and types of chain lube on the market, it should be obvious there is no single "best" lube or it would have driven all of the others out of business.

As canklecat summarized; "Pretty much any oil will do for bike chains".

DiabloScott

I wonder if sewingmachineforums.com has threads like this...asking about chain lube...ha!... threads.😀

JanMM

Sew funny!!!

brandonk

Sure, but no need to lick the chain when threading the derailer.

davidad

Chainsaw bar oil and mineral spirits to dilute it.

EdwinHeadwind

I use Tri-Flow for all my chains as well as for lubricating the moving parts on my pedal steel guitar. A five-ounce drip bottle costs about $7.50 and lasts at least a year, even with six bikes to maintain.

zacster

I've used Finish Line dry, TriFlow, and now have started using Squirt. Squirt is wax based and needs to be applied a lot more frequently than anything I've used before, but it runs really quiet and clean. It is relatively expensive since you use more of it, but considering how much we all spend on our bikes it is a drop in the bucket. I've gone through half the bottle in about 6 months.

fietsbob

Why? It the only thing you have?








...

_ForceD_

rhenning

Yes sewing machine forums also argue the merits of the oils used. Tri-flow versus Singer and others for example. Roger

Hoopdriver

The sewing machine groups that I follow have a lot of discussions about lubes; however no way as rowdy and polarized as this place.

fietsbob

just get the little squeeze bottles with a straw and direct this precious fluid in just the right places

half true;
Teflon was part of the Nuclear Weapons (Manhattan) project.
it has just a tiny- little longer seal at those temperatures
to get the Implosion around the Pit, simultaneous from all directions.

It also is self lubricating..
you think a spray can is expensive for your Huffy Budget ?

just think of what a 8' by 10' sheet of it an inch thick would cost,
its used in making bushings for machinery, such a Ballistic Missile Submarines would have aboard.

you pay for that too.. your share is due April 15th .. every year..







.....

cyccommute 

Nope. Teflon was used in the manufacturing process of the pit but there are lots of other materials that would stand up to the temperatures of the implosion much better...even lots of other organic materials that would fair better. Teflon decomposes at about 250°C.

Teflon was used to line the pipes and make seals for the UF6 (aka "hex" or uranium hexafloride) that is highly corrosive to other materials.

Teflon was a serendipitous invention by Roy Plunket while trying to develop a new refrigerant for DuPont. It was discovered by dumb luck and happy accident.

Teamprovicycle

Try some baby powder you might just revolutionized the industry .

BikingTech

I lube my chain with the blood, sweat and tears from working for the Man.

wrk101

ATF for the win cost wise (automatic transmission fluid). Used it for decades on motorcycle chains as well as bicycle chains. A bottle of it will last you forever.

robertorolfo

I got this. Just FYI, since nobody else mentioned it. I got it!