What's a good lubricant for chains?

In article <[email hidden]>, John Leonard

Quoted message said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing
product and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey
and to attract and hold particles.

I use either Tri-Flow in a dripper bottle or motor oil depending on the bike and conditions.

John Leonard said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has
its detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing
product and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and
gooey and to attract and hold particles.

John Leonard

WD40 is not a lubricant, it is an antisieze agent. It will not stay on your chain, you need
something thicker. Example: I use WD40 to move parts that have rusted together, but once they are
apart, I immediately apply grease/oil. For chains I use Phil Woods tenacious oil (designed for
bikes). Some people prefer to use cheaper automotive or chainsaw lubricants, but it works well for
me and my $10 bottle should last a long time.

Adam

Many of the people I know here around the mid-Atlantic swear by Prolink.

Best lube depends on the application and conditions, dirty, off road, wet, etc.

"John Leonard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a
mainstay, although it has its detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance,
I've read that it is actually a water bearing product and thus actually
promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey and

to

Quoted message said:

attract and hold particles.

John Leonard

John Leonard' may have said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing
product and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey
and to attract and hold particles.

WD40 gets its name from "Water Displacement", which is what it was originally developed for. It is a
terrible lubricant for anything that actually bears a load. If you want an expensive lesson in how
poor its lubricating qualities are, buy any gear puller, put WD40 on the threads of the screw, and
use the puller to remove something that's firmly installed. Or, I should say, *strip the screw*
while trying to remove something, because that's what's likely to happen.

Opinions as to what is a *good* chain lube vary. Pedro's (wet), Phil's, and several of the other
name-brand bike specialty lubes all seem to work pretty well, and each has its adherents. (Pedro's
wax seems to have some durability problems for many people, though.) Ordinary motor oil and chain
lube for chain saws also has a strong following, with apparently good results, and both have the
inherent advantages of being cheap and available at Wal-Mart. A few folks also use paraffin wax,
applied by dropping the freshly-cleaned chain into a bath of it at a hot enough temp to boil out any
water; the chain has to be installed and ridden before it cools if this trick is used.

My personal opinion is that from what I've tried, I see no reason to favor expensive lubes over
cheap ones in ordinary applications, as long as it *is* a lubricant. WD-40 isn't a lube as far as
I'm concerned. Paraffin is perhaps a special case, I've got one waxed chain that seems to be doing
pretty well, but it hasn't accumulated a lot of miles. The only porbable things to avoid that I'll
note are the so-called "dry" lubes; they often seem to function poorly. Likewise, Teflon does
zip-zero-zilch-nada as a lubricant additive in this type of application, so any lube that has Teflon
in it is relying on the rest of the product (and not the famous additive) for its action.. (That's
from DuPont's engineers, and they *make* the stuff.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

In article <[email hidden]>, "John Leonard"

Quoted message said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing product
and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey and to
attract and hold particles.

No it's not (I've done it).

WD-40 is reputed to ruin the wood of a high power rifle and to seep into the primers of center fire
amo and ruin them.

Motor oil or chain saw bar oil will do what you want for a whole lot less than the fancy brand label
bike lubes. Or check what a motorcycle shop is selling for chain lube.

Tom Gibb <[email hidden]

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains?

No. WD-40 is not a lubricant.

Quoted message said:

It's something of a mainstay, although it has its detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've
read that it is actually a water bearing product and thus actually promotes rust.

No, the WD in WD-40 is for water displacing. So it does not promote rust.

Quoted message said:

I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey and to attract and hold particles.

As you found out, graphite is not that good a choice either.

A cheap, easy to find, and excellent lube is regular motor oil. You can get a quart for $1 and
it will last a long time. If you want fancier lube, you can get a quart of mobil 1 synthetic
for $4/quart.
------------------
Alex

Check out the Dumonde website. I use this stuff and it seems to lube the chain and silence it like
no other I have used in the past.

John Leonard said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing
product and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey
and to attract and hold particles.

As you've probably guessed from the responses so far, chain lubrication tends to be a somewhat
religious issue. I'd guess that a google groups search for "chain" and "lubrication" in
rec.bicycles.* would turn up literally hundreds of articles. One thing most agree on: WD-40 is NOT a
lubricant.

Being a bit of a retro-grouch I still hot wax my chains, at least on my "good" bikes. I use White
Lightning on my MTB and touring bikes. I'm pretty happy with the results of both methods.

Some (like Jobst) just use motor oil. After oiling the chain it's recommended that it be wiped clean
before use, else it picks up lots of road grit.

BTW, I just tried the above and found 1660 articles. I'm beginning to think there are no new
questions to be asked on r.b.t. Every answer can probably be found on google groups. :-)

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

"John Leonard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing product
and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey and to
attract and hold particles.

John Leonard

OK. irreverent (and probably dumb) questions: Just how good a lubricant is actually needed? Is a
bicycle chain a particularly demanding application? Or is it that just a little bit of friction in
each of those many chain pins adds up to make it worthwhile to use a "good" lubricant?

Otherwise it seems to me that the flushing and rust-inhibiting capabilities of WD-40 are what's
valuable. I've read here repeatedly that what kills chains is road grit, rather than metal-on-metal
friction. In any case, I doubt I'm fast enough to create any significant heat build-up in my chain!

In fact, I use Phil's. But do the deficiencies of WD-40 actually make a difference?

Peter Storey

John Leonard said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing product
and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey and to
attract and hold particles.

WD-40 is a great product for lots of uses. Lubricating chains, or much of anything else mechanical,
is not one such use.

"WD" stands for Water Displacer, although it might as well be Wrecks Derailleurs. I doubt it
contains water, but I guarantee your chain will rust if you use WD-40 as it's lube.

This question is one of the most common discussions on this newsfroup; search groups.google.com for
chain lube discussions here and see what everybody uses and what they think of their choice.

Quoted message said:

John Leonard

--
Rick Onanian

(TBGibb) may have said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "John Leonard"

Quoted message said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read that it is actually a water bearing product
and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey and to
attract and hold particles.

No it's not (I've done it).

WD-40 is reputed to ruin the wood of a high power rifle and to seep into the primers of center fire
amo and ruin them.

Motor oil or chain saw bar oil will do what you want for a whole lot less than the fancy brand
label bike lubes. Or check what a motorcycle shop is selling for chain lube.

Motorcycle shops have the same chain lube issues as bicycle shops. Boutique products tend to
dominate, some good, some mediocre, many overpriced. Some made-for-motorcycle chain lubes are thick,
black, and nasty.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

Thanks to everyone. I now have a lot of informed opinions to go on.

John

"Peter Storey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"John Leonard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has its
detractors. On gun newsgroups, for

instance,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've read that it is actually a water bearing product and thus actually promotes rust. I've
tried graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey

and to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

attract and hold particles.

John Leonard

OK. irreverent (and probably dumb) questions: Just how good a lubricant is actually needed? Is a
bicycle chain a particularly demanding application? Or is it that just a little bit of friction in
each of those many chain pins adds up to make it worthwhile to use a "good" lubricant?

Otherwise it seems to me that the flushing and rust-inhibiting capabilities of WD-40 are what's
valuable. I've read here repeatedly that what kills chains is road grit, rather than
metal-on-metal friction. In any case, I doubt I'm fast enough to create any significant heat
build-up in my chain!

In fact, I use Phil's. But do the deficiencies of WD-40 actually make a difference?

Peter Storey

(Peter Storey) may have said:

do the deficiencies of WD-40 actually make a difference?

Yes. Many years ago, my father got a great deal on a case of WD-40 in spray cans. He started using
it as a lube on everything in sight, including my bike chain. Within a couple of months, I had to
adjust the slack out of it *twice*, after having ridden it for a couple of years on motor oil with
only one slack buildup. (Same ride each day, single-speed chain, not high-tech in any way.) The
third time that the chain got slack, I took it off and hauled it to the lbs to see what they could
tell me. The guy there checked it with a ruler, said it was worn out, and then sniffed it. "You been
using WD40 on this?" "Yes." "Don't do that. Use oil."

That was in 1968.

Two years ago, my Escort's clutch pedal linkage started to squeak. Not thinking clearly, I grabbed
the can of WD40 and doused the clevis and pin. Two weeks later, it was squeaking again, doused
again, repeat cycle a second time...and then it dawned on me that I might be making things worse
instead of better with this. So I pulled the clevis. The pin and the clevis were both badly worn,
and so was the hole in the clutch pedal.. They'd had only negligible wear when I'd pulled the clevis
a few months prior while doing some other work.

I still have a can of WD40, but now I remember not to use it where a *lubricant* is needed.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Some made-for-motorcycle chain lubes are thick, black, and nasty.

It's late, so we'll let that line go 🙂

Bill "good night, now" S.

Chain guck is 'thick, black and nasty' when it comes off, so it only is reasonable that that is how
it goes on.

"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Motorcycle shops have the same chain lube issues as bicycle shops. Boutique products tend to
dominate, some good, some mediocre, many overpriced. Some made-for-motorcycle chain lubes are
thick, black, and nasty.

Mobil-1.

Clean chain first with diesel (not petrol)

"John Leonard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's
something of a mainstay, although it has its detractors. On gun newsgroups, for instance, I've read
that it is actually a water bearing product and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried graphite but
it seems to be thick and gooey and to attract and hold particles.

John Leonard

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 01:00:54 GMT, "Jacobe Hazzard" <[email hidden]> may

have said:

WD40 is not a lubricant, it is an antisieze agent.

I think you meant to say "penetrating agent", which it is appropriate as. "Antisieze agents" are
extreme pressure lubricants which are applied to prevent siezure, not things to unsieze something
that has already become bound up. Typical use on a bike: BB on a titanium frame.

Quoted message said:

It will not stay on your chain, you need something thicker. Example: I use WD40 to move parts that
have rusted together, but once they are apart, I immediately apply grease/oil.

Agreed.

Quoted message said:

For chains I use Phil Woods tenacious oil (designed for bikes). Some people prefer to use
cheaper automotive or chainsaw lubricants, but it works well for me and my $10 bottle should
last a long time.

That's the thing we often lose sight of; for the user who only needs to lube a chain perhaps once
every few weeks (i.e., the non-commuter occasional pleasure rider), almost none of the decent lubes
are overly costly in the long run.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

Alex Rodriguez said:

No, the WD in WD-40 is for water displacing. So it does not promote rust.

Intuitively, you would expect that's true. However, in experience, you will find that items treated
with WD-40 will rust very easily.

WD-40 is great for loosening rusted stuff, but it does seem to make stuff rust faster than if it was
completely clean and lacking WD-40.

Quoted message said:

get a quart for $1 and it will last a long time. If you want fancier lube, you can get a quart of
mobil 1 synthetic for $4/quart.

Mobil 1 has the reputation of being the best there is for automotive engines; maybe it would indeed
work well for a bicycle.

Quoted message said:

------------------
Alex

--
Rick Onanian

Why do I have to install and run the chain while it is hot when I wax??? Snake (remove the
DASHES in .com)

"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Leonard' may have said:

Is WD-40 a good lubricant for bicycle chains? It's something of a mainstay, although it has
its detractors. On gun newsgroups, for

instance,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've read that it is actually a water bearing product and thus actually promotes rust. I've tried
graphite but it seems to be thick and gooey and

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

attract and hold particles.

WD40 gets its name from "Water Displacement", which is what it was originally developed for. It is
a terrible lubricant for anything that actually bears a load. If you want an expensive lesson in
how poor its lubricating qualities are, buy any gear puller, put WD40 on the threads of the screw,
and use the puller to remove something that's firmly installed. Or, I should say, *strip the
screw* while trying to remove something, because that's what's likely to happen.

Opinions as to what is a *good* chain lube vary. Pedro's (wet), Phil's, and several of the other
name-brand bike specialty lubes all seem to work pretty well, and each has its adherents. (Pedro's
wax seems to have some durability problems for many people, though.) Ordinary motor oil and chain
lube for chain saws also has a strong following, with apparently good results, and both have the
inherent advantages of being cheap and available at Wal-Mart. A few folks also use paraffin wax,
applied by dropping the freshly-cleaned chain into a bath of it at a hot enough temp to boil out
any water; the chain has to be installed and ridden before it cools if this trick is used.

My personal opinion is that from what I've tried, I see no reason to favor expensive lubes over
cheap ones in ordinary applications, as long as it *is* a lubricant. WD-40 isn't a lube as far as
I'm concerned. Paraffin is perhaps a special case, I've got one waxed chain that seems to be doing
pretty well, but it hasn't accumulated a lot of miles. The only porbable things to avoid that I'll
note are the so-called "dry" lubes; they often seem to function poorly. Likewise, Teflon does
zip-zero-zilch-nada as a lubricant additive in this type of application, so any lube that has
Teflon in it is relying on the rest of the product (and not the famous additive) for its action..
(That's from DuPont's engineers, and they *make* the stuff.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.