Rock N Roll Lube Any good?

I've been using White Lightning on my chain, but got annoyed at the buildup on the cassette and on
the chain, etc. So when I was at the bikeshop tonight, they had Rock-N-Roll lube there. Talked to
the mechanics and they swear by it, so I picked up some of the Gold lube. I completely cleaned my
chain, pulled the cassette apart, etc and now have the "Gold" lube on there. Test ride was QUIET,
but time will tell. I should have about 100 miles on it by the weekend, but so far it seems like it
may do the trick.

Anyone else use it?

--
Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6
8C71 As the saying goes, if you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach him to grep for
fish, he'll leave you alone all weekend. If you encourage him to beg for fish, pretty soon
c.l.p.misc will smell like a three-week-dead trout. -- Tom Phoenix, c.l.p.misc.

 

Mark Wolfe <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I've been using White Lightning on my chain, but got annoyed at the buildup on the cassette and on
> the chain, etc. So when I was at the bikeshop tonight, they had Rock-N-Roll lube there. Talked to
> the mechanics and they swear by it, so I picked up some of the Gold lube. I completely cleaned my
> chain, pulled the cassette apart, etc and now have the "Gold" lube on there. Test ride was QUIET,
> but time will tell. I should have about 100 miles on it by the weekend, but so far it seems like
> it may do the trick.
>
> Anyone else use it?

I bought some too and gave it a try. I had the same experience as you…it works great on a clean
chain for a short period of time. But, so do motor oil, Tri-flow, WD-40, and all the flavors of
chain specific lubs out there. It was the Rock & Roll instructions on how to clean your chain that
blew me away. To paraphrase them: Pour a bunch of the stuff on the outside of the chain while
running it backwards. Pour it on the chain as it passes over the big chainwheel; don't be shy, use
vast quantities because it is cleaning and lubricating the drive; then run the chain backwards for a
short period of time; wipe; shift to the small chainwheel so you can wipe off the big one, and,
viola, you're done.

OK, you can call me gullible, call me a sucker, call me dumb, say I shoulda listened to others
who've seen more and ridden far more then me and you'd be right. But, sometimes, I like to live on
the edge so I thought I'd give Rock and Roll a try, but those instructions had me laughing so much
that I spilled more on the floor then on my chain.

Does it work? My answer is I've got a clean floor and half a bottle of the stuff left. I'd be happy
to give it away so someone else can try it out. I'm back to the 10W30.

I can suggest the following for actual information on the subject:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=chain+lube+%2Bbrandt&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=pedaler-8945E9.22360-
210112000%40news-server&rnum=1

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8d.2.html

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

 

Steve Shapiro's opinion that automotive lube is as highly refined a lube as you can get does have
seom merit, and a very good frame designer and mechanic named Mike Burrows claims to use 10W30, but
there are also some good bike mechanics who see merit in specialty lubes, namely Lennard Zinn and
Sheldon Brown. Lennard Zinn is a BIG fan of the prolink ProGold lube, and Sheldon brown seems to
acknowledge that specialty chain lubes may be easier to apply because they are lighter in weight and
lower in viscosity and tend to get better penetration because of capilary action.

My own opinion is that the Rock 'N' Roll lubes keep the chain clean, lubricated, and quiet more
reliably than automotive lubes. Automotive lubes are designed to withstand temperatures and speeds
that bicycle lubes need not be able to take, and they simply work in a much different environment
and to a much different set of requirements than cycling lubes. My feeling is a few of these cycling
lube companies do in fact know what they are doing.

I have had good luck with the Rock-N-Roll 'Extreme' and 'Dry' lubes when using them on my road and
mountain bike, respectively. Both result in a very quiet drivetrain which seems to stay clean and
lubed for a longer period of time than some other lubes. I have not tried the 'Gold' lube, but Rock
'N' Roll's own literature claims that it is a more effective lube but that doesn't last as long as
the other two.

The 'extreme' lube is particularly good in wet conditions, when some other lubes tend to wash away
at the first stream crossing. Specifically I have had poor luck in wet conditions with some
water-based lubes and with Psycho lube.

It is worth pointing out that the type of lube you need depends a little bit on where you ride.
Some lubes and lubrication methods attract dirt and dust more readily than others. Some handle
water better than others. When I was moved from dry, dusty Los Angeles to rainy, sandy Auckland,
New Zealand, I found I had better luck with different lubes. Now that I am in maryland I have
gone to Rock 'N' Roll because it seems to perform pretty well in a range of conditions. Your
mileage may vary.

Bill _/)_

"Mark Wolfe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been using White Lightning on my chain, but got annoyed at the buildup on the cassette and on
> the chain, etc. So when I was at the bikeshop tonight, they had Rock-N-Roll lube there. Talked to
> the mechanics and they swear by it, so I picked up some of the Gold lube. I completely cleaned my
> chain, pulled the cassette apart, etc and now have the "Gold" lube on there. Test ride was QUIET,
> but time will tell. I should have about 100 miles on it by the weekend, but so far it seems like
> it may do the trick.
>
> Anyone else use it?
>
>
> --
> Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6
> 8C71 As the saying goes, if you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach him to grep for
> fish, he'll leave you alone all weekend. If you encourage him to beg for fish, pretty soon
> c.l.p.misc will smell like a three-week-dead trout. -- Tom Phoenix, c.l.p.misc.

 

I'm giving it a shot, seems pretty good so far. Got tired of the waxy gunk buildup that
whitelighting made, so I completely disassembled and cleaned the drivetrain last night. Then put the
Gold on, so far so good.

GigaNews wrote:

>
> Steve Shapiro's opinion that automotive lube is as highly refined a lube as you can get does have
> seom merit, and a very good frame designer and mechanic named Mike Burrows claims to use 10W30,
> but there are also some good bike mechanics who see merit in specialty lubes, namely Lennard Zinn
> and Sheldon Brown. Lennard Zinn is a BIG fan of the prolink ProGold lube, and Sheldon brown seems
> to acknowledge that specialty chain lubes may be easier to apply because they are lighter in
> weight and lower in viscosity and tend to get better penetration because of capilary action.
>
> My own opinion is that the Rock 'N' Roll lubes keep the chain clean, lubricated, and quiet more
> reliably than automotive lubes. Automotive lubes are designed to withstand temperatures and speeds
> that bicycle lubes need not be able to take, and they simply work in a much different environment
> and to a much different set of requirements than cycling lubes. My feeling is a few of these
> cycling lube companies do in fact know what they are doing.
>
> I have had good luck with the Rock-N-Roll 'Extreme' and 'Dry' lubes when using them on my road and
> mountain bike, respectively. Both result in a very quiet drivetrain which seems to stay clean and
> lubed for a longer period of time than some other lubes. I have not tried the 'Gold' lube, but
> Rock 'N' Roll's own literature claims that it is a more effective lube but that doesn't last as
> long as the other two.
>
> The 'extreme' lube is particularly good in wet conditions, when some other lubes tend to wash away
> at the first stream crossing. Specifically I have had poor luck in wet conditions with some
> water-based lubes and with
> Psycho lube.
>
> It is worth pointing out that the type of lube you need depends a little bit on where you ride.
> Some lubes and lubrication methods attract dirt and dust more readily than others. Some handle
> water better than others. When I was moved from dry, dusty Los Angeles to rainy, sandy Auckland,
> New Zealand, I found I had better luck with different lubes. Now that I am in maryland I have gone
> to Rock 'N' Roll because it seems to perform pretty well in a range of conditions. Your mileage
> may vary.
>
> Bill _/)_
>
>
> "Mark Wolfe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I've been using White Lightning on my chain, but got annoyed at the buildup on the cassette and
>> on the chain, etc. So when I was at the bikeshop tonight, they had Rock-N-Roll lube there. Talked
>> to the mechanics and they swear by it, so I picked up some of the Gold lube. I completely cleaned
>> my chain, pulled the cassette apart, etc and now have the "Gold" lube on there. Test ride was
>> QUIET, but time will tell. I should have about 100 miles on it by the weekend, but so far it
>> seems like it may do the trick.
>>
>> Anyone else use it?
>>
>>
>> --
>> Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6
>> 8C71 As the saying goes, if you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach him to grep
>> for fish, he'll leave you alone all weekend. If you encourage him to beg for fish, pretty soon
>> c.l.p.misc will smell like a three-week-dead trout. -- Tom Phoenix, c.l.p.misc.

--
Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6
8C71 And tomorrow will be like today, only more so. -- Isaiah 56:12, New Standard Version