Active Community: Message List - What is the best chain lubricant?

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

Andrew Paule — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:51:15 GMT

I measure the chain to tell how often to replace - my chain wear is significantly less than most of the people I ride with - see 4 ball and load wear index information about why - 20 bucks worth of good lube (and good cleaning) seems to be a pretty good trade. I ride Wipp**** chains for the most part, but I have an S** on one bike and some Cam***** and Reg*** chains that alo show the sameresults.

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

MotiveForcer — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:45:14 GMT

Wow.

There is a whole universe of grease and lube out there!

We also had a question recently on how often one should change a chain. It became an interesting read as I polled three local/Detroit area clubs.

Some good reasoning and some dislogic out there.

BICYCLING reportedly just posted changing the chain every 1000 miles but to me that is when one should measure it. I usually go 2,000 or so and not more than 3 thousand miles. I've not had to replace chain rings in about 18,000 miles so far and the cassette I mostly use is still good too.

Thanks,
EJ

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

Andrew Paule — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:27:00 GMT

Krytox was developed for NASA during the space race - I think in the late 50's - really was just do darn expensive to sell to anyone else, and gradually the aerospace community started using the stuff (it has much better 4 ball and load wear index than any pet based oil or grease), and now it is available (although still pretty expensive) to the public. Remember that grease is just oil with a thickener, most conventional stuff uses lithium or clay or soaps, and that the oil will separate from the thickener in a fairly short time frame. Nye builds a Uniflor series that is even better than the Krytox, but harder to get ahold of, and another step up in cost - but, if you run a 100 dollar chain and a 200 dollar cluster and 200 dollar chain rings, the cost of the grease is pretty minimal. My daily is about ready to get a new chain after 6000 miles, and I beat on the thing pretty hard (plus, I live in Minnesota, where we get nasty conditions often) - just rebuilt the freewheel, and am going to install a new chainring on it also.

Boeshield and Boelube are re-branded stuff from Mobil (Gargoyles mostly) Shell and Dupont (the white Boelube is Krytox). Glad you have access - great stuff. I have parts all over your airframes.

If you want to see what real bearing people use on their bearings, check out NHBB's website sometime - they have a number of in stock lubes and oils, the Chatsworth facility is where gyro and dental motor guys get their bearings.

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

MotiveForcer — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:04:46 GMT

Hey Andrew,

I love it whe "true" experts sign in! Neat.

I've not heard of Krytox products. Is it a specialty brand or generally available in bike shops.

I"ve been using Phil Wood Grease for years, just bought a tube recently as I've been scraping the

bottom of the previous one and just came back from California where I rode from Marin to LA plus some

riding at either end. The Prolink worked okay as I had a convenient non aerosol bottle to travel with. I think

I still prefer Boeshield though.

Thanks for your contribution.

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

Andrew Paule — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:53:17 GMT

Krytox or Nye Uniflor - remember that the wear points are on the pins. In real dusty conditions wax might be the best (melted wax). WD stands for "Water Displacement" - it was designed as a rust inhibitor, not a lubricant, done at Rocket Chemical in 1969. Krytox and Nye are better than the Gargoyles and Shell lubes in the Boelube stuff - why Boeing is a large customer of both companies - i design gyro's, and the real bearing guru's steer me to these types of chemistry - Anderol too, but I use Krytox GPL-226 grease and Krytox XP-1A4 oil on most of my bike parts.

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

piranha333 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:58:28 GMT

All lubes are not created equal so you should use the one that best suits your needs.

A wax lube for dirty situations - you'll have to apply more often (I apply every 100 miles) but you'll have a cleaner chain.

A wet lube - better lubrication but attracts more dirt, apply less often but you'll have a mess to clean up to you do clean your chain.

Good Luck with whatever you choose. I say borrow your buddies and then choose the one you like!!!

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

bl1730a — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:22:16 GMT

The funny smell of the Dumond Tech Lite is not anti-freeze, it is Blue Cheese, giving you a whole other reason to buy it. How may chain lubes can you tell your riding buddies smell like blue cheese?

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

Eric Furlong — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:22:11 GMT

EJ, Funny you mention Pro Link.. I was running low on Boeshield (which is 2X the price of most lubes), so used some spare Pro Link on my 'beater bike' to do a ride a few days ago. It really is a great product. I do prefer Boeshield, but props to Pro Link for a great product at half the cost..

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

MotiveForcer — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:11:43 GMT

Eric,

I haven't tried all of those suggested but I've been a fan of Boeshield for years and what I've been saying is that "If its good enough for JET ENGINES its good enough for my bike!

I like reading about other options however. I've been using Pro link of late as well as Boeshield and I'm still leaning toward the Boeshield. Have not tried several of the others yet.

Re: What is the best chain lubricant?

Sergio Messina — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:22:02 GMT

Put Jig A Lube on the chain after cleaning and ride on smooth and clean. Goes on dry and stays on without attracting very much dirt or grime. Cleans off with simple green and a rag. Purchase in Home Depot, or Walmart motorcycle chain lube area. Good enough for a motorcycle chain good enough for a bike. Sergio