A Stupid Question About Oils And General Bike Maintenance

[greekonabike]

I'm getting incredibly confused about all of the different bike maintenance products and cleaners although I'm also like a kid in the candy shop. I've got myself some cleaner, degreaser and some TF2 wet lube and I'm going to give the bike a wash tomorrow and clean/lube the chain. Is the TF2 stuff suitable for other bits on the bike like lubing the cables and levers or is it worth getting something else. I've read not to use WD40, is 3in1 ok?

Cheers,

GOAB.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Don't fall for the narketing bull. What's important is that stuff is lubed. For chains search the 'mickle method' (not a fan of degreaser) but really any oil will work as long as its clean and present.
BUT, in the wet winter a heavier lube will stay longer on the chain than a thin one.
3:1, motor oil, whatever will wirk. Its a bicycle, not wn F1 car.

 

[greekonabike]

The marketing bumf is beginning to get to me. When I was a kid I'd wash my bike with some fairy liquid and my dad's old car sponge. Then I'd throw some 3in1 all over the chain and crank and ride off into the sun.

It doesn't help when you go into the bike maintenance section of a website and there's polishes, brushes, fifteen different degreaser etc.

GOAB

 

[Fab Foodie]

The marketing bumf is beginning to get to me. When I was a kid I'd wash my bike with some fairy liquid and my dad's old car sponge. Then I'd throw some 3in1 all over the chain and crank and ride off into the sun.

It doesn't help when you go into the bike maintenance section of a website and there's polishes, brushes, fifteen different degreaser etc.

GOAB

Your original aporiach is still valid. Bicycles are simple machines designed for the outdoor life, they're not babies.

 

[raleighnut]

Yep these crappy plastic bikes need all this posh crap or they'll melt, a decent steel bike will survive and prosper on a diet of 3in1 and a wipe with an 'oily rag'

 

[PeteXXX]

The marketing folk are there solely to relieve you of your hard earned pennies..
GT85 seems to have a better reputation than WD40. In fact, some here actually use it as a body rub on themselves due to its lovely aroma.

 

[gilespargiter]

Yep motor oil and grease. Perhaps better to use heavier oils on the chain at this time of year but cooking oil is usually handy.. E.P. (Extreme Pressure) grease in the bearings, due to there slow motion on a bicycle, but mostly make sure it is present, as mentioned above.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Don't necessarily dismiss the fancy branded stuff out of hand, Muc Off wet lube was cheaper than Halfords own brand bike oil recently... look out for things on offer. But yeah it all works, it's all oil.
I use fairy liquid to wash my bike, it's a perfectly good bike cleaner.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I use Progold Prolink exclusively for chains, pivot points on gear mechs, brakes etc, exposed cables, and bike specific grease (Galli currently) where applicable - bearings, bottom bracket, axles, QR spindles etc - just 2 lubrication products. Not expensive - 4 bikes and small amounts last years. I use WD40 for final cleaning - eg individual cassette sprockets, chainrings, off the bike. I spray GT80 all over the bike to protect from rust etc after washing. Copper grease is also used where appropriate - re-assembly, fitting muguards, bottle cage bolts etc. Total outlay = not very much.

 

[Drago]

Gun oil, and a little dab makes a cheap and effective Old Spice substitute.

 

[gbb]

The marketing bumf is beginning to get to me. When I was a kid I'd wash my bike with some fairy liquid and my dad's old car sponge. Then I'd throw some 3in1 all over the chain and crank and ride off into the sun.



GOAB

I think there's a big difference between chains we had as kids and chains nowadays.
As a kid, probably 3 speed or singlespeed straight chainline, nice and heavy duty, wider pins to bear more wear and in all probability, better made.

Nowadays, weight seems to be all important, therefore lighter duty, narrower pins that wear quicker, and chain line is stretched to accommodate ever wider ranges.

I've tried many regimes on 10 speed chains, nothing makes that much difference. Equally, while tinkering with ancient 3 speed bikes for instance, I brought back to life one chain that was literally orange and siezed solid. You'd break a modern chain before getting half way there.

 

[raleighnut]

I think there's a big difference between chains we had as kids and chains nowadays.
As a kid, probably 3 speed or singlespeed straight chainline, nice and heavy duty, wider pins to bear more wear and in all probability, better made.

Nowadays, weight seems to be all important, therefore lighter duty, narrower pins that wear quicker, and chain line is stretched to accommodate ever wider ranges.

I've tried many regimes on 10 speed chains, nothing makes that much difference. Equally, while tinkering with ancient 3 speed bikes for instance, I brought back to life one chain that was literally orange and siezed solid. You'd break a modern chain before getting half way there.

The major change with chains was to leave out the bushing and rely on a pressed section of the inner plate to act as the bush, it allows the chain to flex but does nothing to improve longevity.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I use chainsaw oil on the chain, it's high level of stickiness(or tac, if you will) keeps it from flying off a chainsaw chain, and it lubricates well. It also does so on a bicycle, under more benevolent environmental conditions. If you're a hipster, and wish a synthetic substitute, there are many 2-cycle engine oils out there with the same characteristics.

 

[Dogtrousers]

As long as you do something, it will probably be better than doing nothing. Washing up liquid and hosepipes are just a couple of the things that people warn against that I use (kebabs and pasties are a couple of others), My bikes haven't spontaneously combusted, or melted or gone horribly wrong. (Well, not horribly horribly wrong, anyway)

I have a little bottle of Fancy Expensive Chain Lube that is nearly empty. I think I'll get another because at it lasted ages and did its job, but I'm under no illusions that it will be better than some generic oily oil.

+1 to chains not being what they used to be. And we've gone over the reasons in other threads. Something to do the fact that they don't grow on bushes these days I think.

 

[S-Express]

[QUOTE 4563937, member: 9609"]be very careful with degreasers (inc GT?? & WD40), they make stuff look nice and clean but they destroy the lubricants,[/QUOTE]

It really should come as no surprise that a degreaser will remove lube, as that is what it is designed to do. Use a degreaser, and then simply replace the displaced lube with fresh lube of your choice.