Chain oil for bikes - cheaper alternative?

[Gravity Aided]

Great stuff that. I tried it first in this era when I sold my old McCulloch(1960's) and had a bunch of chainsaw oil left over. I had moved house to a new build, and had gas fireplace, so there was no need to cut timber anymore. I also had no idea there was a collector's market for old chainsaws. My folks had previously used bar/chain oil on all our bicycles at home.

 

[Globalti]

I thought chainsaw oil was vegetable oil dyed blue?

 

[TheDoctor]

FFS. Chain oil is cheap and a pot lasts forever. Why fart-arse about with chainsaw oil, which, by the way, is completely the wrong stuff to use. It'll grind your transmission to bits so quick you won't believe it. Super-sticky is the very last thing you want on your chain and sprockets. You may think otherwise, but you're wrong!

 

[arch684]

I buy chain oil from wilkinsons £2. 99 combined with the mickle method works fine

 

[Globalti]

Even Finish Line "dry" wax lube is sticky - I recently rode along the seafront on a windy day and was shocked when I got home to discover that my chain was a mess of sand stuck on and grinding away at the gear teeth.No amount of Mickling would remove that so off it came and into a bath of white spirit.

Abrasive grit is your worst enemy, which is why I clean my chain regularly. I hate having a chain that's "wet" with black oil as it transfers itself to just about everything including my clothes and the inside of my car.

 

[Nigeyy]

Chain lube has always perplexed me. Seems like you don't necessarily really know what is truly working. FWIW, my preferred lube is Boeshield, but generally I'll use or try any chain lube that is on sale and so long as my chain doesn't squeak, I'm good to go. I have also tried motor oil/additives with a 50/50 mineral spirit mix.... but:

i. OK, some kind of lube is generally better than no lube
ii. if a chain is making a squeaky noise, OK, sounds like it needs lubing.....
iii. if a chain is not squeaking after I put lube on, how do I know how efficient it is? In comparison to other lubes?
iv. what about riding conditions? Surely wet weather vs dry dusty may mean a different lube is better than others?

The bottom line is that I think lubes are pretty much guesswork. Even if you think a lube is working well, how do you know? I don't think I've ever seen a professional report of chain lubes. I do think my personal choices usually come down to not liking lube that gunks up or leaves black marks on your calf -but does either of those issues mean the lube is not working as well as other lubes that do? How do you know if one lube lubes better and/or is able to get down in between the links more efficiently than another? I'm not sure.,...is a motor oil mix better than a bike shop sold for purpose lube? For me, some lube is usually better than no lube!

One side note: I really love the advent to quick links where taking your chain off is a doddle -you can then use an old plastic bottle with a magnet and some mineral spirits inside, and then give it some good shakes and it seems to dislodge most bits of grit, dirt and old lube. I use an old wire coat hanger to fish the chain out. Chain will come out sparkling.

FYI: the only reason I like Boeshield is that it seems to attract less dirt, keeps my chain quiet and smells nice. Still not sure about how well it really lubricates though.

 

[Milzy]

Amazing stuff but £25 a tin. :O

 

[Salty seadog]

wet lube all year and a reasonably good cleaning regime....

 

[Drago]

Just out of genuine interest, does a tone use 3in1 on a chain any more?

 

[Gravity Aided]

Zoom bottle and hi-tac bar and chain oil works pretty good, I used it until 3-in 1 came out with a liquid wax oil for chains, I'm pretty happy with that.
3-in-1 was developed for the bicycles in the 1890s.
Or so i was told.

 

[Milzy]

3-1 will gunk up by attracting all kinds of dirt.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I mickel, personally.

 

[Salty seadog]

3-1 will gunk up by attracting all kinds of dirt.

Rubbish....It goes black because it is doing it's job of washing in and out and taking all the crap with it.

 

[Blue Hills]

I've settled on weldtite performance. Like it. Sorted.

But the question remains, how much to use.

I know some folk advocate a drop on every fourth link or whatever. But sounds like a real fag. And possibly too too little to lube properly.

So I just rotate the chain, dribble oil continuously as I do so, then clean. One revolution of the chain. Maybe two revolutions if it's a chain I have just deep cleaned.

Am I using too much?

 

[Blue Hills]

Hmmm ... Weldtite isn't a very inspiring name for a lubricant.

Anyway, if looking to save money, cheaper chain lube isn't going to give much return. At about a fiver for a little bottle that lasts for yonks it'll take a while (many yonks in fact) to recoup an appreciable amount.

Far better to go for a quicker return like ... er ... using old milk bottles for tyre boots instead of those extortionate Park tyre boots that cost £3 a pack .

No it's not perhaps the best name but then it's the name of the company, not the product. And yes it may originate in another age when brand/company names were more straightforward rather than a mess of vowels, blunt even - vagisil anyone?

I have used a range of mysterious oils, some of which implied that they were produced in zero gravity on other planets, but I genuinely like this stuff, Not so liquid that it just drops/flngs off, but liquid enough to, er, lubricate. My drivetrains now run smoothly.

It's also very widely available. And I even suspect that one of the oils sold by Wilco and Decathlon is actually the same stuff. I have also seen Weldtite stuff sold in a fair few Italian bike shops and Italians are rather noted engineers. And know a thing or two about bikes. And are often loathe to use something which they fear makes them look cheap.

So I would dispute this:

>>cheaper chain lube isn't going to give much return.

Spending more with something like bleedin oil isn't necessarily a path to better performance**

Same with quite a few bike things - sometimes life, particularly cycling, can be so simple. Rejoice.

** admittedly I haven't weighed it.