Grease

[snomaes]

Don't degrease or use WD40 on chains. Use the Mickle-method. Search this (or chain lubing/cleaning), enough reading for days.

I have always used WD-40 for cleaning chains (soak a cloth with it and then turn the cranks and pass the chain through the cloth until all the crud is removed). I then spray more WD-40 onto a clean cloth and do the same thing again.

I have never had a problem with this method and at this time of year I will probably do it once a week after I have hosed the bike down (after brushing the frame/wheels with a water-soluble de-greaser)

I don't like chain lube; it seems to attract too much carp off the road and gums up the works. WD-40 works just fine as the carrier evaporates and just leaves a fine lubricant behind. It also dispels any moisture remaining on the chain after the bike has been rinsed.

I dont use aerosols, I purchase it in bulk and put it into a spray dispenser as it goes much further and is easier to dispense.

I agree that you should never degrease a chain; just clean it and relube regularly. My chains last for thousands of miles and never get corroded.

 

[e-rider]

Copper based grease is a must where you have disimiliar metals, like a steel frame and alloy seat post. Without it you get corrosion leading to a stuck seat post for example. Ordinary grease only agrevates this situation.

However it's not suitable on all materials that are used on modern bikes like carbon fibre for instance. Some one with a metalurgarist type background would be able to explain better than me!

surely that line is complete nonsense!

 

[CanucksTraveller]

...comes in handy tiny tins.....

As we spoke about it last night, I greased those Allen bolts today with the only vaseline I had handy in the house... which turned out to be a little mini tin of "Lip therapy" with aloe vera that the wife didn't get on with!

I'm sure it'll still work, it's only petroleum jelly at the end of the day.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Aaaaargh! Not aloe vera. Do you not realise that by the the time you get up in the morning, your entire bike will have dissolved into a brown, cruddy, evil-smelling pile of slurry.? Has no-one warned you about this?










The above may or may not be entirely factual. In fact is is unlikely to be entirely factual. In actual fact it is total tosh.

 

[Tollers]

I have always used WD-40 for cleaning chains (soak a cloth with it and then turn the cranks and pass the chain through the cloth until all the crud is removed). I then spray more WD-40 onto a clean cloth and do the same thing again.

I have never had a problem with this method and at this time of year I will probably do it once a week after I have hosed the bike down (after brushing the frame/wheels with a water-soluble de-greaser)

I don't like chain lube; it seems to attract too much carp off the road and gums up the works. WD-40 works just fine as the carrier evaporates and just leaves a fine lubricant behind. It also dispels any moisture remaining on the chain after the bike has been rinsed.

I dont use aerosols, I purchase it in bulk and put it into a spray dispenser as it goes much further and is easier to dispense.

I agree that you should never degrease a chain; just clean it and relube regularly. My chains last for thousands of miles and never get corroded.

http://bicycletutor.com/no-wd40-bike-chain/

 

[snomaes]

http://bicycletutor....d40-bike-chain/

Just goes to show that you cannot believe everything you read on the internet!

 

[michaelrmgreen]

I use this : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=33663  , the small pack has lasted me SEVERAL YEARS and it is fantastic for an all weather bike. It is genuinely better than plain lithium grease and if you DIY its a very good investment based on the time and trouble it saves.

Get some and use it where you would use ordinary lithium grease. You 'll be glad you did.

 

[e-rider]

Just goes to show that you cannot believe everything you read on the internet!

and more specifically, a lot of stuff on CC - WD40 is terrible as a bicycle chain lube!

 

[brodie]

<br />I use this : <a href='http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=33663' target='_blank' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://www.chainreac...x?ModelID=33663</a>  , the small pack has lasted me SEVERAL YEARS and it is fantastic for an all weather bike. It is genuinely better than plain lithium grease and if you DIY its a very good investment based on the time and trouble it saves.<br /><br />Get some and use it where you would use ordinary lithium grease. You 'll be glad you did.<br /><br /><br />

<br /><br /><br />


Those prices are ridiculous: £8 for a tiny 50g tube and £40 for a 500g tub. Works out to an unbelievable £160 per kg for the tube and £80 per kg for the tub.

I'm sure Shimano Dura-Ace grease is great, but you could get perfectly good grease (not from a bike shop) for a fraction of the price.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I swear by Prolink lube, and use Progold EPX grease EPX

 

[ianrauk]

As we spoke about it last night, I greased those Allen bolts today with the only vaseline I had handy in the house... which turned out to be a little mini tin of "Lip therapy" with aloe vera that the wife didn't get on with!

I'm sure it'll still work, it's only petroleum jelly at the end of the day.

Well at least your bike will smell nice...