I appear to be a cycle destroyer

[Nigelnaturist]

I found engine oil collected more crap and stayed on the chain rather than shedding, resulting in a thick black paste. TF2 either isn't holding as much grit on or is droppiing off - I don't know, I'm not lab testing it. I'm not sure what's in weldtite TF2 but at least it doesn't sound as fast as Castol GTX or Finish Line Pro

My garage steel rules and calipers are marked beyond their stated length, presumably for this sort of reason

My 12" steel rule isn't

 

[Banjo]

You only need a tiny amount of oil so the cost isnt really a big issue in the great scheme of things.

Engine oil is designed to work at high temperature with no water present complete opposite of conditions bike chains endure.

I have heard that chainsaw oil can be good but for what its worth I use wet lube bike oil all year round and get chains and cassettes to last longer than most people I speak to.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Banjo I use basic 3-1 type oil and my chains last about 3,000 miles

 

[Banjo]

@Banjo I use basic 3-1 type oil and my chains last about 3,000 miles

About the same mileage as I get .
There are too many variables to make conclusions based on miles alone.

If you ride all weathers on dirty roads or the worst is commuting along a beach side road with sand blown on it.

Even on identical roads someone with powerful legs who grinds up hill in big gears will be stressing the drive chain more than a weak rider like me who needs all the help he can get from the gears.

If 3 in 1 works for you then thats great but compared to the cost of running a bike it would only be a very small cost saving .

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Banjo now I know why they last so long lack of power , I ride all conditions (bar the beach road, though some areas around here were once beaches quite sandy soil), regarding cost small it might be but chances are when I need to replace it I have no spare funds. I try and be sympathetic with my bikes drive chain, I ride a triple so I tend to have a straightish chain line 70% of the time not sure if it helps ( I believe it does) if I road a 50/34 front set I would tend to be towards either end of the cassette for my average gear (59-61") on my setup a 50/38/26 12-27 its almost dead centre of the cassette on the 38th front ring.

 

[Ihatehills]

I think we've cracked it, nothing to do with my shoddy maintenance , I'm just too damned powerful thanks all

 

[Frew]

I'm guessing after 3500 miles on the same cassette and chain I really should be thinking about maintenance beyond just cleaning and lubing. About time I bought some tools I think.

 

[mjr]

I think we've cracked it, nothing to do with my shoddy maintenance , I'm just too damned powerful thanks all

What do you know? That's the same reason my back wheel shifted in the dropouts last week and started fouling a chainstay.

Of course it wasn't that I'd failed to tighten a chain tensioner...

 

[mickle]

My penis is exactly 12 inches long but I don't use it as a rule.

 

[ufkacbln]

I too destroy bicycles!

My Airnimal:

My Catrike Frame:

My Gekko frame:

 

[raleighnut]

I too destroy bicycles!

My Airnimal:

My Catrike Frame:

My Gekko frame:

 

[byegad]

I use Chainsaw oil and riding recumbents, use rather more than one chain on each trike.
One of them takes 2.33 of a standard chain, the other just over 2.5 chains. I lube new chains with chainsaw oil and every 6 months or so give the chain a light spray with GT86 then wipe it off. This seems to re-wet the chainsaw oil. One fairly liberal application of chainsaw oil lasts the life of the chain, which tends to be between 2000 and 3000 miles on average. My cassettes seem to last forever, but probably 3 to 4 chains before they need replacing and I've only ever replaced one chainring, at around 10500 miles on one trike. It was the ring I usually used on my winter trike.