Interesting article on using alternate oils for lubricating your chain.

[Yellow Saddle]

I've been using Prolink Gold, which the bike shop recommended. Not the cheapest (another metric to compare), but seemed to last for ages without washing off or gaining dirt. Of course it's now out of stock everywhere - anyone know anything similar? - it used a "metal binding technology" which meant you didn't need to clean it off particularly, just add fresh now and then.

"Metal Binding Technology" is BS. There is no chemical in oil that can bind (i.e. react chemically with or, bond electromechanically to) steel. Further, all oils used in this application have exactly the same propensity to suspend dirt. Try it for yourself. arrange a few teaspoons of various oils next to each other and sprinkle with dust of sorts. At first the surface tension may have the dust float on the top, but after even the slightest agitation, the dust will be wetted and suspended in the oil.

 

[biking_fox]

"Metal Binding Technology" is BS. There is no chemical in oil that can bind (i.e. react chemically with or, bond electromechanically to) steel. Further, all oils used in this application have exactly the same propensity to suspend dirt. Try it for yourself. arrange a few teaspoons of various oils next to each other and sprinkle with dust of sorts. At first the surface tension may have the dust float on the top, but after even the slightest agitation, the dust will be wetted and suspended in the oil.

There's lithium based grease etc, so that's not exactly true.

 

[Ajax Bay]

"Metal Binding Technology" is BS. There is no chemical in oil that can bind (i.e. react chemically with or, bond electromechanically to) steel.

I restrained myself after reading the Prolink Gold marketing BS! Where angels fear to tread.
"ProGold Prolink Chain Lube - A thin-bodied lubricant which utilises metal friction reducer technology [aka oil] for smooth shifting and a quiet drive train."

There's lithium based grease etc, so that's not exactly true.

The Lithium in lithium grease is in the soap used to thicken the oil into a grease (5-20% of the final grease, depending on viscosity).
For example lithium stearate (LiO2C(CH2)16CH3): unmixed it's soft and white and the amount of lithium in the (ionic) molecule is tiny (O level chemistry can help you work out the fraction).
The lithium soap in the grease does not "bind (i.e. react chemically with or, bond electromechanically) to steel" and nor does the oil (75+% of lithium grease).
@biking fox are there additives in your lithium grease which you think might bind to steel? Do you think e.g. molybdenum disulphide "binds" with the moving metal parts it's lubricating?
Here's the ingredients list (looks like it's Calcium soap used for the very little thickening required (Prolink Gold is v thin)):
https://progoldmfr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/6698-ProLink-Chain-Lube-liquid.pdf

 

[Dadam]

Do you think e.g. molybdenum disulphide "binds" with the moving metal parts it's lubricating?

It doesn't "bind" chemically, i.e. form bonds but it does adhere very well to metal surfaces

 

[Ming the Merciless]

it does adhere very well to metal surfaces

That’s called viscosity, the more viscous the stickier it is.

 

[Dadam]

That’s called viscosity, the more viscous the stickier it is.

Not in this case. molybdenum is a solid so not viscous at all. Basically the crystalline structure forms flat plates that can very easily slide over each other (like graphite), and also fill the tiny surface imperfections that would otherwise gall between the two metal surfaces.

Now for full disclosure this is outside my area of expertise but I found this which seems to explain it quite well:
https://www.valin.com/resources/whi...ty is,force, providing the lubrication effect.

The lamellae tend to align and adhere to contact surfaces, particularly under conditions of sliding and pressure, as shown in Fig 2. This “burnishing in” of the molybdenum disulfide gives it its exceptional performance life.

Fig 2 – Lamellae align and adhere to sliding surfaces.

Since molybdenum disulfide is a solid phase, it is not “squeezed out” like liquid lubricants under conditions of extreme pressure. The lamellae are very “hard” to forces perpendicular to them. This combination of properties provides a very effective “boundary layer” to prevent the lubricated surfaces from contacting each other.

 

[biking_fox]

You wouldn't want anything to bond/react to the metal (that's what happens when rust forms!). What you need is weakly interacting groups preventing anything else from accessing the metal surface. I can imagine all sorts of chelating/ligand type effects where slightly charged groups out-compete water/dirt for access to the (mixed)metals surface, preventing rust/oxidation but being labile enough to allow low friction. I haven't been a chemist for many years, and never specialised in oil formulation.

Practically on the bike, Prolink worked better than anything else I've tried, easier to clean, lasting longer, and effective. I don't need to know the details as long as it made a difference. But as you can't get it any more it doesn't really matter.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

There's lithium based grease etc, so that's not exactly true.

There are plenty of different bases for lubricants. Lithium, Calcium, etc etc. None of them react chemically with the steel, so I'll stick to my original assessment.

 

[Chris S]

What can I lube my Rolex with so it won't make that damned ticking noise? 🤔

Sturmey Archer gear oil

 

[Ajax Bay]

@Dadam - thank you; very interesting.
For the avoidance of doubt, Prolink Gold's ingredient list does not include molybdenum disulphide, but then this oil clearly features unobtainium salts: also not listed.

I've been using Prolink Gold, . . . - it used a "metal binding technology" which meant you didn't need to clean it off particularly, just add fresh now and then.

That's a good thing then?

You wouldn't want anything to bond/react to the metal

Or maybe not?
Metal friction reducer technology in the oil seems much more useful. Could go for 'Silicon Nitrate Acronymic Kinetic Effect' technology?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

What can I lube my Rolex with so it won't make that damned ticking noise? 🤔

Apply rust liberally to the mechanism.

 

[tyred]

I can confirm that putting Hypoid gear oil in your Rolex makes it really quiet.

Does anyone know what time it is as my watch seems to have stopped?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Not in this case. molybdenum is a solid

Which does not occur naturally on the Earth is mostly found as an oxide. What compound does your pro gold oil actually have in it? I can’t imagine a solid metal coming out the applicator very well.

 

[Ajax Bay]

@Ming the Merciless
Not @Dadam 's "pro gold", it's @biking_fox 's.
And this oil hasn't got MoS2 in it anyway, has some Ca salt.
Do keep up

 

[Ajax Bay]

From another place (a long way away, Silca)
"This durable tribofilm technology is really just amazing.. first discovered in France 4 years ago it took F1, MotoGP, etc by storm and has completely changed many aspects of valve train and gear box design, in some cases allowing Ti parts to replace steel without any worry of galling or excessive wear.. there are some awesome photos on our site of SEM and TEM images of cross sections of the tribofilm.

"Having said that, my hope with Synergetic is that we can bring some of this remarkable 'golden age of chain lube' technology to the masses.. I get it that not everybody has the time or desire to remove their chain and completely strip it and wax it by hot melt of SuperSecret drip.

"If you haven't seen the image, the wear testing is pretty phenomenal.. 95% reduction in wear compared to Mobil1 pure synthetic race oil (not the stuff you buy at AutoZone but the pure synthetic..) and 80% wear reduction compared to our prior NFS oil which ZeroFriction tested to be the best oil based lube."

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http://www.SILCA.cc
[Not me!!]
http://www.marginalgainspodcast.cc