oil chains and costs

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jackthelad

Well-Known Member
guys I am spending quite a bit of cash on degreaser and oil for chains for quite a few bikes in the family. was wondering if its better using chain saw oil for lubing the chain which is roughly £1.00 a litre and forget about buying degreaser and just replacing the chains after a year of use or when they wear.

Was wondering if anyone can give advice on the above

thanks for any replys

jackthelad

ps anyone know the best price on the net for 8speed and 9 speed chains mtb and road
 

Ranger

New Member
Location
Fife borders
The thing you need to know about chainsaw oil is that it is very, very thick (some much so in forms strings between you fingers much like drying glue) and is designed to collect all the crap that is generated a then be thrown off the chain at the nose end of the bar, and also to operate at a high temperature. This is why a chainsaw has a chain oil tank and uses around a litre a day.

For this reason I would suggest that chainsaw oil is not really suited to bike chains, unless you really want to collect all the road crap you can!!
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Somethings always occured to me about degreaser....if you clean the chain and then immediately apply oil...if the degreasers not been completely removed or dried out, it'll immediately start breaking down the oil you apply to the chain and somewhat undo all your good work.

Nothing wrong with degreaser, but i think it'll cause a problem if you dont get rid of every bit of it before applying oil.

Personally i have a smallish tub of engine oil. Remove chain (if you have a quick link), wipe it, soak in the oilbath, hang to drip most of the excess off the chain, wipe chain again then re-fit.

Its quick and painless. The chain can soak as long as you want, and if you add together the removal, wiping and refitting time....its minutes.
Soaking time and drip time is as long as you want, but you can be doing something else in the meantime.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Forget degreaser, and just use a dropper bottle for oiling (drop a 'blob' on each roller) - but use a proper lube. Clean chain with an oily rag.
 
OP
OP
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jackthelad

Well-Known Member
guys thanks for the replies,probably me just being a cheap skate,probably bought the wrong degresser and oil ,i have them in a spray.maybe go the liquid direction,thought the spray would be easier but more costly

jackthelad
 

Archie

Errrr.....
This will last years. You're probably buying cycling specific aerosol degreaser which is why you're paying a fortune for the privilege. I used it for cleaning an old bike I'd stripped and rebuilt, and for the occasional clean up of the family bikes when required.

Which brings me to my question: How are you using so much degreaser? You don't need to degrease every time, just in the most dire circumstances. As pointed out already it probably does more harm than good.

Plus, with four bikes to maintain a bottle of Finish Line Cross Country still lasts me over a year. You can probably ease up on the amount of lube your using.

Do a search on "Mickle method" on this site and give that a try.
 

Tinuts

Wham Bam Helmet Cam
Location
London, UK.
jackthelad said:
guys thanks for the replies,probably me just being a cheap skate,probably bought the wrong degresser and oil ,i have them in a spray.maybe go the liquid direction,thought the spray would be easier but more costly

jackthelad

I've been using chainsaw oil and it works for me. As long as I don't leave the chain swimming in the stuff it doesn't appear to attract any more gunk than usual. I tried some of the wax type lubricants and, in addition to being costly, they really didn't last long.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Finish Line Pro Road Ceramic - costs £4 for a tiny bottle looks expensive...but lasted over 12 months used on 4 bikes. I'm on the 3rd chain on the commuter bike, and 2nd 16T sprocket.....

I rarely ever use degreaser - MTB maybe once in a blue moon.

Spray lube is so wasteful, and it sprays the links and just about everywhere.... - you only need oil the roller...oil does disperse on the links anyway.
 
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