newbie guide: best method to oil lube your chain...?

gixxerdave · Post by **gixxerdave** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:42 pm

a 20 buck can of chain lube lasts me a few months at least and thats for both my bike and the missus's one too.. so if youre using one and a half every month then you must be putting too much on? or youre just doing a helluva lotta k's...

somebody in this thread (who was it? cant be arsed looking for it again) said to use kero and a brush to get the crap out and then a light pressurised water hose to wash it away... thats exactly what i do and i do mine at work, that way i have compressed air to lightly blow out whatever water is left in the links before i apply the lube..

WD40 isnt entirely a good idea - same as degreaser, the stuff eats away at the O rings.

FrogZ · Post by **FrogZ** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:03 pm

I use anything and everything lube wise, always with the tube so I dont get it everywhere, always when hot (after the ride) and when cleaning the bike too JIC but that normally gets a bit "flingy" next ride.
The inside of the O rings are SUPPOSEDLY sealed to keep the grease in and you shouldnt be able to spray lube (or anything) in there or they wouldnt be doing their job. Its also SUPPOSED to stop anything getting in the roller but IMHO thats the only place the lube WILL get. My chains last as good as any from what I have seen and heard (except Saki, damn thats keen).
I like to use the lanolin (it smells like fat) with lithium (is that right? I thought it was a opium drug) its white anyway and goes dry. Motul is good. I dont know that any are bad as such, some just last longer. I personally like ones that are thin to spray but dry out, dont like the "tacky" ones as they attract dirt like Neka to porn

If you stay away from them the chain doesnt get very "dirty" unless its raining.

wazza1234 · Post by **wazza1234** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:41 pm

when I owned a chain drive bike, I would clean it every 1000kms or so using kero, chux and a toothbrush.

As for lube, I originally used a wax (cannot remember the brand, have the remainder of the can lying around somewhere but then I tried mobil chain lube which I got from supercheap for $5 a tin. Worked heaps better, less messy and a tin lasted ages!

RG · Post by RG » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:45 pm

All you need to know is here -->
http://www.reginachain.it/eng/use_and_m ... 3.shtml#01

FrogZ · Post by **FrogZ** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:37 am

Went and had a look at the tin, its from WD-40 and called 3 in 1
It is Lithium in a Lanolin base and is actually for industrial chains among other things. (Suits the Duc well then

) It is not SPECIFICALLY for bikes so i guess I will get the crap bagged out of me

Cheap as chips and goes dry on spraying.
Oh and despite all I said above about O-Rings sealing the grease in i still spray down each side between the plates and then over the rollers as well.
And did I mention that lanolin REALLY REALLY smells...
How kiwis root sheep is beyond me...

Maty10 · Post by **Maty10** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:40 am

Bel-Ray have that great white powdery stuff. Sprays on like a powder and has VERY little fly off (none really).

Personally I do the kero with a brush trick every 1k or 2k kms, and lube every Friday (weekly commute is about 250kms). I've chopped the straw on the lube down to about 4 or 5cms so it doesn't wobble around as much. Then I rest my right hand against the tyre and try to hold it in the one spot. I then spin the tyre like buggery with my left hand while spraying, doing 2 laps, aiming for the o-rings on each side. Seems to give a great coverage, pretty much all of it ends up on the chain and not the tyre.