wphamilton

FWIW, I have experimented with different lubes and finally decided ... the differences between any of them aren't worth worrying about. Extending the life of my $10 chain is a low priority.

If you're rocking featherweight DuraAce stuff the considerations might change.

tyrion

Your efforts are better spent measuring your chain for stretch every few months, and replacing the chain when it gets too worn ("stretched"). New chain for your bike is only $10.

Use any chain lube. Regular cleaning and lubing will make the chain last longer, but it's only $10 for a new chain.

3alarmer 

Phil_gretz

Really, people? Simple anecdotes about what you tried and how you're satisfied?

How is that an experiment. The OP said that he'd like to experiment.

The American Society of Quality Engineering has web instruction on Design of Experiments (DOE), that may be beneficial to the OP. Of course, he'll have to master several disciplines including quantitative methods, and build testing facilities, probably hire a few graduate students or interns....maybe apply for a Government grant. Hmmmm...

Or, he could simply buy some lube and use it...

Wilmingtech

Why re-invent the wheel...

This has been done many times around the world.
Zero Friction Lube Testing

Troul 

or use honey... it'd be the sweetest product on the bicycle!

HillRider

There have been several lab-based experiments testing commercial chain lubes for both friction and durability. A Google search should turn up a number of them including one Velonews magazine did a while ago. Be a bit cynical of the ones sponsored by a specific maker.

Ronsonic 

Cleaning the chain, lubing it and replacing it before it is badly worn - this is far more important than what lube you use or how you clean it.

I will recommend that the wax based stuff in the big box stores is mostly crap. Motor oil is better.

shelbyfv

How will you know which is best?

eja_ bottecchia

Cut the guy some slack, the OP is a newbie.

I’ve been riding for more years than I care to count and I am still experimenting with different chain lubes.

As someone mentioned earlier, Muc-Off seems to be coming out with new lubricant formulations. I like their dry and wet lubes.

BTW, in addition to good lubrication a chain needs regular cleaning (I don’t want to start a how-best-to-clean-a chain debate). A clean and well-lubed chain runs smoother, quieter and it is easier on expensive drive components.

Ride often, ride safely.

eja_ bottecchia

This!

xroadcharlie

I think, as already pointed out, It is more important that we clean and lube the chain regularly then the which brand of chain lube we use

I use WD 40 Wet chain lube because that is what was on the shelf at my local Canadian Tire store. Works fine. Thick enough to not splash on the frame and wheels, Thin enough to penetrate into the chain. They have a Dry chain lube too.

Since a bottle will last me years, I don't even look at the price.

eja_ bottecchia

The only “problem” with articles, like the Velonews write up, is that new lubricants, with better formulations, keep popping up all the time. Hard to keep up with all the new stuff.

Wilfred Laurier

1. After frying your bacon for breakfast on Sunday morning, remove the chain from your bike and soak it in the hot grease.
2. Remove the chain and let it cool/congeal.
3. Re-install chain and report back with results.

I am hoping we can merge this thread with the latest 'chased by a dog' thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...l#post21158084

Wilfred Laurier

Pro tip: If you are on a long ride and need chain lube (caught in the rain and wax lube washes off, for example), go to any gas station, look into the garbage cans by the pumps, and you almost definitely will find an 'empty' motor oil bottle. This bottle will contain ~20-50ml of oil that can be carefully applied to your chain. Apply as thin a coat as you can, let it soak in a bit, then wipe the excess off with a paper towel from the gas station.

zacster

I've tried a lot of different lubes over the years and what I like about Squirt is that it is clean. I stopped rolling up my pants leg and don't worry about grabbing the chain if it derails or when swapping it onto my trainer. There is nothing to get on your hands that doesn't wipe right off. And it also makes the bike silent. The downside is it doesn't last, 100 miles at most.

But any chain lube is better than no lube.

I also have a box of new KMC chains and a chain checker, and am ready to replace any that need it at any time.

cyccommute 

While I agree with your two classes of chain lubricant, I disagree with one having superior performance in wet conditions. People tend to misinterpret their observations of chain lubricants when used in wet conditions. While it is true that wax lubricants will squeak following rain, the lubricant isn't being "washed off" as many people seem to think. Wax doesn't have an appreciable water solubility. It really can't be "washed off". The wax doesn't flow back in to the gaps in the chain so water can get in contact with the metal and cause some oxidation. The chain "squeaks" because the lubricant doesn't back fill. Application of more wax lube following rain can alleviate this problem by filling in the gaps.

Oil, on the other hand, does flow back into the gaps but it also carries water with it. Water and oil will eventually do what water and oil do and phase separate after you quit churning them as you pedal. The water settles out on the bottom right next to the metal and will do the same thing that it does with the wax. The issue is that the oil masks the "squeak" from the oxidation. It's doing the same damage but it's just hidden now. If you ride in rain with an oil based lubricant you should do the same as with a wax based lubricant and reapply following rain.

There is also the issue of grit that the oil traps and transports down into the chain. The only part of the grit that is important is the silicon dioxide part but that is the largest percentage of all the grit in the World. The grit is harder than the steel and erodes it. The result is wear of the chain pins.On yet another hand, the wax, because it can't flow back into gaps after it is forced out, allows for more metal-to-metal contact which results in wear as well.

The point of all this yammering is that both lubricants offer about the same "protection" against wear. Different mechanisms but the result is the same. Whether you use oil or wax, you can expect just about the same amount of wear on a chain. Mike569 can experiment to his heart's content...I never say to someone to not experiment...but I doubt the result is going to be significantly different.

One final point of yammering is mileage between application. I've found through my own experimentation that application of wax doesn't need to be all that often. I get 600 to 700 miles between application of a solvent based wax lubricant. I certainly don't need to apply it every 50 to 100 miles. I get the same mileage out of a chain as most other people report. The advantage I find with the wax lube is that I don't have to clean it all the time. I clean chains once prior to installation. That's the last time I clean them. I lube it when it needs it or after rain but I don't spend a lot of time...in some reported cases here on the Bike Forums, an inordinate amount of time... on cleaning.

cyccommute 

I really wish I had the guts to test that statement. Nothing that you can do to a chain will extend the life much past about 3500 miles. I really wonder if an unlubricated chain on a bike that is kept indoors but ridden outdoors would make that much of a difference?

zacster

I find it just starts getting noisy, or at least not silent, on my road bike after about 100 miles. It probably doesn't bother me enough on my commuter and I go longer on that one, but since I've retired it isn't getting nearly as much use, just occasionally when I run an errand that doesn't require a car or where it doesn't matter that I'm a bit sweaty.

I only clean my chain because I like to have a clean bike and I use the park tool complete wash method, which gets the chain wet regardless. But that's like a twice a year thing unless I get caught in the rain which I rarely do.

cyccommute 

Granted the noise of a waxed chain is different from an oiled one. The question to ask, however, is whether or not that is important? There is a difference between the kind of clattery noise I hear with a waxed chain and the squeak of a rusting chain. I seldom hear a chain that squeaks. My mileage is also similar to what other people using oil report. I don't feel I'm doing anything wrong if I get the same result as others using oil.

I like my chain to be clean. That's really the only thing that bothers me about dirt on bicycles. Since my chain goes on clean and the lubricant I use remains clean, I don't have to do any other kind of cleaning as I would if I were using oil lubricants.

Everything else on my bikes are sealed and no dirt, dust or water can get into them. I don't mind surface dirt and look on it as a badge of honor. Charles Shultz put it well in regards to Pig-Pen

My bikes carries the dust of the ancients upon it!

bpcyclist

Okay, so the million-dollar question, then, is how does just a regular rider who is not a mechanic tell when it's time for a new chain?

3alarmer 

...you measure it.

bpcyclist

Thank you very much!

davidad

Before I began using the ultrasonic cleaner I cleaned my chain in an old Ragu bottle with solvent. A chain lasted a little over 6000 miles. With the cleaner they lasted over 14,000 miles. I replace at 1/16" wear. I use chainsaw bar oil for lube.

cyccommute 

You’ve made these claims before and I find them hard to believe. You are claiming 3 to 5 times what most every other person out there claims. Perhaps you have found some magic elixir but no one else seems to have found the same elixir. I’ve used something similar to chainsaw bar oil (Phil’s Tenaceous Oil) and didn’t find it to be anything other than incredibly messy and a dirt magnet.