travelinhobo

Ok, I don't see this on a search. WD40 - good or bad as a chain lube? 20 yrs ago when I first got into biking, I'm sure I read not to use it and never have. I'm a Tri-flow gal. However, recently 1 person told me it's good for cleaning the chain and another said it's good for lubing! Feedback, please.

jwh20

WD-40 is a solvent not a lubricant. It does lubricate some especially when first applied but it's designed to evaporate and it doesn't leave much behind that is of lubrication value. While it's better than nothing, there are much better choices.

prathmann

I've found the original WD-40 product to work fine as a lubricant, but it doesn't last particularly long - especially if you ride in the rain. So you need to keep reapplying it more often than thicker lubricants. WD-40 also makes a product marketed as a bike lubricant that does last longer than their original product.

ericy

Are we talking about ordinary WD-40 that has been out there for decades, or are we talking about the bike related products that they now have on the market?

I use Tri-flow myself - WD40 is good for loosening rusty nuts and cleaning (but not cleaning chains). The old WD40 is something I would never use on a chain - the bike specific stuff I have never really considered, and I don't have much of an opinion about those products.

scottmcd

Stick with your Tri-Flow its pretty darn good stuff, I have never had any issues with the product. i have used it for over 20 years one of the best lubes I have used, being a mechanic for close to 30 I have seen a lot.

texaspandj

Wd40 is all I use for cleaning and lubing chains. If you use one bike and bike 300 miles or less a week, you just clean and lube when you wash your bike at the end of the week. If you have 4 or 5 bikes that you rotate then maybe once every three or four weeks. If on the other hand you only ride 100 miles or less a week you can use wd40 as a cleaner/lubricant every 3 to 4 weeks.
If you have removed manufacturers lube with paint thinner , mineral spirits etc, wd40 will not be enough. You'll have to resort to one of the methods mentioned here. Other wise wd40 works to both clean and lube when manufacturers lube hasn't been removed. .
Tip, using a rag as a back stop, simply spray chain as you turn cranks slowly making sure to wipe at the same time.

Oneder

wd40 doesn't make a mess. I doubt very many people really need heavy duty lubes for normal street riding anyway.

ddeand 

79pmooney

Stick with the TriFlo. Good stuff. I've used it for decades. I occasionally drift off to something else but always come back. I buy new chains,install and just wipe off the factory grease as best I can. When the chain starts squeaking, I love it with TriFlo, not removing the original grease. Then it is just wipe and lube until it is time for a new chain. Clean the cogs and chainrings and repeat. Easy.

I've done fancier routines but never saw that the extra work and expense did anything to make my chains last longer. Biggest drawbacks to TriFlo - it turns black as soon as you ride it and looks very dirty. It doesn't last forever and far less so in the rain or with washes. (No big deal; just lube it again.) On my winter bikes I use Finish Line wet lube for MTBs. Picks up dirt but lasts far longer. I have less fancy drivetrains on those bikes so it isn't a big deal that it is a lot dirtier.

Ben

cyccommute 

At about 25% mineral oil, WD40 is both a solvent and a lubricant. It's doesn't necessarily do both jobs all that well since it leaves too much lubricant behind to be a good solvent and there are better lubricants out there. On there other hand, most all "lubricants" contain some solvent to remove old lubricant and the associated gunk that sticks to the lubricant. Try-flow, for example contains amyl acetate as the solvent. That's why is smells like bananas.

There's not much bad about WD40 but there's not much good about it either. It's somewhat expensive for what you get and the lubricant is rather fluid so that it doesn't stick where it needs to stick. I think the biggest problem people have with it as a chain lubricant is the delivery system. As an aerosol, it tends to overspray a lot so it's "messy".

But Tri-flow isn't all that much different in terms of viscosity and, frankly, messiness. It's still an oil, it still gets on everything and the results are a black, oily messy chain that has to be cleaned constantly.

fietsbob

After all the people thinking its useful, WD 40 [(the 40th attempt at a Water Displacement product ) ,
( one that is used in large quantities on, like, hosing out the Jet engines,
when your aircraft overshoots the runway and lands in Jamaica Bay)]..

The Company now makes a bicycle chain lube in its multi product lineup, If you seek it out..

But as above Triflow , is popularly used on bike chains, a lot..




....

Dean51 

You are spot on correct.....WD-40 was developed to be a water dispersant and this brew was the 40th blend. It does an amazing job of restoring conductivity to electrical connectors that have become soaked in water. Like others who have posted here, my experience is WD-40 does not make a good long term lubricant.

Dean

davidad

I mix chainsaw bar oil and mineral spirits to lube my cleaned chains. It works and it is cheap!

himespau 

I prefer Chain-L, but that's just me. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to maintenance, but it does the job.

leob1

Here we go!

himespau 

Hey, I don't think we've done one of these since we migrated to the new forum style. It was time.

Wheever

PEOPLE! PEOPLE! SCIENCE HAS PROVEN THAT LOCALLY-SOURCED, ARTISINALLY RENDERED, UNICORN FAT IS THE BEST CHAIN LUBE.

end of discussion.

jack002

I have always thought of WD40 as just a cleaner and not a lube. I like to clean the chain with it, let it dry then apply tri-lube. My opinion, and I think I'm in the majority.

himespau 

I prefer OMS for cleaning, but, if I was going to use WD40, that's what I'd use it for.

carlosponti

the company sells a line of bike products however WD-40 Chain Lube cant tell if they are any good.

cyccommute 

That's the legend. Realistically, WD40 isn't going to do much as a water dispersant since it doesn't have anything in it that disperses water. It's basically mineral spirits and mineral oil. Both are nonpolar and don't mix with water.

As for restoring conductivity, that's questionable as well. It might do so for a little while but the oil that is left (25% of the volume of WD40 used) is going to play havoc later on down the line.

You may be in the majority but still wrong. WD-40 says that it lubricates...and it does, at least to a certain extent. They also say that it displaces water which it could if a metal part is dry and you put the WD-40 on to begin with. However, if the part is moving and mixing like a bike chain is, the oil is going to quickly emulsify in the water and the water will displace the oil at the metal surface. But all bicycle chain oils are going to do that anyway.

rumrunn6

they (the WD-40 brand) now makes bike products. I used their wet lube this winter. kinda thick & a little smelly for indoor application, especially if you get some on the floor, ugh. it seemed to work OK even through wicked sloppy conditions & modest bike washing

Tundra_Man 

I use WD-40 on my winter commuter bike as a cleaner and to free sticking links. The salt and chemicals they put on the road here eat chains at an alarming rate. I generally lube my chain on Sunday nights and by Friday it's completely dry and I have links rusting together and starting to skip. So I'll give the whole chain a good dousing of WD-40 to get the links free. I'll then wipe as much of it off as I can, along with all the accumulated muck on the chain. Then I follow it up with a thicker oil (chainsaw bar oil mixed with mineral spirits) for the actual lubrication.

WD-40 doesn't touch any of my other bike chains that I ride the rest of the year.

travelinhobo

Thanks for all the replies! The second guy who told me recently that that's what they use is a volunteer in a bike coop and that's where we were when he told me! I was quite surprised as he fixes up a lot of the donated bikes. I didn't know WD 40 now makes bike specific lube. I don't believe that's what he was referring to - I'm pretty sure I saw the familiar blue can in his hand when he said it. For cleaning chains, when I used to, I would buy whatever a country had when I was in it (touring). Mineral spirits here, white gas sometimes in other countries and other stuff. Didn't know I could use WD40. Good to know. Thanks again.

coffeesnob

where do you get that at?