pepperbelly

I have been using White Lightning chain lube, either Clean Ride or Easy Ride. Honestly I didn’t notice they have several types.
One they have is Epic Ride. This one isn’t a wax lube. It’s a synthetic.
I was reading their descriptions and White Lightning makes all of their products sound great.
Is the Epic better or worse than the others or just different?
I don’t ride in dirt, mud or gravel-just on the street or a paved trail. I try hard to avoid riding in rain. Given all this does it even matter what I use?

slow rollin

This is a contentious topic so be advised to posts waxing poetic about particular lubes.
I have used clean ride and wet ride, wet is really an oil that gets black and gunky like most oils over time.
Clean ride is nice and would be what I would use if you want a cleaner chain that still lubes pretty good.
I suspect epic ride is cleaner then wet ride but still oil based, I would classify it under "different" and IMO can only be found out if you like it by using it.

phughes

DeadGrandpa

I have recently been using a silicone spray from PB Blaster. The chain looks amazingly clean, as does the cassette and front chain ring. It can be precisely applied to the rotating chain with little overspray and it foams over the links, giving the appearance of good penetration to interior parts. Nothing seems to stick to it. I haven't been using it long enough to measure chain wear before replacement, but it doesn't appear to accumulate the grit (present everywhere I've ever ridden) from which the fine grinding paste is made. Less grinding paste in the chain should result in longer chain life, theoretically. Until that is proven true, the chain is definitely cleaner, if you like that sort of thing. Wiping down the chain and carefully (keep it away from brake calipers and rotors) spraying it periodically is much easier than the regimen of chain waxing. There. I said it.

pepperbelly

I am also wondering why my wax lube leaves black grease on my leg if I touch it leaning the bike over.

pepperbelly

I don’t wax my chain by taking it off and soaking it in hot wax. The lube I use is in a squeeze bottle. I shake it up and spray on the chain while turning it backwards. It’s wax with a carrier that evaporates-supposedly. From the gunk on my chain and cassette, and my leg, it doesn’t all evaporate.
I have found that Fawn dish soap on a damp paper towel will remove grease from my legs easily so I will use it to clean my bike.

indyfabz

NFS is the best lube.

/thread

indyfabz

IKR. Chain lube should be a sticky, just like helmets.

skidder

80W-90W gear lube. I had a bottle sitting on the shelf so tried it, been using it for over a decade. It lubes the chain, the links seem to slide easily, what's not to like.

zandoval 

Automatic Transmission Fluid... ATF

I use it for cleaning the chain and lubing the chain. I also consider chains expendable devices now days...

cyccommute 

I've used Epic Ride in the past and wasn't really impressed with it. It is oilier than the Clean Ride. Clean Ride works fine even in the rain. It just has to be refreshed afterward. But oil really needs to be refreshed after rain as well. People just don't bother.

That's the factory lubricant. You don't have to remove it but the chain will be cleaner if you do. Shake your chain in a Gatorade bottle with about a cup of mineral spirits until your arm gets tired...around 30 seconds. Hang the chain to dry and apply the Clean Ride. I do that upon install and then never clean the chain again.

locolobo13 

LOL. Similar. Had a leftover from a case of 10-40. Started using it. Works fine.

cyccommute 

I've used Epic Ride in the past and wasn't really impressed with it. It is oilier than the Clean Ride. Clean Ride works fine even in the rain. It just has to be refreshed afterward. But oil really needs to be refreshed after rain as well. People just don't bother.

That's the factory lubricant. You don't have to remove it but the chain will be cleaner if you do. Shake your chain in a Gatorade bottle with about a cup of mineral spirits until your arm gets tired...around 30 seconds. Hang the chain to dry and apply the Clean Ride. I do that upon install and then never clean the chain again.

pepperbelly

Thanks. I will stay with what I have been using.

big john

Reminds me of the "Shake Weight" episode of South Park.

WaveyGravey

I use FINISH LINE Dry Bike Lubricant. Also, DUPONT Non-Stick Dry Film Lubricant. Both products claim to have Teflon.

Bald Paul

I prefer oiling poetic.


Chain lubes should not, IMHO, be sticky.
If your helmet is, well, you have other issues.

Iride01 

Don't let the chain lube choices dazzle you with wondering which is best. Just use the lube that makes sense to you. If you find you don't like something about it, then change to some other type.

Some don't need to be used as frequently. Some do a tad better in the wet. Some will help keep your chain cleaner than others. I don't know that any give significantly greater chain life.

pepperbelly

I avoid oil based lube. They sling off all over everything. If they sling they don’t keep the chain lubed.
I think I first heard about wax lubes here.
I started this thread when I was looking to buy more White Lightning and saw the varieties they sell. The Epic Ride was really different- silicon based? That lead me down a rabbit hole reading about lubes and a pro who uses a synthetic lube.

Garthr

Talking about chain lube need not be contentious. Nobody has any miracle lube to boast about. That there's endless lubes is telling. They all work, and they all rather suck in that they are temporary at best.

Oil works fine for me Pepperbelly as I give the rings, chain and sprockets a quick wipe down down after every ride. The number one complaint of oil I see is the accumulated black mess, but do nothing to prevent it. Oil to me isn't just throw it on there, ride and let the expelled oil accumulate. If you've ever used Prolink or the like, I basically use that principle. Lube-wipe chain-lube-wipe chain-infinitum. I often just use WD-40, but sometimes for fun, I'll throw on another oil to see what happens. Motor oil, ATF, air tool oil. Hey guess what ? Nothing rotten happens ! I I wipe it down after each ride, it's oil, these are bikes, it's not complicated. Yes, it requires the time to wipe it down. For me though, I have endless rags, and at this time, it's the "path or least resistance". I've used Clean Ride too, as well as Squirt. Squirt is water based, but it does tend to accumulate some unless excess is wiped off. I preferred Clean Ride mostly because it was easier to apply because it had mineral spirits in it. Then it's very difficult to remove, as in nothing worked for me but a light touch of a propane torch to soften it and wipe it off. I just grew tired of having to clean a new chain, let alone take a chain off to clean at all. Seeing how my chains last as long with the method I use on the bike as they ever did with incessant cleaning off the bike, I'm not going back to doing that.

pepperbelly

I grew up on motorcycles-mostly dirt bikes. Dad was a mechanic at a Honda shop and we used the chain lube the shop sold. It was oil based and we did have to watch the chain as it did attract dirt, especially sand and the barrels on the chain would wear quickly.
I read about wax chain lubes being cleaner and lasting longer and bought White Lightning without knowing much about it. I got lucky I guess.
Chains are not expensive so I’m not going to obsess over it.

pepperbelly

I don’t have any gear lube. Would chainsaw bar lube be an acceptable substitute?

phughes

Put lube on your chain. Any lube. Just lube it. Wax counts if you wish. Honestly, lube it.

indyfabz

And don’t spit into the wind.

rsbob 

Kay why?