Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Good Chain Lube??? Mines WD40. :P

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Good Chain Lube??? Mines WD40. :P

Old 04-14-19, 12:39 AM
  #1  
allout1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
allout1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 58 Post(s)
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Good Chain Lube??? Mines WD40. :P

Haha, I use WD40. I was looking at Finish Line's Dry stuff. Not sure though. What's good and price conscious?

The WD40 drips all over the rim and frame when things get spinning. Then I have to clean those up afterwards. This happens even if I towel the chain down.

I want something that's not making a splatter mess all over my cleaning work on the bike. LOL
allout1 is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 02:25 AM
  #2  
ericzamora
junior
 
ericzamora's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Fresno, Calif.
Posts: 282

Bikes: 2020 Surly ECR / 2018 Norco Search XR steel gravel bike with GRX / 1983 Bianchi Campione D'Italia / Gary Fisher Wingra / Motobecane Nomade mixte (daughter's)

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 72 Post(s)
Liked 12 Times in 11 Posts
Check with your favorite LBS, and buy from them.

eric/fresno, ca.
ericzamora is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 05:01 AM
  #3  
rydabent
Senior Member
 
rydabent's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Lincoln Ne
Posts: 9,920

Bikes: RANS Stratus TerraTrike Tour II

Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3345 Post(s)
Liked 1,054 Times in 634 Posts
Again WD-40 is NOT a lube. Besides that is it making a mess for you. Just use plain motor oil, Mobil 1 is probably the best.
rydabent is offline  
Likes For rydabent:
Old 04-14-19, 05:50 AM
  #4  
rayooo
Senior Member
 
rayooo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Allamuchy, NJ
Posts: 94

Bikes: Superfly-9.6, Domane-4.5 Emonda-SLR 9

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 10 Posts
I've been using the Finish Line Dry stuff for awhile now. I only use WD40 for cleaning chain prior to re-lubing with the Finish Line- it's definitely less messy than some, seems to work fine.
rayooo is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 06:11 AM
  #5  
travbikeman
Senior Member
 
travbikeman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Martinsburg WV Area
Posts: 1,695

Bikes: State 4130 Custom, Giant Trance 29

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 416 Post(s)
Liked 172 Times in 117 Posts
I've been a fan of this:

Eco Sheep Oil

You can get them on Amazon for around $8. Heck, you can even email them to see if they can ship you a free can to try.

I prefer the mountain sheep oil since I ride many gravel trails:

travbikeman is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 06:47 AM
  #6  
Koyote
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,741
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6866 Post(s)
Liked 10,828 Times in 4,621 Posts
You can spray WD-40 all over your bike, if you want to. But it's not a lubricant.
Koyote is offline  
Likes For Koyote:
Old 04-14-19, 07:07 AM
  #7  
FBOATSB
Senior Member
 
FBOATSB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Central Indiana
Posts: 2,201

Bikes: Old Stuff

Mentioned: 27 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 912 Post(s)
Liked 514 Times in 343 Posts
You can't make such blanket statements about WD-40 any more, positive or negative. The brand markets dozens of specific use products in addition to the original multi-purpose spray. Including several specific cycling chain lubes. It's all "WD-40".
FBOATSB is offline  
Likes For FBOATSB:
Old 04-14-19, 07:42 AM
  #8  
u235
Senior Member
 
u235's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 1,185
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 437 Post(s)
Liked 133 Times in 86 Posts
A chain lube thread. Can't wait to hear all of the new developments and advancements since the last one a few days ago. There should be new sub forum dedicated to chain lube.
u235 is offline  
Likes For u235:
Old 04-14-19, 07:49 AM
  #9  
JanMM
rebmeM roineS
 
JanMM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Metro Indy, IN
Posts: 16,215

Bikes: Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 653 Post(s)
Liked 345 Times in 225 Posts
Well, of course the original WD40 has some lubricant in the formulation, just not much. Better than nothing for some bike applications.
Their line of cycling products - none of which I have tried: https://www.wd40bike.com/

I've used ProGold ProLink Chain Lube for more than a few years.
__________________
Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
JanMM is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 07:55 AM
  #10  
FiftySix
I'm the anecdote.
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: S.E. Texas
Posts: 1,823

Bikes: '12 Schwinn, '13 Norco

Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1110 Post(s)
Liked 1,176 Times in 795 Posts
I've been using my old supply of Motul motorcycle chain lube. It's super tacky and doesn't sling off.

Are bicycle specific chain lubes tacky as well?
FiftySix is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 07:55 AM
  #11  
eja_ bottecchia
Senior Member
 
eja_ bottecchia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 5,793
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1020 Post(s)
Liked 462 Times in 292 Posts
Originally Posted by u235
A chain lube thread. Can't wait to hear all of the new developments and advancements since the last one a few days ago. There should be new sub forum dedicated to chain lube.
The OP is a newbie, a padawan not yet wise to the Ways of the Lube. Give him a break, he will soon learn.

On an unrelated note, I am watching the 2019 Paris-Roubaix race.

Phill Ligget, without Paul Sherwen sounds sad. Those two were the Dynamic Duo of cycling broadcasting.
eja_ bottecchia is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 07:58 AM
  #12  
wolfchild
Banned
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Mississauga/Toronto, Ontario canada
Posts: 8,721

Bikes: I have 3 singlespeed/fixed gear bikes

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4227 Post(s)
Liked 2,487 Times in 1,286 Posts
I use a mixture of WD 40 and motor oil...or 3-in-1 oil.
wolfchild is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 08:05 AM
  #13  
Pilot321
Junior Member
 
Pilot321's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: S.E. PA
Posts: 157

Bikes: 1987 Cannondale SR500

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 61 Post(s)
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
As others have said WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. WD = Water Displacement.

I use Tri-Flow on my chain, and Boeshield T-9 everywhere else. It is a "waterproof" lubricant. So I assume it has properties of WD-40, but also with a lubricant. Best of both worlds.
Pilot321 is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 08:23 AM
  #14  
Shimagnolo
Senior Member
 
Shimagnolo's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Zang's Spur, CO
Posts: 9,085
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3351 Post(s)
Liked 5,400 Times in 2,796 Posts
And again: WD40 is a brand, not just one product (the penetrating oil).
And it's products include actual lubes made for bicycles: https://www.wd40bike.com/products/
Shimagnolo is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 08:23 AM
  #15  
Brocephus
Professional amateur
 
Brocephus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Ga.
Posts: 665

Bikes: Does a Big Wheel count ?

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 295 Post(s)
Liked 133 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by FBOATSB
You can't make such blanket statements about WD-40 any more, positive or negative. The brand markets dozens of specific use products in addition to the original multi-purpose spray. Including several specific cycling chain lubes. It's all "WD-40".
Obviously, when the term 'WD40" as used in the context it's being used here, it refers to the original and most common WD40, not the numerous newer formulas, and obviously, not the ones labelled and designed specifically for bicycle chain applications.
Anyway, the bicycle lube market is as big a sham as the gun lube market (and their forums are just as polluted with redundant lube threads, as the bike forums are.) The important thing, with bikes and firearms, is to HAVE some form of an actual lubricant (which, of course, excludes WD40's Original Recipe).
Exactly which one is far less critical, and highly subjective. The tiny $10 bottles of liquid unobtanium from your local bike shop are likely good stuff, but.........they're $10+ bucks, and still not significantly better than most anything else.
For the money, (as mentioned above), it's hard to beat something like Mobil1 automotive oil ( coincidentally, also highly popular with firearm enthusiasts). But in my experience, it tends to sling off pretty badly onto the rim and spokes (though I've yet to try a higher viscosity).
I'm currently still running on a couple old bottles of Pro-Link, but I've also used Tri-Flo, Boeshield, Pedros, Dupont teflon multi-purpose, White Lightining and other dry lubes, etc.etc.etc.etc.
Though I still read these threads, out of some irrepressible streak of masochism, I've grown weary of the endless search for the Holy Grail of bike (and firearm) lubricants, and am content to use pretty much anything that's handy......and cheap..

Last edited by Brocephus; 04-14-19 at 08:30 AM.
Brocephus is offline  
Likes For Brocephus:
Old 04-14-19, 08:33 AM
  #16  
fietsbob
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: NW,Oregon Coast
Posts: 43,598

Bikes: 8

Mentioned: 197 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7607 Post(s)
Liked 1,354 Times in 861 Posts
As others have said ...

But , by now the big company wd 40 Corporation. has a broad offering of different products,


https://www.wd40bike.com/products/ including a bike chain lube..

and owns several other companies in addition
such as Carpet Fresh & Lava bar hand soap. for mechanic's grime..





...

Last edited by fietsbob; 04-14-19 at 08:36 AM.
fietsbob is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 08:40 AM
  #17  
cyccommute 
Mad bike riding scientist
 
cyccommute's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,251

Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones

Mentioned: 149 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6133 Post(s)
Liked 4,067 Times in 2,310 Posts
Originally Posted by rydabent
Again WD-40 is NOT a lube. Besides that is it making a mess for you. Just use plain motor oil, Mobil 1 is probably the best.
The SDS for WD-40 would disagree with you. It contains more than 35% “Petroleum Base Oil” which is mineral oil. That’s a lubricant. Not a great one but a lubricant never the less. On the other hand, it’s problems are no words than “plain motor oil”.

Originally Posted by JanMM
Well, of course the original WD40 has some lubricant in the formulation, just not much. Better than nothing for some bike applications.
Their line of cycling products - none of which I have tried: https://www.wd40bike.com/

I've used ProGold ProLink Chain Lube for more than a few years.
35% is not “some”. That’s a fair amount. It’s even more when considering that once the other 65% evaporates, the 35% becomes 100%. It’s not very viscous so it flow readily but it’s probably no worse then Triflow.

Originally Posted by Pilot321
As others have said WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. WD = Water Displacement
Chemically, I would take that “water displacement” with a large grain of salt. Every component of the mixture is hydrophobic. Spraying it on to something that is wet will result in a layer of oil on top of the water. There are lots and lots of other chemicals that would do a far better job of “displacing water”.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!




Last edited by cyccommute; 04-30-19 at 11:51 AM.
cyccommute is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 09:06 AM
  #18  
LesG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: N. Kentucky
Posts: 105
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 36 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 26 Times in 12 Posts
Originally Posted by Brocephus
For the money, (as mentioned above), it's hard to beat something like Mobil1 automotive oil ( coincidentally, also highly popular with firearm enthusiasts)...
Not that it really matters but did you mean to say Mobil1 transmission fluid? I've never used it for bicycles or firearms (nor will I) but, as you said, it is popular with firearms folks.
LesG is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 09:06 AM
  #19  
79pmooney
Senior Member
 
79pmooney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,790

Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder

Mentioned: 125 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4731 Post(s)
Liked 3,832 Times in 2,492 Posts
Originally Posted by Shimagnolo
And again: WD40 is a brand, not just one product (the penetrating oil).
And it's products include actual lubes made for bicycles: https://www.wd40bike.com/products/
And Crescent is a tool manufacturer, not just one type of adjustable wrench, but everyone knows what is meant by a "crescent wrench".
79pmooney is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 09:12 AM
  #20  
_ForceD_
Sr Member on Sr bikes
 
_ForceD_'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Rhode Island (sometimes in SE Florida)
Posts: 2,291

Bikes: Several...from old junk to new all-carbon.

Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1003 Post(s)
Liked 745 Times in 401 Posts
Here’s one. It’s not great but is much better than original WD-40, and an actual lube.

_ForceD_ is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 09:33 AM
  #21  
phughes
Senior Member
 
phughes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,026
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1008 Post(s)
Liked 1,232 Times in 711 Posts
Originally Posted by FiftySix
I've been using my old supply of Motul motorcycle chain lube. It's super tacky and doesn't sling off.

Are bicycle specific chain lubes tacky as well?
No, not like Motul motorcycle chain lube. I have some in the garage, but I'd never use it on the bicycle, too tacky and dirt would accumulate too much. It is necessary for motorcycles due to the speed the chain moves, but overkill for bicycles.
phughes is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 09:45 AM
  #22  
Brocephus
Professional amateur
 
Brocephus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Ga.
Posts: 665

Bikes: Does a Big Wheel count ?

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 295 Post(s)
Liked 133 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by LesG
Not that it really matters but did you mean to say Mobil1 transmission fluid? I've never used it for bicycles or firearms (nor will I) but, as you said, it is popular with firearms folks.
As the old expression goes, "If you hear hoofbeats, think horses.... not zebras!" (especially given that i referenced using a thicker viscosity).
So, yeah, i was talking about plain (synthetic) motor oil, not transmission fluid. But, both of them are popular as gun lubricants, and presumably would be as effective on bike chains.
Not trying to be argumentative, but I'm curious why you felt compelled to inject the, "nor will I".

Last edited by Brocephus; 04-14-19 at 09:54 AM.
Brocephus is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 09:50 AM
  #23  
Brocephus
Professional amateur
 
Brocephus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Ga.
Posts: 665

Bikes: Does a Big Wheel count ?

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 295 Post(s)
Liked 133 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by phughes
No, not like Motul motorcycle chain lube. I have some in the garage, but I'd never use it on the bicycle, too tacky and dirt would accumulate too much. It is necessary for motorcycles due to the speed the chain moves, but overkill for bicycles.
Yep, I've thought the same thing. I have a can of some highly popular motorcycle chain lube, that i hung on to after selling my motorcycle, intending to try it out as a bicycle chain lube, but then recalled how dry,thick and tacky it got on my Honda XR, and had second thoughts.
Brocephus is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 09:58 AM
  #24  
berner
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bristol, R. I.
Posts: 4,340

Bikes: Specialized Secteur, old Peugeot

Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 663 Post(s)
Liked 496 Times in 299 Posts
It may well be that one chain oil is better than others but the main thing, such as in brushing your teeth, the important part of the process is to do it frequently.
berner is offline  
Old 04-14-19, 02:15 PM
  #25  
FiftySix
I'm the anecdote.
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: S.E. Texas
Posts: 1,823

Bikes: '12 Schwinn, '13 Norco

Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1110 Post(s)
Liked 1,176 Times in 795 Posts
Originally Posted by phughes
No, not like Motul motorcycle chain lube. I have some in the garage, but I'd never use it on the bicycle, too tacky and dirt would accumulate too much. It is necessary for motorcycles due to the speed the chain moves, but overkill for bicycles.
Good to know. Thanks.
FiftySix is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.