Special lubricant
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Special lubricant
I've been having a spot of bother with my gears (Force 22) not indexing quite as cleanly as they should. Mostly been working well but just occasionally being slow to engage.
I went for a ride today and everything was right back to how it should be. I was thinking back wondering what I'd done that made the difference and the only thing I can think of is this; I had the bike upside down and noticed that the cable guide under the bottom bracket was looking very grungy. So I cleaned it off and put a few drops of chain lubricant on.
So that's helped in the short term, it would seem, but given that it's steel cable running over a nylon guide I'm guessing there's something better I could be using. Any suggestions, please?
As an aside, I've often wondered why these guides are always left open to the elements, particularly given the location. Surely it would make sense to fit a weather seal on it?
Thanks
John
I went for a ride today and everything was right back to how it should be. I was thinking back wondering what I'd done that made the difference and the only thing I can think of is this; I had the bike upside down and noticed that the cable guide under the bottom bracket was looking very grungy. So I cleaned it off and put a few drops of chain lubricant on.
So that's helped in the short term, it would seem, but given that it's steel cable running over a nylon guide I'm guessing there's something better I could be using. Any suggestions, please?
As an aside, I've often wondered why these guides are always left open to the elements, particularly given the location. Surely it would make sense to fit a weather seal on it?
Thanks
John
#2
I am potato.
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 3,116
Bikes: Only precision built, custom high performance elitist machines of the highest caliber. 🍆
Mentioned: 29 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1789 Post(s)
Liked 1,629 Times
in
933 Posts
Nope. The exposed nature means that any gunk, junk, debris is also free to leave.
The steel on nylon is a very robust wear resistant system. You'd be hard pressed to find a nylon under bottom bracket cable guide that has actually worn through, much less worn at all, really.
The lubricant you added might actually attract dirt & grime. Not that it'd matter much. There just isn't much in the way of movement & pressure between the cable & the guide. Soap & water to clean the "lube" off the next time you wash your bike.
The steel on nylon is a very robust wear resistant system. You'd be hard pressed to find a nylon under bottom bracket cable guide that has actually worn through, much less worn at all, really.
The lubricant you added might actually attract dirt & grime. Not that it'd matter much. There just isn't much in the way of movement & pressure between the cable & the guide. Soap & water to clean the "lube" off the next time you wash your bike.
Last edited by base2; 02-11-21 at 11:31 AM.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,071
Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4199 Post(s)
Liked 3,851 Times
in
2,301 Posts
Independent of knowing about the durability and/or friction aspects of a steel wire on a plastic BB guide one only has to look at the millions of bikes with said guides to begin to think "maybe the plastic guide being out and in the open is not a generally problem".
Having said that shops do see worn out guides. Not commonly but we still do see them. Now what does bother me are the unique to a frame design guides. If they do become an issue then replacements can be unavailable (companies don't make these parts available for long when they have moved onto the next great design).
As base2 suggested it's more an issue of maintenance then design or material, keeping a shift cable freely moving through the guide (or casing for that mater). Andy
Having said that shops do see worn out guides. Not commonly but we still do see them. Now what does bother me are the unique to a frame design guides. If they do become an issue then replacements can be unavailable (companies don't make these parts available for long when they have moved onto the next great design).
As base2 suggested it's more an issue of maintenance then design or material, keeping a shift cable freely moving through the guide (or casing for that mater). Andy
__________________
AndrewRStewart
AndrewRStewart
#6
BMX Connoisseur
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada
Posts: 774
Bikes: 1988 Kuwahara Newport, 1983 Nishiki, 1984 Diamond Back Viper, 1991 Dyno Compe
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 399 Post(s)
Liked 108 Times
in
69 Posts
In my own experience I have always found that dry cables work better and last longer because lube attracts dirt. But if the cable is a bit old and oxidized I've used tri-flow to get it working again for a while.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Zang's Spur, CO
Posts: 9,083
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3375 Post(s)
Liked 5,512 Times
in
2,855 Posts
Been there; Done that.
I used to use homebrew maltodextrin/fructose on 3+ hour rides.
One morning I hopped on the bike, and the RD absolutely did not want to shift at all.
Put it up on the rack and found dried maltodextrin/fructose had "glued" the RD cable in place in the bottom bracket guide.
Likes For davidad:
#9
Senior Member
Thread Starter
#10
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Round Rock
Posts: 145
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 51 Post(s)
Liked 6 Times
in
6 Posts
I've been having a spot of bother with my gears (Force 22) not indexing quite as cleanly as they should. Mostly been working well but just occasionally being slow to engage.
I went for a ride today and everything was right back to how it should be. I was thinking back wondering what I'd done that made the difference and the only thing I can think of is this; I had the bike upside down and noticed that the cable guide under the bottom bracket was looking very grungy. So I cleaned it off and put a few drops of chain lubricant on.
So that's helped in the short term, it would seem, but given that it's steel cable running over a nylon guide I'm guessing there's something better I could be using. Any suggestions, please?
As an aside, I've often wondered why these guides are always left open to the elements, particularly given the location. Surely it would make sense to fit a weather seal on it?
Thanks
John
I went for a ride today and everything was right back to how it should be. I was thinking back wondering what I'd done that made the difference and the only thing I can think of is this; I had the bike upside down and noticed that the cable guide under the bottom bracket was looking very grungy. So I cleaned it off and put a few drops of chain lubricant on.
So that's helped in the short term, it would seem, but given that it's steel cable running over a nylon guide I'm guessing there's something better I could be using. Any suggestions, please?
As an aside, I've often wondered why these guides are always left open to the elements, particularly given the location. Surely it would make sense to fit a weather seal on it?
Thanks
John
#11
Senior Member
It's always best to use "dry" lubricants on cables and housing. Back in the day I used Phil's Tenacious Oil or TriFlow but "generally" stopped because it remained wet and attracted road grit. I sometimes still use them though. Graphite is good and so is moly powder (harder to come by). Puff some graphite into a towel and pull the cable through. Use the same towel each time and keep it in a Ziplock bag.
I have also used BoShield on my cables as a test and didn't see much difference between that and graphite though. Pulling the cable through a rag with graphite is a quickie.
Another option that some folks use, including a friend of mine on his own bikes, is Lock-Ease, the graphite lubricant for locks. My friend would attach the nozzle tube and spray it into the cable while the cable was pointing down onto a paper towel. Once it started coming out the end he would stop and let it drain. The liquid would eventually dry and leave behind a virtually permanent graphite lubricant impregnated inside the cable housing. He swore by this. I did it once but made a mess of it and dribbled the residual liquid all over the place. ...I'll stick with dry graphite.
--
I have also used BoShield on my cables as a test and didn't see much difference between that and graphite though. Pulling the cable through a rag with graphite is a quickie.
Another option that some folks use, including a friend of mine on his own bikes, is Lock-Ease, the graphite lubricant for locks. My friend would attach the nozzle tube and spray it into the cable while the cable was pointing down onto a paper towel. Once it started coming out the end he would stop and let it drain. The liquid would eventually dry and leave behind a virtually permanent graphite lubricant impregnated inside the cable housing. He swore by this. I did it once but made a mess of it and dribbled the residual liquid all over the place. ...I'll stick with dry graphite.
--
Last edited by drlogik; 02-12-21 at 09:30 AM.
#12
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Sylvania, OH
Posts: 77
Bikes: 73 Schwinn Continental, (my first), 1993 Nobelette, Cannondale 500,Team Fugi, Raleigh Supercourse, Raleigh Gran Sport, 1976 Krystal, Tsunami, Giant Boulder SE, Series 30 Paramount, Scott Unitrack, As long as I have room the Hoard will grow...
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 25 Times
in
15 Posts
Sounds to me that this a cold weather issue, and that the cable housings are stiff and slow and sluggish, due to lack of lubrication. The nylon guide I suspect has little to due with the sluggish nature of the shift. Lube the whole thing front to rear with something thin, like Tri Flow, and all should be smooth.
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 567
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 241 Post(s)
Liked 232 Times
in
153 Posts
Normally I don't lube the cables under the bottom bracket, but on the occasions when there is too much friction I use Drislide Bike-Aid on the cable. It is a dry moly lubricant and works quite well. On a couple of bikes with full housing I've dripped Drislide into the housing until it dripped out the other end and let it dry. Makes for a significant reduction in overall friction. Some friends that fat bike in the winter swear by it for their disc brake cables (they say hydraulics are too sluggish when it's -20ºF/-29ºC.) Just remember to shake the can extremely well before applying.