davidad

Why would you accuse me of making this up? I started riding late in life, about 29 years ago and have tried all types of lubes and technics. I found that Brandt's article on bicycle chains was true, so I adopted his ideas and expanded on them.

stephr1

I have experimented with both White Lightning dry and Finish Line Dry on my MTB. Here are my observations:

White Lightning Dry: Easy to apply (have to keep shaking the bottle, tho). "Drys" to a white coating (teflon?). Initially, the chain is very quiet after lubing. By the time I reach a re-lube (~100 mi.) the chain noise increases (as in occasional clunks at gear shifting) as the coating wears off. Chain remains fairly clean (except for lube residue) and does not seem to attract/retain dirt. Does seem to disappear quickly in wet weather riding.

Finish Line Dry: Not really all that dry (I heard it contains "baby oil?). Easily applied and also needs to be shaken. More of an oil-like (darker) coating. Whole chain is not as quiet initially as it is with White Lightning, but it is fairly quiet and remains that way between chain lubes. Because it tends to be more oily, it does attract dirt and I have to clean the chain both before and after each lubing. Also have to scrape grimy dirt from rear der idler wheels. Seems to be somewhat water resistant (not a lot of data on that yet with this lube, but will find out this winter).

Overall, both seem to work pretty well in the context of my riding habits. Hope it helps.

Love2Ride

I've experimented over the years (decades) with different lubes (dry, wet, wax) and always come back to TriFlow. It's easy to apply and lubricates nicely. It may not last as long in wet weather, but it's my go-to lube, hands down running away.

63rickert

He's claiming about twice what I expect to get. By keeping his chain so very clean he should get somewhat more than I get. My wife who weighs a mere 105 pounds basically uses one chain per bike. One of her bikes has been in continuous use for 44 years, including years when she had no car and her bike was her only transport. Including years when she rode straight through Chicago winters on our lovely brine soaked streets. Maybe once when the frame was repainted the shop might have thrown on a new chain without charging it. If so they used what was already a vintage out of production chain. I am quite sure her freewheel is 1983 and it looks like a freewheel of mine looks after the first 500 miles.

Same with chainrings, her originals were much too large for her so I requisitioned them for my own use. They mated perfectly with my new chain. Put NOS rings on her old bike and they worked perfectly with her old chain. Light riders just don't wear out parts like those of us who are heavier. Other reasons exist why someone could get long chain life. No reason to be accusing anyone of making false statements.

cyccommute 

I've used all kinds of lubricants from WD40 in the early days to Phil's Tenaceous oil to wax based lubricants as well as just about every cleaning regime as well. I've never gotten close to 6000 miles nor have most people.

roadsnakes

That just about sums it up.

I imagine 10W-40 motor oil would be just fine if you applied it often enough, and wiped off excess.

wphamilton

Fixed gear, single speed chain, with chain cover, and you let the cog wear down with the chain you can get quite a bit more than 3500 miles. Even without frequent lubrication.

Tourod

Triflow rocks

Tourod

It cleans up the chain nicely too!

movelo

Mike,

I like Liquid Wrench Chain and Cable Lube. You have to let it dry before you ride. That is the secret. It's right there in the instructions ! I try to let it set a day or at least overnight. You want a layer of it to dry undisturbed inside the chain. Then it lasts an impressive amount of time, Six weeks, no squeaks. Attracts very little dirt after it dries. Smear some on a glass slide and see how long it takes to dry and what is left.

According to the MSDS sheet, less than 0.5% of the stuff in the can is the actual wax + mineral oil that does the lubricating. The other 99.5% is a nasty mixture solvents whose mission is to transport the wax to tiny crevices before evaporating into thin air.

Less than $4 for an 11 oz aerosol can (L711), but the harder to find 4 oz bottle(L704) is almost 12X higher per oz. I shake the can and spray a puddle into a small plastic cup, then apply one drop per link with an eyedropper. Very little waste this way, not much excess to clean up, and a can lasts a long long time.

Confession, I have not always followed the Book of Jobst tenet "never oil a dirty chain". I don't mind lubricating a chain, but hate cleaning one.

63rickert

First heard of measuring chain elongation in 1966, from a maintenance article in the old American Cycling magazine, predecessor to the current Bicycling. Back then the rule was 1% stretch. My chain measured 12-1/16" and I could see the wear on the teeth of the chainrings and sprockets, decided to never let it go that far. Have never needed to retire a chain in as little as 3500. Usually it was 5000 or 6000, but that was before better lubricants could be had. And do not spend 1% of the time on chain maintenance that is presumed sane around here. Wipe it down. Done.

Just once did I really clean a chain. Spent a full week soaking and scrubbing a new chain in mineral spirits. Then waxed it. Squeaked in 50 miles. Did every prep step the waxers recommend. Have known eight or ten others who tried same, none succeeded. Only in social media web threads is waxing normal or successful. Or common. Biggest factor for long life would seem to be ride the bike gently. Of course large numbers use White Lightning and other heavily packaged and promoted waxes. If you ride the bike gently you could get some life out of those. If you push the bike hard it's spray the chain after every ride. On longer rides bring that spray can with you. On longer nonstop rides it is plainly evident who is using the White Lightning.

If all you can get is 3500 I can't say you're doing anything wrong. Maybe you're a big guy. Maybe you live on the side of a mountain and like to push big gears. Whatever. The guy who says he gets 14,000 could be counting wrong. Or he could really be getting 14,000. Can't tell from here. It is certainly possible. Any lightweight rider can get that many miles from most any lube or regimen. Pedaling smooth in low gears helps a lot too. Avoiding small cogs when there's a choice helps.

I use NFS. Recommended by Lon Haldeman, Richard Sachs, Tom Kellogg, Josh Poertner. Lon still earns income as a test rider. He sure is not paid by NFS. As a test rider it is simply in his own interest to keep his mouth shut, not say much except in written reports to those who commission them. He says use NFS because it is the best he's ever used and we should all do ourselves a favor. So far as I know the man has never recommended any other product, ever. NFS lost the internet a long time ago. Every unique feature is custom made for sniping. NFS has been cut to ribbons on every social media forum for bikes. My first 2 oz. bottle lasted four years. Would have lasted much longer were it only used on my chains and the wife's chains. No cleaning, just a wipe. 12 drops first time and then add 2 or 4 as needed. This takes very little time. On social media what was just described is impossible and will never be accepted. Everyone who takes the drastic unthinkable step of trying the product figures out in the first mile the chain is quieter and smoother than ever before. But no one is willing to try it. Of course if the chain is waxed you can't try it.

KraneXL

Your welcome.

/thread

oldbear63

:-)

Brauer

I think 63rickert is correct, and I am a wax user. Wax doesn't seem to last as long as petroleum based lubes, but when having to remove the back wheel it's so nice to not get that nasty black oil/grease all over fingers, gloves, and clothing. I'll continue to use wax because it's so clean. By all means experiment with lubricants and choose what you are willing to work with. I do all my own work on my bike and I don't like to get messy. Oil products are messy. Most of my rides are 35 to 40 miles so lubricant failure is rarely a problem. I lube with white lightning after every ride and do a complete melted paraffin bath every 1000 miles. Works for me, but it might cost more in time and labor than petroleum based lubes.

shelbyfv

It seems chain longevity can legitimately vary. I don't track my component mileage but according to Strava I've done about 6000 miles since I resumed riding in April. I have no idea how many miles I put on the chain prior to that but it wasn't new. Anyway, the .75 on the older Park CC-3 still doesn't drop in. It's just a regular 10 speed Shimano chain. I clean it with mineral spirits every couple of months and lube with homebrew. I usually give it a quick wipe after each ride. The point is, whether someone says they get 3000 miles or 8000 miles, I'm not going to say it didn't happen. So many variables.

HillRider

I get over 6000 miles on chains all the time. I replace the chain and 10-speed cassette together between 6000 and 8000 miles when the chain shows about 1% elongation (1/8" in 12"). I see no reason to replace a $25 chain every 1000 miles or so to protect a $40 105 cassette.

My cleaning/lube regimen is pretty lax. I wipe the chain down with a rag every few hundred miles and relube with a 3:1 mix of OMS/Mobile 1. The chain does get dirty but stays quiet and shifts well the entire time. I'm older and fairly light but, as my nom-de-forum suggests, I have a lot of hills to climb.

easyupbug 

My Portland OR and WY chains don't get 6,000 but my AZ ones can, especially the 8 speeds, wide bike lanes that are keep swept up keep everything clean and I admit to going over board on preventive maintenance. Side note, I am impressed with the new Shimano 11 speed chains, too early to say for sure but I expected them to noticeably stretch faster than the 10s.

63rickert

Thank you Brauer for kind words. If cleanliness is a primary consideration of course you should use wax.

There are other ways to keep clean. Who remembers Cinelli Bivalent hubs? This is 1950s technology, not something that would be easy today. When the back wheel came off the chain and sprockets stayed on the bike. Not even remotely necessary to handle chain to remove a back wheel.

Sealed oil bath chaincases were around in 1920s. If you wanted you could unscrew the cap and dipstick it, maybe add a little oil. Chains lasted a very long time in an oil bath.

Shorter pitch chains which meant more teeth engaged and less load on each chainpin and each sprocket tooth would make a lot of sense. Reduced articulation angle on sprockets with more teeth would reduce wear a lot, and even allow use of much better chains. Chaindrive sprockets smaller than 16 teeth aren't used on any machinery but bicycles and toys. Coventry Chain Co. made 8mm pitch chain as long ago as 1909 and that chain won thousands of races. Of course this technology is long gone and impossible to perform 110 years later. Instead we are moving to smaller and smaller sprockets. There are 9 tooth sprockets in use currently and it is plainly visible how rough they operate. But gotta have it.

I do a little maintenance, a little cleaning, add a little oil to my chain every 6 to 10 hours of use. Thankfully just a little. Others here are mentioning adding lube after 2 or 3 hours. Complete melt re-waxing is apparently arguable for frequency but maybe 5 to 20 hours? What would you call a car that needed oil or transmission fluid that often? Most would call it junk and send it to scrapyard. With bikes somehow we accept that. And revel and delight in the rituals of maintenance. My approach is do what you have to do to keep the bike going. But don't celebrate the wonderfulness of a bad system that barely works. Demand early twentieth century technology.

stephr1

"Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk!...Soitenly!"