bikerbob38

I was on a ****** thread discussing chain maintenance where one fellow was adamant about using standard WD 40 as a chain lubricant. He took some umbrage at my suggestion that this was perhaps not a good idea. WD 40 does make a product for lubricating chain, WD-40 Specialist Bike Chain Lube, but he insists that plain old WD 40 is just fine.

Would anyone agree with him? And if anyone would like to comment on the following, I'd be pleased to receive any input:

After no small amount of research, this appears to me to be a practical chain maintenance routine for me:

I would do this every 1,000 miles/1,600 km.
• Wear protective gloves during the process.
• Fill a glass jar half way with degreaser; place the chain in the jar; cover and agitate for a minute; let rest; agitate again, then let rest while degreaser continues to work. (If the degreaser is not too dirty, it can be reused).
• Remove chain and see it if looks clean to your satisfaction. Dry it on a rag.
• Fill a glass jar half way with general purpose bike cleaner or soap and water; agitate for a minute; let rest; agitate again. Point here is to get all the degreaser off. • Remove chain and place on clean rag and dry.
• Rinse the chain off in another container full of clear water. Repeat until the water in the container remains clear.
• Dry off chain in full sunshine.
• Lubricate with either Squirt, or Silca Synergetic, or , maybe CeramicSpeed UFO Drip

FYI - I ride a Brompton folding bike, I ride only on a paved bike trail, I do not bike in rainy weather or when the trail is wet.

I am 85 years old and happy to still be able to enjoy getting some cardio exercise on my Brompton, which I got so I can fold it and take it into the gym and coffee shop with me.

FBinNY 

Bike Forums has a sub-forum ideally suited for this subject.

It's P&R (politics & religion) and IMO should be P, R & Chain lube.

This subject stirs up all kinds of pointless arguments, and truth be told, the only right answer is whatever works for you.

Though I have strong opinions about chain lubes, I keep them to myself unless asked by a friend. Then once I reply. I'm not invested in whether they heed the advice they asked for.

So, your friend is happy with WD-40, and my question is why do you care?

Troul 

would you rather use WD-40 or leaded gasoline?

FBinNY 

Unleaded only for me.

Seriously, I'm one of the least committed to chain care here on BF.

Given the cost and life expectancy of my 10s chains, I'd want to see at least a doubling of chain life if I devoted an hour to maintenance on any chain.

So, my "ritual" is to never wash, dry wipe & lube every once in a long while, as needed, and replace when stretched. Total effort 5 minutes/1,000miles (or so).

alcjphil

WD40 works pretty well as a cleaning agent, but as a lubricant it isn't any better than spit

choddo

I think there is a step missing where you put the chain in the jar

I agree wd40 isn’t up to the job but my son uses it and I allow him to make his own decisions from time to time.

Biker Pete 

You’re supposed to maintain the chain??

Barry2 

Hi Bob,
Welcome to Bike Forums.

There are so many ways to maintain a chain and people tend to favor their method.
Many a discussion on chain cleaning and lubing can be searched for here on this forum.
Some get quit heated.

If your method works for you, stick with it.
It's wildly different from mine, but that doesn't make yours wrong.
(I've just begun using hot wax)

As for the use of WD40, I'm with you in that the original WD40 is not really a lube.
Although WD40 as a brand does have lubricants in their product line.

All the best

Barry

Crankycrank

First of all, welcome to the forum bikerbob38. I think you would do yourself a favor to search for some of the many other long and contentious threads that already exist here on chain lubing. Many, many different philosophies. You will find some that agree with your person on the other site and others who believe he/she deserves a flogging accompanied by insults to their mother. My answer would be if what you're doing works for you, then just keep on doing it and spend your time enjoying riding.

Troul 

usually the pros upgrade to the ANT+ BT chains.

Kontact 

Chain makers say to not degrease chains because you'll never relubricate them adequately. Liberal oiling and multiple wipes with a rag will get a chain clean looking.

If that's not clean enough, stop messing with liquids and hot wax your chain. It is easy, lubes well and completely clean and nontoxic.

Iride01 

I just drip the lube on each link of the chain and wipe off the excess along with the crud that comes with.

Any thing more just seems like a lot of work for a few miles more life it might add to the chain.

I have been that guy that just sprayed them with WD-40. The chains lasted long enough then too.

Garthr

I take it that bikerbob38 is sincere in his interest about WD-40, and I'll give a sincere answer here from actually using it.

I read all the negatives of using it as a chain lube. So I decided to find out for myself. Basically I use it the same I ever did with say Prolink Gold, which wasn't particularly long lasting either. I had a gallon of the bulk WD-40 in the metal can that was around for use around out house, so I poured some in leftover drop bottle. I started with a new chain, a SRAM PC-850. Those are coated in a stick substance of which I wipe with a rag with some mineral spirits initially, just to reduce dirt build up on the outside, wiping the chain with a dry rag about every second or third ride. I get about 250-300 miles from the factory "stuff".

When I start wet lubing, I have a piece of cardboard I set between the chain and wheel for any splatter, then slowly rotate the chain backwards and let the lube drip until it's fairly wet, and I have a old rag underneath the chain for any drips, there should be very little if any dripping, to let you know how much I apply. I wear nitrile gloves and run my fingers underneath to see if it's more clear than dark, then wipe off the excess at that time, spinning backwards, then a few quick spins forward with the wheel off the ground. I also wipe the cogs every other ride. I get on average 2 rides of 25-30 miles or so, with a quick wipe in between. The key here is to never let the chain get very dirty, keep up the cycle of wipe, lube and wipe. I've been doing this for two bikes now, for three years. I get just as good mileage out of my chains as with any other lube I've used. Prolink, RR Gold, Squirt, Chain-L and WL Clean ride mostly. I find the Prolink was be a more effective solvent than WD-40 in that regard. While the WD-40 is still a wet lube, it can splatter if applied and not wiped down. I do not take the chain off to clean it for it's duration, just as I didn't with Prolink gold.

I'll continue to do this until/unless I get a hankering to try something else, but for now it suits my usage as well as any other lube I've used. Every lube has it's plus and minuses, and that's about all of that.

Duragrouch

Yes, chain lube is a whole can'o'worms topic. Many possibilities. But not "original" WD-40 except in a pinch when nothing else is available. This is because it was designed as a Water Displacer (hence, the WD), for things like drying out wet spark plug wires and rust prevention. It's not designed as a lubricant. In fact, original formula WD-40 is absolutely prohibited on spherical-rod-ends/heim-joints on aircraft linkages, as it used to dry to a varnish, making the joints stick or seize up. I haven't seen that tendency on current formula, they may have modified it because so many people use it as lube. But there are signs in LBS (Local Bike Shop) repair areas, "WD-40 is not lube."

Mtracer

I strip new chains and use Squirt drip wax. Every 250-300 miles, I wipe it with a cloth with some mineral spirits on it. Just damp not soaking. This is to wipe off whatever is on the outside of the chain. Then I reapply Squirt. I have 5,000-6,000 miles on one chain with no measurable chain wear (stretch) using a Pedro Chain Checker. This is a road bike. Others with fewer miles and of course no signs of wear, though of course there is some.

Anyway, maybe there is a better way, but this is working well for me. And if I get only 5,000 miles or so (a years worth of riding), that's enough and I wouldn't care even if I needed a new chain every year, though I don't.

Trakhak

Since he's actually lubricated his chains with WD-40 for some years, after having used a number of highly respected specific chain lube products, Garthr's post should serve as a sufficient counter to any and all anti-WD-40 chain lube posts (including some I've made in the past). Should, but won't.

grumpus

I don't think there's any need to read further, and I find it hard to understand why anyone would answer this post with anything other than a link to a previous thread where everyone goes through the same old tired discussion about chain maintenance.

ScottCommutes

Based on my experience, I would suggest that the OP consider doing something in between those heavy-duty 1000 mile chain services. He's letting his chain get as dirty as it wants for hundreds of miles, then getting it so clean you can eat off of it and repeating. Doesn't make sense to me.

The game isn't how clean and lubed you can get your chain, it's how clean and lubed you can keep your chain.

bikerbob38

Well, I can see why you use "grumpus" as your handle. ;-)
I am grateful that others on the list do not share your sentiments and that they had the patience and generosity to answer the honest questions of a new member of this forum.

Bob
———
“ A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.”
— Goethe, Faust

kcjc

I'm surprised no one commented on the 1,000-mile interval per maintenance/cleaning. Before switching to waxing, I was cleaning my chain biweekly. On the bike with simple green and full cleaning of the rest of the bike with other maintenance as needed. I'll be lucky to approach the 400-mile mark. With wax, I tried to keep around 15-20 hours (mostly trainers because of the DW after my last encounter with a car and cheaper than a divorce). The one that gets outdoor exposure gets rewaxed after 100 miles at the most typically. I have 16 chains in rotation, so I rewax every 2 months or so. That takes around two to three hours, mainly due to setting up (moving everything from the garage to the backyard and back), waiting for the wax to melt (use the time to clean the chains), and repackaging the chains for storage. I switch to wax because it's easier to clean than the lube from my trainer, bike, rocker, and carpets.

bikerbob38

That is exactly the kind of input I was hoping for. I.e., that more experienced riders than I would point out any deficiencies in my chain-maintenance plan. Appreciate your weighing in/advice.

As I continue to read on this subject, I now recognize that a 1,000-mile maintenance interval was wildly optimistic on my part.

While I don't see myself as waxing my chain - but, just maybe, I might see an old but working crockpot on offer at a lawn sale - or owning multiple chains, I now realize that if I am riding about 100 miles a week, on dry pavement, I ought - on a weekly basis - to dampen a rag with something like Simple Green and run the chain through it to remove any dirt/dust and then follow that by a light lube it with a good chain lube.

That sound like a plan?

pdlamb

I'll re-lube when a chain either starts showing signs of surface rust, or when I can hear it squeaking. (My daughter says I should re-lube more frequently, she can hear it 25-30 miles before I can!) That usually works out to around 500 miles for me.

bikerbob38

In the little squib to the left of your post, it notes the number of 'likes" you have received.
It it not immediately obvious to me how to give a "like" to a post in this forum.
If you have a moment...how does one do that?
Thanks.

bikerbob38

Never mind. I found the [Like] icon and went back to assign likes to the posts responding to my question.

rydabent

WD-40 is not a lube just like wax is not a lube. Wipe the chain down, oil each link, and spin the crank. Then wipe off the excess. Then wipe down the chain before every ride. Re-lube when the chain becomes dry, and when wiping, it very little come off.