"Mark-T" wrote:

Hi,

I was looking at the chain oils in a shop, all the diferent formulas,
it's confusing. Any recommendations? I was wondering, what
about getting a cup of used motor oil from an auto mechanic?

I have a 15 speed mountain bike, which hardly ever goes
off road, it's mostly on the street.

Also, is there an applicator for driving the lubricant into
the links, or do you just drip it on?

You should search the newsgroup (groups.google.com) for chain lube
recommendation. Everybody has their favorite.

As to applicators: I've taken to using a toothbrush. Seems to work
quite well. Otherwise, most hardware stores sell empty "oilers" of
varying sizes with various diameter "exit holes."

FWIW: I've switched to using nothing but "homebrew" lube. It's about
50/50 mineral spirits: Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil. I apply it
/after/ each ride, letting the mineral spirits evaporate before the
next ride. It's cheap. It's easy. It gives me great chain life.

Every couple of weeks, I either use a degreaser (again: pick your
poison) or WD-40 and a rag and fairly thorougly clean the chain /on
the bike/. I'm not that inclined to remove the chain to clean it any
better, though maybe I should....

YMMV.
--
Live simply so that others may simply live