Bike Chain Lube

In article ,
says...
Per :
valvoline 100% synthetic transmission oil

What is it about trans oil that makes it preferable to motor oil?

Viscosity?

Motor oil has up to 25% additives - including lots of detergent to remove
watery sludge from combustion byproducts. I don't believe gear oil has
that stuff, but may usually has a small quantity of (smally) extreme
pressure additives.

In my experience motor oil (including synthetic) makes the chain go black
very quickly, some say that means it is doing its job, I think it is the
detergent working on the water in the mud.

I switched to sewing machine oil. I was shocked at how well it works. A
hell of a lot better than that synthetic lube with Teflon in it. My
chain doesn't attract as much road grit as before and it runs quieter
too. And to top it all off, it's dirt cheap too.

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per :
valvoline 100% synthetic transmission oil

What is it about trans oil that makes it preferable to motor oil?

Viscosity?
--
PeteCresswell

There are lots of arguments and I've been an ATF user for years.. for
me it has to do with the various additives in ATF..

Assuming the viscosity is what you want in a chain oil then ATF is a
better choice than a regular oil because..1) there are additives in ATF
to seriously decrease volatility, so it dries off your chain
significantly more slowly than a regular oil of similar viscosity. 2)
Other Additives improve dispersancy(sp), ATF will hold contaminates in
suspension far better than a regular oil of similar viscosity. 3) There
are also additives to improve detergency, it will keep parts cleaner,
and make cleaning easier than a regular oil (it appears to clean off
clothes and skin easier as well).

As a little story.. my old beater MTB once an '88 Miyata Ridge Runner
sat unused in the yard for a couple of years before being stolen, 5
months later I was able to recover it .. it had been badly abused in
the interval. The chain was dry but not at all rusty and after a shot
of ATF worked as smoothly as when it was put on the bike years ago.

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:15:12 GMT, jayson
wrote:

What's the preferred lube- I was previously using a silicone spray
which I liked but then switched to ProLink because I thought it might
do a better job. Unfortunately the ProLink is a dirt magnet much like
WD 40. Thanks...


Buy a gallon of chain saw bar oil at WalMart or hardware store. It's
cheap stuff.

Cut about half a cup of it with a half cup of acetone or lacquer
thinner -- roughly 50% and shake or stir thoroughly. It should be
quite thin and flow easily, but not as low viscosity as water.

Dip chain in it or if chain must stay on the bike (less desirable for
chain lubing), drip or brush it (quicker and more thorough than
dripping) on so that it fully penetrates each link plate, both sides,
and rollers. Be generous with it.

Let dry about ten minutes (the acetone or lacquer thinner solvent will
evaporate) and wipe sides and rollers with clean rag. Chain saw bar
oil is much better than motor oil, whether synthetic or regular. It is
made for the purpose but for more severe conditions than on a bike.
BTW, bar oil viscosity is 30 weight and rather thick. If you are going
to remove the chain and do a chain soak overnight, there's no need to
thin it for better penetration.

Nothing wrong with regular or synthetic motor oil, but why not use the
best for the purpose?

Geezer Boy

jayson wrote:
What's the preferred lube- I was previously using a silicone spray
which I liked but then switched to ProLink because I thought it might
do a better job. Unfortunately the ProLink is a dirt magnet much like
WD 40. Thanks...

This subject comes up about twice per year. Search the archives for
interminable discussions.

But, since most other chain unctions have been mentioned, I'll mention
mine: Hot paraffin wax with about 5% oil blended in. Attracts _very_
little dirt and lasts a long time. The oil blended in lets it work
well in rain, too.

Careful use of a propane torch will allow you to apply it with the
chain still on the bike. Crayon it on, heat till it flows, wipe off
excess.

- Frank Krygowski

Geezer Boy wrote:

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:15:12 GMT, jayson
wrote:

What's the preferred lube- I was previously using a silicone spray
which I liked but then switched to ProLink because I thought it might
do a better job. Unfortunately the ProLink is a dirt magnet much
like WD 40. Thanks...


Buy a gallon of chain saw bar oil at WalMart or hardware store. It's
cheap stuff.

Cut about half a cup of it with a half cup of acetone or lacquer
thinner -- roughly 50% and shake or stir thoroughly. It should be
quite thin and flow easily, but not as low viscosity as water.

Dip chain in it or if chain must stay on the bike (less desirable for
chain lubing), drip or brush it (quicker and more thorough than
dripping) on so that it fully penetrates each link plate, both sides,
and rollers. Be generous with it.

Let dry about ten minutes (the acetone or lacquer thinner solvent will
evaporate) and wipe sides and rollers with clean rag. Chain saw bar
oil is much better than motor oil, whether synthetic or regular. It is
made for the purpose but for more severe conditions than on a bike.
BTW, bar oil viscosity is 30 weight and rather thick. If you are going
to remove the chain and do a chain soak overnight, there's no need to
thin it for better penetration.

Nothing wrong with regular or synthetic motor oil, but why not use the
best for the purpose?

Phil Wood Tenacious Oil is pretty much the same thing, a repackaged chainsaw bar
oil. I've been using it too for years, but I wouldn't say it's the best. It
makes big gooey strings between the chain and sprockets, which get all over the
rest of the bike. The extra oil on the sprockets, particularly the jockey
wheels, attracts dirt and is a pain to keep clean. It gets all over the rear
rim too.

So why do I use it? Nothing works better for my suspension fork. Since I have
it on hand for that, I use it for everything else. It works fine but it's messy
.. A plain oil -- motor oil, ATF, gear oil, machine oil, etc. -- without the
plasticizers -- would be better for the chain.

I definately prefer oil to waxy lubes though. I've had good luck with Pedro's
Extra Dry and Boeshield, but plain oil always makes for a quieter, smoother
shifting drivetrain. On group rides I usually have the quietest bike, despite
the fat aluminum tubes. Everyone else is grinding and squeaking.

Matt O.

valvo synthetic trans oil-
in commutng 5000 per year or more the epic costs are well epic and
worse running out of the mo epic leeds to the LBS where prices for 4oz
go upupup.
enter the valvo at half price full strength
full strengtth is useable at road temps of 110 and above. better than
epic.
as the temp goes down cut it with thinner-ut it in half!! a small
portion at a time please. 1/5 at 75 degrees works lubrously.
sheldon brown sez the trans oil attracts dirt but it also keeps dirt
floating on the exterior where it can be cleaned off using short maint
intervals.
surprise-its more or less odorless-wals' smells like kendall. this is
not good.
another fact-the anti foaming agents keep the valvo on the chain not on
the rim. this is amazing.
i complained abt epic running onto the rim but was soundly advised that
excrescence was the result of dripping too much epic: i suppose that's
inevitabley true.
if the synth is cut with thinner then anti foaming is reduced?
one suggestion-replace the top foil. remove carefully, replace under
cap, the use a rod to gently push it out when decanting another batch.
the bottles are gravity intolerant.

It is somewhat surprising that in these chain lube threads hardly anyone
ever mentions the wax type chain lubes. Does anyone use these; is there
something that makes them not worth recommending?
Chuck

C Wright wrote:
It is somewhat surprising that in these chain lube threads hardly
anyone ever mentions the wax type chain lubes. Does anyone use
these; is there something that makes them not worth recommending?
Chuck


Since you ask
I use wax on my roadbike and don't really understand why people make such a
fuzz about different kind of oil when oil clearly is not necessary. I rewax
when I come home from a rainy ride, that's about it. I use White Lightning.

--
Perre
I gave up on SPAM and redirected it to hotmail instead.

On 29 Sep 2005 08:30:46 -0700, wrote:

This subject comes up about twice per year. Search the archives for
interminable discussions.

Don't you mean per month?


Jasper