Chain Lube again

[dekindy]

Ran across this on the Velocipedesalon. Have a lot of Chain-L No. 5 but guess I will try this next.

http://ballersride.com/shop/nixfrixshun-chainlube-nfs

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f3/nfs-chainlube-wait-over-29984.html

[johnniecakes]

That you do regularly and well is more important than what you do it with

[Louis]

That you do regularly and well is more important than what you do it with

Hmmmm - I always thought monogamy was a pillar of our society...

[gdw]

No thanks. $15 plus shipping for a bottle of unproven mystery lube is too much. Save your cash and buy a gallon of white gas, a quart of Mobile 1, and make your own for the next 10 years. 3 or 4 to 1 ratio.

[dave thompson]

Louis, quit discouraging post number building. You'll discourage him from posting in the classifieds now that he's got his 20.

[54ny77]

i've become a huge fan of thinly applied mobil 1 5w/30 (applied with either a foam brush or a small dispensing drip bottle). have been using it the past year. each coating lasts me several hundred miles, keeps clean (assuming i wipe the drivetrain down once a week), and with 1 quart i have literally many years' supply...for about 5 bucks.

am done with bike-specific chain lubes for awhile.

[ultraman6970]

I bought saw chain lube, the thing is really nice.

[54ny77]

that'd work good too.

i was just overhauling my chainsaw and got a pile of saw oil all over the place.

the stuff is like thick glue, a real p.i.t.a. to clean up.

which is really the point for bike chain lubes--assuming the viscosity works well with the pin design of modern chains, it'll stick around.

[ultraman6970]

Well you dont use a lot of it, mine is not like glue just in case. Ane of the things i noticed is that the gunk and dust gets black and is easy to clean, just wipe it and ready to go maybe for a couple more weeks before adding more oil. The other thing i noticed is that your hands dont get too dirty if you touch the chain, with some other lubes is just from looking at the chain that you get oil in your hands.

[54ny77]

chain-l reminds me of a hybrid between a motorcycle chain lube and chainsaw blade lube.

everyone's got their secret sauce.

[keevon]

Currently working my way through some leftover Phil's Tenacious Oil mixed with mineral spirits. Somewhere between 2:1 and 3:1 makes me happy.

When's that's done I'll switch over to chainsaw oil (which has an oddly similar viscosity, look, and smell as the Phil's) again mixed with mineral spirits.

I'm done with diluted oils or waxes in fancy packaging.

[Louis]

I'm done with diluted oils or waxes in fancy packaging.

I can understand this position. However, while the lube I use (ProLink) may be relatively easy to recreate in DIY form, I'm perfectly happy to pay a bit extra for the convenience of not having to roll my own. (and store the excess primary ingredients in the garage for the 10 years it will take for me to use them up)

[William]

ATB. Carry on....






William

[witcombusa]

pretty funny stuff here....

folks will pay 3, 4, 5+k for a bike and make their own chain lube :confused:

[yakstone]

And pay $5+ for a cup of coffee, which is far easier to make than chainlube; not to mention the $2 bottle of filtered tap water from the C-store.

[Ahneida Ride]

And pay $5+ for a cup of coffee, which is far easier to make than chainlube; not to mention the $2 bottle of filtered tap water from the C-store.

I here ya ....

[AgilisMerlin]

anything wax

[gdw]

"And pay $5+ for a cup of coffee, which is far easier to make than chainlube"

Really? It takes less than a minute to make a lube which works as well or better than any commercial product. All you have to do is open and pour the oil of your choice and white gas or mineral oil into a bottle, it's not rocket science. I use stoves which run off of white gas when winter or car camping and change the oil in my car so the ingrediants are always available.

[rePhil]

I find it easy too. I always have a gallon of mineral spirits around around, and oil as well.
I'm one of those weirdos who still changes his own oil on my truck, mower, etc.
It takes less than 2 minutes to mix a batch of homebrew.


"And pay $5+ for a cup of coffee, which is far easier to make than chainlube"

Really? It takes less than a minute to make a lube which works as well or better than any commercial product. All you have to do is open and pour the oil of your choice and white gas or mineral oil into a bottle, it's not rocket science. I use stoves which run off of white gas when winter or car camping and change the oil in my car so the ingrediants are always available.

[witcombusa]

I find it easy too. I always have a gallon of mineral spirits around around, and oil as well.
I'm one of those weirdos who still changes his own oil on my truck, mower, etc.
It takes less than 2 minutes to mix a batch of homebrew.

It's not a question of can you.
It's more a, why bother?

And I would think kerosene and Mobil 1 would be a more effective mixture than white gas or mineral spirits. Kerosene is a oily lubricant itself.

[ElvisMerckx]

A few mouse clicks and Paypal is a convenience that most of us would pay a bit more for than say a morning at the hardware store followed by mixing, bottling, and cleaning up to make our own trial and error chain lube.

Besides, I like where the profits are going with NFS.

[gdw]

Why bother? Convenience. It takes less time to make a batch than travel to the closest LBS.

[ElvisMerckx]

Why bother? Convenience. It takes less time to make a batch than travel to the closest LBS.

Assuming you have all of the ingredients on hand. If not, you have a trip to the hardware store to buy ingredients, bottles, funnels, etc.

[witcombusa]

Why bother? Convenience. It takes less time to make a batch than travel to the closest LBS.

travel to the local LBS?

my stuff all comes in a brown truck...:confused:

[rePhil]

It would take me less time to mix my homebrew than the time it takes to order online,and unbox it after the Brown Santa delivered it.

Just kidding (sort of)
Bottom line is we like what we like and what works for each of us.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

travel to the local LBS?

my stuff all comes in a brown truck...:confused:

[travis bickle]

What proportions for your homebrew?

I find it easy too. I always have a gallon of mineral spirits around around, and oil as well.
I'm one of those weirdos who still changes his own oil on my truck, mower, etc.
It takes less than 2 minutes to mix a batch of homebrew.

[leooooo]

Any lube is better than no lube

[yakstone]

I'm with Elvis - I like where the proceeds are going, not to mention click and forget about it.

[rePhil]

Depending on personal preference, either 3 or 4 parts of mineral spirits to 1 part Mobil 1. I mix up 16oz at a time and use a small bottle to apply.


What proportions for your homebrew?

[54ny77]

rephil: what does the mineral spirits do? i'd been using just oil (mobil 1). a little seemed to go a long way.

[rePhil]

First a disclaimer: I am not a chemist and I am talking about road bikes. I have no experience with using Homebrew offroad.
The mineral spirits is a carrier for the oil. I came to use Homebrew / Forum Lube as an experiment and have stuck with it.Some have compared it to Pro Link. I have no experience with Pro Link so I don't know.
I just know what I like, what works for me.

rephil: what does the mineral spirits do? i'd been using just oil (mobil 1). a little seemed to go a long way.

[AngryScientist]

the reason to use mineral spirits: it is indeed a carrier for the oil, and it's quite volatile. the spirits thin the oil and allow it to get in all the tight spots in the chain, then the mineral spirits evaporate quickly, leaving just oil in places oil might not have gotten to without thinning.

also, mineral spirits are an excellent chain cleaner. wipe down the chain with the home brew on it, and presto - clean chain.

[rnhood]

the reason to use mineral spirits: it is indeed a carrier for the oil, and it's quite volatile. the spirits thin the oil and allow it to get in all the tight spots in the chain, then the mineral spirits evaporate quickly, leaving just oil in places oil might not have gotten to without thinning.

also, mineral spirits are an excellent chain cleaner. wipe down the chain with the home brew on it, and presto - clean chain.


+1....some people make cleaning and lubing a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

[old iron rider]

I use STP oil treatment. I throw in a dash of this stuff with every oil change on my cars. I'll take two capfuls of STP and mix it with about 8-10 parts Naptha. {yes, aka lighter fluid}. Its an excellent cleaner if used properly. This is my carrier for the STP. The Naptha is gonna go away..........fast. But when on the chain this will leave the STP. It will have worked its way into the inside of the chain while in its thinned state. While still in this state, I wipe the chain with an old T-shirt. Soon the Naptha is gone and you think the STP is also. But its not. STP sticks to metal. We used to use it on heavy stamping machinery. All the column posts were brushed with STP. Every 24 hrs. Even with other oil in its presence when I would reapply it, the old stuff was still doin its thing. These machines used to seize up costing tens of thousands in downtime. :eek: After using the STP?---------------NEVER! :banana:
Good enough for a four million dollar machine, good enough for a bicycle chain.