Chain Lube

[Swin]

I've been reading on another forum how some folk use WD40 to lube their chain, and I can see the attraction, I use a brush and sparingly apply a mix of chain lube and oil to the chain on my pointy, even with a thin layer my back wheel cruds up in no time.

I guess WD40 would be great in this respect as it's a thinner texture and can be applied with a brush or cloth, so it's got me thinking of this as an alternative to my current method.

Anyone got any experiences/opinions, good/bad - all are welcome

[Nutsinatin]

I fail to see what lubricating this is actually going to do, and don't suspect that this will do the rubber O rings or the grease they are trying to retain any good unless you are using a solid chain. I prefer to use a Scottoiler which is self cleaning and doesn't make a mess if you set it up right, but as I need to fit it to the new bike still I've been using a dry lube like this, zero fling and minimal pick up, cleaning the chain about every 1200 miles. It doesn't stick that well in the wet though, so needs frequent reapplication if you ride in the rain. You could also brush on gear oil like suggested in most motorcycle owner book and see how that goes?

I wouldn't rely on it as a lubricant & some may say it damages the rubber O rings.

I have to confess to being a bit compulsive about chain maintenance & like my chain to look like new at all times without any splatter onto the rear wheel rim. After every ride I use Wurth dry chain lube then just wipe the OUTSIDE of the chain with a rag soaked in WD40. Best of both worlds. Last chain lasted 25K treated this way & even then had plenty of life left.

[maviczap]

Do not use WD40 for chain lube! Its a degreaser, I wouldn't even use it to lube my pushbike chain.

It has nothing to stop it getting flung off the chain, so has no lubricating benefits

Its great for cleaning crud off the chain, but paraffin is better

Use a proper chain lube, there's lots out there

If you use a wax based lube, you don't get to much fling, if you're mixing lube and oil its going to destroy the properties of the chain lube?

Buy a scott oiler, a tutoro or a PDQ chain oiler, as these use the right sort of lube and will extend the life of your chain. Chains like being run in a chain bath, but these are the next best thing

Fling is normal, no matter how good the lube

[carelesschucca]

I wouldn't touch WD40 as a chain lube. Either get a proper good quality chain lube or something like a scottoiler that once its set up makes life very simple and keeps maintenence down, yeah its a bit of an outlay initially but I've used the same oiler on all of my bikes. Buts thats just me a cheapskate, with a nice clean chain and dirty back wheel.

[NTECUK]

WD 40 is good for getting grease off. Great for cleaning processor heat sink face before fitting a new heat sink.Good to disperse water too.
It's no resilience as a lubricant.
It's also going to adversely affect the o rings in the chains links.

[Swin]

Thanks, I'll give this Wurth dry stuff a try, it seems to be exactly the product I'm looking for - looks to be very reasonably priced too.

[Littlepeahead]

It's good but once the chain is dirty it is very tricky to get off.

[Swin]

Originally Posted by Littlepeahead

It's good but once the chain is dirty it is very tricky to get off.

I have a can of chain cleaner that I've never had to use with my "brush and jam jar method", so perhaps I'll need to make use of that before re-lubing

[maviczap]

I use Castrol chain wax, very good, not too much fling, got good reviews

You can get it at Halfrauds