Chain lube

[Johnny_]

I use canola oil -great for chains, terrible for your body and brain

Doesn't it go rancid lol? I remember when we were little my brother lubricated my hand drill with olive oil. That stank after a few months. Bleh lol.

 

[SirLurksAlot]

How do you get the spray into the cable housings? Maybe there's a better way than just spraying it into the cable ends and hoping it goes as far as it can.

I use a cable lube injector. End of cable goes in one side, you tighten a gasketed clamp and using a pipette inserted into the hole on the block, spray triflow into the cable in bursts, until some drips out the other end of the cable. For chainlube, i use dupont chain wax liquid (has teflon).

I'll see about adding links to both the cable lube block and the lube, shortly

Cable luber tools -

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cable+luber+tool&crid=2A9PPILV4PDPR&sprefix=Cable+lube%2Caps%2C259&ref=nb_sb_ss_p13n-pd-dpltr-ranker_2_10

Lots to choose from. They tend to favor motorcycle sized cables, so be aware. Can't find a listing for mine, so you're on your own for selecting one.

Dupont chain saver liquid -

Robot or human?

 

[kiwigasbikes]

Doesn't it go rancid lol? I remember when we were little my brother lubricated my hand drill with olive oil. That stank after a few months. Bleh lol.

Yeah!- It's cos it goes rancid that you dont eat it!- Its perfect for chains and air filter elements cos it goes sticky and can be washed out with hot soapy water .
Another reason you dont eat it is that its processed using Hexane- a known neurotoxin and cancer causing agent.

 

[Johnny_]

Yeah!- It's cos it goes rancid that you dont eat it!- Its perfect for chains and air filter elements cos it goes sticky and can be washed out with hot soapy water .
Another reason you dont eat it is that its processed using Hexane- a known neurotoxin and cancer causing agent.

The dang stuff they feed us.

 

[Wrench]

How do you get the spray into the cable housings? Maybe there's a better way than just spraying it into the cable ends and hoping it goes as far as it can.

Cable lube tool

Of course ya have to disconnect the top end side of the cable first before ya lube it

I don't use the lube tool I stick the little straw in the end of the cable housing and wrap plastic around it and a rag
Spray and count to 3 - repeat if necessary - I know the lube goes in because I see lube drip out the other end

 

[Wrench]

How do you get the spray into the cable housings? Maybe there's a better way than just spraying it into the cable ends and hoping it goes as far as it can.

They also sell a one time use cable lube in a 2oz syringe , just stick the syringe needle in the top of the cable - But that's kinda expensive

 

[LewieBike]

I use this stuff. Works for both chains and doesn't really attract dust which is very important living on a dirt road lol. Plus works great to shine up the paint.

View attachment 229608

Amazon.com

A lot of those chain lubes are originally meant for motorcycles, the "dry chain lubes" are meant for O-ring moto chains and don't have much surface residue tackiness to attract dirt and sand. When you buy a bicycle chain new they're usually packed with the near equivalent of oily grease and I'm not sure that the 415 chains used for the engine side are not also packed with the same heavy oil/grease.

There's a lot of differing opinions about what's the best lubricant for bike chains, just like motor oils. Thing is as the chain gets used, no matter what you initially add to the fresh chain's lube, there's is going to be a steady ingress of abrasive, and the only really effective way to get this stuff out of your chain is to clean in mineral/paint thinner, 'til the chain comes out with no crap coming out of the inside.

Some road and touring leg power cyclists swear by doing a chain wax, soaking the solvent cleaned and dried chain in a heated pan with candle wax and then hung up while still hot, to drain. It's got a pretty good reputation for keeping the dirt and abrasives from getting into the chain, you have to retreat the chain every 300 to 500 miles of use as the wax wears away from the inside and if ridden in the wet, the water may make it's way inside the chain rollers and corrode the steel. So in rainy states like mine, waxed chains tend to need a lot more attention. These "dry lubes" are really better for dry riding conditions, but they will not make a previously oiled chain any less sticky and attractive to dirt, sand and silt.

 

[LewieBike]

How do you get the spray into the cable housings? Maybe there's a better way than just spraying it into the cable ends and hoping it goes as far as it can.

You can also just drip a few drops of oil directly onto the cable if the bike has slotted cable stops, shift into the biggest sprockets and without turning the pedals, drop the shifters into the lowest sprocket position, so the cables go slack. Then pull the housing from their stops and slide them down the cables, uncovering the cable usually inside the housing.

Any of you folks watch the Bike Farmer? He's sharing most of the techniques that shop mechanics have mastered.. This is how a general bike shop tune is usually done..


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZID-LT9s-k

 

[DAMIEN1307]

A lot of those chain lubes are originally meant for motorcycles, the "dry chain lubes" are meant for O-ring moto chains and don't have much surface residue tackiness to attract dirt and sand. When you buy a bicycle chain new they're usually packed with the near equivalent of oily grease and I'm not sure that the 415 chains used for the engine side are not also packed with the same heavy oil/grease.

There's a lot of differing opinions about what's the best lubricant for bike chains, just like motor oils. Thing is as the chain gets used, no matter what you initially add to the fresh chain's lube, there's is going to be a steady ingress of abrasive, and the only really effective way to get this stuff out of your chain is to clean in mineral/paint thinner, 'til the chain comes out with no crap coming out of the inside.

Some road and touring leg power cyclists swear by doing a chain wax, soaking the solvent cleaned and dried chain in a heated pan with candle wax and then hung up while still hot, to drain. It's got a pretty good reputation for keeping the dirt and abrasives from getting into the chain, you have to retreat the chain every 300 to 500 miles of use as the wax wears away from the inside and if ridden in the wet, the water may make it's way inside the chain rollers and corrode the steel. So in rainy states like mine, waxed chains tend to need a lot more attention. These "dry lubes" are really better for dry riding conditions, but they will not make a previously oiled chain any less sticky and attractive to dirt, sand and silt.

I tried the dry lubes years ago, I wasn't impressed, I will stick with sinking my chains in WD-40 for 24 hours to clean them out and then soaking them in synthetic gear lube for another 24 hours and hung on my fence in intense sunlight to drain off excess oil and then wipe it down and reinstall on the bike...Seems to work out quite well for me...lol.

 

[LewieBike]

I tried the dry lubes years ago, I wasn't impressed, I will stick with sinking my chains in WD-40 for 24 hours to clean them out and then soaking them in synthetic gear lube for another 24 hours and hung on my fence in intense sunlight to drain off excess oil and then wipe it down and reinstall on the bike...Seems to work out quite well for me...lol.

You know I was thinking that with your proximity to a big sandy desert, you'd be all in with chain waxing.

What you do is pretty much how I lube all of my bikes' chains. Well except that WD40 is kinda expensive and I buy a gallon of mineral thinner.

I do own one motorcycle with an O-ring chain, and the PO was telling me the best care for this chain was to wipe the chain down every other week of use with an ATF soaked rag. Seems to work but the bike was from Eastern Oregon, the dry side and I'm in the marine air belt and everything that isn't stored in a garage eventually gets rusty, so wiping down your bike with oily rags regularly here isn't bad practice.