Chain Lubrication Question

Submitted by PJB on Fri, 09/19/2014 - 18:28

Hi All!

I've been messin' with bicycles for something over 50 years and have never found trustworthy advice about chain & sproket lubrication. Aside from many product suggestions, whether to lube or run dry is always debated.

The members of this group seem to care about protecting & enjoying their bicycles far more than they care about the 'cool thing' to use or do.

So, what do you all think about chains? Should they be used dry? Or should they be oiled or perhaps even greased?  I've heard it all hotly debated over these many years. I even remember lanolin being the go-to chain lubricant when I was a kid. (It's a very environmentally friendly rust proffer for my truck- But bike chanis???)

In my situation, I ride on pavement- dry or rain or snow. No mud or dirt tracks. (Heck, I have enough trouble staying upright on pavement these days, let alone dirt!)

To be honest, I've usually used a light spray lube, such as REM oil. I don't know if that's good or bad for the components. My favorite bike of all time has lasted 41 years so far & I'd love to use it for another 41. (1973 CCM Concorde)

Thanks For Your Suggestions!

Paul

4 Comments

Submitted by Old-Bikes on Sat, 09/20/2014 - 00:45.

only the chain needs to be lubricated. failure to lube it will cause premature wear and noise.

I use Purple Extreme chain lube. any other "dry" chain lube should do the trick too... "wet" chain oils are good if you ride in rainy/muddy conditions otherwise it just attracts grime on the chain.

also, to get more mileage from your chainrings and sprockets it is best to replace the chain when it has 0.75% stretch or less.

Submitted by PJB on Sat, 09/20/2014 - 08:56.

Thank You Old-Bikes!

I'll order some Purple today & clean up my drive system. 

Thanks for the chain stretch tip- A good reminder to check it on occassion.  This is an item I often forget to check during my preventative maintenance routine. 

I used to check roller chains on machinery at work in two ways-. One is the 12" method where I can see the cumulative stretch over many links & divide by.... The other is to measure many random links, one at a time,  with the vernier claiper to look for stretch in any one of them. If either showed a problem, the chain was replaced & sprokets inspected thoroughly.

Thanks Again for taking the time to reply!

Paul

Submitted by Old-Bikes on Sat, 09/20/2014 - 15:45.

you can get a chain checker from Park Tool or from another brand... it's less trouble and well worth the few bucks it costs.

Submitted by PJB on Sun, 09/21/2014 - 06:10.

Thanks Old-Bikes!

I had forgotten about this type of tool. I remember the machine repairpersons at work using similar gagues on various roller chains. They also had a bunch of machine specific fixed-length gauges.

Enjoy This Day!

Paul