How should I lubricate a mountain bike during continuous wet winter use?

[rcx132]

Our winters are wet and I ride the local Surrey and Hogsmill trails daily, often through mud. I've got limited time during my lunch break so I get home, I pick off any chunks of mud, hose the bike down and then use a pet drier to dry as much of the bike as I can. It never fully dries as the drivetrain has so many nooks. So I end up putting oil on a damp chain :/

What are your tips?

I use Finish Line synthetic wet lube on the chain. And some sort of exterior fork oil on the stanchions, which I have to completely dry or the oil turns white.

 

[stuvy]

GT85

I bin my chain after a year as the woods I ride in has a lot of sand and it’s like a grinding paste

Had 6 weeks out of a pair of rear pads in those woods, it gets a bit costly but I haven’t been riding as much as I used to

 

[Redsailor]

I used to use something called ACF 50 on the motorbike. Expensive, but good. It's a sort of WD40 on steroids, thin coat over all the frame and electricals. Was developed for the aerospace industry. A good bike shop should stock it

 

[striker]

I've raced road bikes for nearly 40 years. I've tried everything on chains, A couple of years ago I settled on automatic transmission fluid for chains. It's quite a clean oil, it sticks to the chain well without too much crud sticking to it. It cleans up with a stiff brush and fairy liquid, so no aggressive degreasers are needed that ruins bottom bracket/ hub/ freehub bearings. It lasts about 300 miles in the dry, but only a couple of rides in the wet.. I'm getting 3k miles from a chain on my summer bike and about half that on my winter bike..
Honestly I've tried everything from hot waxing, drip wax, dry lubes, wet lubes the lot. ATF works for me. I use kmc chains.

 

[Shox Dr]

GT85. I used to buy cases of 36, used that much. Wash the crap off, dry it, blather it in GT85

 

[Scalarocco]

Paraffin wax with ptfe works on my chain, but it'sa bit of a faff, and gt85 for the other bits.

 

[Erie Fred]

Don't get it on the seat though....

 

[graffian]

I didnt worry to much about mud, but kept mechs and cables clear, clean and working.
Chains lasted about two rides before they needed cleaning and oiling; 36 mile ride most days.
Wax was useless, the chain sounded like a can of coins during the first ride.
I had a few chains in use and a few bikes always usable. Cassettes last longer than one chain, if
your using a few chains alternately on them.

It seemed to work and I rarely washed a bike.

 

[daedalusminos]

I have found no better chain lube than Bilt Hamber Ferrosol. It lasts well, resists corrosion and is (relatively) cheap. Can be re-applied but equally easy enough to clean off with degreaser.

 

[DanZac]

I do a 20 mile road commute every day, so maybe not quite as harsh as the OP, but bikes still take a beating and I just use a light or medium lubricating oil (cheap 3 in 1 oil). If the chain and derailiers look a bit dry or it gets wet I just lather some more on. Unless I know its going to be really wet, then I tend to use engine oil which is a bit stickier and stays on a bit longer.

Every few weeks I give it a good wash, whip the chain off, shove it in a milk bottle with a bit of white spirit and give it a good shake for a bit, which leaves it lovely and clean then start again.

Not the recommended approach and my garage floor looks like an oil tankers crashed into it, but it works, its cheap, it's easy, and I still get 3000+ miles out of a chain with no problems. I'm of the opinion that you wouldn't run your car engine dry, so why run you bike chain dry. Lather that oil on.

 

[Ross365]

Duckham's used to make a water-resistant grease called "KEENOL". I think it went off the market, Googling Keenol may lead to finding some alternative products; lots of people missed it.

One popular use for Keenol was to lubricate car handbrake cables, for which it was ideal. I still have half a tin which I bought in the mid 1970's .

 

[rcx132]

Doesn't sound like anyone is too concerned about applying lube to a wet chain so I may keep doing what I'm doing.

I've raced road bikes for nearly 40 years. I've tried everything on chains, A couple of years ago I settled on automatic transmission fluid for chains. It's quite a clean oil, it sticks to the chain well without too much crud sticking to it. It cleans up with a stiff brush and fairy liquid, so no aggressive degreasers are needed that ruins bottom bracket/ hub/ freehub bearings. It lasts about 300 miles in the dry, but only a couple of rides in the wet.. I'm getting 3k miles from a chain on my summer bike and about half that on my winter bike..
Honestly I've tried everything from hot waxing, drip wax, dry lubes, wet lubes the lot. ATF works for me. I use kmc chains.

Ha OK I'll give ATF a go then. I have plenty.

Every few weeks I give it a good wash, whip the chain off, shove it in a milk bottle with a bit of white spirit and give it a good shake for a bit, which leaves it lovely and clean then start again.

White spirit is a mix of hydrocarbons but mainly lower than kerosene, so may not be ideal for chains. I've seen bike manuals say to use paraffin. That may have been as it was cheap and accessible back then. I use diesel now as its more accessible these days and is lubricative so I'm more confident it won't do any harm as it gets under the chain rollers.

Duckham's used to make a water-resistant grease called "KEENOL". I think it went off the market, Googling Keenol may lead to finding some alternative products; lots of people missed it.

One popular use for Keenol was to lubricate car handbrake cables, for which it was ideal. I still have half a tin which I bought in the mid 1970's .

Keenol is now a marine grease called Ramonol. Is it that good? I'm tempted https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ramonol-White-Marine-Grease-500g/dp/B00IZBWCR0/

 

[Ross365]

Keenol is now a marine grease called Ramonol. Is it that good? I'm tempted https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ramonol-White-Marine-Grease-500g/dp/B00IZBWCR0/

I used to apply it to the brake cable prior to an MoT, and it was pretty much still there 12 months later. If smeared thickly, it is/was a yellow colour, so could easily be seen.

 

[Gareth J]

You could blow a majority of the water off with compressed air, would make drying quicker/achievable. Giving whatever you use a better chance of sticking.

If it's not dry, surely a dewatering product has to be the priority, despite the lower lubrication properties

 

[northwest]

I wonder if slideway oil would be good on chains?

Just a thought. I have zero experience.

 

[joebog1]

Origional Duckhams. Used to cost a fortune in Australia.
Comes in a "cake tin ". Wash the chain ( or ideally a NEW chain ) , put Duckhams on the stove and melt,
( Its a solid mass otherwise ) Follow the directions. boil as recommended. Leave the chain in for 30 mins ??? I dont remember back that far.
Never had a failure. BUT, today an O ring chain is the way to go. ( I used to go VERY fast, in 1969-1970 ).

Just my two bobs worth.

Joe

 

[DanZac]

White spirit is a mix of hydrocarbons but mainly lower than kerosene, so may not be ideal for chains. I've seen bike manuals say to use paraffin. That may have been as it was cheap and accessible back then. I use diesel now as its more accessible these days and is lubricative so I'm more confident it won't do any harm as it gets under the chain rollers.

On a brand new chain straight out the box I'd fully agree. However once you've been out in the rain, road salt, mud, grit, etc for a few hundred miles, I'm going to guess that it's more important to get the crud off the chain than it is to worry about washing away any of the original lubricant that may still be left from under the rollers. If your worried about getting the lubricants back in, then leave the clean chain submerged in clean lubricant overnight.

I'm firmly of the opinion that it's a bike chain, not a space rocket, use whatever you want to get it clean, but get some oil back on it. You see loads of people on high end bikes grinding along with dry, creaking, rubbing chains, because they've followed the latest bike press advice to only use baby oil, or the lard from an African walrus on their chain.

It's a cheap mechanical chain, get it clean and get it oiled, specially in the winter.

 

[james butler]

it may be naughty and probably get a lot of hate but i never wash a chain especially in winter
pre winter i spray on a dry lubricant and then a chain wax and leave it
adding water into the mix is only going to make it worse
one of my pals has two chains and swaps them over each month in a cycle of clean and lube but again never uses water, he dunks the removed chains in diesel and agitates to clean and lube then after drys it off and uses the same muc off dry lube i use
guess im just lazy and chains are really cheap

 

[GRW]

I have used Chainsaw Chain Oil for donkeys years on first my M/C chains and later on my MTB's.
If you recall Scottoiler - well Chainsaw Oil is pretty much what Scottoil is under the branding.
I got 30,000m out of an XJR1300 chain - and that was not hanging about & untold wheelies.

Most chain lubes are too "sticky" with their anti-fling agents, so gum up with dirt/dust & accelerate wear IMO.

The last chain on my SRAM 12-speed E-Mtb lasted 1000km before wearing past 0.5mm stretch using Chainsaw Oil - and that's in the harsh Welsh Forests etc.

I wash the bike down after a ride (hose & brush), then use the compressor to blow all water off the drive-train, then re-lube using an old toothbrush.
Periodically I put the chain & cassette in my wee Clarke worktop parts washer (with Kero in it - again IMO a better cleaner than expensive branded stuff), then compressor dry, refit & re-lube.

 

[rcx132]

On a brand new chain straight out the box I'd fully agree. However once you've been out in the rain, road salt, mud, grit, etc for a few hundred miles, I'm going to guess that it's more important to get the crud off the chain than it is to worry about washing away any of the original lubricant that may still be left from under the rollers. If your worried about getting the lubricants back in, then leave the clean chain submerged in clean lubricant overnight.

I'm firmly of the opinion that it's a bike chain, not a space rocket, use whatever you want to get it clean, but get some oil back on it. You see loads of people on high end bikes grinding along with dry, creaking, rubbing chains, because they've followed the latest bike press advice to only use baby oil, or the lard from an African walrus on their chain.

It's a cheap mechanical chain, get it clean and get it oiled, specially in the winter.

I'm cautious about degreasing chains or anything that lets the degreaser hide. As an inexperienced youngster I used WD40 to degrease the needle bearings on my motorbike swing arm. Despite efforts, the WD40 never fully got out of the bearings and the new grease, when applied, was affected by the WD40 remnants. The bearings never felt right when turned by hand.

My theory is that white spirit gets under the chain rollers and stays there. You can't wipe it out or blow it out. Now any lubricant applied to the chain, when it gets under the rollers, is diluted and affected by the remaining white spirit right where it matters most.

Diesel is better for cleaning chains as it is itself a lubricant. This is just my theory though.