Chain Lube

[Ride365]

1 hour ago, Jfundo said:

You convinced me to trust my own opinion more than others.  

^^see what I did there?  Anyway, I have a full can, I'll give it another shot next time I clean and re-lube.  

I don't spray mine on, use a small pore detailing sponge to apply it to upper/bottom side of rollers and side plates, spraying wastes so much and doesn't coat all over the chain nearly as well IMHO. 

[bowlin01]

On 6/9/2021 at 4:00 PM, Wintersdark said:

Loving my Tutoro autooiler.  No electric/vacuum tie ins, and works extremely well.  I've been very happy with mine.  Never going back to manually lubing like the common peasants.

@WintersdarkI used to have a Tutoro on a previous bike, wondered how you have mounted/ routed yours on the Tracer, could you possibly put up some pics showing how you've done it please so that I can copy it?

Many Thanks

Steve

[Wintersdark]

4 hours ago, bowlin01 said:

@WintersdarkI used to have a Tutoro on a previous bike, wondered how you have mounted/ routed yours on the Tracer, could you possibly put up some pics showing how you've done it please so that I can copy it?

Many Thanks

Steve

 

[whistler]

On 6/9/2021 at 7:44 AM, kilo3 said:

Been using DuPont chain saver for years. Quick spray after every ride is all I do.

I like it since it has zero sling off after it dries, hence the after ride application.

Big +1 for this stuff, too.  Many years and 170k miles or so across my chain-driven bikes.  I use it every 300-400 miles (per my Trip 2 odometer) on a warm chain, and/or after riding in the rain or nasty road spray.  Never a problem and happy as a clam.  Will use it till I can't operate the spray nozzle anymore.  As always, YMMV.

[Clegg78]

Big fan of the DuPont chain saver as well. I’ve used a ton of different stuff on my past bike and this stuff seems solid.  Little dirt pick up, zero rust, and my oe chain is still perfect at 6000mi, with some dirt riding and rain in there.

They sell small 3oz cans , I keep one with me on long trips and hit the chain every couple days.

 

[bowlin01]

@Wintersdark thanks for that, slightly different than I had imagined, I was anticipating the oil resevoir would be mounted on the rear fottpeg hanger somehow.

Thanks for sharing that gives me a template to work from.

Cheers

Steve

[Ride365]

6 hours ago, Clegg78 said:

Big fan of the DuPont chain saver as well. I’ve used a ton of different stuff on my past bike and this stuff seems solid.  Little dirt pick up, zero rust, and my oe chain is still perfect at 6000mi, with some dirt riding and rain in there.

They sell small 3oz cans , I keep one with me on long trips and hit the chain every couple days.

 

I prefer and mostly use the plastic squeeze bottle option of chain saver, takes up no space in my tank bag either.

[Wintersdark]

On 6/11/2021 at 1:09 AM, bowlin01 said:

@Wintersdark thanks for that, slightly different than I had imagined, I was anticipating the oil resevoir would be mounted on the rear fottpeg hanger somehow.

Thanks for sharing that gives me a template to work from.

Cheers

Steve

It is mounted on the rear footpeg hanger, just up a bit where it branches off to be a hard case support.  I wanted it as high as possible (avoid the worst of the road grit and stuff being flung about from the chain), tucked in so it doesn't get hit, and yet very accessible so I don't have to screw around to add oil.

[huck]

There are plenty of products that do the job very well. For me it's a mater of several things. Not flinging onto the back wheel, not being a mess and drip;ing all over the place when applying, easy to carry on the bike without any worry of spilling, and easy to apply. For me that has for many years meant Motul chain paste. Comes in a squeeze tube with an applicator brush attached, and spreads on with no mess in minutes. 

At the end of a long day of riding (On tour that may be 4oo to 600 mi and I like to reapply every 4/5 hundred miles) I normally wipe off the bike with a wet rag, and apply a new layer of the stuff on the chain. The whole process takes about 10 or 15 minutes. that gives me a chance to inspect the bike to make sure nothing is amiss, and the bike (And chain) are ready to go in the morning. Because you are applying the stuff with the brush that comes on the tube, it goes on evenly and there is normally no reason to over do it. 

I think that long chain life is at least partly due to keeping it clean. So cleaning the chain is something I do from time to time. I use plain old kerosene and one of the three multi headed chain brushes. The motul stuff does not build up and collect a lot of dirt like many others I had tried. Cleaning the chain and sprockets is a snap and isn't particularly messy. This is usually a part of my oil change routine. 

To each his own of course, and I am sure most if not all of the products available are just fine, but this stuff works for me better than anything else I have tried for all the above reasons.

[kilo3]

7 minutes ago, huck said:

The whole process takes about 10 or 15 minutes.

I don't think I've spent that much time combined on any chain I've owned. 

[Ride365]

CLEANING chains causes the most issues, at least in terms of how some do it with solvents and brushes.

[Mattf]

I clean my chain with kerosene and a chain cleaning brush. If I'm putting on a new tire I'll soak it in a container while scrubbing it - Once or twice a season. I only use Maxima wax chain lube. I find it has the least fling. We have been doing this for years at the shop I work at. 

Edited June 13, 2021 by Mattf

[Ride365]

4 hours ago, Mattf said:

I clean my chain with kerosene and a chain cleaning brush. If I'm putting on a new tire I'll soak it in a container while scrubbing it - Once or twice a season. I only use Maxima wax chain lube. I find it has the least fling. We have been doing this for years at the shop I work at. 

So how long are chains/sprockets lasting with your method? I have a bud who NEVER cleans his chain, he just lubes the shit out of them and typically gets 40/50K miles out of them.

[Mattf]

That's amazing mileage out of a chain & Sprockets. What size motor? I typically go about 12,000 miles on a chain. That's on mostly Liter Bikes.I ride pretty hard. Don't like to push wear componets to the last bits. Sitting on the side of the road is not a good time!

[TomTracer]

53 minutes ago, Mattf said:

That's amazing mileage out of a chain & Sprockets. What size motor? I typically go about 12,000 miles on a chain. That's on mostly Liter Bikes.I ride pretty hard. Don't like to push wear componets to the last bits. Sitting on the side of the road is not a good time!

What kind of chain are you using!!? Are you running it looser rather than tight, and do you check you alignment? Thats ridiculously short chain life if mainly road mileage.

Edited June 14, 2021 by TomTracer
Fat finger typos!