Chain lube

[Big E]

My bottle of White Lightning seems to have evaporated/dried out/been eaten by bike gnomes over the winter, and I haven't had the opportunity to pick up any more. So, wanting to put something on the chain, I looked around the shed and spied a quart of motor oil. Huh, that might work. I dabbed some on, spun the chain several times, and then several hours later went for a ride.

I could be crazy, but it seemed like the bike was shifting a little better. Anybody ever tried that? Brilliant idea? Terrible idea?

[Cornholio]

IMHO: not so good an idea. Maybe a good idea as a stop-gap, but I'd clean it off and put some good dry lube on there as soon as you can. The motor oil will collect grit and wear down your drivetrain.

[snow_slider]

I agree with Cornholio, the motor oil will definitely attract grime. Get the to a bike shop and buy some a dry lube, Pedro's Ice Wax, White Lightening, Tri-Flow, or Pro-link. Wash your chain with a degreaser, rinse it, dry it, and apply a liberal amount of bike specific lube.

Your drivetrain will thank you.

[Big E]

Yeah, I was thinking that grit pick-up would be the problem.

[Pedro]

There were some recipies on mtbr for home brews, one recommendation was a 50/50 mix of mineral spirts and synthetic motor oil, put on the night before. I tried it, seems to work ok.

[bagtagley]

There were some recipies on mtbr for home brews, one recommendation was a 50/50 mix of mineral spirts and synthetic motor oil, put on the night before. I tried it, seems to work ok.

You should bottle it up and start selling it.

Call it...Pedros.