Chain maintenance products

[Cloudymoor]

When I bought my bike a few months ago, my LBS put together a small packet of things he felt I should think of buying along with the bike. The one thing I balked at was this once/week lubricant for my chain. It came in a very small container and was close to 20 bucks. I have to believe that an auto supply shop probably sells something that does the same job for a fraction of the price. Does anyone have any thoughts?

[VeloVT]

what kind was it?
I've been using Boeshield, which comes in a four ounce bottle that costs around $10 (maybe a little less). A four ounce bottle of lube lasts a long time if you are lubing every 2-3 rides.

[Kalidurga]

I wouldn't go to an auto supply store for bike lube. You'd likely get something that would gunk your chain up mightily.

My personal favorite is Rock'n'Roll Gold (http://www.rocklube.com/products_detail_gold.html) lube. It cleans and lubes in one step, only needs to be re-applied if the chain begins to squeak or gets obviously dusty/dirty, and I'm only a little over halfway through the 16oz ($23) bottle that I bought early last year (though you'd go through it faster if you ride more frequently than I do).

There've been a lot of conversations about bike lube and chain care here at TE, so I'm sure you'd find plenty of options with a quick search.

[Cloudymoor]

Liza,
I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the product. But thanks to you both for the advice. It sounds like these products last a long time!!

[Velobambina]

Purple Extreme is my favorite chain lube. A little goes a long way.

[Aggie_Ama]

I also use Rock n Roll Gold luber, it is $7.99 at my LBS. Before we started doing mountain biking a bottle would last 6+ months on our 2 road bikes and 2 commuter bikes. We don't have winter weather and only have about 60 rainy days a year so I don't deal with much muck on my road bike. Now that we mountain bike it is closer to a bottle a month.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I used to use Purple Extreme and other good lubes.
But then I tried some "dry" lube- silicon based (the silicon is suspended in a liquid that evavorates after applying). I noticed right away that a) my chain was quieter and felt smoother and b) my chain and gears stayed cleaner longer- they didn't have the oil anymore that made black road grime stick to them.
I love the dry lube- lasts just as long and my drive chain stays cleaner and is easier to clean up when I wash my bike. :)

[uforgot]

Another vote for Rock n Roll. Started using it a few weeks ago and it's the best and easiest one I've ever used.

[aicabsolut]

I like Rock n' Roll too. I clean my drivetrain a lot, and when I've been riding in a lot of grit/sand/wet I'll use some Prolink to get it cleaner faster, because it's always on sale at Performance.

[Aggie_Ama]

Another vote for Rock n Roll. Started using it a few weeks ago and it's the best and easiest one I've ever used.

Yup easy peasy! I am admittedly challenged at most things on the bike including cleaning the drivetrain and lubing it but I can use this stuff. Put on, wipe off. No skills required. :p

[Kalidurga]

Purple Extreme is my favorite chain lube. A little goes a long way.

Velo-b, I've been curious about Purple Extreme and have considered giving it a try when I run out of my bottle of Rock'n'Roll. What else have you used that you'd compare it to?

[OakLeaf]

I've switched to the Pedro's soybean oil based lubes and I've been VERY happy with them. Most lubes are extremely toxic, so it was great to find non-toxic chain and component lube that actually work! There's "Go!" low-viscosity lube for dry conditions and "Chainj" for MTBs and wet conditions. Love 'em both.

[sundial]

I used to use Purple Extreme and other good lubes.
But then I tried some "dry" lube- silicon based (the silicon is suspended in a liquid that evavorates after applying). I noticed right away that a) my chain was quieter and felt smoother and b) my chain and gears stayed cleaner longer- they didn't have the oil anymore that made black road grime stick to them.
I love the dry lube- lasts just as long and my drive chain stays cleaner and is easier to clean up when I wash my bike. :)

I agree! I am a dry lube kind of girl. :)

[Ana]

I agree! I am a dry lube kind of girl. :)

Don't you need a special degreaser to get rid of the waxy ingredients? Do dry lubes work in wet conditions?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Don't you need a special degreaser to get rid of the waxy ingredients? Do dry lubes work in wet conditions?

Doesn't seem waxy to me. I don't notice any problems at all in the rain.
I just put some on every few hundred miles, wipe the chain, and forget about it.
Then typically about twice a year I thoroughly clean my drive chain and gears with citrus degreaser, then suds/wash the whole bike with SimpleGreen (diluted), rinse, re-lube and ready to go again.

[Tri Girl]

Lisa, not that I'm asking you to endorse the product, but what brand of dry lube do you use? I use Purple Extreme right now and I like it, but I was looking to try a dry lube next time.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, not that I'm asking you to endorse the product, but what brand of dry lube do you use? I use Purple Extreme right now and I like it, but I was looking to try a dry lube next time.

I've been using "Finish Line" Dry Teflon lube:
http://media.rei.com/media/717801.jpg
I'm sure other dry lubes are probably good too.
Purple Extreme was a perfectly fine lube, but I did find that black road grit and gunk stuck all over my gears and chain way more than with the dry lube. (I always wipe my chain thoroughly after applying any kind of lube, by the way.)

[Xrayted]

I do what BSG does for maint of chain and drive gear but use ProLink instead. Just drip a little on, run it into the chain, wipe off and go. Lasts and doesn't get gunked nearly as much or as fast. The prolink cleans it as it lubes it. I buy it at Performance when on sale. One bottle lasts a long time tho and we use it on all 4 bikes.

Good luck. :)

[Becky]

Prolink here too. I drip a little on each roller, let it penetrate for ~10 minutes, and wipe off. I may repeat if the chain is particularly gunky or loud. I wipe my derailleur pulleys down and "floss" the cassette with a rag every so often, and that keeps the gunk down as well.

Another one I like is Dumonde Tech- very persistent, and not too gunky.

[aicabsolut]

Don't you need a special degreaser to get rid of the waxy ingredients? Do dry lubes work in wet conditions?

If you use a cleaning lube, you won't have to use a degreaser until you really want to detail your drivetrain. There are some slightly more gentle (safer for the components and frame and paint) degreasers that you can spray on and wipe off (look for ones you don't have to rinse). The only time I've needed this was after a really really disgusting ride on muddy and gravelly backroads after serious rain. This was after a good bath with the hose didn't work well enough. 99% of the time, a cleaning lube like RnR will help shed the gunk while it relubes.

Some dry lubes do not work well in wet conditions. You'd need a wetter or waxier one. RnR gold does ok in the wet, but they make a blue one for really sloppy stuff as well as a red one that is the driest. The silicon stuff in it isn't as waxy as, say, White Lightning, so you won't get as much buildup on the chain. But the thinner and drier the lube, the more often you'll need to re-lube.

[Velobambina]

Velo-b, I've been curious about Purple Extreme and have considered giving it a try when I run out of my bottle of Rock'n'Roll. What else have you used that you'd compare it to?

I found that it's cleaner, probably because you use less. Since I'm a distance rider, I need something w/a lot of staying power. Purple Extreme lives up to its promise of 400 miles per application (of course, could be a bit less if the weather is rainy).

I've used ProLink, which is fine; Pedro's Ice Wax (found it was a dirt magnet but I might not have been wiping it off the chain good enough); and Road Rage.