The wax lubes seem to form a "dry" shell that doesn't transfer as easily as oil based lubes. They get just as dirty, but stay where you put them better.
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The motorcycle community have been on the wax chain lube for a long time. Big spray cans that seem to last forever. Old School “bikers” I have known would boil a clean new chain isa mix that included paraffin. I like the spray on Wax and use it regularly on my bicycles, bikes and Ebikes.Comment
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I have great success using Pro Honda Chain Lube. If you clean the chain first, apply, let it dry, then wipe, it doesn’t fling & lasts for a long time. Touching chain no longer leaves a mess and no fling to clean off motor & spokes.Comment
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No mess sounds like it would be worth a try. I assume its available at places that sell Honda parts?
On yesterdays ride I think at times I heard a slight squeak from my chain. I know its been a few weeks since I lubed it but with work picking up i don't think I have that many miles on, maybe the low 100's. When I was averaging 20 miles per day 4-5 days a week weekly seemed to be plenty unless it got wet so I guess maybe for me 100 or so miles is the magic lube number.Comment
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Being a dirt and street motorcycle guy too, I'm going to say beware of moto chain lubes. No, I'm not first hand familiar with the Honda product, but I can say over years of trying all manner of motorcycle level chain lubes, I haven't seen one yet that is truly suitable for a cassette style bicycle drivetrain. The reason is because of heat, pressure, and speed of a motorcycle chain. Anything I'm aware of that will stay on a motorcycle chain has always made the shifting, jockey wheels, and cassette gum up or get stiff. A bicycle chain has to remain quite flexible for good shifting, and there have even been bicycle specific chain lubes that screwed that up.Originally posted by SurPaully View Post
Paully, I'm not saying you couldn't have stumbled on to the holy grail of chain lubes, but I haven't seen one yet to truly cross over. Paully, you have "Sur" in your screen name. Are you a Sur-Ron owner? I could see a good motorcycle chain lube working on a Sur-Ron perfectly since it uses a motorcycle chain and the chain is not a shifting mechanism.Comment
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Yes, a 2021 Sur Ron, and you are correct-no shifting mechanism. I’ve used it on my Specialized FatBoy, mostly used on road. But you bring up a great point-certain riding conditions, as well as cassette type gears might get gummy vs the slickness of TriFlow. I’ve been using it on any application that has a chain due to little or no fling. If you clean chain first(WD40) and let the Honda chain lube dry for a while, wipe off excess, fling free for most part. It contains Moly & PTFE. $9 for a 15oz can at the Honda Dealer in Santa Rosa.
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And Paully, my comments were certainly no dismissal of your suggestion because I certainly haven't run across all the products out there. I also still do some part time work at a motorcycle shop I've worked at since the 70's, and I've worked at a bicycle shop since 2004. Chain lube debates can get as cantankerous as engine oil debates...LOL! Bicycle chains and their multi-cog cassettes can be real PITA's when it comes to lube and where the bike is ridden. I see a lot of difference when it comes to roadies vs. mountain bikers, and there are some lubes that seem to work for both...but there is never any consensus across the board...LOL!Comment
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For bicycles Squirt is a readily availabkle wax lube that shifts well. Maybe the Honda lube would be good for an IGH bike? I find that every 40 miles or so is a good period for E bike chains. Probably because they're running beyond their intended load on a BBSHD bike.Comment
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40 miles is an interesting number that would be 1 or 2 days for me. Anyone else care to chime in with how often they lube and with what and what sort of riding they are doing like how dirty or wet?Comment
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Every other day is correct. Since I rivet my chain it's not that much work. Just brush off the old wax and drip some new wax on. -
It varies a lot for me... if I'm going to go out on a ride that's going to be 15-20mi or more I'll generally lube before the ride... If I've only been doing short rides it will be when I think about it however a longer ride is usually never far away except this time of year... but I'll bet the chain sees fresh lube every 20-60mi
I'm a believer in the philosophy that I don't give a hoot about what kind of lube, just do it frequently, and that has served me very well... >3000mi on the last chain and less than 1.5mm total stretch...
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I usually average 40 miles per ride and after each ride I wipe the chain off and re lube. After every 3 or 4 rides I wipe down the jockey wheels and clean the cassette, chain and chainring with a brush and compressed air.
I don't ride in the rain, if I can help it.
Wiping the chain down and applying lube after a 40 mile ride only takes 5 minutes and focuses my attention on the primary wear points so I don't see it as a burden.
I believe that my chain has right at 450 miles on it. And no appreciable wear yet.Comment
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My possible slight squeak that I thought was lack of chain lube turned out to be my rear rotor starting to rub on the inside of the caliper. They are Avid BB7mtns and I must have not had much pad sticking out and apparently used up what was there. I was thinking I was due for an adjustment anyway just needed tools but I had it in the stand for the lube job so no big deal.
I did look somewhat close at the jockey wheels and there really isn't much build up on them at all after around 500 miles of Squirt lube now. In that time I have never done any sort of cleaning or wiping of the chain other than the initial deep clean to convert to the Squirt. The Jockey wheels get quite a bit of lube since I move the chain in the normal direction when I apply the lube on the bottom/inside of the chain. The lower wheel ends up completely coated and dripping with the lube because that wheel is the first thing it hits after only being on the chain a few seconds. Same thing with the cassette. I try not to be in the same gear when I apply the lube but I really don't see any significant build up in any of them.
I'm gonna try the 40-50 mile intervals for a while instead of my closer to 100 and see if I see any build up issues. If not then its not a big deal to do it that often if it will make things last a bit longer.Comment
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The build up on the cogs doesn't seem to hurt the shifting, But fresh wax seems to help the chain climb on and off of them. Mostly I scrub the old wax off the chain with a stiff nylon brush so the lube can get into the pins.Wiping the buildup off of the stainless steel front ring is easy and makes the bike look better so I usually do that too. -
When I apply, I apply very liberally and then sort of work it all over and wipe off the excess with a paper towel
I used to wipe them off before with a disinfecting wipe - not that I'm trying to disinfect but they are very tough and do a reasonable job cleaning them... but I've gotten to the point where I believe anything that makes it take any longer than necessary is just more likely to discourage me from doing it as frequently so now I just do the liberal application and wipe down since the whole process takes at the very most two minutes and as I've said, I'm of the notion that all that really matters for long chain life and good shifting is doing it very frequently, the rest isn't important, including what's used for the most part, and I'm not going to waste my time
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Wal mart - Dupont - Chain Saver - yellow spray can - wax and Teflon spray - works well - Lawn Chainsaw area -- $5Comment
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That looks interesting. I would prefer the drip bottle over the spray myself. I did see a note that the mfg. was Finish Line. I looked at Finish Lines website and they make an E bike specific lubricant. Good for a whopping 350W added power! But I'll take what I can get. -
I've been using the Finish Line e bike lube and I like it. My purpose for buying it was it was cheap and has molybdenum in it. The moly content is what makes it different, most cyclists don't want the black mess from the moly but I don't mind it for this bike. I use the Bafang chainring guard on my BBS02 so my leg and clothes don't ever get any on them from riding. But without a guard it could make a mess. It doesn't fling off at all.
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Around 50 miles may be the sweet spot for my street bike. Did 40 some last night and it was still nice and smooth, not even a hint of a squeak which is easier to hear now that I fixed some other noises the bike was making. The last few rides before I think I was getting hints of squeaking maybe around 60 miles. Nothing terrible like many of the bikes you encounter in the wild where even with fat tires you still hear the chain but just hints if you really listened close. When I have all the other creeks under control this bike is pretty quiet, its the one with the Big Apple tires which are basically slicks so no noise from them.Comment
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I have not been riding as much as I would like to but have been trying to do a re lube closer to 40 miles than the 100 I was shooting for before. Really doesn't seem like there is any more build up on anything from the extra lube. Chains are amazingly sticky feeling but even the bike that spends most of its time on dirt doesn't have any more build up than the pavement bike only real difference is the color from the dirt. One thing I notice is that my little 4oz bottle isn't going to get me though the summer. I now see why they sell a 16oz bottle.Comment
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As AZguy pointed out, replacing chains is relatively cheap especially with the cost of some of the dry lubes climbing quickly the cost of a new chain is minor. But, it's not the chain that bothers me as much as the wear and grind on the cassette and Leckie ring up front (being aluminum) that a dirty chain causes. To that end I do try to keep my chains clean and dry lubed as I always ride in dry and often dusty conditions (rails to trails). I've used Finish Line Dry Teflon and wasn't impressed. Chain was noisy and had to constantly re-lube. The Finish Line Moly is better although not a true "dry" lube I don't see much build up and lubrication has been good. I would like to try their Ceramic. WD-40 Dry Lube (for bicycles) isn't so dry. Even after applying and letting sit overnight the chain/rings are tacky and pick up quite a bit of dirt but the chain stays quiet and lubrication seems good. For cleaning I use lacquer thinner and a paint brush either on the bike and over a pan or removed and soaked in thinner in the pan. Dries in seconds.
I've been reading the whole thread to see what others are using. I've tried a few products and am not fully satisfied yet.Comment
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For me the biggest reason to keep up on it is the shift quality - the longevity of the chain is low on the list but like you I'd prefer not to have to replace rings and cassettes each time.... although ironically I likely have, but just because it's a convenient time to _upgrade_ those parts, I never replaced them with the same part
I think I mentioned here somewhere I once experimented by never ever maintaining the chain throughout it's entire life... Just put it on my BBSHD build and rode it... never once lubed it - it's dry enough out here in general, I don't ride in the rain and the bike lives indoors... still got 1500mi on that chain... so I did the quick math and looked at the time spent on chain maintenance divided by the cost savings of doubling of chain life I got and including ring and cassette costs it valued my time at waaaaay below minimum wage - I don't work for <$2/hr... at least not since the '60's =]
But it was noisy and shifted like crap... well lubed it is quiet and the shifts could almost be called sensuous! But I've also gotten to where I just do a quick lube with whatever.. it's not worth wasting time or even two neurons thinking about in my opinion...
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