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Wax or Lube?????
There is some debate going on here among riders where I work about wax or lube being better for a chain for a road bike. I know that wax clings better at high speed and lube tends to fling off. But lube gets into the tight areas of the linkages better and wax cant for it being thicker.
Im going to clean my chain soon but I just wanna know from they guys and gals here what do you think is better for a road bike, chain wax or chain lube? If you can tell me, what brand please? PS: I have always been using wax and it works great but the dirt tends to cling to it a lot and it makes a lot of grime on the bike. Thanks |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
Duke, I've always lubed.
Never tried wax. Don't most new bikes come with wax from the factory though? I just have to accept that the lube will get my white rims dirty. Simple green and a toothbrush always get them clean again though ;) |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
I'm using Castrol chain wax but it stills fly around everywhere!! I almost give up cleaning my rim. :(
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
I feel your pain Dinez [&o]
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
Thanks guys, yeah i would like to use lube as it gets into the small spaces of the linkages and o-rings, but that stuff flies everywhere!! Damn, its a bitch getting al the wax off now gonna need about 2 cans of chain cleaner.
Will WD-40 work on wax? |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
I wouldn't use the WD-40 on the chain, I heard it can affect the o-rings in the chain. Or it can take out all the lube from the chain itself.
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
Ok cool, thanks for the heads up.;)
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
You should never use WD-40 on high speed chains like ours. It does drive out the lube and does not provide any protection after a few miles. Kerosene is also a very big no no when it comes to cleaning the chain. Chain wax is really where its at I think, you just have to take the bike out and get the chain good and warm before applying. This way when you apply the wax the chain will actually pull it into the seals when it melts. Its also easier to wipe off the excess when it is warm like this. ALso, a little tip for cleaning rims really quickly is to get the Armor All cleaning wipes. I use one of those wipes per wheel and they cut through the wax and lube very easily and will not hard paint. Looks nice and wet and clean afterwards. Just .2 cents frommy wallet. Have a good one.
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: 900FighterRR You should never use WD-40 on high speed chains like ours. It does drive out the lube and does not provide any protection after a few miles. Kerosene is also a very big no no when it comes to cleaning the chain. Chain wax is really where its at I think, you just have to take the bike out and get the chain good and warm before applying. This way when you apply the wax the chain will actually pull it into the seals when it melts. Its also easier to wipe off the excess when it is warm like this. ALso, a little tip for cleaning rims really quickly is to get the Armor All cleaning wipes. I use one of those wipes per wheel and they cut through the wax and lube very easily and will not hard paint. Looks nice and wet and clean afterwards. Just .2 cents frommy wallet. Have a good one. Like after ANY cleaning .. you should ALWAYS re-lube extra well with top chain lube of some sort .. |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
Not to be a stick in the mud but I did some research a while back after hearing from a buddy of mine who used to race about the problems associated with WD40. What I found is that contrary to popular belief WD-40 can be quite destructive to O and X ring chains. Once it penetrates into the sealed area of the chain, it dissolves the petroleum out of the grease, leaving the clay binders and other non lubricating additives that stabilize high speed lubes. It is a super penetrant and chain wax and lube will not penetrate these areas as effectively after you clean with WD40. Even if they do, they will be degraded by the soluables in the remaining WD40. What's left in the bearing is essentially dirt that cakes up, causing acceleraed wear. Without the petroleum, rust will also be an issue because WD40 can not maintain stability at the speed, friction, and heat levels that our chains see and will soon evaporate and turn to nothing. Essentially WD40 is like syntheitc oils in car engines, once you use it you can't go back because regualr oils will not be able to adhere to the metals in your engine. Wd40 may work well at cleaning, but its what you can't see that causes the problems. I know it forces out moisture, but really moisture will never penetrate the O or X rings because there is petroleum there and also they are sealed rings. I know this is an age old debate but WD40 was inventied in the 40s as a circuit board cleaner, and it was never meant for high speed lubrication. You may never see a failure associated with its use and so what if it shaves a few thousand miles off your chains life, its just good to have the info to make a decision. Again, I mean no offense in my disagreeing with you, just throwing out what I know. Enjoy the rest of the season.
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: 900FighterRR Not to be a stick in the mud but I did some research a while back after hearing from a buddy of mine who used to race about the problems associated with WD40. What I found is that contrary to popular belief WD-40 can be quite destructive to O and X ring chains. Once it penetrates into the sealed area of the chain, it dissolves the petroleum out of the grease, leaving the clay binders and other non lubricating additives that stabilize high speed lubes. It is a super penetrant and chain wax and lube will not penetrate these areas as effectively after you clean with WD40. Even if they do, they will be degraded by the soluables in the remaining WD40. What's left in the bearing is essentially dirt that cakes up, causing acceleraed wear. Without the petroleum, rust will also be an issue because WD40 can not maintain stability at the speed, friction, and heat levels that our chains see and will soon evaporate and turn to nothing. Essentially WD40 is like syntheitc oils in car engines, once you use it you can't go back because regualr oils will not be able to adhere to the metals in your engine. Wd40 may work well at cleaning, but its what you can't see that causes the problems. I know it forces out moisture, but really moisture will never penetrate the O or X rings because there is petroleum there and also they are sealed rings. I know this is an age old debate but WD40 was inventied in the 40s as a circuit board cleaner, and it was never meant for high speed lubrication. You may never see a failure associated with its use and so what if it shaves a few thousand miles off your chains life, its just good to have the info to make a decision. Again, I mean no offense in my disagreeing with you, just throwing out what I know. Enjoy the rest of the season. those points you make based on qualified info are correct ... to a degree. I only was speaking from experience with the 35-40 chains that I have replaced over the years on a few different rides mate .. but then I am old school and fixed somewhat in his ways:eek: I have never thrown a chain nor had one wear out without a million miles on it ;) Cleaning chains is a bit hit and miss no matter what you do ... Kero has a lot of similar problems but is still widely used... unfortunately moisture will never penetrate the O or X rings because there is petroleum there and also they are sealed rings. but at the end of the day .. you have to use something to try to get **** out ready for new lube... water based anything wont do it, as it wont get past nor into anything where it counts... whatever anyone choose's to do as far as cleaning goes ....re-lubing well afterwards I think is the key to keeping a chain on your ride in good shape.. |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
Well put my Australian friend. Regular maintenance does the trick on just about anything. I will admit I get a little caught up in the details sometimes and its easy to overlook what simply works. As long as no one tries to us the WD40 as a pure lube then it really should be of no concern. I will default to your extreme level of experience on this one and we both walk away the wiser. If its worked for you in the dusty ass outback then I think that it will work for just about anyone. I also never ever get my chain wet so I am a bit ignorant to that effect on my chain.
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: 900FighterRR Well put my Australian friend. Regular maintenance does the trick on just about anything. I will admit I get a little caught up in the details sometimes and its easy to overlook what simply works. As long as no one tries to us the WD40 as a pure lube then it really should be of no concern. I will default to your extreme level of experience on this one and we both walk away the wiser. If its worked for you in the dusty ass outback then I think that it will work for just about anyone. I also never ever get my chain wet so I am a bit ignorant to that effect on my chain. There are but a few advantages of being 1,298 years old ....:eek: and experience is one of the better ones my friend.. I am sure you know your stuff as well ;) |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
CBRclassic that is a very nice bike! Bet you get a ton of compliments on it.
Looks like it's just the right size for you too |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
The reason why we need to wipe off the dirt is to get a better penetration of the lube or wax into the chain. I just prefer to wipe it off with a cloth and apply the wax; not all the time but periodically. No WD-40 as well.
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: MT Wallet CBRclassic that is a very nice bike! Bet you get a ton of compliments on it. Looks like it's just the right size for you too Yer and she fits me like a glove ;) |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
WD-40 is diluted solvent in a water base, and it shouldn't be used on, well, anything except household hardware like hinges, etc. The small amount of lubricant in WD-40 is very light weight and not persistant enough to cling to moving parts. Especially high speed chains. I know it is a product with a lot of cultural cred, but so does duct tape and would you use that on your bike? Sure, I know a lot of people use it to clean their chains without any problems. The people that do any chain maintaince probably don't let the chain and sprocket wear enough that the solvent from the WD makes much of a difference. Roller chain is some strong, durable material and the solvent in WD is so diluted that it probably isn't going to really damage the chain, but it is definetly not helping it beyond pushing off built up dirt and grime.
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
My goodness this WD40 thing is really over the top:eek:
Another chemists report hmmmm :eek: WD-40 is diluted solvent in a water base, and it shouldn't be used on, well, anything except household hardware like hinges, etc. MI900RR , all including myself are only talking about using it to help clean the chains mate ... not lube them... but it is definetly not helping it beyond pushing off built up dirt and grime. To assist with cleaning ............ |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
Now I'm feeling how MT Wallet felt like about his charging issue when people were giving him advice in different directions all of the time. I'm in the same direction as DBRclassic, I just want to find something to strip the grime off and then either lube or wax it. I do know that WD-40 is a powerful grime cleaner but I dont want it to damage my chain. I have been using a chain cleaner from a bike shop that works ok but not well enough for chain wax.
All I want to know is what will protect my chain better wax or lube. Thanks everyone for your input so far ;) |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
I should clarify, WD-40 is a really bad cleaner. It won't work well because it is water based. Wax and petro lubes just repel the water, and the water will also cause parts to rust. The solvent can also damage x-ring and o-ring seals if left on long enough. I've been using bean clean. Can get it here: http://www.chaindrain.com/
It's completely safe for x-rings and o-rings, it's made from soybean oil so way less toxic than solvents, and it works like a MoFo. |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: MI900RR I should clarify, WD-40 is a really bad cleaner. It won't work well because it is water based. Wax and petro lubes just repel the water, and the water will also cause parts to rust. The solvent can also damage x-ring and o-ring seals if left on long enough. I've been using bean clean. Can get it here: http://www.chaindrain.com/ It's completely safe for x-rings and o-rings, it's made from soybean oil so way less toxic than solvents, and it works like a MoFo. It won't work well because it is water based but...... Ok... a vegetarian chain sounds great ... :eek: I now have had all of my cans of WD40 put down humanly ...:eek: and are now being buried..and I will go and adopt a can of the soybean oil asap.. I dunno how we ever all got along before this stuff.... Geezus ... plant food for my chain now[:-] ..what will they think of next mate ..[:-] sorry for your confusion DukeCBR ...but I thought that 30 year of using the stuff with not one issue arrising made it ok to at least clean with :-) |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
Lol, holy hell this topic is out of control. I feel somewhat responsible but hey, its all in good fun. I say that the folks who have used the stuff forever shoul stick with what they like and these rest of us young bloods should just get a grunge brush and a wad of rags and get down and dirty with it. I have never really cleaned my chain, I just spray a bit of wd40 on a rag and that makes it slide easily as I spin the rear tire and hold the rag on the chain. A few dozen revolutions after using the grunge brush should do the trick. Mind you this is after a good ride where everything is warm and loose and ready to be cleaned. In terms of getting in those sealed area, who the hell really cares? As long as you don't have the chain clogged to **** with the dirt and grime, and keep soaking the selaed areas in fresh lube or wax every 200 miles, you should never have an issue. I think this is one of those things that people overthink, and really its not that important. I made my previous posts on the issue because I didn't think that the WD40 was a great ideal as a real chain soaker, thats all. It works great as a rag soaker to cut through the surface ****. Maybe my chain never really gets that dirty? Point is that its your call as an individual, and as long as your not misinformaed and truly damaging your chain with solvents then your not going to be setting yourself back. Lets cut the Classis Australian and all the other old timers who have been around the block a break. The best idea is to keep thing clean enough so you don't have a three hour cleaning job, again, it all comes down to regular PREVENTATIVE maintenance. This has been a fun post though, I love how seriosu we all get over these tiny little things. Keep it up!
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
Ok I just had to jump in on this one. Now if you wanna go with Honda then you only use 80w to 90w gear lube to lube your chain after it is warm of course. Plain chain lube cancontains these "solvents" that everyone keeps saying will damage your O or X rings. As for cleaning I know the Haynes manual says to clean with kerosene, but not gasoline as gas has solvents that may damage the chain. It says as long as you only soak it for about 5-6 minutes then blow out with compressed air immediately then it will not do any damage. The entire process should not take more than 10 minutes. Personally I don't know about it but that is whats in the Haynes manual for our bike. As for the lube being gear lube that one is from Honda themselves. Also I knowthat it is recommended notto use a chain with a clip style master link, though when I got my bike it had one on it.
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: slimmyslim1420 Ok I just had to jump in on this one. Now if you wanna go with Honda then you only use 80w to 90w gear lube to lube your chain after it is warm of course. Plain chain lube cancontains these "solvents" that everyone keeps saying will damage your O or X rings. As for cleaning I know the Haynes manual says to clean with kerosene, but not gasoline as gas has solvents that may damage the chain. It says as long as you only soak it for about 5-6 minutes then blow out with compressed air immediately then it will not do any damage. The entire process should not take more than 10 minutes. Personally I don't know about it but that is whats in the Haynes manual for our bike. As for the lube being gear lube that one is from Honda themselves. Also I knowthat it is recommended notto use a chain with a clip style master link, though when I got my bike it had one on it. Never has such a simple subject become so complex ;) I love it :D I do like your extended explanation of cleaning which includes BLOWING THE BLOODY THING OUT TILL DRY ... with air to remove either or all or any or any combination of the following : WD40 :eek: Vegi based oil :eek: kero :eek: washing detergent :eek: water :eek: beer :eek: bourbon :eek: take a piss on it [:-] anything bloody wet :eek: I do love a little debate ;) great thread mate's .. and I mean that seriously... ;) |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
HA HA HA HA!!! Never had I thought that such a simple thread could get this complex. What next dudes, someone coming here to say that they heard someone using old MacDonalds oil on their chain.
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D PS: Dont do that newbies, you will seriously stuff your chain up. |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: DukeCBR HA HA HA HA!!! Never had I thought that such a simple thread could get this complex. What next dudes, someone coming here to say that they heard someone using old MacDonalds oil on their chain. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D PS: Dont do that newbies, you will seriously stuff your chain up. **** mate ... there probablly is enough grease in a big mack to do a fine job... I think your onto something :eek: ....as he thinks :eek: hmmm , will I eat it ? or use it to clean my chain ??? hmmmm.. Definately a Big ... Mack decision :eek: [align=center]NEWBIE'S : As well as stuffing up your chain ... [/align][align=center]- A WARNING : For the Kids at Home - DO NOT TRY TO EAT WHAT IS LEFT OF YOUR BURGER ONCE IT HAS BEEN USED TO LUBE OR CLEAN YOUR CHAIN Eating Chain Grit is a Health Hazard!!!!!! TASTE'S LIKE **** !!! OR COULD BE DETRAMENTAL TO YOUR TEETH!!! [/align] |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
Personally I kike to throw mine in the dishwasher and put it on the heavy duty cycle with a whole box of detergenthttps://cbrforum.com/micons/m9.gif
Na J/K |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
Duke and cbrclassic; you guys are making me hungry! :D
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RE: Wax or Lube?????
:DA burger and fries for me please
On a more serious note [&o]I gotta go with the "NO wd-40 for my chain" crew If all else fails and you are still confused and I don't blame you, just call a bunch of Honda dealers and ask for the service dept. Ask them what they think. Since they are Honda certified you'd think they would know what's best for our Honda chains. |
RE: Wax or Lube?????
ORIGINAL: dinez74 Duke and cbrclassic; you guys are making me hungry! :D |
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