Lube when long distance touring

[David W Pratt]

Currently using chainsaw bar lube.  Nice and sticky, and cheap.  I have a gallon for the saw, so a few oz in a little squeeze bottle comes along in the tool kit.
The religion analogy is apt.  One should really read the gospel according to St. Sheldon (Brown) before diving down that rabbit hole.

[froze]

Thanks for the responses.  I ordered the Lite, no bike shops locally sell the lube so Amazon to the rescue.  So I'll be testing the product and see how it holds up. 

[driftlessregion]

Perhaps only saddle choice brings out more personal opinions than lubes.
Prolink at home, anything I can find on the road, and only once it starts squeaking or looks really dry or lots of rain. I try not to over think it.

[froze]

It's worth a try, it will be worth it if I don't have to clean the chain and it last a long time...I got the stuff today so tomorrow I'll put it on and should find out in about 3 months if it's any good. It's a cheaper to try a different oil than trying a saddle, after saddle, after saddle...

[EmilyG]

We just kept the lube and a rag in a ziplock baggie.   Every few days, we start the morning with cleaning/lubing our chains.   Drip it on, turn the crank, scrub and rub.   When the rag became thoroughly black, we'd toss it and put in a new one. We would keep our eyes out on the road, and when we saw a potential new rag, I'd stop and hang it off my bag until we could wash it if needed. Will never forget the brand new white towel on the side of the road in the Adirondacks!  . 
Can't recommend a particular lube because we used whatever we could find in whatever bike store we came across...

[froze]

you said lube and a rag, were you cleaning with just the rag and no solvents?

[Pat Lamb]

Fairly standard practice with many (most?) chain lubes.  Apply lube to chain, use rag to wipe excess off.

I usually stopped at a local eatery a couple times a week, so it was not a big deal to take 2-3 paper napkins from one of them once a week.  I hadn't considered using real cloth rags; it's a nice idea, especially with Emily's "acquisition plan."

[EmilyG]

Yes, just the lube and rag.    If you do it regularly, things don't build up to the point where you need solvent.   

We went all the way across country using rags. We started with a few, and then just found them along the way.  In the town of Glendive, MT, a youth thrift store owner gave us a towel that we cut up.  Light enough that we just stuffed it down at the bottom of a pannier until needed.  The towels, with the texture, allow you to scrub the road grime away easier, I think. 

[froze]

Great, thanks.  There were some people that would actually use a spray solvent and clean the chain every month, but I really don't want to be doing that or carrying a bottle around.

[jrswenberger]

On a tour around Wales a few years ago, my wife and I rode with her cousin and a friend of hers. They both rode quite a bit and maintained many bikes. Upon arriving at camp each night, they would both break out the spray cleaner and lube and clean everything as if they were at home. Their bikes were silent and worked perfectly but it was a lot of work...us watching them!!!

The key is to enjoy your ride and do it the way you want to...

Jay

[BikeliciousBabe]

NFS for the win!:

http://nixfrixshun.com/nixfrixshun-ultimate-bicycle-chainlube/

I actually think their instructions are a bit over the top with 8-10 drops. I generally don't use more than 6.

[John Nelson]

If you apply lube at random intervals, does rotating the chain really spread the lube to the rest of the links?

[EmilyG]

I've never counted the drops. I just run a thin stream, try to get the whole chain, and then rub and scrub to distribute and clean as I turn the crank.  I always figured it didn't pay to be stingy on the lube because the drivechain is so important.

[staehpj1]

I've never counted the drops. I just run a thin stream, try to get the whole chain, and then rub and scrub to distribute and clean as I turn the crank.  I always figured it didn't pay to be stingy on the lube because the drivechain is so important.

Too much lube attracts crudy build up.  Also with wax based lubes too much lube leaves a lot of waxy buildup of the lube itself when the solvent evaporates if you don't get it really well wiped off.

You can probably get by with over applying if you wipe it off very throughly before it evaporates.  The worst case is to apply heavily and leave it on overnight or longer.  We did that for a number of weeks on one long tour (following the directions on the bottle of a popular wax based lube at the time).  The amount of waxy buildup was unbelievable!  The chain was gunked up, the cassette was completely filled with waxy stuff between the cogs, and the derailleurs were loaded up.  We spent and hour cleaning the cassettes and derailleurs while a LBS ran the chains through a commercial degreasing machine for us.   We then switched lubes and methods.

[EmilyG]

You are absolutely correct.    Can't let it sit on there. I think some of the directions just assume you are home with your tools and resources!  I was told if you wipe and scrub it off so you can't see any residue, you've done a good job. The lube needs to be in the tiny link, not on the outer edges.   I rub the chain as I turn the crank backwards, until very little came off on the rag.    At any rate, it seemed to work, our chains lasted over 4,000 miles before they needed to be replaced, and rest of drive train still going strong.