Just curious what you guys use for street bikes. No need to yell at each other or insult your mothers or anything lol.
Plain old WD-40. These chains have the lube for the actual chain sealed behind the o-rings. So when we clean it's just to remove road grime and dirt for so it doesn't build up and damage o-rings and to keep the chain from rusting. WD-40 takes care of that. Cheap, easy, fast, and no more lube to build up and attact dirt...especially around the front sprocket.
I read somewhere that WD-40 damages the rubber in the rings, any truth to that ? I've been cleaning the chain on my FJ-09 with WD-40 for a while but noticed that the chains didn't last very long (about 12,000 miles).
Yeah, she's paying for my next chain with the money she's made with your subscription. Thank you for being a fan !
WD-40 here as well. During riding season for maintenance I use brake cleaner on the side plates to flush off the gunk that gets built up, then I hit it up with WD-40 to lubricate/protect against rust and for winter storage I give it a full kerosene clean then hit it with a chain wax/lube so it's fully coated for the 6 months it'll sit in my garage.
WD40 because that $hit flings off everywhere and I'd rather have WD40 all over my bike than anything else.
Not true. I remember seeing a test somewhere that they soaked o-rings in jar of WD-40 for days or weeks (can't remember which), but the o-rings did not swell. Edit: months
I havent used chain lube since the 90's, it's WD40 for me. This includes street, track, dirt. The oring chains as stated above have their own internal lube so, nothing more than corrosion resistance is needed. Most of the newer high end chains have orings that are chemical resistant so, unless you are buying cheap stuff, the old wives tale doesnt hold water, any longer. I wash the chain with water/dawn dish wash soap mixture and a rag, then coat the chain liberally with wd40, and then "dry" excess with an older wd40 drying rag, used just for this maintenance, rolling the wheel/chain forward and backward to remove excess. Using anything sticky, or anti fling, is turning your chain into a belt sander, toward your sprockets, and chain sliders. The only thing you are doing now with oring chains is, preventing them, from rusting. Your results may vary. Ski
The one and only reason to touch your chain is if you want it pretty. I was doing a quick clean up of my new-to-me F900 and was surprised to find the chain was silver, not black. Cleaning it only invites rust. When I do get the urge I clean with WD40 then hit it with chain wax.
I've used- WD40 Dupont Teflon Maxima Chain Wax They all work. It's 2024 enough with the "WD40 eats o-ring bullshit". WD40 works great but it does build up. Still the easiest and works great. Dupont doesn't build up, easy to clean, protects from rust but doesn't last long at all. Chain Wax with Maxima Chain cleaner is more fussy but it works ok.
1. WD-40 to clean the junk 2. Clean thoroughly the WD-40, or else it will dry the o-rings (in the long run) 3. Regular chain lube of your choice or just....
