lubricants and wd40
Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:05 am
I always thought wd40 is a lubricant and so did a few others on here until somebody corrected us a week or so ago. Plus I noticed on wd40 it states it is silicone free. So I looked into this and found the following extract which I thought will be informative to some :
Oil Simple 3-in-One oil will work for chain lubricant, although many bike techies think this is barbaric. The main problem with this kind of oil is that, although it does lubricate the chain, its viscous nature also attracts dirt and grime from the road. Chain lubricants that are specifically made for bicycle chains are not as oily, and thus do the job of lubricating without making the chain as dirty.
WD-40 Many people use WD-40 on their chains in the belief that it is a lubricant. WD-40 is in fact not a lubricant at all, it is a cleaner designed to remove grease and grime. WD-40 should be used to clean a chain, and then a proper lubricant should be applied. WD-40 may appear to function as a lubricant when it is first applied, but it will very quickly evaporate and wear off, because it was not designed for this purpose.
Silicone Spray There are many commercial bicycle chain and gear lubricants that go by different trade names. Most of these are based on some variation of silicone spray. Silicone functions as a lubricant without the drawbacks of oil, meaning that it doesn't attract dust, dirt and grime onto your chain. Also, silicone spray has a very low viscosity, meaning that it will easily penetrate into the insides of your chain links, which is where the lubricant is needed. Contrary to what many people think when they oil their chains, the oil on the outside of the chain really isn't doing anything. The only oil or spray that is actually doing its job is the stuff that gets inside of the chain links.
Oil Simple 3-in-One oil will work for chain lubricant, although many bike techies think this is barbaric. The main problem with this kind of oil is that, although it does lubricate the chain, its viscous nature also attracts dirt and grime from the road. Chain lubricants that are specifically made for bicycle chains are not as oily, and thus do the job of lubricating without making the chain as dirty.
WD-40 Many people use WD-40 on their chains in the belief that it is a lubricant. WD-40 is in fact not a lubricant at all, it is a cleaner designed to remove grease and grime. WD-40 should be used to clean a chain, and then a proper lubricant should be applied. WD-40 may appear to function as a lubricant when it is first applied, but it will very quickly evaporate and wear off, because it was not designed for this purpose.
Silicone Spray There are many commercial bicycle chain and gear lubricants that go by different trade names. Most of these are based on some variation of silicone spray. Silicone functions as a lubricant without the drawbacks of oil, meaning that it doesn't attract dust, dirt and grime onto your chain. Also, silicone spray has a very low viscosity, meaning that it will easily penetrate into the insides of your chain links, which is where the lubricant is needed. Contrary to what many people think when they oil their chains, the oil on the outside of the chain really isn't doing anything. The only oil or spray that is actually doing its job is the stuff that gets inside of the chain links.
