Spray lubricant recommendations
Jason Spaceman
Rather than buy the expensive bike specific stuff, like Finish Line; could I use
some of the spray lubes available at my local auto parts store? They have
silicon spray lube, etc.. Is that stuff safe for bikes and bike parts?
Especially carbon fibre parts?
J. Spaceman
landotter
wrote:
Pretty much anything you can buy at Autozone is safe except for DOT3
brake fluid. Bikes aren't terribly complicated or machines that
operate at high rpms. You can use the cheapest grease at the Zone in
your hubs and it'll work fine as long as it's replaced when
contaminated. Buy a quart of Mobil-1 and put some in a squeeze bottle
and you'll be lubed for years. Most of the spray "lubes" sold at
autoparts stores are penetrating lubes--meant for loosening rusty
fasteners, but not the most effective on derailleur bushings.
someone
wrote:
I was with you all the way, until you swore. Its the filler between
the carbon which may have problems with the solvents used in the
lubes. Dunno is my answer. If you can get the shop to say it is
suitable, that would make them liable in the UK. Else look for a
descriptor on the package which would cover generally for bicycles if
not specifically with carbon fibre. Make sure company has plenty of
collateral or massive product liability insurance. I think that it
would be best to use a lube without propellant.
carl...@comcast.net
Dear J,
Dupont Teflon spray wax at Lowes, $5:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=213197-39963-D00110101&lpage=none
I'm quite happy with it in a dry climate.
If a lubricant is going to damage your carbon fiber bike, your bike
ought to come with large warning stickers not to oil the chain with
anything except pure spermaceti oil.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
someone
> On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:45:20 -0400, Jason Spaceman
>
> >I would like to get some spray lube to use, occasionally, on my derailleurs.
> >Rather than buy the expensive bike specific stuff, like Finish Line; could I use
> >some of the spray lubes available at my local auto parts store? They have
> >silicon spray lube, etc.. Is that stuff safe for bikes and bike parts?
> >Especially carbon fibre parts?
>
> >J. Spaceman
>
> Dear J,
>
> Dupont Teflon spray wax at Lowes, $5:
>
>
> I'm quite happy with it in a dry climate.
>
> If a lubricant is going to damage your carbon fiber bike, your bike
> ought to come with large warning stickers not to oil the chain with
> anything except pure spermaceti oil.
>
Sales of carbon fibre frames are not going to dwindle because of a few
chainstay failures after three or four years use. The manufacturers
choose the price the market will pay. When they produce them by the
million then lower prices and greater longevity will prevail.
Jason Spaceman
(well I think there are a few, but they are in, or around the Toronto area, too
far away from me).
I think Canadian Tire sells Liquid Wrench Super Lubricant with PTFE, would
something like that work with a derailleur? I think PTFE is just the generic
name for Teflon, innit?
MEC sells Super Lube http://tinyurl.com/nf8236 which also has PTFE, although
it's a bit more expensive than the Liquid Wrench stuff.
J. Spaceman
landotter
wrote:
> Interesting. Although I'm in Canada and there aren't any Lowes around here
> (well I think there are a few, but they are in, or around the Toronto area, too
> far away from me).
>
> I think Canadian Tire sells Liquid Wrench Super Lubricant with PTFE, would
> something like that work with a derailleur? I think PTFE is just the generic
> name for Teflon, innit?
>
> it's a bit more expensive than the Liquid Wrench stuff.
>
Super Lube is a classic dry lube. Works fine, and that's a huge can.
z
ycle...@verizon.net
>
> If a lubricant is going to damage your carbon fiber bike, your bike
> ought to come with large warning stickers not to oil the chain with
> anything except pure spermaceti oil.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel
Ah yes, the whale. Oil refinery of the 19th century.
Owen Chase provides a good description of bucketing the oil out of the
head of a good sized sperm whale while asea off the coast of Brazil in
his recounting of the loss of the whale ship Essex.
Cheers,
MD
DougC
Super-Lube is highly regarded among amateur astronomers, particularly
for its thermal stability. It does not turn runny at higher (ambient)
temperatures, nor does it cake up hard at lower (sub-freezing)
temperatures.
So far I have not found any to try it myself tho' (running lube is a
much larger problem for a telescope than for a bicycle....).
-----
I would think that any lube that was wet and has teflon would be good
enough.
I just use the Tri-flow lube myself.
Horribly runny but seems to do okay for on-road bikes that don't get
dirty much. I prefer the squeeze bottle as the sprayer makes such a huge
mess.
Use the aerosol can only outdoors, and only somewhere in the grass that
you don't mind killing the grass. It will dissolve asphalt, and is
near-impossible to wash off concrete........
~