[9fingers]

HI, I have a gravel and dirt driveway, about 500' long, and it has come to my attention and my chain collects tiny bits of gravel and dirt, which can't be good for the chain and sprockets. Any suggestions for chain lube? Thanks,
9fingers

[gizzo]

Oh wow. That's as contentious an issue as what oil to use. Check Fortnine's  YouTube channel, they did a chain lube comparison a while back.
FWIW, I'm using a local wd40 like product called Inox, just to see what happens. So far I've done 25,000km on this chain ( DID 530 X ring) on my GT and adjusted it once. I think mine probably gets ridden harder than average, too. It does fling and make a mess though...

[2bikebill]

You could try a dry chain lube, like Wurth Performance. Certainly less grit will stick to it, and less fling-off all over the back wheel.
Or Putoline Chain Wax - bit of a rigmarole doing the job (melt the wax, soak the chain) but not sticky once it's back on the bike, and you don't have to do it very often.

[Richard230]

You might try some Chain Wax lube.  That stuff seems to dry well and doesn't attract dirt and gravel dust as much as most other lubes.  I have used it for years on O-ring chains and it seems to do a pretty good job as a chain lube.

[Mad4Bullets]

I'm very pleased with Maxima Brand Chain Wax.  Easy to apply and it clings well.  Does a great job.

[GlennF]

Back in the day, people used to recommend taking the chain off and boiling it in all sorts of thngs. Diesel or wax were both common.

I have a hunch that was before O-ring chains became a thing.

[2bikebill]

I've used the molten wax method a few times. You can still get it - Putoline. It's a filthy job, not to mention the perils of a wide can of molten black wax balancing on a camping stove in the garage (ask me how I know...)
But once it's done it doesn't need doing again for a long while.
Actually probably not suitable for O-ring as the chain has to come off the bike & be immersed in the wax.
You'd have to be an enthusiast (masochist) to use it these days.
Can't really improve on a can of spray-on lube.

[Arizoni]

I've been using PJ 1 Blue lable chain lube for over 6 years.

Although it is made for O-ring chains, it's worked just fine on my old fashioned unsealed chain.  In fact, the chain I just replaced has over 18,000 miles (29,000 km) on it and it is still in pretty good condition.

The PJ 1 chain lube sprays on as a very watery fluid but after 15 minutes to a half an hour it dries out forming a very thick lube that won't throw off when your riding.  Good stuff !!

[Richard230]

Another chain lube to consider is Bel Ray Super Clean spray chain lube. I have been using this product on my 2002 FZ1 since I bought the bike new. I am on my second chain. The first one lasted 33K miles. 

[Bilgemaster]

Not sure how it might play with your moderno 'O' or 'X' ring chains, but a cheapo chip brush and some diesel or kerosene with an old cookie baking sheet underneath to catch the drippage, would help first rinse off those grits, which are the real chain killer. What you might then slop on is kind of a matter of taste. I just use old filtered gear oil on my old style Plain Jane chain, as recommended in that previously-referenced FortNine video, it turns out. Most every time I come back from a jaunt, I just slop a bit onto the easy-to-reach bottom run of the chain. I've put about 6,000 miles on it with just one notch taken up in its snail-shaped adjuster so far...but then I do almost no off-road or gravel riding.

I should mention that I've read somewhere or other that WD40 will do no favors for the 'O' or 'X' ring seals in modern chains, and might even harm them, and while it's not really a sturdy enough lubricant on its own for the old style chains, it can be used to good effect as a sort of pre-lube cleanser to help blast off the grits, if that's what's handy. Now and then I'll also give that little pulse air doodad on my header a little squirt while it's still kind of hot, and it sort of vaporizes nicely up into the nacelle to help keep the electrics happy and any corrosion within the headlamp shell at bay.

[tooseevee]

I've been using PJ 1 Blue lable chain lube for over 6 years.

Although it is made for O-ring chains, it's worked just fine on my old fashioned unsealed chain.  In fact, the chain I just replaced has over 18,000 miles (29,000 km) on it and it is still in pretty good condition.

The PJ 1 chain lube sprays on as a very watery fluid but after 15 minutes to a half an hour it dries out forming a very thick lube that won't throw off when your riding.  Good stuff !!

           I've been using PJ lube for many years. Don't know how many. I do remember recommending it to my son when he got his first harley at 16 (1986). I can remember (back in the day when dinosaurs roamed the earth) when I used to soak and "wash" my chain once in a while over the winter (just for something motorcycle to do) in kerosene and let it drip for a week and then smear it with wheel bearing grease. PJ was way better and easier especially as it got to hurting more and more to do any kind of maintenance. Just rotate the chain with the rear wheel while cleaning the worst of the black off with a rag held around the chain and then squirting on the PJ. I've never ridden on dirt much (harley OR Enfield) so I've never had any too many chain problems to speak of.

[hpwaco]

Chain Wax works for me.  Short ride to warm up chain.  Then spray with wd40 and wipe clean before applying Chain Wax.

[9fingers]

OK, I watched Fortnine's video and a couple of others, and made an executive decision and ordered a good spray bottle, a gallon of Simple green and a Grunge Brush, and a quart of Mobile 1 75/90 gear oil. My chain will be much happier. None of my trials or enduro bikes, that I have ever owned, have had an O-ring chain. I really had no idea. So learned a lot from Fortnine - thanks Gizzo - I have seen his vids before and they are always entertaining even if I did not agree at all times.
9fingers

[Richard230]

OK, I watched Fortnine's video and a couple of others, and made an executive decision and ordered a good spray bottle, a gallon of Simple green and a Grunge Brush, and a quart of Mobile 1 75/90 gear oil. My chain will be much happier. None of my trials or enduro bikes, that I have ever owned, have had an O-ring chain. I really had no idea. So learned a lot from Fortnine - thanks Gizzo - I have seen his vids before and they are always entertaining even if I did not agree at all times.
9fingers

Gear oil is what the chain manufacturers recommend for oiling their chains.  But it does fling off and will do a good job of keeping rust off of your rear wheel rim. 

[AK Mike]

Never buy "chain lube" again.  Ryan at F9 always does a great job...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnPYdcbcAe0

[GlennF]

WD40 themselves do warn it may effect some rubbers or plastics but generally it is relatively safe.

What is a totally BAD idea when cleaning rubber or plastic is anything involving alcohol including methylated spirits and isopropyl alcohol.  Alcohol eventually turn rubber into a sticky goo.

[hpwaco]

Tried the chain lube comparison link but only got video. No audio

[Richard230]

Tried the chain lube comparison link but only got video. No audio

I got the audio and it was pretty loud, too.   

[Bilgemaster]

Tried the chain lube comparison link but only got video. No audio

Some manifestations of YouTube, especially its Android browser version, have sound level and mute controls that are a little too easy to inadvertently poink. Try adjusting volume with the YouTube controls, and THEN try tweaking your device or computer's regular native volume settings. If that doesn't bring the good word forth, then try turning off Bluetooth, if an option, in both.

[gashousegorilla]

  Love this guys YouTube channel .    Ask a farmer . THEY know !... with all the equipment they use.   I think whatever you use , just use it often.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDtDIcLOTnU

[9fingers]

Gotta get that farmer dude to try 75/90 gear oil and see how it does in his comparo. One thing seems clear, none of the lubes are the best for every situation, which I guess is to be suspected. I like how that Dupont Chain Saver wax does not hold dirt so much, but it seems it does not stick around very long on the chain. Lube it every 100 miles? My gear oil will be here this week so I will soon find out how it works.
9fingers

[GlennF]

I like how that Dupont Chain Saver wax does not hold dirt so much, but it seems it does not stick around very long on the chain. Lube it every 100 miles?

Or a chain oiler ....
https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/automatic-motorcycle-chain-oilers

[9fingers]

I have an automatic chain oiler.........sort of.......GHG ran my crankcase breather tube, that normally goes to the airbox, so that it sprays my chain instead!
9fingers

[9fingers]

good review of 3 different wax type chain lubes.
9fingers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4dGB-b84Go

[Narada]

Although I have enjoyed many a Fort Nine video, I am not taking his study to be the end all of chain lube knowledge.    It is interesting, and surprising, but maybe there is more to it than that? Maybe something he failed to consider or flawed methodology?  Just sayin', "I'm taking it with a grain of salt".

I for one, do not want gear oil, or anything else, slung all over my bike! Whatever I decide on will not be flyin' all over the place!

[gizzo]

Or a chain oiler ....
https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/automatic-motorcycle-chain-oilers

Thanks for that link. I've considered a chain oiler for ages but never took the plunge. I just ordered the cheap n cheerful Loobman to try out. Might stick it on my C90 Cub, see how it goes.

[Bilgemaster]

[...Snip!] 

I for one, do not want gear oil, or anything else, slung all over my bike! Whatever I decide on will not be flyin' all over the place!

Well, you're just missing out, Narada. Turns out my old GL-4 SAE 90 is also a superb hair care product!

[gizzo]

Doesn't smell too good,  though.

[Bilgemaster]

Doesn't smell too good,  though.

Oh, I don't know. I rather like it, and as anyone who's shared a campsite with or been downwind of me, it's a distinct improvement and really slows down the nits.

[mattsz]

The Fortnine "scientific" studies aren't all that scientific, but he does some up with some interesting test ideas, and while there's rarely any real data results, they're useful comparisons between whatever he's testing.  I've used Bel-Ray for awhile now, and thought I was happy with it, but despite my best efforts at keeping the chain plates covered with the stuff, I found surface rust on some of them after winter storage.

What I find most interesting about the chain lube discussion is the wild variety of experiences users seem to have with what flings off and what doesn't...

[9fingers]

The Fortnine "scientific" studies aren't all that scientific, but he does some up with some interesting test ideas, and while there's rarely any real data results, they're useful comparisons between whatever he's testing.  I've used Bel-Ray for awhile now, and thought I was happy with it, but despite my best efforts at keeping the chain plates covered with the stuff, I found surface rust on some of them after winter storage.

What I find most interesting about the chain lube discussion is the wild variety of experiences users seem to have with what flings off and what doesn't...

If you keep it under 35mph.........less flings off!

[Narada]

I wonder what would happen if one used Hilton Hyper Lube on a chain?    That stuff might fling out spider webs or cotton lube candy!  Then again, it is very slippery stuff...

[gizzo]

What I find most interesting about the chain lube discussion is the wild variety of experiences users seem to have with what flings off and what doesn't...

Same here.  It must really depend on how much and how often the lube is applied.  My own unscientific experience draws me to conclude that if it doesn't fling, it's not such a great lubricant. I use non flinging lube on my track bike.  The others, I'll put up with a small mess for the chain's sake.
To each their own.

[mike_bike_kite]

Wouldn't you do better just fitting a chain guard? Perhaps even a front mudguard extender. I can't help feel that throwing more oil on the chain will just attract the dirt and cause more issues. Obviously there's also the extreme measure of just riding more slowly over the dirt road.

[sjbiat]

If I change from oil to wax, do I need to be meticulous about cleaning first?

-Stephan

[Mad4Bullets]

It's in your best interest to perform a proper cleaning first, but if I had a right side-mounted side car I wouldn't be too excited about the job at hand.  I'd expect there's not much room to get in there to clean the chain. Good luck.