Okay, since the discussion has leaned toward teflon lube... I previously mentioned that I'm using Finish Line Teflon Dry. What I didn't mention is that I'm also using Chain Saver. Specifically, the aerosol version. I hit the rollers with a light stream of Chain-Saver and follow with drip application of FL.
Chain Saver is under DuPont's label, but it's manufactured by FL, and FL uses Teflon under DuPont's license. From what I understand based on personal use and comparison of msds docs, both products are the same. They're both paraffin-based with PTFE. The difference I can see is that Chain Saver is much thinner due to a higher % of solvents, as is necessary for aerosol application. That's why I pretreat with Chain Saver; because I know the product is getting between the pins and rollers, whereas FL is much more viscous and doesn't flow comparably (probably due to the volatility of its primary solvent, heptane, which evaporates quickly upon application). FL may reach the chain's innards, but I'm more confident that CS does. Since this is essentially a wax lube, I feel the need to clean the chain first; by my guess, a new drip application of FL is going to have a challenge getting past the wax solids occupying the gaps between the side plates. I use OMS, decanting as described. A quart will clean many chains. When I used ProLink, homebrew or other oil lubricants, sand had a way of sticking to the chain, even with judicious application and dry wiping. Some particles would work between the plates. Rotate the links sideways..."crunch, crunch." Sand on the chainring teeth, sand on the cogs. No longer the case with FL. As another bonus, any chain grime that does get on my skin wipes off easily and cleans out my clothing. I don't know about other wax-based lubricants, but the FL formula seems to take the mileage okay. I normally clean/lube ~300miles and occasionally hit 400+ miles. Never a chirp or other complaint from the chain. YMMV On Wednesday, August 27, 2014 1:31:28 PM UTC-7, Jim Bronson wrote: > > Hmm, maybe ready for an about face here... > > A few months back I responded negatively to this idea of the Teflon lube > but didn't realize that it was DuPont themselves who put this particular > one together. They are the inventors and the original patent holders so I > guess they know what they are doing. > > There have been several Teflon based substances that have been marketed at > internal combustion engines and they have all turned out to be snake oil, > so that's where my negative comments came from. I've seen pics of people > who used products like the original Slick 50 or Tufoil and when they cut > their oil filters open there were PTFE solids in the pleats of the > filtration media. > > DuPont even said themselves at some point that Teflon or PTFE should not > be used as an additive to crankcase oils. But I guess this doesn't apply > to bicycle chains. > > I am really tired of my chain being so dirty all the time, it's just > aesthetically unpleasing, and for me part of the appeal of owning a > Rivendell is the aesthetics of the deal. The idea of re-lubing my chain > every 200 miles doesn't sound like so much fun, but, if the lube doesn't > collect dirt then I guess you wouldn't have to clean up everything first, > just re-apply. So with some trepidation went searching for online opinions > about these DuPont products. > > First off, the formulation currently being sold as DuPont Teflon multi-use > lubricant, linked above, was changed in 2011 and is no longer a dry lube, > it's a semi-wet lube, according to the DuPont website. The old product > that was sold prior to 2011 in the same can is now sold as DuPont Teflon > Chain-Saver Lubricant. So I am curious if the person who posted the link > is using the pre-2011 Multi-Use lubricant? That's what I'm sort of > assuming. Nevertheless, I picked up a can of the current Multi-use because > I needed to make a trip to Lowe's, and I figured worse case I'd just use it > as a WD-40 replacement for household door hinge squeaks. > > So I went looking for the Teflon Chain-Saver stuff also and it's not too > easy to find in the B&M stores but Amazon of course has it. When I went on > the Amazon site I was surprised to see how high the rating was for this > stuff - 4.8. It's rare to see review scores that high. Most people are > using it on motorcycle chains but some were using it on bicycle chains and > there seemed to be almost universal praise from both groups. I don't know > how long motorcycle chains are supposed to last as compared to bicycle > chains but I assume it's longer than 2000 miles. > > But anyway Matt if you are reading this can you clarify how old your can > of Teflon Multi-Use is? > > Thanks, > Jim > > > On Sat, Aug 23, 2014 at 12:17 AM, 'hangtownmatt' via RBW Owners Bunch < > rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>> wrote: > >> EricK, I couldn't agree more. I replace my 8/9-speed chains at about >> 6,000 miles and they show very little wear (SRAM). I do it just because I >> suppose I should :<( I also use a Teflon product that I apply once a week >> every 200+ miles. If riding in the rain I cut application times in half. I >> never clean my chain and only wipe it off when I think I should. Here's >> the product I use. It's about $5 a can at Lowes Home Center and lasts a >> long time: >> >> >> http://www2.dupont.com/Consumer_Lubricants/en_US/products/multi_use_lubricant.html >> >> I do not understand the 2,000 mile replacement or the cleaning rituals. >> The Sram 850 cassette is at most $25 and a replacement Sugino 600 crank >> (two arms and three rings) is roughly $100. Both last a long long time and >> the crank rings at least twice as long as the cassette. So inexpensive it >> almost makes buying replacement parts poor economics. >> >> Anyone ever wonder what the difference is between the different Sram >> chains? (ex. 830 vs. 850). I'm not 100% sure but I believe it is the >> hardness of the pins. The harder the pins the longer it will last ... with >> proper lubrication of course. >> >> Matt >> >> >> On Wednesday, August 20, 2014 9:46:05 PM UTC-7, EricK wrote: >>> >>> There's a fair amount of sand on the roads in the desert. I tend to the >>> chain about every 300 miles. A swim in OMS and then some FL teflon dry. >>> >>> Replace every 2k miles? That's interesting. One of the benefits I enjoy >>> by using sub-10sp drivetrains is not having to change the chain every >>> 2000-2500 miles. The 9sp chain I cleaned last week is coming up on 6k >>> miles and shows very modest wear yet (less than 0.25%). >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > > -- > Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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