Homemade chain oils?

[mattyts]

Has anyone had any luck with homemade chain oil? im looking for some recipes, a lot include motor oil and mineral spirits any good?

[trevgbb]

Why? there are hundreds af oils available from the worlds top oil co,s, formulated with the latest ingredients, tested to destruction and costing only a few coppers!
Why do you think you can brew something up on your kitchen table that will be better?
genuine question, not intended to be insulting.

[mattyts]

(10-29-2010, 05:42 AM)trevgbb Wrote:  Why? there are hundreds af oils available from the worlds top oil co,s, formulated with the latest ingredients, tested to destruction and costing only a few coppers!
Why do you think you can brew something up on your kitchen table that will be better?
genuine question, not intended to be insulting.

well winters coming up and i mantain 4 bikes in which i mantain daily and seem to be going through lube like mad

[DaveM]

We use gear oil/mineral spirits in various concentrations at a coop shop with ok results. But the big issue for us is cost as we go through the stuff fast. Bike specific lubes will do a better job of resisting picking up dirt and grit. I like T9 boeshield best and a little goes a long way. Most people tend to either not lube at all or way over do it. A little, put on regularly, seems to work best for me.

[mattyts]

(10-29-2010, 03:07 PM)DaveM Wrote:  We use gear oil/mineral spirits in various concentrations at a coop shop with ok results. But the big issue for us is cost as we go through the stuff fast. Bike specific lubes will do a better job of resisting picking up dirt and grit. I like T9 boeshield best and a little goes a long way. Most people tend to either not lube at all or way over do it. A little, put on regularly, seems to work best for me.

I thought of gear oil or motor oil,what ratio would you recomend mixing? thanks

[shaval]

I thought of gear oil or motor oil,what ratio would you recomend mixing? thanks
[/quote]

I use 2 parts engine oil mixed with 1 part mineral spirits to clean the entire bike,
including the chain. Cleans and lubricates at the same time. Way better than
penetrant oil or chain lube. You decide how much oil you want on your homemade
"lubricant oil". Find a small transparent plastic bottle with a spray nozzle and pour the oil/solvent in it. You can also use degreaser to clean your bike, and buy bottle after bottle and lubricate the chain after cleaning.

I was using just mineral spirits (for cleaning) but it stinks and doesn't lubricate.
When you add oil to it, it doesn't stink that much. I'll never buy a bottle of penetrant oil again. I clean my bike whenever I see it's picking up dirt and I dry it with a rag.
Don't leave the bike soaking wet in oil.

[barney]

I mixed up a batch of homebrew using 3 parts MS to 1 part motor oil for use with one of my bikes around a month back. I had previously ridden it in heavy rain and the light lube I was using was not up to the task. I arrived some after dark and when I awoke the next morning rust was already starting to form.. didn't realize that was possible. Anyway, with my homebrew, my chain retains a protective oily film after replicating my rainy ride. Very satisfied and content to have a well-serving and very affordable lube.

[JanJ]

My background is motorcycle maintenance....
Earlier this year, when I started in on the 2 old French bikes in our garage.... 1970 Gitane and 1982? Peugeot, I grabbed some Honda Chain Spray Lube. They make 2 types, one High temp 'sticky' and regular lube. Used the Spray Lube.
Not knowing not to, Used WD40 and toothbrush to clean, then wipe clean, followed by sprays of Honda Chain Spray Lube, and more toothbrush cleaning and wiping with clean cloth...
The 1970 Gitane chain was kind-of stiff, but both cleaned & lubed up nicely, and both work & shift beautifully now....

[JanJ]

Follow up to my last post.. The Honda Chain Spray does lube, but LBS suggested Park Oil because it flushes out old dirt... I've tried it, and yes, (and one dirty rag later ! ), It does flush out old dirt better than does Honda Chain Spray.... I'd still use it (Honda) in a pinch, and it did great work last year, but I'm now understanding the benefits of a good flushing. Finished cleaning/lubing Wife's Gitane, and went back to Peugeot chain and after one pass, this proves it was dirtier than expected....

[elmore leonard]

I thought 3 in 1 oil was specifically designed for bicycle chains? Works well for me.

[cny-man]

There is a bicycle specific 3 in 1 but the "traditional" formula (which was indeed created for bicycles) contains citronella oil, which can gum up in the outdoors.

[barney]

I had my car serviced and wound up with half a liter of synthetic motor oil to spare. So I whipped up a new batch of homebrew, substituting it for the mineral-based oil I had been using.

My chain and gears are now visibly cleaner after my rides. Wiping off the surface oil with a clean rag is all it takes to restore a pristine-looking chain.

Dirt cheap and works great.

[OLD-N-GREY]

I like, and just use Triflow, No messing about.!!

If the chain starts to look not quite shiny, i lube it again,

i'm happy with the results.!!

TRIFLOW SUPERIOR LUBRICANT.

[MTBrealtalk]

(01-17-2015, 10:36 PM)OLD-N-GREY Wrote:  I like, and just use Triflow, No messing about.!!

If the chain starts to look not quite shiny, i lube it again,

i'm happy with the results.!!

TRIFLOW SUPERIOR LUBRICANT.

I used to be a huge fan of Tri Flow until I discovered Maxima's bike lubes: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/maxima-chain-wax-review-2015.html This is hands down the best lube I've ever used and it's cheap.

[LostHasher]

Anecdote: Clock Oil

I spent 4 hours online trying to justify spending $10-$40 per ounce for pivot oil. For every person who mentioned a specific regular or synthetic "clock oil," there was someone mentioning synthetic motor oil. That sort of mention tends to irritate some people, apparently.

Finally ran into a guy's clock repair website. He did brass tests, viscosity tests, etc. Ran various oils in his clocks for years. His recap was essentially "Yeah, go ahead and use xWxx synthetic motor oil. You can't go wrong."

Not trying to say Mobil1 will work on bikes. Just saying that it gave me some food for thought regarding oils in general.

[Staystrong]

I tried Shimano once...It was pretty well. Also I tried to use a motor oil, but there was a problem with the collecting of the dust on the chain after its usage. I reccomend to buy a huge tube of professional lube instead of make it yourself.