o-ring chain, to lube or not to lube

[G-man]

Anyone here spray down their o-ring chain with WD-40, and call it a day? I'm starting to come around to that idea more and more. Alls I've read about o-ring chains praise its longevity over the standard chains. But then, in a half-hearted, after-the-fact sort of way, there's always the disclaimer that you should still lube them. But why? The pin/roller assembly is sealed, so it's not as though you're gonna get any lube in there.

I suppose there's some logic to lubing up the rollers as they make contact with the sprockets, but any benefit of that soon becomes a moot point after the first ride anyways. And nowhere have I read that you outta blast the chain with lube after every ride.

Seems to me, you're better off just keeping the chain clean, as opposed to greasing the sucker up, only to attract a bunch of road grime on it which adds to the wear and tear of the chain and sprockets, and then collects into a giant greasy dirt ball behind the front sprocket cover (OMG, that was a gross job when I swapped out the chain).

So, let's hear some counterpoints.

[Live to ride Ride to live]

Anyone here spray down their o-ring chain with WD-40, and call it a day? I'm starting to come around to that idea more and more. Alls I've read about o-ring chains praise its longevity over the standard chains. But then, in a half-hearted, after-the-fact sort of way, there's always the disclaimer that you should still lube them. But why? The pin/roller assembly is sealed, so it's not as though you're gonna get any lube in there.

I suppose there's some logic to lubing up the rollers as they make contact with the sprockets, but any benefit of that soon becomes a moot point after the first ride anyways. And nowhere have I read that you outta blast the chain with lube after every ride.

Seems to me, you're better off just keeping the chain clean, as opposed to greasing the sucker up, only to attract a bunch of road grime on it which adds to the wear and tear of the chain and sprockets, and then collects into a giant greasy dirt ball behind the front sprocket cover (OMG, that was a gross job when I swapped out the chain).

So, let's hear some counterpoints.

ARGGGGGGG!!! WD40 NOOOOOO......I wouldnt put that anywhere near my Oring. The chain comes with grease packed into the rollers etc for a reason. WD will just remove it. The grease helps to keep things from seizing up, links locking together. I use a titanium non fling (It dosnt fling a lot, but still does) spray. The grease also helps keep the noise down...metal on metal (sprockets)...premature wear maybe. Yes they do pick up crap off the road, but I wipe mine down with a dry cloth to clean it up, then re-lube. No I dont blast the chain after every ride (Well depends if it was a very long one (1000 miles or so) But usually every 1000 miles or so...

[G-man]

Hmm, I dunno about WD-40 bypassing the o-rings to get to that grease in the rollers. Well, unless your chain is all fucked up and in need of replacement anyways. But ok, say it does, how does that compare to products labeled as degreasers that are designed to clean the chain?

Anyways, WD-40 or not, seems to me that the road crud that gets attracted to a greased up chain would cause more premature wear, no?

[Guest Exupnutta]

Hmm, I dunno about WD-40 bypassing the o-rings to get to that grease in the rollers.

WD40 IS PENETRATING OIL!!!!! Will do MORE HARM than good on chains! WD40 is NOT grease (proper chain lube).

DO NOT USE WD40 on chains!! I wouldn't use it on a BICYCLE, let alone on a Motorbike

Anyways, WD-40 or not, seems to me that the road crud that gets attracted to a greased up chain would cause more premature wear, no?

If the chain is dirty... CLEAN IT(wipe it) and lube it to pevent wear! Metal on Metal wears if you don't lube it.

The chain lube is there to stop the sprockets wearing, which in turn wear the chain!

I always used Castrol Chain lube as it "flings" the least and I rather do a thin layer more often say every 200-300miles

But hey ho, each to their own

[G-man]

WD40 IS PENETRATING OIL!!!!! Will do MORE HARM than good on chains! WD40 is NOT grease (proper chain lube).

DO NOT USE WD40 on chains!! I wouldn't use it on a BICYCLE, let alone on a Motorbike

If the chain is dirty... CLEAN IT(wipe it) and lube it to pevent wear! Metal on Metal wears if you don't lube it.

The chain lube is there to stop the sprockets wearing, which in turn wear the chain!

I always used Castrol Chain lube as it "flings" the least and I rather do a thin layer more often say every 200-300miles

But hey ho, each to their own

CAPS ARE FUN TO TYPE. To read though, not so much.

Yes, I know that WD-40 isn't grease. That's my point, grease applied to an o-ring chain, I have my doubts about it's eminense in terms of bike maintenance.

Where's your proof that spraying your chain every 200-300 miles does much in terms of prolonging chain/sprocket life? Sounds like a case study is called for. Think I'll volunteer my chain as a test subject.

Coz...

New chain off of ebay? $68.

Not having a greasy mess to clean up? Priceless.

[Airhead]

OK this is what I do...When the chain needs a re lube I shock horror Spray WD40 on a rag, not on the chain, And use this to clean the chain rollers and side links. When its all clean and shiny i then spray on my chosen chain lube. What im trying to say here is that WD40 used sensibly is not the demon its being portrayed as IMHO

[Live to ride Ride to live]

CAPS ARE FUN TO TYPE. To read though, not so much.

Yes, I know that WD-40 isn't grease. That's my point, grease applied to an o-ring chain, I have my doubts about it's eminense in terms of bike maintenance.

Where's your proof that spraying your chain every 200-300 miles does much in terms of prolonging chain/sprocket life? Sounds like a case study is called for. Think I'll volunteer my chain as a test subject.

Coz...

New chain off of ebay? $68.

Not having a greasy mess to clean up? Priceless.

Musnt get much rain out there...over here the chain and sprocket would last a week before rusting up and breaking regardless off what quality it is. Having a shaft drive would suite you better...ZERO maintainance.

New high quality chain and sprockets ....working well priceless

Greasy mess .....damn good fun ....oh and keeps other stuff from going orange.

As for the chain degreaser stuff, wouldnt touch it. I think its out there in shops to attract lazy weekend riders into spending more money, because they think they need it. Please do volunteer your chain as test subject, we'd like to see how you get on. .....Good luck

[Guest Exupnutta]

Please do volunteer your chain as test subject, we'd like to see how you get on. .....Good luck

I agree

[G-man]

Musnt get much rain out there...over here the chain and sprocket would last a week before rusting up and breaking regardless off what quality it is. Having a shaft drive would suite you better...ZERO maintainance.

New high quality chain and sprockets ....working well priceless

Greasy mess .....damn good fun ....oh and keeps other stuff from going orange.

As for the chain degreaser stuff, wouldnt touch it. I think its out there in shops to attract lazy weekend riders into spending more money, because they think they need it. Please do volunteer your chain as test subject, we'd like to see how you get on. .....Good luck

Well then, so far so good. Chain looks great, sprockets look great, everything's clean, and the bike seems happy. I toss her up on the lift once every few rides to give her a quick going over with the nefarious WD-40 and a roll of paper towels, and wipe essentially everything down with it, including the chain and sprocket. I put maybe 150 miles on the new chain, and its like I just put it on this morning. No stretching, bunching, nothing (though, methinks all that stuff usually has more to do with folks running their chain with too little slack, anyways). But hey, it is only 150 miles so far, so we'll see. BTW, I'm not the only one doing this. I've talked to others who've swapped their cleaner/lube for WD-40, and everything's cool with their bikes.

We get enough rain here, but I don't ride in it. But, if your main concern is rust, nothing would be better against it than

W[ater]D[isplacement]-40, anyways.

I've got no problem with doing maintenance, Live Rider. I just don't jump on the bandwagon merely coz of long-standing common perceptions. This ad nauseum argument for lubing the o-ring chain goes back to standard chain maintenance with unsealed rollers that did indeed need regular lubrication. That's why you always read how the chain must be lubed after a ride, when it's warmed up, so the lube gets into the rollers. Into the rollers? The rollers are sealed in an o-ring chain, ain't no lube gonna magically work it's way in there, warm chain or not. But yet, coz it was always done that way, it's still commonly done that way.

As for Exupnutta with her metal on metal wear theory, you outta be greasing up the sprocket teeth if that's your main concern, and after every ride. Go take a look at your chain now. Where's the grease? On the rollers? Or sitting on the sides of the chain, serving essentially no purpose other than looking filthy? Just sayin'.

[Guest Exupnutta]

As for Exupnutta with her metal on metal wear theory, you outta be greasing up the sprocket teeth if that's your main concern, and after every ride. Go take a look at your chain now. Where's the grease? On the rollers? Or sitting on the sides of the chain, serving essentially no purpose other than looking filthy? Just sayin'.

I'm a bloke

Now you know why I'm EXUPNUTTA

As for my chain... it's brand new, just like the rest of the bike.

Seriously though, I do take your point about an O-ring chain and yes, I do lube the sprocket / rollers.

Here comes the but though... I do maintain that the sprockets (especially the front one) will wear out faster without lube for 2 reasons.

1. because the lube acts as a coolant, keeping the chain cooler by reducing friction. A hot chain will wear faster as hot metal becomes softer and therefore increases wear.

2. because the chain will (through the friction) generate a certain amount of static, which will attract road grime etc.

Maybe we're missing something here in the UK as our roads are filthy due to heavy traffic on our roads. Perhaps this isn't such an issue for you guys? But over here anyone not cleaning and lubing their chain regulary will need a new chain and sprockets quite soon.

This is just my personal opinion and the way I do things as an engineer. If I see a sprocket is worn on my bike I replace the chain and sprockets. Why? Because I have too much money? No, because I value my life more than the cost of a few parts. If any 1 part of the bike fails it is a danger to me, so I replace it, as soon as I notice it, so I try to make sure that every part of my bike is working properly at all times by looking after it.

- cleaning and lubing the chain

- cleaning the bike after a max. of two rides in the dry (every time in the wet), which makes you inspect the bike as you're doing it, which helps to notice if there is anything wrong with the bike

- doing the tyre pressures before every ride

etc.

I had a crash a few month after I bought that white bike. I was travelling In a dead straight line and applied the brakes. I was now doing about 60mph

The next thing I know the bike is sliding up the road infront of me with sparks coming off it as the metal bolts and parts slid along the ground. I got up, pick the bike up of the road and rolled it on to the pavement.

I just couldn't work out what went wrong, because I did not lock up the front or rear or made any other riding mistake.

The bike was a bit of a mess and after getting it home I got to work on it. The forks felt a bit odd, so I had them rebuilt. One of the fork legs had rancid oil in it from water contamination. There was nothing wrong with the seals, so someone had obviously pressure washed the bike and forced water past the seal into the forks The bike basically spat me off under braking, because one fork leg compressed more than the other.

So I'm sorry if I am anal about my bike, but now you know why.

Ride safe dude

Olli

[G-man]

I dunno why the hell I thought you were a female, haha. Sorry, dude.

Wow, you got lucky with that spill! From what I've heard of dudes laying it down at 60 mph, they didn't usually walk away from that, let alone pick up their bikes and limp them back to the garage. Happy it worked out cool for you, Ex.

I hear you about keeping up with loose and broken bits on the bike while cleaning it regularly. I often enough find something or other which could use tightening or whatnot while I'm cleaning up ole girl.

Our roads are not that bad around here, but I still clean the chain & sprocks when I clean the bike.

[G-man]

I'll tell you something else about chains, the default changing of sprockets when swapping chains is another knee-jerk phenomenon. If your sprocket teeth are uniform, ain't hooked or worn down into stumps, why are you changing the sprocket? Your new sprocket isn't going to magically enhance the bike performance or prolong chain life any more than a perfectly good old sprocket.

Send that money my way instead, haha. I'll put it to better use.

[Guest Exupnutta]

I'll tell you something else about chains, the default changing of sprockets when swapping chains is another knee-jerk phenomenon. If your sprocket teeth are uniform, ain't hooked or worn down into stumps, why are you changing the sprocket? Your new sprocket isn't going to magically enhance the bike performance or prolong chain life any more than a perfectly good old sprocket.

Send that money my way instead, haha. I'll put it to better use.

Actually you're wrong about that.

Let's just say that I used to run a fleet of 40 gokarts with a total of 60 428 o-ring chains. Running only 6.5 hp engines these DID chains still wore out very fast (with chain lube before every race) due to worn sprockets

[Airhead]

I'll tell you something else about chains, the default changing of sprockets when swapping chains is another knee-jerk phenomenon. If your sprocket teeth are uniform, ain't hooked or worn down into stumps, why are you changing the sprocket? Your new sprocket isn't going to magically enhance the bike performance or prolong chain life any more than a perfectly good old sprocket.

Send that money my way instead, haha. I'll put it to better use.

Actually you're wrong about that.

Ditto the above.

[Live to ride Ride to live]

Ditto the above.

I agree. Using old sprockets will lessen the life of your nice new chain. Also its a hazzard...

Storytime...My friend a few years ago had the same thought "Why bother getting a set of new sprockets?" Well..he was out one day with a few of us..doing the usuall thing , when at 85mph his chain came off and was thrown backwards towards another mate who fortunatly ducked , the guy behind him didnt see the chain untill he picked his bike up off the floor....Yes it had hit him full on in the visor and lacerated his face, cracked his helmet in several places and made him lose control. It appears that the worn sprockets where not the right shape for the new chain causing it to slip and bounce which in turn had put strain on the chain and caused it to split. Very dramatic ...yes, but lesson learnt for a few that day, not too ride so close, but more importantly make sure your chain and sprockets match.

As I ride all the time, mostly for a living (still part time couriering), Im a little anal about having my bike running smoothly and without issues. Ive heard my chain running dry...its not a nice sound and I feel every clunk off each tooth....

As my bike life history is short (3 years ish), but rather extensive as in roadcraft (300,000 miles +) and maintainance (Running repairs so I can still get a parcel to where its going), I feel I have a lot of knowledge and skill. Maybe Im wrong, but each to thier own and so on and so forth.

Time to wander off and ride some more me thinks.....

[G-man]

Ok, so the common point is that if your sprockets are worn, change them. I'm glad we all agree. *smug grin*

[Guest Exupnutta]

Ok, so the common point is that if your sprockets are worn, change them. I'm glad we all agree. *smug grin*

NO!

Replace front and rear sprocket and chain AS A SET... ALWAYS!

[Live to ride Ride to live]

Im so anal with my bike now, I even carry spare bearings for my bike. Just because im bored tonight, im doing my forks...and yes im using new fork oil and seals (even tho the old ones are fine) and new o rings (even tho they arnt leaking)..why...because i like it that way.

[Guest Exupnutta]

Im so anal with my bike now, I even carry spare bearings for my bike. Just because im bored tonight, im doing my forks...and yes im using new fork oil and seals (even tho the old ones are fine) and new o rings (even tho they arnt leaking)..why...because i like it that way.

DING DING

[Cy Welch]

Ok, so the common point is that if your sprockets are worn, change them. I'm glad we all agree. *smug grin*

By the time the chain is worn the sprockets are almost guaranteed to be worn too. You could use the old ones if you carefully measured them against new specs and they still matched, but it's more likely that they won't, and from what I've seen the low cost of replacement makes it not worth the chance (although some of us OLDER bike riders with steel sprockets may be more likely to have good sprockets when the chain wears out).