Years ago I decided to try a DIY chain lube. I did a lot of research and I settled on what I had around my garage. I mixed up a quart mason jar with synthetic chainsaw bar oil and mineral spirits to thin it out. For several years I have been cleaning my chains and applying one drop of this mixture to each roller. The theory is it's thin enough that it gets in the rollers and then the mineral spirits evaporate leaving behind the oil. Now I want to state that I have several bikes and with my schedule I'm not somebody that puts thousands of miles on my bikes each year. So with my trusty chain checker in hand I may have worn out one chain in the last few years on any of my bikes. That said I've never had an issue with this style lube. The other day I used up the last drop of this mixture and now I need to come up with something else. I've been reading lately that chainsaw bar oil is not necessarily the best lube. I have a shelf full of leftover synthetic motor oils. This is anything from 0W-20 to 5W-30. I also have transmission fluid both synthetic and non-synthetic on the shelf. So my question now is what do I want to mix up for my next batch. I'm not planning on waxing and as often as I clean my bikes and wipe the chains down I am okay with a wet lube even though I ride my bikes off-road as much as on. Does anybody have any opinions of synthetic motor oil versus what I previously had been using? Of the synthetic motor oil does anybody have any opinions on the different weights and viscosities?
another chain lube thread
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If I was making a chain lube I would use thinned out EP gear oil mixed with small amount of molybdenum disulfide.
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My buddy and I split a quart of synthetic oil for a few years and it worked quite well. It was a budget minded endeavor and served it's purpose.
Sounds like you don't use it anymore? What made you decide to quit? When you're using synthetic motor oil do you thin it out or just put it on with its original thickness?
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Original thickness, no mixing. It did require wiping down the chains more often, dusty conditions. It didn't gunk up but a fair amount of build up. I got to a place where I wanted a quality chain lube at a reasonable price. I've been using Rock n Roll Gold for about ten years now. I'm switching up to Squirt in the future, only because I can afford it as it costs about twice as much as other premium lubes.
That is the one thing I don't like about my old mixture. Every so often you got a go the extra mile and clean the buildup off your jockey wheels and chain rings and stuff like that. I wasn't sure if that was a characteristic of the bar oil or if it was like that with any wet lube. Motor oils having detergents in them I figured might not gunk up so bad but maybe I'm wrong. I know what you mean about the dusty buildup as I primarily ride gravel. I don't pour it on my chains like I've seen other people do. I just put a single drop on each roller and then try to wipe the excess off as best I can. Of course you can't get it all but I don't ever try to leave all of it clinging to every square inch of the chain. I just want a little bit in each roller.
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I use T9. I started using it in the PNW and found it works very well in the desert and the moondust here in the mountains. But as I'm near the end of my bottle, I'm eyeing a gallon jug of sewing machine oil I have kicking around. It's made for precision applications, low viscosity and made to attract particulates. My mom's a seamstress and in the 80's when I was a kid, I'd help out in her sweatshop. At that time she would borrow my Tri Flow so it should work both ways.
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