Lubing Chain In Wet Winter Months

[SinPrisa]

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[turnsleft]

I like to lube the chain when I get back from a ride.

[bdcorrigan]

Lube is good (and not rain water), dry is bad! If its an O-ring chain like most just make sure you get a lube that will not harm plastics or rubber. Think of your timing chain, it is in an oil bath and it lasts 10 times longer than your drive chain.

[dirtdiver]

I think the hot and dry is for penetration and adhesion. Cold and wet means less than optimal. I imagine that wet contributes to less optimal a lot more than cold.

So, if it were cold and wet I would lube more often. I would think with an Oring chain, instead of every 500 miles maybe every 200 miles.

Just my opinion, I have no amazing credentials in the power transfer field.

Welcome to the group.

DD

[richard.bessey]

I spray my chain about once every 1,000 miles OR everytime they are exposed to water. Crossing rivers, riding in the rain, giving the bike a bath, etc...
If I don't give it lube after getting wet, I can often hear it squeeking at low speeds.
I have never heard the advice of lubing the chain more during hot weather riding. My problem has been the chain collects a lot of dust from the gravel and dirt roads during the summer.

[n16ht5]

throw whatever oil you have on there to keep it from rusting and to keep the rings in shape. Used motor oil or bar and chain oil work fine. that teflon chain lube if I have any around

[Wilder]

On my dirt only machine (KTM300), I lube the chain after every ride. I try and make the time to wash it off, then do a quick ride around the neighborhood to get the chain warm and fling all the excess water off. Then I put it on the stand and lube the chain.

for my communter (XT225) It hasnt seen dry weather for a while now and I don't bother trying to dry the chain beofre lubing it. I lube it about once a week (it sees about 200 miles a week).

[XR4EVER]

The WD in WD-40 stands for "Water Displacing." If I ever had to oil a wet chain, I would probably shoot it with some WD-40 first to displace the water, then lube normally. Like richard.bessey, I find dust to be a bigger problem than wet, so take my advice as no more than an educated guess....

[Flashmo]

Originally Posted by SinPrisa

Will the o-rings still absorb the lube when the chain is cold and is it safe to put lube on the chain if it is still a little wet from the ride.

The o-rings do not absorb lube, nor does lube get past the o-rings. Your "warm & dry" lubing method is actually a throwback to the days before o-ring chains when the lube needed to be wicked inside the rollers.

O-ring, X-ring, type chains are lubed with grease inside the rollers, at the factory. If your little can of spray lube was getting past the o-ring, you would actually be doing your chain a disservice and shortening it's service life. Today, we are simply lubricating the bearing surfaces, which are the outside of the roller and the sprocket teeth.

[smilin jack]

Originally Posted by turnsleft

I like to lube the chain when I get back from a ride.

I agree with most of these posters. My DR650 service manual says to "clean with kerosene and lubricate every 600 miles, if chain tends to rust quickly, intervals must be shortened". It says use heavy weight motor oil (SAE30w) for lubrication.

My DID 525 chains usually last about 20K miles. I've opened several of the worn out chains at several places to see how the internal grease was doing and found rust, no grease and lots of wear. The O-rings were cracked or missing. I've always used 30w motor oil to lube the chains. Mostly the chains get oiled every tank of fuel (about 125 miles).

With this last chain, I've switched to Liquid Wrench Chain Lube (spray can with spray tube). It says it can be used on any chain or cable. Hoping the chain will last longer. I'll report back in about 15K miles as to how well it worked in my rainy highway commuting. So far it seems to stay on better than motor oil and a LOT LESS MESSY than oil. See photo below... bike covered with oil.



Dave

[wibby]

Originally Posted by Flashmo

The o-rings do not absorb lube, nor does lube get past the o-rings.

In my experience, WD-40 will do exactly that

Originally Posted by Flashmo

If your little can of spray lube was getting past the o-ring, you would actually be doing your chain a disservice and shortening it's service life.

That's why I quit cleaning my chains with WD-40

I'm getting twice the life out of my chains now

[XR4EVER]

Originally Posted by wibby

In my experience, WD-40 will do exactly that




That's why I quit cleaning my chains with WD-40

I'm getting twice the life out of my chains now

Makes sense. Don't take my advice. I isn't too smart.

[wachs]

Originally Posted by wibby

In my experience, WD-40 will do exactly that

That's why I quit cleaning my chains with WD-40

I'm getting twice the life out of my chains now

Exactly - At the end of my ride I lubricate the chain, while it's warm. (XR650R and KTM525EXC). On the 950 it's more like every other ride unless all pavement.

[wibby]

And never use chain wax unless you like a gunked up mess