Best Bicycle Chain Lubricants: Comparison & Conclusion

What is the best lubrication to use on your bike chain? You can find lots of facts, opinions and fiction about the "best way" to lubricate and care for your bicycle chain in books and on the Internet. It's pretty difficult to find tests that go beyond anecdotal observations.* After years of experimenting and over a hundred thousand miles of riding, I will now present my own opinion as immutable fact. (As a parent, I'm quite accustomed to this approach.)

Let's start with a True/False quiz to kick things off. We'll see how much the masters of marketing have lubricated our brains.

• Oil additives like Slick 50 help extend your car's engine life.
  (Answer: False. They make things worse by clogging up your oil filter with loose, particulate Teflon that will never adhere to the inside of your cylinders. This impedes the flow of oil. Don't worry…well-established facts like this won't stop anyone from selling it to people who buy the marketing hype.)
  
• You should take your bicycle chain off the bike to clean it.
  (Answer: False. Unless you have a VERY old bike with a 5-speed cog, removing your chain every time you want to clean it will dramatically improve your chances of breaking your chain. Manufacturers provide such warnings, but not everybody is listening. Even if your 10-speed chain has a master link, opening and closing it will weaken your chain. If you regularly lube and wipe your chain with an appropriate oil mix, you won't ever need to attack your chain with solvents. Sure, it will look brighter, but that's about it.)
  
• "Self-cleaning" wax-based lubricants like White Lightening, Squirt, and Dupont's Chain Saver work as well as oils but also help your chain stay clean because any old residue will just "fly off" your chain.
  (Answer: False. Well-respected author and mechanic Lennard Zinn is very blunt about how you can expect fewer miles out of your chain if you use this type of lube. Yes, lots of residue will fly off, but in the process it will also get dirty and find a way to stick to other parts critical to smooth shifting like derailleur jockey wheels. I've had lots of black gunk on my bikes from using this "self-cleaning" solution. )
  

Now let's move on to my opinion the facts regarding bicycle chain maintenance.

• This information is based upon generally dry, clean road-riding conditions that are quite common here in San Diego. If you live elsewhere, you need to move here first. (If the weather sucks where you ride your bike, you have a more pressing problem than what chain lube to use.)
  
• The general principle here is that we need to give our chains some TLC on a regular basis for the best results, i.e. smooth-shifting, low-friction, long-lasting bicycle chains. Depending upon how big your rides are you should consider lubing your chain for every other ride if not every ride. This frequent lubrication scheme allows you to use thinner/lighter oils that will not attract quite as much dirt. If you want a lube that "really lasts" you're going to lean toward tackier oils that gather dirt…and you may quite possibly be a little bit lazy.
  
• If you're using the right lube and wiping off excess with a rag, you won't get too much buildup on your chain. Ideally, allow some time between initial oil application (with spinning of the crank to work the oil to interior parts) and wiping the chain exterior clean with a rag.
  
• Yes, you'll still want to check/clean your jockey wheels, cog and chain rings so that buildup of little dirt+oil chunks doesn't cause problems.
  
• The idea of minimizing lubrication to avoid attracting dirt to the chain doesn't apply here. Just be sure to use an old terry cloth rag to help get oil out of the nooks and crannies. With the relatively thin oils recommended here, your oil is also part of the cleaning solution, helping to flush out dirt that has worked its way into the chain.
  
• If you're trying to keep your chain so dry that no dust or dirt sticks to it, you're probably not getting enough lube to the interior parts of the chain that you actually need to be concerned about. This frequent TLC lubrication approach does not work well with the thicker wax lubricants
  

Best choices for bicycle chain lubrication:

• THE BEST: Park Tool CL-1 Synthetic Blend Chain Lube with PTFE (Teflon). The "blue" bike tool company from St. Paul, MN knows a thing or two about servicing bikes. Their CL-1 lube has a perfect viscosity for the dual role the lube should play: flush out old dirt and lube when applying new lubrication. You can find this for as low as $4.29 for a 4-ounce bottle (August 2010), so don't pay twice that much just to be nice to your LBS (local bike shop). My chain stays much brighter and cleaner since I switched from ProGold to Park’s lube. 
• BEST BUYS: DuPont™ Teflon™ Multi-Use Lubricant and Giant Liquid Silk LPD-9. I don't have as much experience with these, but some people swear by them. These are thin and light, but the DuPont product is tough enough to use on motorcycle chains, too. Both brands are available in aerosol and small squirt bottle containers to satisfy your personal preference. Giant's lube sells for as little as $1.98 for a 4.45 oz bottle. Dupont can be found for as little as $4.99 for an 11-ounce can. All sorts of experts will tell you to avoid "general purpose" lubricants…especially the experts who have something more expensive to sell you. This has the right characteristics for use on a smooth-shifting, frequently lubed-and-wiped bike chain. Note: This is NOT Dupont's "chain saver," which is the thicker, waxier spray similar to some other motorcycle chain lubricants.
  

Others:

• Finish Line Teflon-Plus Lubricant is cleaner than Tri-Flow [below] but costlier than the two mentioned above.
  
• Tri-Flow "Superior Lubricant with Teflon" is a bit wetter and tackier, which invites more dirt to stay on the chain. It also costs a little more than the two favorites mentioned above. If you have this in your tool box, consider using it for cable housings, jockey wheels, and other parts that you might not think of lubricating as often. It will "stick around" longer.
  
• ProGold "ProLink" typically costs twice as much as the ones mentioned above. I used this for years but sadly it ultimately has nothing to offer over the two favorites mentioned above other than a really strong chemical odor. Higher pricing and cycling-specific marketing makes many cyclists feel they're getting a better product. ProGold is very popular which probably explains why they can charge so much for a 4-ounce bottle in your local bike shop.
  

I hope better lubricants and radical new improvements in drivetrain technology will cause this article to be completely outdated soon. But as things stand, we're still using the same principals in chain construction and lubrication that we were when I first learned to ride a bike almost 50 years ago. Until those radical new improvements come along, I hope this article is helpful to those who don't want to experiment quite as much as I have.

*If you know of a test that is focused on bicycle chains (which pose challenges that are different from motorcycle chains and any other mechanical or environmental scenario), please feel free to post that here.

2010 Tour de France Live!

A week ago today we were at the Tour de France's individual time trial in Bordeaux, France. We had been in the Pyrénées for days before that, climbing famous "cols" (mountain passes) like the Col du Tourmalet and roads to dead-ends in beautiful ski areas like Superbagnères and Pla d'Adet. We stayed in Luchon-Bagnères to watch the end of one stage and the start of another. But it wasn't until that day in Bordeaux of NOT climbing the hills that I finally stopped to fully appreciate one thing: We were in France, at the Tour de France! It took me over 50 years to get to the Tour, and I may never experience it "live" again, but there we were.

I've always liked riding my bike, but it wasn't until five years ago–the summer of 2005–when I really got into bike racing as a spectator. The timing was strange, since American Lance Armstrong had just retired after winning his seventh Tour de France. Lance didn't get me into bike racing. My wife did. When I came home one night after riding up Torrey Pines hill 50 times in one day (just to see if I could; 162 miles, over 20,000 vertical feet of climbing), she said to me with a concerned look on her face, "Why don't you try racing OTHER people?" With that, I joined the San Diego Bicycle Club (SDBC) and dabbled in some bike racing. I've raced "track" at the velodrome, I still race time trials, and I will try some road/crit racing again someday. I'm not very good at it, but I love it.

By experiencing bike racing personally, I got a dose of the incredible adrenaline that comes with the sport. That personal racing experience turned a potentially boring spectator sport into something I really enjoy watching. (Having played football and soccer made those sports more interesting to watch, too. This formula didn't work on me for baseball because I thought it was pretty boring even when I played it.)

This doesn't explain WHY I'm so passionate about cycling now, but I am. I'm glad of it.

• I'm glad I have a passion to follow.
  
• I'm glad it can burn 7,000 calories in a day.
  
• I'm glad there are a few million other people "into it" enough to make the Tour de France the incredible event that it is.
  
• I'm glad we went to see the Tour de France live.
  

We finally made it to Cycling Mecca. We were at the Super Bowl of bike racing. And I'm so glad it sunk in before it was all over.
Vive le Tour de France!

America’s Lower-Left City

In early July of this year I began exploring routes away from San Diego's coast in an effort to find some sunshine. The weeks of "May Gray" and "June Gloom" went way overboard this year. Almost every day, the forecast was "increasing cloudiness," which seemed comical long after the sky was filled with nothing but clouds.

This exploration allowed me to see more of San Diego County, both within and outside San Diego's city limits. One day my friend Dennis and I decided to put a hundred miles on our bikes. We passed the city limits more than once. At one point during our long ride, Dennis pointed out how embarrassing San Diego's new "tag line" is. I thought we were still "America's Finest City," but Dennis pointed out how someone in our finest city's government decided it was time to change that tag line to "A City Worthy of Our Affection." I had never noticed this before, and when I realized he wasn't kidding, I suddenly felt very embarrassed for San Diego. This was a bone-headed move at so many levels…

• "America's Finest City" was a great tag line. Why would we change that? Did someone else steal the honor from us? Was it because of the horrible maintenance of the roads? I will admit that most cities (and unincorporated communities) around San Diego have smoother roads than San Diego does. Dropping this tag line is a horrible admission that—for some reason unannounced to the constituents—we aren't even going to claim that we're the finest. Very sad.
  
• Worth of our AFFECTION? Since when does one think of cities as something to get affectionate about? This new phrase sounds like something a committee of undereducated bureaucrats came up with. From what I've gathered, it's actually borrowed from one of Mayor Sanders' "state of the city" address several years ago. How misguided is that? Dump a great tagline and replace it with an awkward phrase in an uninspired political speech? Clearly the city doesn't employ a good marketing person…at least not one with any pull. Very embarrassing.
  
• San Diego has been in financial trouble for quite a few years. Can you imagine somebody at city hall signing the purchase order to replace all those city limit signs just so this lame tagline can replace the good one? Way to go, SD. Don't spend that money on fixing our roads, maintaining our parks, or beautifying major tourist routes like Torrey Pines Road heading into La Jolla. Spend it on a bad tagline. Very wasteful.
  

So there we have it: Very sad, embarrassing, and wasteful. If we have an interim tagline before we become "America's Finest City" again, how about making it, "San Diego, the City's Management is Worthy of our Attention." Let's not let this sort of nonsense continue on our watch, using our tax dollars.

Pass the Baton

On July 11^th 2010 we witnessed the end of the third major round of Lance Armstrong's bike racing career. His bike racing career was preceded—and may be followed again--by an impressive triathlon racing experience.

Round 1: Before he won a single Tour de France—and before most Americans heard his name—Lance was a very strong cyclist. He was the US National Champion and World Champion in 1993. Unfortunately, most people who don't follow cycling closely have no idea who the national or world champions of the sport are. Round 1 ended after Lance discovered that he had cancer that had spread throughout his body in 1996.

Round 2: After fighting for his life against cancer, Lance won 7 consecutive Tours de France (1999-2005) and became the most famous cyclist in the world. Bicycle manufacturers and bike shop owners rejoiced as America rediscovered the bicycle. American bike racing fans rejoiced that the sparse smattering of victories by Americans in European road bike racing was replaced by American dominance of the biggest bike race in the world. Unfortunately, Lance grew bored of winning the Tour de France and "retired" in 2005. Granted, it's a lot of very hard work, and he already had enough fame and fortune for a few lifetimes.

Round 3: After getting inspired to race again through his Leadville 100 racing experience, Lance decided to return to the pinnacle of the sport to race the Tour de France in 2009. It's a tall order after leaving the professional peloton for a few years, but Lance did well and finished 3^rd in 2009. For 2010, Lance had a year of racing under his belt and a full schedule of "warm-up" races leading up to the Tour. When he finished 2^nd in the Tour of Switzerland, I started to think he might really have the form to be a real threat to the other top Tour contenders. But after multiple crashes and perhaps a bonk on the final climb yesterday, we'll never know how well he could have done in this year's Tour. This is Lance, not SuperLance. Getting those 12 minutes back is not in the cards.

I HOPE we'll never know how well he would have done if those crashes hadn't happened. Because now, working as a "domestique" for his teammate Levi Leipheimer in the coming weeks, he should sacrifice his stage-by-stage finish times to help maximize Levi's chances of winning the Tour. This may mean pacing up hills right through his anaerobic zone, then peeling off and dropping back. It should mean taking pulls in front of Levi to help Levi stay as protected and rested as possible for the crucial moments. It should mean wearing himself out as a loyal teammate to the point where his own time trial performance in Bordeaux will be lackluster. I hope.

I've seen some journalists and readers guess that Lance may go for a stage win, like some sort of "farewell" performance now that the GC (overall win) is not in the cards for him. I'll be disappointed if this happens, because it will mean that he chose—even if only for one stage—to put his own need for more glory ahead of the need to help his team place well in the race. I'm optimistic. I don't know why Levi's web site still has the video of him and Lance talking about his broken wrist from last year's Tour on the home page. Maybe he thinks it's good karma. I'm not so sure about that, but Levi has been on the Tour podium before and I'd love to see Levi finally win in 2010.

Even by his own admission, Lance hasn't replaced "The Cannibal" Eddy Merckx as the greatest bike racer to have ever graced the planet. But he is currently the most popular, and continuing this race as a great teammate, racing in Ironman events, maybe even racing in US continental races will help perpetuate his popularity among generations of athletes. Wouldn't it be cool to hear about Lance racing in 60+ Masters categories a couple decades from now, after the battle with cancer and the Tour victories? Physically fit (and fearless!) athletes who race into their 70's, 80's and even 90's are the greatest sources of inspiration to me.

Here's to Rounds 4-15. Go Lance!

Meet the Waltons [on the road], Part 6

I took a quick ride up the Coast Highway this afternoon (from La Jolla to Moonlight Beach & back). I've given up on the gray skies breaking anytime soon, and I'm glad I wore a comfy merino wool base layer. Yes, in late June, in Southern California. Ugh!

Anyway, on the way back through Del Mar I see a very tall cyclist with a Grateful Dead jersey ahead of me. My first reaction was, "Man, I keep bumping into Bill Walton everywhere this year." I've seen him out on the road, at my daughter's fashion show fundraiser, at the Gran Fondo San Diego, at the start of the Mount Laguna Challenge, at the Tour of California TT in LA, and I rode with him a little bit as we escorted runners in San Diego's Rock & Roll Marathon. Bill obviously loves cycling.

But when I got closer to this rider, it was clear that he was younger than Bill and was not riding Bill's bike with the bright orange custom Grateful Dead paint job.

Me: "I only know one other tall guy in San Diego who loves cycling and the Grateful Dead, and that's Bill Walton."

Tall rider: "Yeah, I got this jersey from him."

Me: "Oh, cool. He's really into cycling. I've seen him everywhere anything 'cycling' was happening this year."

Tall rider: "I'm going to see him now."

Me: "Oh, so you know him?"

Tall rider: "Yeah, he's my dad."

I have three kids and I know kids aren't always super-quick to claim their parents in public, so I thought this was a pretty funny dialog. So I asked Nate Walton if he's as crazy about cycling as his dad is, and he said maybe, but his dad has a lot more time to put into it, riding a century practically every week. (Yikes…still has some sports drive!)

Tomorrow I better get a century under my belt. I need to get some serious "saddle time" before we take off to France next month. The Pyrénées aren't terribly forgiving hills for cyclesloths.

Breakaway Inspiration

Cycling fans know that perhaps 9 out of 10 breakaway efforts in pro bicycle racing get swallowed up by the field or "peloton." But as my favorite lottery slogan says, "You can't win if you don't play." (No, I don't throw money away on the lottery.)

This year's Giro d'Italia has been quite interesting so far, and the end of stage 5 was no exception. I've never seen this level of excitement + confusion as the field tries to catch these three riders so close to the line. Check out this short video on Universal Sports to watch the end.

Team Radio Shack Funding

I've always thought of Radio Shack as the handy, local stop for weird cable & adapter needs. As an engineer and lifetime nerd I've helped keep them alive over the years. Today I needed an HDMI to DVI cable to connect our new Blu-ray disc player to our old "HD ready" TV. I went to "the Shack" hoping that such an adapter exists, mostly because the Blu-ray player was a birthday present for my wife¹ and I wanted her to have the best possible picture.

Yes!…Radio Shack has it! I took it to the register without checking the price, thinking hmm... Maybe twelve bucks. Worst case, $19.99, right? No…a whopping sixty bucks!! You read that right. $60 for a lousy cable. That's almost half what I paid for the new Blu-ray disc player at Costco, which included an HDMI to HDMI cable. I should have put the "Shack" cable back on the shelf, but I didn't know how cheap it was elsewhere, I didn't want to wait for an Internet order and I didn't have time to go over to Fry's Electronics. (I always get lost in that place for at least half an hour anyway.)

While I'm in sticker shock there at the register in Radio Shack, the lady ringing me up was saying that the Monster brand version of the cable cost twice as much. (Is that supposed to make me feel better?) What a racket: Choose the insanely-overpriced Monster brand or the way-overpriced Auvio brand (Radio Shack's "premium" house brand for cables). With prices like these, it looks like Radio Shack should be able to support Lance Armstrong's team nicely for a few years. I guess this is the electronics world's equivalent to a $400 carbon fiber handlebar, but in this case there wasn't a cheap, alternative "alloy" handlebar at this store.

Next time I need a cable I'll go online to www.newegg.com where I now know that their HDMI to DVI cable would have set me back only $10.99 (plus $2.99 for shipping but no sales tax). I like saving 76% when I buy stuff! As much as I love cycling and those who support cycling, I feel genuinely ripped off.

Oh well. I've made another donation to cycling,² just not voluntarily this time. I'd rather hand a nice bottle of wine to the hard-working domestiques³ like Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer on the team. You're welcome, Lance!

 

Notes:

1. No, it wasn't for me. She watches a lot more TV and movies than I do.
   
2. I provide substantial sponsorship & private donations to San Diego Bicycle Club, USA Cycling and several other cycling organizations.
   
3. Chris and Levi know full well that—after the duel Lance and Alberto had last year—Lance is not going to say, "OK guys…you're faster than me, so let me support you any way I can so you might score a win in the Tour." They have their work cut out for them, so a little comfort food would come in handy.
   

Inspiration for My 2010 Tour de France Win

I just finished a research project last week, so now I can get back to reading Ask and It is Given and training for my 2010 Tour de France victory in July. I would be working on another project, but my "vibrational mismatch" is causing the business environment to remain weak. (See how well-trained I am by Abraham to blame my own vibrations rather than the economy!!) More importantly, I can get back to these diary entries that tell the story about how Esther & Jerry Hicks helped me win the mother of all bike races.
I believe in the existence of a "spiritual dimension" but I'm also a scientist of sorts. My undergraduate degree is in electrical engineering and I'm a market research professional. I appreciate how little we know and I'm quick to seek out alternative sources of information. So…
Today I read an interview with Esther & Jerry Hicks in The Independent rather than just reading another few chapters in the book. In this interview, the author (Robert Chalmers) obviously had the same brilliant idea I have, but fortunately he's more interested in football (soccer) than cycling. Here's the crucial excerpt from his 2007 interview as it relates to the certainty that I will win this year's Tour:

Chalmers: "You spoke yesterday about the way in which desire can make something happen, and that nothing is impossible. Isn't it important to realize that some things will never come to you? However much I still want to wear the number seven shirt for Manchester United, occupied [at the time of writing] by Cristiano Ronaldo, I've accepted that this isn't going to happen."

Esther/Abraham: "In cases like this, where there is not sincere desire..."

Chalmers: "Trust me, there is."

Esther/Abraham: "Well, if there is sincere desire, and you bring your belief into alignment with it, it can be. People say: could I grow back an arm that has been amputated... is this really possible? We say yes."

I don't know if when Manchester United recruited Chalmers or how many goals he has scored since this interview, but I'm guessing it's a very large and uncertain number, much like the number of former wives of former Amway salesman Jerry Hicks. But now you know: My desire to win this year's Tour de France is so sincere that I will most certainly beat Alberto Contador like a rented mule in this year's Tour de France!!. On the hills, he will look like he's riding backwards during that brief moment that Versus can catch us both in the same camera frame. If you are tired of hearing Phil Liggett (or was it Paul Sherwen...I'm not sure) talk about how Alberto is "dancing on the pedals," you'll be happy to know that instead, Mr. Liggett will be screaming in disbelief, "Dan Goese, the 51-year-old recreational rider from California is absolutely CRUSHING Contador!!"
On the training front, I had a great ride with a visitor from Australia yesterday after the heavy rains finally subsided. We both enjoyed our 60-mile coastal ride peppered with some climbs around San Elijo Hills. A couple more training rides like this–along with a "sincere desire" to win the Tour–should be enough to bag the big win. Yeeeehaa!

Every Desire is Given, Every Wish Is Granted

The Planet Ultra climbing camp in the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains was great. It was fun to see George Hincapie again. Fellow campers surely thought it was strange that he actually knew my name. He seems happy with his new BMC Racing Team. It was also amusing to watch the camp's ladies put a capital "C" in "Cougar." Every time the BMC squad was in a conference room eating or stretching, the old (like, almost as old as I am) girls were buzzing around the lobby and hallways like locusts. Now we're all back at work and the BMC boys are racing in the Tour of Qatar. Ah, the joys of youth and superior genes + endless training.
It's been a long two weeks since the camp. On the Tuesday after I got back, I came down with a cold. The mystical spirit armada called "Abraham" (in Esther & Jerry Hicks' book Ask and It Is Given) would have you think that it was my own fault that I got sick. Abe would say that I was either NOT thinking enough about myself being healthy, or I was thinking too much about NOT catching a cold. So, through the Law of Attraction (made so famous in the book and movie called The Secret) I made myself sick. I stand accused of CHOOSING to get sick. Well, I was having none of those thoughts and I have a different theory about why I caught a cold, but I won't bother explaining it because Abe is so old he doesn't even know what a virus is.
When I pause between salvos of phlegm missiles fired out of my lungs, I'm thinking completely healthy thoughts. I'm dreaming of climbing like Contador and flying like Fabian in the time trials. Since I finished the first phase of a research project I'm working on, I also read a little more in Ask and It is Given. (Yes, this diary entry is one in a long series studying this book.) The book is getting really good now, but there is a phrase that may cause the Tour de France race officials some concern. Since they're French and I'm American, they may try to use it as an excuse to DQ me from this year's Tour de France. Chapter 8 in the book is titled, "You are a Vibrational Transmitter and Receiver." If you followed last year's race, you know the officials toyed with having a day or two where the teams could not use their race radios to communicate with the cyclists. I'll need to read up on what they're planning this year and get my attorney to work on this one.
"But wait, there's more!" Chapter 10 starts out super-juicy. Abraham finally gets to the complex steps in achieving the book title's claims: (1) You ask. (2) The answer is given. (3) You "allow" the answer to happen by letting it in. Psha! If I knew it was that easy, I would have asked for 8 Tour de France victories and not just one. Abe goes on to say that every prayer is answered, every wish is granted, and every desire is given, but most people screw up on the 3^rd step because they don't tune the vibrational frequency of their being with the vibrational frequency of their desires.
Whatever. I didn't get greedy by asking for 8 tour victories quite yet. I decided to put Abraham's theory to the test on another short-term experiment like the poker game a couple weeks ago. This time I asked to have Eva Mendes come over to my house to cook a hot meal of Arroz congri, bringing along Keira Knightly Cameron Diaz, Scarlett Johannson, Jessica Biel, and Katherine Heigl to make appetizers, desert, and drinks. I wouldn't drink before they got here…I learned from the poker game spiral. But once they got here I figured it would be OK to share some drinks with the girls.
Well, wouldn't you know it? I screwed up step 3. I didn't let them in. I figure they must have come over and rang the doorbell right when I went out on the deck to turn up the heat in the Jacuzzi!! I didn't hear the damn doorbell. And I can't hear Abraham saying "I told you so," but I'm sure Esther Hicks can.
Ugh! I hope I don't find a rule like "you can't make the same wish twice" in a later chapter. This wish is worth trying again. I even think my wife and kids would get a kick out of having these famous ladies over for some good ol' rice and beans. I'd just get Abe's spiritual help working over any rough edges with the missus.
I've learned my lessons well: (1) Don't consume alcohol until your wish is granted, and (2) Make sure you're within earshot of the doorbell when your wish is being granted so you can "let it in."