bike chain lube suggestions

[Teo del Fuego]

I usually can make it all week without any chain issues because I keep the chain well-maintained before heading out. HOWEVER, sometimes , no matter how much prep you've done beforehand, the chain starts sounding like a cheap set of box springs in a brothel. I then hit it with WD40--not my chain lube of choice in Defaultia-- and everything calms down.

[Catnip]

Just re-lubed my 25-year old clunker which will make its 9th trip to the playa this year. Having started with WD-40 (much to the horror of my campmates) I have settled on a system that works for me. Pre-trip I use white lightning easy clean then white lighening easy lube. The gears will even change on the playa, but I don't test that very often. When I get home I spray it off with water then clean with tons of bio-clean, toothbrush, etc. I then lube with Pedros - the one that is good for wet weather (I live in a rain forest). I think the main thing I do to keep the dear beast running is to ride her several times a year, not just on the playa. Plus I give her a nice new paint job every few years.... (also serves as theft-prevention)

[SnowBlind]

+1 for the White Lightning bicycle chain lube. The dry one also works wonders on zippers, like tent zippers.

Also, quite the thread resurrection, Catnip.

[marc17hardware]

From our experience at BRC Hardware, we use a wax based lube such as white lightning as it won't collect playa dust. That seems to work the best and does work wonders on things like zippers also. We recommend against WD40 for various reasons and although it will break stuff up, it tends to collect dust and then you have well lubricated sand in your metal bits. If you don't have a wax based lube, we recommend just using soap and water to wash the chain down to bare metal. Playa by itself will just crush, turn to powder and fall off and even act as a natural lube to some extent.