The sounds of silence - aka silent chain lube

Hallelujah for the sweet sounds of silence.

I've been experimenting with different chain lubes for a little while and finally I seem to have found one that is properly silent. It's not cheap, but I've decided that "Chain Juice Ceramic" chain lube is the dogs danglies. A small squirt and whoosh, there goes all the noise.

Blissful silence.

What a load of balls.

How exactly does a chain lube create, or dampen, audible noise of metal on metal?

A silent bike is one that's set up properly. A noisy bike is a bike trying to tell you there's something amiss. I'm constantly telling people that riding with headphones is an expensive habit, for this reason alone.

Quite simply by minimising the rubbing of metal on metal. I don't ride with headphones (just about the most dangerous thing you can do on a road), my chain is generally pretty quiet anyway, but having just spun the rear wheel, listened to the hum of the chain on the rear sprocket, added some lube and re-spun it, the difference was noticeable.

Have you tired it? If not, then maybe you ought to give it a go and see if it works for you.

And while I agree a well setup bike will be quieter, surely good lubrication on moving parts where there is metal on metal contact is a good idea.... or do you run your chain dry?

I don't run it dry, I just fail to see how one lube can make a difference from another in terms of noise.

Ceramic lube especially annoys me, much like the 'dry' lubes, it's marketing bs. Great, they keep your chain looking cleaner, but testing by both Zinn, Calvin, and the pro tour teams have shown that if anything, it increases wear on the chain and sprockets, and any shifting advantage is too marginal to say one way or the other.

In short; I'm sticking to Finishline Wet on the MTB and Fixed, Progold on the Roadies. Both of these lubes have stood the test of time, and don't rely on crazy marketing to sell themselves.

I don't ride with headphones (just about the most dangerous thing you can do on a road)

citation required or is this just ill informed assumption?

i would hazard a guess that all of the following are more dangerous:

filtering on the left of lorries at junctions, running red lights, riding too close to car doors, no lights at nighttime, drunk cycling

Point taken - there are other equally dangerous things to do on a bike. But I do think having headphones on is up there with the best (worst?!) of them.

Given the way many people drive, I'd like to be able to use ALL my senses to avoid the f**kwits on the road.

If you want music, fit mini-speakers to the bike! :-)

photopositive

Perhaps have a read of this thread: https://www.lfgss.com/thread1014.html

This has been discussed at length here before :)

A dry chain is noiser than a lubed chain, always.
Dry chain lube is OK if used properly, but would guess most people don't.

Regular cleaning & lubing is better than running it too dry/greasy. I use swarfega jizer (bio degradable and 500x more powerful than any bike branded/priced stuff) to clean then usually Krytech wax lube (sprays in as a liquid, then turns into a waxy grease that clings to the chain pretty well).

But if its a silent drivechain you want, literally dip the thing in forklift chain grease, that stuff is seriously gloopy, clings to anything permanently. Half of the street will attach itself to the chain too, within minutes, but it will be silent.

I use GT85 as chain lube

so you don''t like your chains! it washes off with water

i use gt85 to clean my chain, and then a chain lubricant to lubricate

I've had better results from the thicker wet lubes. they seem to last longer, like green oil and morgan blue. obviously your chain gets dirtier than the 'dry' lubes but they are junk and need reapplying every week.

I use GT85 as chain lube

Trolllololooll? I hope ;)

GT85/WD40 are no good as lubricants on drivechain.

Yes thicker lubes last longer, collect more gunk but I'm sure its better for drivechain to have SOME lube, even if its gunky/dirty than running it too dry. With the dry lubes, had some on MTB, and it was a case of taking the bottle with me on rides of 20miles+ (95% of rides) as the stuff gave up in no time, then get home, clean off, reapply and if I'm honest drivechain probably wore more than with wetter/gunky lubes.

WD40 just gets rid of the grease, GT85 coats it in PTFE once it's dry, just like most lube's do.

and it falls off at the first sign of water

most lubricants are more viscous and stick to the chain, the carrier in gt85 does not help the ptfe stay in place

Motor oil. It's the only way.
I switched to it by chance and won't be switching back. It's super slick, doesn't wash off - even in the recent downpours and is dead cheap compared to the weeny bottles of lube we cyclists are sold.

^^ interesting thought. Worth a try.

How about GT85 + WD40 for chain lubrication - do 2 wrongs make a right....?

hands on head, ready for retribution

i dont know if I will fuck my chain/chainring up but I am using this: http://www.getgeared.co.uk/Sdoc_S100_Motorcycle_White_Chain_Spray_300ML

works wonder on my motorcycle chain and been using it for a month (i wash the bike twice a month and lube etc.)

Motor oil. It's the only way.
I switched to it by chance and won't be switching back. It's super slick, doesn't wash off - even in the recent downpours and is dead cheap compared to the weeny bottles of lube we cyclists are sold.

I have a liter of it, can give away for free :D

How about GT85 + WD40 for chain lubrication - do 2 wrongs make a right....?

hands on head, ready for retribution

GT85 and WD40 are the same thing except one has PTFE added. They are only designed to loosen and free up corroded parts but not provide any meaningful lubrication.
Why don't you pick up Amey's litre of motor oil, but a cheap oil gun from a hardware store and give it a go.

i dont know if I will fuck my chain/chainring up but I am using this: http://www.getgeared.co.uk/Sdoc_S100_Motorcycle_White_Chain_Spray_300ML

works wonder on my motorcycle chain and been using it for a month (i wash the bike twice a month and lube etc.)

Yup, mbike spray lube is great stuff, sticks on, doesn't come off easy and lubricates the rollers really well. £8 can will last months of constant use/years of normal use.

While I was working in an engineering workshop, I used lightweight machine oil (lubricates machine bedways/slideways) on chain. A few drops does the whole thing, doesn't come off easily and hardly attracts any dirt. Stank though

Re motor oil homebrew, you can add some white spirit to it and it makes it more able to flow into the parts that it might otherwise not reach, then the white spirit evaporates leaving the oil where it needs to be - deep in the components, particularly the innards of the chain. I use it at 4 parts motor oil, 1 part WS.

GT85 and WD40 are the same thing except one has PTFE added.

Ergo: different.

Ergo: different.

I suppose what I was trying to say is that GT85 and WD40 are designed to do the same job and it is just the odd chemical variation and their packaging that separates them.
You could add Plusgas to this list, this is what Moulton recommends for separating seized suspension units on their first gen bikes.

I suppose what I was trying to say is that GT85 and WD40 are designed to do the same job and it is just the odd chemical variation and their packaging that separates them.
You could add Plusgas to this list, this is what Moulton recommends for separating seized suspension units on their first gen bikes.

Point taken. we can agree re. Good for cleaning, bad for lubrication. I'm still intrigued by the motor oil suggestion, which I'm going to try.