GT85 as a chain lube
Discussion
Lubricants for summer (dry) and winter (wet) use vary. In the summer, you want a dry lube that does not attract dust and turn into a grinding paste. In the winter, this is less of an issue and you want water insolubility.
GT85 is an extremely light oil with penetrating / water dispersing properties. It also contains a telflon additive that remains behind after the oil evaporates. It is regularly labelled as not being a lubricant, for example by Wiggle.
However, it is precisely what I use and I swear by it for my personal situation. I use it on my mountain bike, which gets properly cleaned every time that I ride it (unless I am very lucky and in survives the ride without getting filthy) and re-lube for storage and again before the next ride. I spray in on, work it round for a bit and then run the chain through a rag that has a small patch of GT-85 on it.
This is great for most of my riding but on the wettest of rides, assuming only rain water, it does wash off. However, if it is that wet and I am off road, no lubricant is going to survive the thick mud / filth. If the weather was really bad and I was planning on a long ride I would probably use Finishline Cross Country Wet lubricant in order to last as long as possible.
The needs of a commuter bike are somewhat different in my opinion. I only ride a short distance and barely maintain my bike at all. I started off using the wet lube mentioned above and had no problems. Lube and forget. With time, commuter bikes pick up so much road oil that the chain is engulfed in a lubricating layer of almost grease and this seems to do the job fine. I had a moment of madness and tried to clean mine and use a lighter lube but it ended up creaking and sounding crap. I had made some simple grease that day as part of a training package (don't ask) and just daubed that on because it was in my hand (in a jar). It works and will soon be covered in other crap anyway.
So, to finally answer your question: GT85 is great for dry use and shortish wet use assuming that you are happy to regularly reapply and that your bike is out of the rain during the day. In other words, it is far from ideal for a commuter shed.
Just use a simple, thick, wet lube and forget about it.
GT85 is an extremely light oil with penetrating / water dispersing properties. It also contains a telflon additive that remains behind after the oil evaporates. It is regularly labelled as not being a lubricant, for example by Wiggle.
However, it is precisely what I use and I swear by it for my personal situation. I use it on my mountain bike, which gets properly cleaned every time that I ride it (unless I am very lucky and in survives the ride without getting filthy) and re-lube for storage and again before the next ride. I spray in on, work it round for a bit and then run the chain through a rag that has a small patch of GT-85 on it.
This is great for most of my riding but on the wettest of rides, assuming only rain water, it does wash off. However, if it is that wet and I am off road, no lubricant is going to survive the thick mud / filth. If the weather was really bad and I was planning on a long ride I would probably use Finishline Cross Country Wet lubricant in order to last as long as possible.
The needs of a commuter bike are somewhat different in my opinion. I only ride a short distance and barely maintain my bike at all. I started off using the wet lube mentioned above and had no problems. Lube and forget. With time, commuter bikes pick up so much road oil that the chain is engulfed in a lubricating layer of almost grease and this seems to do the job fine. I had a moment of madness and tried to clean mine and use a lighter lube but it ended up creaking and sounding crap. I had made some simple grease that day as part of a training package (don't ask) and just daubed that on because it was in my hand (in a jar). It works and will soon be covered in other crap anyway.
So, to finally answer your question: GT85 is great for dry use and shortish wet use assuming that you are happy to regularly reapply and that your bike is out of the rain during the day. In other words, it is far from ideal for a commuter shed.
Just use a simple, thick, wet lube and forget about it.
what is the point? It will probably cost more than chain lube as it is not cheap itself and you will spray most of it nowhere near the chain. A decent sized bottle of chain lube, applied correctly, last ages and is doing the job it was designed to, and in my opinion will be far better at working itself into the chain rollers than a spray that is most likely to evaporate away from the links moments after landing on them.
My commuter bike lives quite a charmed existence going between a nice dry garage at home and a similar space at work and I tend to take the car if it looks like rain. Still, it sounds like conventional lube is probably the better option...
I am promising myself a hardtail for an off road commute I think I've worked out, but right now it's all on roads of cycle paths.
I am promising myself a hardtail for an off road commute I think I've worked out, but right now it's all on roads of cycle paths.
Chris71 said:
My commuter bike lives quite a charmed existence going between a nice dry garage at home and a similar space at work and I tend to take the car if it looks like rain. Still, it sounds like conventional lube is probably the better option...
I am promising myself a hardtail for an off road commute I think I've worked out, but right now it's all on roads of cycle paths.
Is it gnarly off road or smoothish off road - if the latter, don't discount a cyclo-cross bike - great fun and unless you have big drops and severe terrain, you'll be faster too, especially if like most back country commute routes there is still a bit of road to navigate.I am promising myself a hardtail for an off road commute I think I've worked out, but right now it's all on roads of cycle paths.
If your bike lives a charmed existence, then a decent lube like finish line will stay on and doing its job for weeks at a time, I doubt GT85, even if applied thoroughly, would have the same endurance.
Davi said:
you're supposed to lube the chain? so it shouldn't be that beautiful hue of Lancia Red Oxide?
I only use it in emergencies - it's too thin and attracts too much dirt.
Do this:
Clean with a chain cleaner (I used a machiney thing) and degreaser, wipe off any excess. Apply a decent lube one drip per link (takes a while) then wipe off any excess.
After every ride, give the chain a good wipe - only re-clean and oil about once a month.
Chains needs very little lube and too much just attracts crud which wears it out too quickly.
Do this:
Clean with a chain cleaner (I used a machiney thing) and degreaser, wipe off any excess. Apply a decent lube one drip per link (takes a while) then wipe off any excess.
After every ride, give the chain a good wipe - only re-clean and oil about once a month.
Chains needs very little lube and too much just attracts crud which wears it out too quickly.
Vladimir said:
After every ride, give the chain a good wipe - only re-clean and oil about once a month.
Chains needs very little lube and too much just attracts crud which wears it out too quickly.
Interesting. I think I was applying lube about every other day when I was commuting regularly last year. Chains needs very little lube and too much just attracts crud which wears it out too quickly.
At the risk of asking a stupid question, do you wipe the running surface of the chain links or just the sides/outside surface?
Chris - I try and wipe both. I just use and old rag and wipe the sides then the links.
I used to apply loads of GT85 after every ride - I was utterly trashing my chains and cassettes. With this newer method, I'm getting loads more life.
For some reason I find road grime almost worse than MTB mud for eating drivetrains.
None of my stuff takes long - some REALLY go to town after almost every ride - degrease chain in petrol, clean individual links, etc I just hold the rag on the chain sides then link edges and run it through the rag/chain. Takes about a minute.
I used to apply loads of GT85 after every ride - I was utterly trashing my chains and cassettes. With this newer method, I'm getting loads more life.
For some reason I find road grime almost worse than MTB mud for eating drivetrains.
None of my stuff takes long - some REALLY go to town after almost every ride - degrease chain in petrol, clean individual links, etc I just hold the rag on the chain sides then link edges and run it through the rag/chain. Takes about a minute.
Vladimir said:
Chris - I try and wipe both. I just use and old rag and wipe the sides then the links.
I used to apply loads of GT85 after every ride - I was utterly trashing my chains and cassettes. With this newer method, I'm getting loads more life.
For some reason I find road grime almost worse than MTB mud for eating drivetrains.
None of my stuff takes long - some REALLY go to town after almost every ride - degrease chain in petrol, clean individual links, etc I just hold the rag on the chain sides then link edges and run it through the rag/chain. Takes about a minute.
I don't even degrease, well, that is technically untrue, I do degrease, but not with a specific bike degreaser product, I use fairly liquid in my chain cleaning tool, brings it up as bright as a button at a fraction of the cost! Am sure it doesn't penetrate as well as a citrus degreaser (that stuff is insane!) but again, provided you haven't left it too long between services its not really an issue. My chains have always performed well enough and only get replaced due to stretching with wear, which I don't think is directly related to how well you degrease or regrease.I used to apply loads of GT85 after every ride - I was utterly trashing my chains and cassettes. With this newer method, I'm getting loads more life.
For some reason I find road grime almost worse than MTB mud for eating drivetrains.
None of my stuff takes long - some REALLY go to town after almost every ride - degrease chain in petrol, clean individual links, etc I just hold the rag on the chain sides then link edges and run it through the rag/chain. Takes about a minute.
Basically, as with other bits of bike maintainance maintenance fettling, do what seems right and if you are feeling guilty, there is probably a good reason!
Vladimir said:
I used to apply loads of GT85 after every ride - I was utterly trashing my chains and cassettes.
I do wonder about this.I f
ked a compete chainset on a Specialneedz Stumpjumper FSR in 18 months.I suspect the same cause as you - using copious amounts of GT85 as lube - although teh ground round here is very abrasive. Legend has it that one of the leading manufacturers of forks and shocks has even been onto Cannock Chase to take soil samples....
Vladimir said:
Digga - I'm still lucky to get a year out of my cassette and chain. Get a bit longer from front rings but not much more. Must get some Ti ones.
FWIW I'm using Middleburn cranks on the full-susser and singlespeed. FS is still too new to comment, but on the singlespeed, the (excellent) Middleburn chainrings have easily seen off the chain, cog and even the tensioner jockeywheel. 
I've also swapped to a funky looking Shimano chain with covex profile links, which is theoretically better resistant to stretch....
I did look at the MB chainrings - My old SLX chainset wore the middle and outer rings. Turned out getting a new XT chainset (with steel middle ring) was cheaper than two new chainrings! The "throwaway" industry of biking is a bit daft like that.
I run a SRAM 990 cassette and 991 chain - seem to last well and very cheap from CRC/Merlin. Light too! Once my rings go again, I'll take another look at MB ones as well as the very limited Ti options.
BB/crank was creaking on my last ride - uh oh...
I run a SRAM 990 cassette and 991 chain - seem to last well and very cheap from CRC/Merlin. Light too! Once my rings go again, I'll take another look at MB ones as well as the very limited Ti options.
BB/crank was creaking on my last ride - uh oh...
Digga said:
do wonder about this.
I fked a compete chainset on a Specialneedz Stumpjumper FSR in 18 months.
I suspect the same cause as you - using copious amounts of GT85 as lube - although teh ground round here is very abrasive. Legend has it that one of the leading manufacturers of forks and shocks has even been onto Cannock Chase to take soil samples....
Wow 18 months! I have replaced the front cogs twice on mine in 3 years, the rear cassette 3 or 4 times and the chain probably the same number of times. I wash and degrease and re-oil the chain every other ride, sometimes more often. I guess the conditions where I am are harsher.I f
ked a compete chainset on a Specialneedz Stumpjumper FSR in 18 months.I suspect the same cause as you - using copious amounts of GT85 as lube - although teh ground round here is very abrasive. Legend has it that one of the leading manufacturers of forks and shocks has even been onto Cannock Chase to take soil samples....
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