synthetic grease chain lube

[downhilldude]

i found a tin of this and was wondering if it is anygood for chain lube it is synthetic grease.thanks

[jimjam]

Just buy this and have done with it.

http://media.rei.com/media/717762.jpg

[downhilldude]

yea a no i am geting some of that.i just i found a can of the other stuff and thats why a was wondering weather to use it or not..thanks

[Girvan]

why would you use it if you're getting chain lube?

[downhilldude]

just because i found a big tin of it and thought i would use it.

[Dee205]

Muck Off Wet Lube is good ****. Just don't leave the bike in the hallway after you lube it. The wife wasn't too impressed at the greasey stains from the drips I left over the tiles!

[trailfox]

...that synthetic grease should be alright to use until you get the proper wet lube DHD.

[Three_Fish]

Grease is very poor as a chain lube because it is generally too thick to penetrate the links. The only parts of a chain which should be lubricated are the inside of each roller where it contacts the plate sections of each link. Absolutely no lube is required on the outside of the roller - where it touches the cassette/chainrings - or on the exterior surfaces of the plates. A small amount of oil on the link plates will certainly keep corrosion at bay, but too much of it will only start to collect dirt.

Chain lubes work by mixing or disolving a lubricant in a solvent (known as a carrier). The mixture is applied to the chain in a fluid thin enough to penentrate fully into the chain rollers, but then the solvent carrier evaporates leaving behind the working part of the mixture, which is thick enough to properly lubricate the rollers whithout being forced out again by the enormous pressure created under pedalling force. To add to another discussion, this is one of the reasons why WD40 is unsuitable as a chain oil - the residual oil is too thin to offer proper, long-term lubrication.

So, no, applying grease to your chain will not help very much. It may, may, be better than nothing, but you're going to end up with a very nasty, greasy mess all over the rest of your drivetrain (derailleur wheels, cassette and front rings) which is not only going to collect ridiculous amounts of dirt and grit, but is also going to be nigh on impossible to clean off without stripping the drivetrain down. The amount of degreaser you would need to effectively clean the grease away can NOT be washed around the drivetrain without also making its way into hub and bottom bracket bearings.

[trailfox]

so really grease does more harm than good in the long run..

[Three_Fish]

"so really grease does more harm than good in the long run.. "

I believe that it would, yes.