important: Nuts and bolts on your bike should always be tightened to the manufacturer's specifications.

Why WD-40 is Bad for Your Bike Chain

Using WD-40 as a chain lube can actually damage your chain.

Video updates

  • 00:12 - The product actually began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and de-greaser to protect missile parts.

Near the end of last week’s tutorial, I mentioned that WD-40 should never be used as a chain lubricant. Quite a few people wanted to know what I meant by that. Here’s an explanation.

WD-40 was developed by the military in the 50s as a rust preventative solvent and de-greaser to protect missile parts. It quickly became a household item when people discovered it had thousands of other uses as a cleaner, rust-prevention agent, squeak-stopper and more. It also works wonders as a light lubricant on small items like hinges, locks, and toys.

Bicycle chains, on the other hand, are far too heavy and fast-moving for the lubricating power of WD-40 to have any effect at all. As a matter of fact, WD-40 will actually strip away any existing lubricant and leave your drivetrain dry – metal on metal. Basically, spraying this stuff on your chain is worse than using no lubricant at all!

Obviously, I strongly recommend using chain oil purchased from your local bike shop. Just go down there and ask them for regular waterproof chain oil. It shouldn’t be any more than 10 or 12 bucks, and it’s the best thing you can buy for your bike. My personal favorite is Cross Country, but if you want the Caviar, you can get quality oils from companies like Phil Wood. We’ll talk more about lubricants later…

Related Links

Recommended Tools

Categories

Discuss this topic in the Bicycle Repairs and Mechanics Forum

Hello, I was going to ask this question in @Flowrider’s post, but since this is a slightly different issue, I decided to start a new post. https://forums.bikeride.com/thread-9267.html I’m nowhere near the ocean, so salt-related rusting isn’t a concern. I’m currently in the ninth month of a long bikepacking trip, and sometimes I stay in one place for a week or longer. During this week or ...

Read more

Colnago restoration

Latest post 4 weeks ago

Hi everyone. A bit repetitive from my intro in GF, but this is the correct section for this post. I’m new to vintage bikes, but I’ve been eyeing a vintage Colnago to restore for a long time. Finally found one and the timing was right to pull the trigger. I’m still trying to identify the exact year, but from my research it’s 1991-1993 Colnago Super PiU. Mostly original, I think, apart from ...

Read more

Columbia 3 wheel differential

Latest post 1 month ago

Hello everyone and thank you so much for having me! I have an older Columbia 3 wheeler adult tricycle and she has a differential, somewhat like a car. I wanted to open up the differential for cleaning and oiling but cannot find any info on her, as to how much oil to add, and where the oil fill point is. Can anyone help me in this endeavor? I'd really love to get her going but don't want to ris...

Read more

Front derailer not moving

Latest post 1 month ago

Hi, I been upgrading my old bike with new brake and shift cables. I got my brakes working and now trying to get my shift cables working. I was able to install new shift cable, I made sure to hold the cable tight and tighten the Bolt to keep in place. But it doesn't move the derailer at all when shifting. I have a feeling it's a simple fix that I'm missing something. I thought it might be the new ...

Read more

I live 5 km from the ocean (not sure if that's relevant), and I pretty much only mountain bike. After every ride, I hose down and clean my bike. I wipe them down with a cloth. After a few days, the ones not ridden have what looks like surface rust appear on the chain. Do you have any cost-effective remedies to solve this issue?...

Read more

How to deal with rusty chain

Latest post 1 month ago

The best thing is not to let your chain get rusty in the first place. Chains for most 6,7,8 speed bikes can be had for $15 to $20 all day long. For me my first choice is to just replace it and the reason is simple. If finished it does not meet the level of 95%+ perfect it will get replaced. If the chain you are trying to save does not have a quik link then that is an extra cost to figure...

Read more

Rear v-brake repair

Latest post 2 months ago

Hi everyone, I'm new here and I've been trying to avoid taking my bike to a mechanic and save some money. I succesfully fixed my front but struggle with the rear, I got new brakes for the rear. I notice i think it might be the housing causing the noodle to be off centered and making the left brake pad to close to the rim. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!! My next project is to attemp...

Read more

Custom Bike part manufacturing

Latest post 3 months ago

Hello, Not sure if I should post this in buying advice or repairs, but here we are. I recently bought Schwinn cruiser an old one and I can't find the rear dropout bracket replacement. So I decided to try out a custom bike part manufacturer. Still waiting for my part, so if anyone has tried out a custom on demand manufacturer, please share your experience....

Read more

I have a Gazelle Esprit belt drive bike with hub gears which has a rear puncture. Can someone advise me on how to remove and refit the wheel? I'm aware that it can be quite complicated, but I have no option other than tackling it myself. The photos were taken with the bike upside down.   IMG_20250122_105320.jpg (Size: 77.51 KB / Downloads: 95)   IMG_20250122_105428.jpg (...

Read more

Hi everyone! I hope you're enjoying a great start to 2023. I'm curious to hear your go-to method for getting a chain truly clean. I don't mean, just looks shiny or is good enough for a quick clean after a ride. I want to know what you do when you want to get every last morsel of ground-up, link-destroying, roller-eating, tooth-gnashing crud out of your chain. The Best Chain-Cleaning Recipe Ever?...

Read more

What jockey wheel Red 10 Speed

Latest post 4 months ago

Can anyone advise what type of replacement jockey wheel I need for a 10 speed Red rear mech (it's got 11 teeth)? Bonus points if it's a link to a cheap (ish) one! Thanks...

Read more

Grip Shifters

Latest post 4 months ago

Currently renovating a child's bike. It has 24 inch wheels and is a suitable size for a 7-10 year old. Anyway it has grip shifters. it is a six speed with three chain rings on the front derailleur. On the rear derailleur the shifter does not appear to move the gear cable at all when shifting from 6 to 5 and 5 to 4. I am actually holding the cable with my finger and thumb against the cable cas...

Read more

9 speed chain on 8 speed bike

Latest post 4 months ago

All of my bikes are 7 or 8 speed and sometime in the past I bought a 9 speed chain for some unremembered reason. is there any reason not to use it on an 8 speed bike?...

Read more

Operation of Santa Monica Ebike

Latest post 5 months ago

Hello - new owner with an How to Operate the bike question. Hopefully, this is easily answered I Bought this bike a few weeks ago - Tested many bikes and finally landed on this particular Santa Monica. However, got busy with Christmas shopping, Life, and not so great weather days distracted me from riding. I also test drove so many that I forgot how to operate it.... I "thought" I remembered, ...

Read more

Gears and derailleur misalignment

Latest post 5 months ago

  My Trike.jpg (Size: 57.65 KB / Downloads: 88)   Wife Trike.jpg (Size: 60.74 KB / Downloads: 84) Although I have ridden bikes on and off since a kid (75 years old now), I have very little experience with anything other than a single speed bike. I recently purchased a new 7-speed Gospel adult tike, which needed assembly. My wife has the same model trike but older and p...

Read more