Should You Use WD-40 on Bike Chains?
Our bikes do a lot of work to get us to our destinations, and sometimes they get worn down. Often, the bike chain is the first part of a bike to receive friction and dirt buildup. This begs the question: when we need to maintain our bike chains, should we use WD-40?
You should use WD-40 to clean your bike chain if no other lubricants are available. WD-40 is a blend of oils that degreases, lubricates, and removes rust from surfaces. While it works fine on bike chains, it’s not a pure lubricant and may not last under wet conditions.
There’s nothing wrong with using WD-40 to lubricate your bike chain. However, it may not perform as well as lubricants designed for bike use. In this article, I will cover the function of bike chains and why they need lubricant, what WD-40 is, and the best lubricants to use for your bike chain.
The Function of Bike Chains
When we ride bikes, we work against gravity to move the pedals and use that momentum to boost forward. While it seems like the pedals are doing the work, they are transferring energy through the bike chain to the rear wheel.
Bike chains are composed of many interlocking links. The links have inner spacing that allows them to “grab” onto the teeth of bike gears. As the bike pedals, the gears turn, and the chain works to maintain the connection between the pedals and the rear wheels’ forward motion.
The function of bike chains is to transform kinetic energy from pedaling into momentum as efficiently as possible. In fact, the transformation from pedaling power into forwarding motion can reach up to 97% efficiency in newer, single-speed bike chains.
Lower efficiency can result from design constraints such as many-gear systems that require the chain to shift several times throughout a ride. However, the biggest limiter to efficiency is dirt buildup on the chain.
Why Bike Chains Need Lubricant
Over time, dirt and grime build on the internal links of the bike chain, preventing them from seamlessly grabbing onto the bike’s gears. Dirt buildup and grime can begin to rub against the links of a bike chain, wearing them down. Additionally, this dirt buildup can corrode the chain, weakening its structural integrity.
To prevent dirt buildup and rust, cyclists use a lubricant. Lubricants coat the bike chain in a hydrophobic buffer that repels water and dirt while preventing rust formation. Surfaces that aren’t lubricated become polarized and accept a charge.
Any water, dirt, or minerals carry a charge on them which binds to other molecules with a charge. Oils, hydrocarbons, and lubricants have no charge and repel anything that holds a charge. In technical terms, water and dirt are hydrophilic (water-attracting), and oils are hydrophobic (water-repelling).
Lubricants create a hydrophobic barrier between water and dirt, preventing them from binding to the surface of the metal. As the lubricant wears away, the surface of the metal begins to carry a charge, attracting water and dirt.
Lubricating a bike chain is not the same as cleaning it, and you should never apply lubricant to a dirty bike chain. Doing so can coat the dirt with grease, allowing it to stick to the recesses of the chain links and rub against them.
That being said, lubrication offers the following advantages.
Lubricant Increases Bike Chain Efficiency
The percentage of energy transferred from the pedals to the rear wheel during a bike ride is known as drivetrain efficiency. In most cases, the drivetrain efficiency of a new bike chain is at least 90-95%, with the remaining energy lost to friction.
As a chain becomes dirty, it rubs against the grime buildup as it’s rotating and loses energy to friction. The energy efficiency lost is relative to the amount of dirt buildup on the chain. Keeping your bike chain lubricated is the first step to increasing drivetrain efficiency.
Lubricant Reduces Wear on the Bike
Because dirt buildup creates friction within the bike chain, it wears down the links. Additionally, the buildup can result in the links rusting. Due to the interlocking structure of a bike chain and its propensity to collect dirt, bike chains see the fastest wear and tear of any bike part.
Lubricants reduce wear on your bike chain and increase its lifespan by preventing rust and repelling dirt. Not only does the bike chain perform better, but it will also last much longer before needing replacement.
Lubricant Makes Shifting Gears Easier
Aside from single-shift bicycles, all bikes use a gear system to make the transition between elevations more efficient. However, a rusty or dirty chain has issues grabbing onto the teeth of adjacent gears.
Lubricating the bike chain by preventing dirt buildup allows for more seamless gear shifts while riding and helps ensure the bike chain doesn’t dislocate from the gear system while riding.
While lubricants exist that work excellently for lubricating your bike chain, often, the first thing available is WD-40.
What Is WD-40?
The 40th attempt at a water displacement formula by the Rocket Chemical Company became known as WD-40. While its initial purpose was to protect the outer shells of rockets from corrosion, after its invention, it quickly became a household product.
The success of WD-40 comes from its being a multi-use product. It’s a blend of different lubricants, oils, and mineral salts that accomplish many things simultaneously.
This blend of oils can perform the following tasks:
- Water displacement.
- Soil removal.
- Rust prevention and protection.
- Penetration (of cracks and crevices that are rusted together).
WD-40 is primarily a cleaner and degreaser. Its secondary function is to lubricate surfaces and prevent rust formation. For practical purposes, WD-40 is a one-stop shop that allows you to simultaneously clean and lubricates a single surface.
Because of its utility and flexibility, WD-40 is widely regarded as an essential household tool. Its success is due to its ability to produce a clean non-polar, lubricated surface that stays lubricated under dry conditions.
WD-40 is adequate for cleaning and lubricating bike chains. However, these should be done as separate steps to ensure no dirt is still within the bike chain as it’s being lubricated.
Additionally, WD-40 works well for several applications but lacks the specificity to excel at any task. While it can clean a bike chain, lubricate it, and prevent rust formation, individual products for any of these functions may perform better than WD-40 alone.
What Are the Pros of Using WD-40 on a Bike Chain?
WD-40 is most effective at doing several jobs simultaneously. While it may not be the most effective at its individual functions, it saves time, money, and space by preventing the need for additional products.
WD-40 Is Accessible
Almost everyone has WD-40 in their homes. If they don’t, it’s easy to get and cost-effective. WD-40’s accessibility allows it to perform various tasks that many other products would typically.
Additionally, if you don’t have degreasers or lubricants for your bike chain, WD-40 can fill in as a substitute. While you can’t apply it alongside other lubricants, it can serve as a replacement until you get better bike lube. WD-40 is better than nothing at all and will cause no harm to your bike chain.
WD-40 Is Flexible
WD-40’s jack-of-all-trades functionality allows it to do several important tasks for your bike: cleaning, lubrication, and rust prevention. Degreasers generally remove oils and grime, while lubricants coat the bike chain to prevent further dirt buildup.
You can use WD-40 to perform these tasks as long as you clean the bike chain before applying a coat of lubricant. While cleaning, the WD-40 is displacing dirt. However, some of that dirt remains on the bike chain and, if it isn’t wiped off, can become coated in more WD-40, attracting further dirt buildup.
WD-40 Performs Well Under Dry Conditions
While WD-40 comes off quickly in the rain, it performs adequately under dry conditions. Depending on how often you ride and the weather conditions where you live, WD-40 can stand in as a replacement for dry lubricants.
While the lubricating coat isn’t as thick as traditional bike lubricants, it’s enough to get the job done in most conditions. However, you may need to apply WD-40 more often than dry lubricants.
What Are the Cons of Using WD-40 on a Bike Chain?
WD-40 is an all-purpose degreaser, rust remover, and lubricant. However, it’s limited by how much it can achieve each task. In general, WD-40 performs better as a degreaser than a lubricant. As a lubricant, it applies a very thin coat that easily washes off and has a short lifespan.
WD-40 Is Not a Pure Lubricant
The main argument against WD-40 for lubrication is that it’s not a “pure” lubricant. This is another way of saying that because WD-40 removes lubricants, it cannot act as a lubricant itself.
Despite these claims, WD-40 performs adequately as a lubricant. It just doesn’t serve as well as lubricants designed for bike chain use. Indeed, WD-40 isn’t purely a lubricant. In practice, this means that the lubrication WD-40 offers is minimal but still applicable.
You Can’t Use Other Lubricants With WD-40
A considerable issue with WD-40 acting as both a degreaser and a lubricant is that degreasers remove lubricants. While you can apply WD-40 after a bike chain has been cleaned, you cannot use it with any other lubricant. Otherwise, the WD-40 removes that lubricant.
WD-40 Doesn’t Last Under Wet Conditions
WD-40 is limited by its capacity to work under wet conditions. When it’s raining, the WD-40 quickly washes away, leaving the chain open to dirt and rust buildup. While it’s possible to carry WD-40 on your bike ride to continually add lubricant, this isn’t practical for most people.
In general, WD-40 is not a lasting lubricant under wet conditions, and a wet lube will perform much better. If no wet lube is available, then WD-40 can offer temporary protection.
What Are the Best Lubricants for Bike Chains?
For simple bike cleaning and lubrication, WD-40 works wonderfully. However, depending on how often you ride and your environmental conditions, WD-40 may not perform as well as lubes explicitly designed for bike chains.
My advice is to start with WD-40 and see how it performs. If you’re more serious about cycling or feel WD-40 isn’t lasting under wet conditions, consider an additional lubricant that serves your needs.
You can still use WD-40 to clean the bike chain before lubricating it. Just wipe away any excess WD-40 before applying your lubricant. Additionally, these products are all lubricants only. It would be best if you did not use them to clean or degrease your bicycle.
Dry Lubricants
Dry lubes are the most similar in function to WD-40: they perform best under dry conditions. Under wet conditions, the lubricant easily washes away and loses its viability.
Cyclists apply dry lube as a liquid, and then it dries within a couple of hours. During this time, the lube seeps into the joints of the bike chain and coats them, using capillary action to expand into tiny spaces.
Because of its low viscosity, dry lube provides a thin layer of lubricant that doesn’t impair drivetrain efficiency. It’s the lightest and also shortest lasting of bike chain oils. In general, because of its overlap in function, I would recommend just using WD-40 instead of dry lube unless you cycle frequently.
Wet Lubricants
Where dry lubes work in dry conditions, wet lubes are suitable for rainy, muddy, or heavily pollinated conditions. These lubricants are much more viscous due to a higher percentage of oils.
More viscosity means the chain is coated in a much thicker layer of lubricant than dry lube or WD-40. However, it also lowers drivetrain efficiency because of the added friction. It also means faster dirt buildup on the bike chain.
In general, wet lubes should be reserved for rainy or muddy conditions as they can contribute to chain wear over time. Just clean the bike chain after harsh weather to ensure it’s not building up too much grime.
Ceramic Lubricants
Ceramic lubes use tiny ceramic beads within silicon dioxide to displace water and dirt while creating a coat over the bike chain. It offers a middle ground between wet and dry lube in performance and viscosity.
While it doesn’t perform well under wet conditions, it creates a strong coat that can last longer than dry lube (under dry conditions). It also minimally impairs drivetrain efficiency, which is a plus.
Wax Lubricants
Wax lubricants offer excellent lubrication that lasts under dry conditions. They are composed of paraffin wax within a liquid solvent that dries into a hard coat on the bike chain.
While wax lubricants last longer than others, they require several hours to dry and don’t work on dirty chains. The best use for wax lubricants is on brand-new bike chains that won’t see a lot of maintenance.
However, while these bike lubricants offer specific advantages in wet or dry conditions, WD-40 performs adequately in most cases.
When Should I Use WD-40 on My Bike Chain?
Despite not working as well as traditional bike chain lubes, WD-40 still performs well as a lubricant in addition to its other functions. In general, WD-40 works wonderfully to clean your bike chain before applying lubricant.
As a lubricant, WD-40 works adequately. It applies a thin coating to your bike chain that lasts under dry conditions. If you cycle often and want to do the most to preserve your bike chain, consider one of the lubricants above.
However, there are also situations where WD-40 is the appropriate choice to lubricate your bike chain.
Use WD-40 if You Don’t Have Other Lubricants Available
Because WD-40 doesn’t cause any harm to your bike chain, it’s entirely safe for use. If no other lubricants are available for your bike chain, WD-40 is your best option until you acquire what you need.
Use WD-40 if You Don’t Cycle Often
The more often you ride, the higher quality lubrication you’ll need for your bike chain. Higher quality lubes offer a more substantial coat each time you apply them. Strong coats last longer, maintain drivetrain efficiency better, and repel more dirt.
However, if you only cycle once a week or less, having more lubrication may not be necessary. If you’re infrequently riding, check your bike chain before you ride and assess whether or not it needs a coat of WD-40.
Use WD-40 if You Are Short on Time
A disadvantage of heavier lubricants is that they take longer to dry. Bike lubricants go on wet, sometimes taking hours to dry completely. These lubes also can take longer to apply to the bike chain, creating more maintenance time for you.
WD-40 goes on easily and dries quickly. If you’re in a rush and need lubrication now, use WD-40.
Conclusion
A bike’s chain is one of its most essential parts. However, because of their use, bike chains can quickly become dirty and reduce drivetrain efficiency.
Thus, bike chain maintenance is crucial to maintaining the bike’s longevity and allowing you to perform at peak efficiency.
WD-40 works well as a cleaner and lubricant when maintaining your bike chain. However, it is a weak lubricant that will not last under wet conditions and may need to be applied frequently. If you don’t have bike lubricant available or are short on time, WD-40 works well as a replacement lubricant.
