My uncle swore by WD-40 for everything, including my bike chain

Last spring I was complaining about my mountain bike chain squeaking like crazy. My uncle said just spray WD-40 on it, that's what he's done for 20 years. I followed his advice and a month later the chain started skipping gears real bad. Took it to a shop in Portland and the guy told me WD-40 strips all the grease out. Cost me $85 for a new chain and a lecture about using actual bike lube. Has anyone else gotten bad advice from a well-meaning relative that cost you money?

3 comments

3 Comments

lily_singh221d ago

Glad I'm not the only one who blew cash on that lesson. My uncle also thought fixing a car with duct tape was fine so maybe I should stop listening to him.

gonzalez.reese21d ago

Man I learned that exact same lesson the hard way too. My buddy told me to use WD40 on my road bike chain and within a couple weeks the whole drivetrain was grinding like crazy. I switched over to a proper wet lube from the shop and now I just wipe the chain down and reapply every few rides. Its way cheaper in the long run than replacing chains and cassettes every season. Now whenever someone tells me to use WD40 on a bike I just smile and nod then do the opposite.

jadew6321d ago

Hold on, I've used WD40 on my bike chain for years and never had a problem. You just gotta apply it pretty sparingly and then let it dry for an hour before riding. If you hose it on heavy and hop on right away, yeah it'll attract dirt, but a light coat works fine as a cleaner and lube in dry conditions. I've got over 5,000 miles on a single chain using that method.