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Comment by buildsjets | Hacker News Reader

Cyclists debate about oil for days. Cycle mechanics just use WD40.

Without falling into an oil debate, no cycle mechanic I’ve ever spoken to uses or would recommend wd40 for chain oil. It’s far too thin and is primarily for freeing stuck parts and cleaning. It’s not meant for long term lubrication - it dries out or get washed off almost instantly.

3 in 1 is fine, but the main advantage of a proper chain lube is that they don’t attract grime and dirt as quickly

Waxing (also possible with bee wax) once you streamline the process (chain link, hot water for cleaning, cheap wax warmer the one women use and since the new chains (every 5000-10000km) are heavily pre-lubed you need 3 steps to remove the mineral oil: 1. soak in gasoline or alike for 1 day, 2. degrease and then 3. finish it off with white spirit) is imo the best for the chain.

Clean and smooth. I rewax every week (200km), takes me 10 min in total, also a a convenient way to inspect and adjust my whole drivetrain, regularly.

WD40 is primarily a mixture of mineral spirits and light mineral oil. The mineral spirits evaporate, the oil stays behind.

You can use WD40 to clean the chain, but you better put real lube on the chain afterwards.

WD-40’s longer name is “water displacement 40”:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

Oil displaces water.

WD40 is a terrible choice of chain lubricant, it’s too volatile.

WD40 is a penetrant, not a lubricant, I don’t know any Mechanics who use it.

Definitely will debate lubricants for days, but no one who is in the industry uses standard WD40

WD40 is absolutely a lubricant. The WD40 is not a lubricant thing just needs to die already. Of course it’s not the best lubricant for every job. In fact it’s probably not the best lubricant for any job, but it’s a good enough lubricant for many jobs. It’s also a penetrant and water displacer. Versatile products usually aren’t the absolute best choice for a given use case, but that doesn’t make versatility bad.

From Wikipedia:

> WD-40 is an American brand and the trademark name of a water-displacing spray

… and the definition of “water displacing spray” is “penetrating fluid”

It definitely is an oil, it definitely lubricates. But we normally name things by their primary purpose.

PB B'laster is the gentleman's penetrant. I don't really have a use for WD40.

I think this is part of the love for the machine, and is a part of hacker culture I find endearing even if it's not necessarily rational. I'd put tweaking your Linux windowing system into the same category :)

The replies are clearly cyclists.

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