Type of oil for the rower chain

[Ombrax]

I'm happy to see that bicycle forums aren't the only place folks manage to discussion chain lube ad nauseam.

Thankfully, here we don't have to deal with the guys who preach that it's best to rotate through multiple cassettes as one changes chains, to be sure you don't have a wear mismatch between the two.

To quote Emerson, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."

[froque]

I use C2 oil only.

There are many other oils that can be used, but check this out:

Motor oil and many other oils stink, you do not want to have that smell indoors, nor do training sessions breathing this air.


I degrease/clean my chains perhaps once every two years by taking it out and dipping it in alcohol. But regular maintenance I do as indicated by C2, And my C2 oil bottle lasts for very long time.

[blues_]

Motor oil and many other oils stink, you do not want to have that smell indoors, nor do training sessions breathing this air.

I'm using some leftover Bel-Ray motorcycle oil and there is no discernible smell whatsoever. It goes on clean, doesn't fling and works a treat.

We're talking about a pretty small amount of oil being applied to the chain, if done properly.

[Dancer Don]

I noticed Accel 60318 is a non-detergent SAE 20 100% mineral oil, sold in quart bottles, and I was planning to give it a try sometime.
There's a seller on ebay selling a bottle for $18.75 with shipping, though amazon occasionally has a box of 12 avail for around $35 (3 gallons!).

12 bottles would be a lifetime supply of chain/small tool oil

With an old chain I noticed the wipe on paper towel method didn't seem to have much effect, and I only noticed improvement when I started adding drops to individual links. With 12 quarts I can afford to soak the chain overnight every time I oil it

[rowbike]

Ikea has a 20wt mineral oil called Skydd at US$5.99 for a 500ml bottle. It doesn't specifically say 20wt, but I compared it with the C2 mineral oil and it was indistinguishable, unlike the heavy laxative mineral oils from the pharmacy that are more like 30 or 40wt. I've been using the Ikea oil for a few years and it is just as good as the original C2 bottle that came with my erg.