Mountain biking has never been a particularly inexpensive sport, but our sport is now unfortunately very fashionable. Fashion almost always comes packaged together with ridiculous prices, and mountain biking is no exception. While I can wax lyrically for hours about disc brakes and Pace forks many of you can't even dream of owning these items. In fact I can only afford them due to a reckless misplacement of priorities! Even our own venerable Webmaster James is a penniless student. So I decided to put together a few tips on how to spend your wad wisely. After all this website is dedicated to the least-trendy side of our sport, so none of you should really be too bothered about being spotted in the correct labels! I've identified three areas where I really believe you can spare some serious wodge. This article has been published in three parts, this being the final part covering Fluids. Previously it has covered Bikes and Clothing.
This title may sound strange, but one of the best places to save money is in those oils and lubes you require to keep your bike spinning smoothly. At the moment I'm studying for a PhD in Tribology - the study of friction, wear and lubrication, and I can tell you one thing for certain: almost no bike companies formulate their own oils. Forget all that bullshit (it's the only word for it!) on the labels. Dry lubes are pointless for 99% of UK riding, PTFE is a rubbish chain lube and most MTB lubes are just oil with a distinctive colour and thickener / evaporator added. One example of this is that the infamous Black Gold grease suddenly became green when people complained that black fingerprints got everywhere! In their defence many 'wet' lubes contain effective detergents which prevent the oil becoming gunky and black too quickly, but at £5 for 50ml they must be classed as luxuries. Lubes for use on bikes require certain properties different from car or motorcycle oil, but if you really believe that Pedros or Finish Line know more about complex oil chemistry than Castrol or Duckhams then you have a serious screw loose.
Most of the lubes, greases and oils you will need can be bought from the venerable old Halfords, purveyors of all things bike, motorbike and car. Halfords cycle oil is a perfectly acceptable, if messy chain oil. If you apply, leave for a few minutes, then wipe off you should avoid the worst of the black-gunk experiences. In winter the black-gunk experience is actually the best way to protect a seriously abused drivetrain (say hello to those chainwheel tattoo marks on the legs!). Castrol CL grease at £6 for a 500ml tub is about a tenth of the price of exotic bike greases. It is waterproof and effective (I use it for everything). It is very similar to Pace RC7 grease but thicker, and actually has a lower coefficient of friction than the Pace grease (I've measured it). Do NOT buy standard car Lithium grease (Castrol LM) as it is not waterproof and designed for high temperatures - hardly a problem on a bike.
If you use hydraulic brakes or hydraulic dampers, then do not be conned by 'special' bike fluids. DOT 5.1 brake fluid for high performance motorbike is £3 for 250ml, with DOT 4 slightly cheaper. What's fine for motorbikes and cars will be fine for bikes. High quality hydraulic mineral oil is also available for Magura and Shimano brakes, as it is also required for the brakes on Citroens (they always have to be different don't they!). Motorcycles are also responsible for the excellent selection of hydraulic fork oils. Top quality fork oil is available in different quality levels and viscosities, and even the most exotic will be a bargain compared to 'MTB branded' competitors.
While you're in Halfords you can also benefit from bike polishes (forget X-lube!), car shampoo (for washing your bike) and even car wax for those truly obsessed with a shiny bike. If you have a steel frame or components then Waxoyl is useful for preventing your bike rusting from the inside out.
I hope I've managed to enlighten you a little on where you can spare a few notes. If you imagine that every £30 saved can be translated into a day trip to Mid Wales, or £100 into a weekend away in Scotland, then that should be all the motivation you require! Happy Biking.
Last Updated 05-09-2000
You can contact me at James@OffroadAdventures-Online.co.uk
To return Home click here: www.OffroadAdventures-Online.co.uk
All pages and content Copyright © 1999 - 2001 James Murnaghan or their respective authors. All rights reserved.
No content of this web-site may be used in whole or in part, without the express permission of The Editor.