It will leave a film behind, plus clean the dirt off... alot of guys do this... I have also.

 

I have been getting mine at the local hardware and I think its about $2 more. I will check out lowes. THANKS

 

That sure SEEMS to be true, and I appreciate the common sense approach. However, after following the adventures of a fellow named Wattman, I have become a follower of the WD-40 spray-on after every ride group. I'm 100% desert riding, 95% in the dirt/sand. My chains make it 10,000 miles before I change them, and the sprockets make it further than that. There have even been people that have gone to the trouble to make sure O-rings soaked in WD-40 don't swell.

I spray it on both sides of a warm chain, rotate the wheel enough to get it dripping off, let it sit a while, then wipe it clean with a rag. It works!

One last thought, many guys I know use basic chains (no O-rings or any other kind of internal lube). The chains don't last as long, but, they are much cheaper, and here's the reason they use them: Less frictional power loss. You can tell a bike with an o-ring chain, when you lift the rear wheel to spin it, you might get 1 revolution of the tire. With a non-O-ring chain, that rear tire will spin and spin and spin.

So, how much power does an O-ring rob? I don't know if it would be enough to even detect on a Dyno, so, I can't say. But, on my bicycles, I won't be running O-rings...I need all the power I can muster in that application!

 

I got this for the chain, it foams up and doesn't fling off.

 

As far as cleaning, I might take the chain off occasionally to clean it, but really like was mentioned you don't want to soak it in anything that will compromise the o-rings.

 

I might do a basic chain when I change. I am a neat freak and my chain will always get cleaned and lubed o-rings or not. My take is that o-ring is better as it does not require as much attention to get a long life. But I will be wasting a bunch of lube on mine

I bet though that when you figure in chain replacement, sprocket wear etc there is not real savings...

 

I'm going to do a bit more research on the WD40 and what kind of lubricant is used under the o-rings but I'm sure if it's tried and tested then there probably isn't anything to worry about.

Really dumb question....if you have dual sport tires, does it help to get them balanced at a tire place? I have never gotten mine balanced before and have always thought it was a bit "pogo-ey" when I would ride at faster speeds on the freeway.

 

I don't care what tire you install, a basic static balance is necessary.

 

Yep, it's a "false economy" if they do it for money reasons. I'm not sure there is enough drag on an O-ring chain to make a discernable difference in parasitic drag, either. Still, some old desert riders swear by it.