Guide to Oil for Vintage Bicycles

Oil is an essential part of maintaining certain kinds of vintage bicycles, particularly old style three speed utility, commuter, and sporting bikes. 

The classic Sturmey Archer three speeds used oil lubrication, as did Austrian, British, and Swiss, knock-offs of the classic Sturmey hubs. Classic New Departure coaster brakes, a staple of vintage American balloon tire and middleweight bikes, also used oil lubrication. And then there is the plethora of British and American-made front hubs that allowed introduction of fresh oil through ports. And let us not forget about the many classic British bicycles that had oil ports in their bottom brackets. 

In short, if you are going to own and maintain a classic bicycle, it helps to know about the different oils offered today. Gone are the days where one or two types of oil dominated the field. The choices today are myriad. 

 

 Light Oils - Good for Tight Bolts and Tight Spaces

 Light oil is an essential shop tool. Although some light oils are good lubricants, most are used more for loosening stuck bolts than for lubricating moving parts (an exception is noted below). 

Kano Kroil is an excellent choice for loosening stuck screws, bolts, nuts, etc. Kroil is a very thin, penetrating oil. It can be used with gentle heat to free stuck bolts and screws. Although Kroil is very good at these tasks, keep in mind Kroil is not a lubricant to be used in your hub or bottom bracket. 

 

WD40 is a classic choice for free stuck bolts and screws, though my experience has been that Kroil does a better job in that department. Where WD40 excels is repelling or displacing moisture. In fact, the "WD" stands for "Water Displacement". WD40 also helps remove rust when combined with 0000 steel wool, bronze wool, or copper wool. WD40 also is not a true "lubricant" in the sense that you would use it in your hub or bottom bracket. WD40 can be used to clean out dirty hubs or bottom brackets, but it should not be used in place of a lubricating medium oil. Think of WD40 as a cleaner, rust remover, and water displacer. 

 

 

A word about Automatic Transmission Fluid and Acetone: for many years, a mixture of ATF and acetone has been cited as the most powerful freer of stuck bolts and nuts. My experience has been that such a mixture is an effective freer of stuck bolts and nuts, but that Kano Kroil is more reliable, better at handling heat, and less aggressive with painted surfaces (the acetone component in the ATF-Acetone mixture will destroy paint). ATF-acetone mixture should be used only in situations where no painted surfaces are at risk. I find Kroil more convenient in just about every category of use. 

 

 

Tri-Flow is that "exception" I noted above to the rule that very thin oils mainly are used for removing stuck parts. Tri-Flow is a PTFE lubricant that is very thin. It comes in a small bottle with a thin straw. It excels at lubricating parts where other oils will not penetrate. For example, I refresh brake calipers on bikes at the start of each season with a drop of Tri-Flow. The Tri-Flow works into the tight spaces of an assembled and tensioned caliper without having to loosen any of the parts as you would with grease. Tri-Flow also excels at lubricating fixed-length Sturmey Archer cables and Raleigh pattern brake cables. A few drops of Tri-Flow keeps the cables moving in their housings without any disassembly. Tri-Flow also is great at stopping a squeaking saddle - a few drops go in the metal-metal joints of the saddle carriage, such as one would find on a Brooks B66, B67, or B73. Use Tri-Flow in those tight spaces where disassembly is impossible or inconvenient. Tri-Flow also can be used to lubricate a clean but dry old bike chain.

 

 

One-Step - cleans and lubricates chains: One-Step is a combined lubricant and cleaner for bicycle chains. I use it in conjunction with a stiff, plastic bristle chain cleaning brush to clean and lubricate dirty chains. One-Step is not something I would use to lubricate a bottom bracket or brake caliper. It is very thin, but it does very nicely when following product directions on chains.

 

 

Medium Oil: Lifeblood of Internal Gear Hubs

 

 

Three-in-One Oil, be sure to get the right bottle: 3-in-1 oil is probably the classic all-purpose medium bicycle oil. But did you know that one blend of 3-in-1 is superior to the others for bicycle uses? Although 3-in-1 advertises its general purpose, black-white-red colored bottle as being for bicycles, the blue bottle ("motor") oil is superior for almost all bicycle uses. That is because the black-white-red, all-purpose oil tends to congeal over time and attract more dust. The blue "motor" oil bottle provides superior lifespan in almost all bicycle uses. This is especially true for lubricating old hubs, such as Sturmey Archer three speeds and Raleigh front hubs. Medium 3-in-1 can also be used to refresh brake calipers, especially older Raleigh and Schwinn-built steel calipers that use fiber or rubber washers (Tri-Flow also works well for this - as noted above). 

 

SAE 20 and 30 motor oils, another option: motor oil also is not a bad choice for lubrication. SAE 20 works fine in Sturmey Archer three speeds (in fact, 3-in-1 blue bottle motor oil is SAE 20 oil). SAE 30 can be used in bottom brackets, if you don't mind the mess. (I prefer a good grease in bottom brackets for ease of maintenance, but oil works too). Did you know that you can oil a Raleigh bottom bracket without an oiler cap? You can buy a plastic flexible tube, send the plastic tube down the bicycle's seat tube, thereby dropping in the oil from above. It makes a mess, but it will lubricate your hub if you have no easier route available. My advice, if using motor oil, is to use regular "SAE oil", not a variable weight oil like 10W-30 or a synthetic oil. If you have no other choice, those oils will work, but conventional SAW 20 and 30 weight oils are closer to the original formulation at the time your old bicycle was manufactured. 

 

Medium gear oil - a classic choice for New Departure type hubs: Did you know that New Departure's maintenance instructions for their classic coaster brakes called for gear oil? New Departure's classic coaster brake hubs operate using a series of small metal discs inside the hub, some stationary and some turning with the hub shell. When the rider pushes backwards on the pedals, a driver push that stack of discs together, causing friction between the station and the moving discs. Such a set up requires a medium oil that will allow the discs to separate when the rider pedals forward again. A medium weight oil or medium gear oil will keep these old hubs operating smoothly. Grease or oil can be used in the hub outer bearings (grease in the outer bearings helps keep the disc oil in better).  

 

Conclusion

Don't be afraid to keep a couple of different oils in your shop. Products like Kroil and WD40 can be used to free stuck bolts and keep rust at bay. Oils like Tri-Flow and 3-in-1 blue bottle can keep bike parts moving smoothly. A spare bottle of motor oil can keep your automobile and your bicycle on the road. Whatever you decide to use, stick to periodic maintenance schedules and keep track of what needs a drop of oil on your bike from time-to-time.