[Closed] GT85 on stanchions?

No. Fork oil or Fork Juice/ silicon spray

noooooooooo

weldtite TF2 Lubricant

yes

No.

GT85/WD40 and the like aren't very good lubricants, if you put them in high load places with tight tolerances (fork bushings for example) they displace and diute the existing lubricant, making it thinner and reduing it's effectiveness. TF2's the same, although it does leave some teflon particles behind, still disperses and diutes the actual lubricants though.

The solvents in them can also degrade or dry out the seals.

Thanks, I knew it was something like this - I'll call in Merlin on my way home but why is TF2 different from GT85 and also......just what do people use GT85 for?

You will die!!!

just what do people use GT85 for?

Dunno but my mate called GT40 'liquid maintenance', open bonnet, quick squirt, job done, magic, no more effort required. Snake oil innit.

It's for displacing water, penetrating siezed components, preventing rust, cleaning stuff. TF2 is the same stuff, but with added teflon.

If GT85 dated your mother, he'd take her out for a seafood dinner and not call her back. If TF2 did it, he'd be just the same, but might send some cheep flowers.

There are plenty of fork lubes, for the same cost as a can of TF2 so you may as well buy the correct tool for the job.

GT85 / WD40 are just thin lubricant / penetrating oils, propelled by solvents.
The oil isnt much use for fork lubrication and combined with the solvents can degrade the lubricating oil in the form quite a bit, thus reducing their effectiveness.
Rinse with low pressure water, clean filth off with a clean rag and then once dry apply some fork juice / finish line teflon dry from a dropper bottle (less propellant / solvents), cycle the fork up and down a few times and wipe off the excess.

Yes, the PTFE goes nicely with the Teflon lube my dust seals have in them (whihc I refill as and when)

GT85 mind, [b]not[/b] WD40 (completely different).

thisisnotaspoon - Member
It's for displacing water, penetrating siezed components, preventing rust, cleaning stuff. TF2 is the same stuff, but with added teflon.

GT85 has PTFE in it too.

TF2 is just a cheaper product but very similar.

I wouldn't use any of the above on forks due to the possibility of damaging seals. I did start using silicone spray...then went to fork lower leg oil...then went back to silicone spray as it was less messy and does help reduce the stiction. I put something between the stanchion and the tyre and spray the top half of the stanchion and let it run down into the dust seals. Pump a bit and wipe off anything that runs down onto the dust seal/leg.

I would prefer a non-spray though as I hate sprays.

greeble - Member

weldtite TF2 Lubricant

Though watch that- there's loads of TF2 products, get the right one (not the aerosol- it's just their GT85/WD40)

TuckerUK - Member

GT85 mind, not WD40 (completely different)

[i]Extremely[/i] similiar. Never put GT85 (or spray TF2) anywhere you wouldn't put WD40.

I went to Edinburgh bike in Manchester and when I asked for fork lube they told me they didn't stock it and I should use GT85.

I had read something once about this being a bad idea and so I just use finish teflon dry line. I use it from an aerosol can though (With straw attached to aim accurately) - is this any different to the dripper bottle?

Should I stop doing this altogether and use fork lube?

dry lube still has the solvents which evaporate and leave the dry PTFE particles so no, i wouldn't use dry lube or anything similar. I believe Finishline Wetlube (green) is okay to use as it is rubber safe.

Silicone is very good for rubbers as it protects the rubber and reduces friction. On metals silicone is rubbish. Silicone is also incompatible with mineral fork oils etc which is why you can use silicone grease inside a fork and it won't mix with the oils.

I might pick up some cheap silicone oil (eg RC car damper fluid in 2.5wt or similar) and try that as a stanchion lube. Schumacher used to do their own brand really cheap years ago but I am sure you can just buy bottles of generic stuff. But the sprays etc may have additives/surfactants to help the silicone stay put.

i use '3-in -one professional silicone lubricant' from Halfords.....use sparingly tho...
it has to be 'silicone based' if spraying on stansions ...otherwise your stansions will turn silvery streak coloured and die !...ive seen it happen before now...

I would avoid putting anything containing aerosols or solvents on your stantions.

Extremely similiar. Never put GT85 (or spray TF2) anywhere you wouldn't put WD40.

They are nothing like similar (other than coming in a squirty can and having a brand name using both letters and numbers). One is a water repellent degreaser, the other a thin film lubricant with PTFE.

GT85, TF2, it's just thin cable lube. WD40 is paintwork shiner at best and no good for anything else on a bike imo.

If the fork's not lubricating itself, it needs a service. Keeping the seal area clean and cycling the fork upside down should do it for simple routine wiper lubrication. Or, but some specific spray / lube from someone that knows what they're on about, Loco, Mojo, Stendec, TF Tuned etc.

I used to drip a bit of fork oil between seal and stanchion on my old bombers then cycle the fork, it lifted some dirt out but then realised I was probably washing just as much grit in. Save your time and spend it on more regular oil changes.

But don't listen to me, I got so bored of sus fork faffery I got some rigid forks.

I've been using GT-85 liberally before and after every ride for years and never had a problem with my Forks (all Fox).

I use just a little bit, applied with a cloth to clean an protect the stanchions from corrosion - keeps them a bit cleaner on the trails for a little while. I used to used finish line green on the seals/wipers but now I use a drip of fork oil instead.

footflaps - Member
I've been using GT-85 liberally before and after every ride for years and never had a problem with my Forks

Me too. Besides, I like the smell.

[i]just what do people use GT85 for?[/i]

Lubing cables, mech pivots, stopping pedals going rusty, removing water from a cleaned chain, some degreasing, but mostly making black anodising look nice.

Fork Juice purchased 🙂

Although this has raised another question for me - what do you lube your mechs with? I tend to use chain lube (currently Squirt) but doesnt half make a mess

GT85 for shiny bike and light lubing

WD40 for aftershave

LBS for maintenance

I use a smear of 80 weight gear oil after cleaning - it's the same or very similar to Fox Float fluid. Lovely and plush afterwards. There's nothing wrong with GT85 as long as you wipe it off afterwards.

GT85 is a light lubricant with PTFE and is good for lubing mechs, cranks, pedals and the like. i've sprayed it on forks and shock before and it does no harm what so ever.

I've never cleaned a chain 'properly', just give the bike a good[b] wash and give moving parts a good coat of spray lube. my bike all run smooth as you like. GT85 will not kill your bike.

I'm currently using 3 in 1 pro bike spray from wilko's. It's fantastic stuff.

WD40 is completely different as it's a water displacer and not a luricant.

Fork Juice by Juice lubes and it even smells of strawberries (all be it false ones) 😀

Can of cheap silicon spray from your local hardware store. Couple of quid. Bosh

Do any of the above actually do anything other than make your stantions glossy and fresh smelling?

Slather of this around the seals

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I use silicon spray. Come to think of it, would a dab of Rockshox Redrum be more useful to top up the foam rings?

the best use i found for gt85 was to spray it all over my nitro rc cars after i cleaned them. it made them loads easier to clean after use.

limited use on a bike though. spray a bit on after cleaning it to displace water but not much.

I've been using GT-85 liberally before and after every ride for years and never had a problem with my Forks (all Fox).

+1 except RockShox / Fox rear. Some people worry too much I reckon.

Use WD40 on the chain as it really gets the water (and grease out) but lube it back up properly afterward.

Main problem with either is spraying it all over your discs, but the odd splash doesn't seem to cause that much trouble. Though apparently I should have ruined them by now for using meths to clean then every so often.

ads678 - Member

WD40 is completely different as it's a water displacer and not a luricant.

Often repeated this but they're not mutually exclusive. One of WD40's main ingredients is mineral oil, just like GT85. It's not a [i]good[/i] lubricant, for biking purposes (otoh it's an excellent, but expensive, machining lube), but it is a lubricant. Which is why you don't clean your brakes with it 😉

It's also not a very good degreaser, for the same reason- it'll clean off grease since the carrier solvent is very like white spirit, but it'll leave an oily film behind afterwards.

I am ready to get flamed but here is what I have, where am I going wrong.

Muc of bike spray: I use everywhere but the brakes.
Cheep 3 in 1 oil: used on the drive train.
Some red grease: seat post etc (it is bike specific and does say Teflon on the tube).

Lubing cables, mech pivots, stopping pedals going rusty, removing water from a cleaned chain

+1

Seriously, doesn't everybody use it for this? Then apply lube of choice to chain after.

I've never put anything thing on my stanchions and they work just fine.

Oh and also

I like the smell.

WD40's also not a very good degreaser, for the same reason- it'll clean off grease since the carrier solvent is very like white spirit, but it'll leave an oily film behind afterwards.

Thanks Northwind, I used to think that WD40/GT85 worked as a degreaser because the oil thinned out the dirt/grease, now I know it's actually the carrier solvent that does this.

In general, keep WD40 and Gt85 the hell away from bikes.

Only thing they are good for is as a degunker when your normal degreaser won't touch it.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=80655
BRUNOX - deo fork lube is what I've been using recently, and its magic! If your fork is getting a bit sticky at top end and your not quite ready for a service, peel back the seals with something soft plastic and squirt a few drops down inside, then bounce. Instant remedy!

Failing that, lidl sell sprayable silicon lube for about £2 a can, or get some stuff online. Halford and LBS's often sell silicone lube, but with a frightful markup. Should be £4 max for a 500ml spray can, which if you use it right will last at least a year of bikes, car doors, locks and other moving parts.

Yonks ago I used it to clean some RST forks, it caused either the bushings or seals to swell up to the point the forks wouldn't compress at all even with no elastomers in! I'd avoid just just on the off chance it could get where it shouldn't and do something similar ...

If you're going to lube stanchions, [url= http://www.finishlineusa.com/products/stanchion-lube.htm ]Finish Line Stanchion Lube[/url] is the stuff. Good luck getting some tho, seems to comparable in rarity to unicorn tears.

Not sure that using muc off anywhere near forks / shocks is a good idea either, again tends to degrade the lubricant oil if it gets into the seals.

+1 for the Aldi/Lidl silicone spray.

It was £1 a can a couple of years ago when I bought a dozen...no doubt the UK 5% inflation will have doubled that by now.

PaulD

I always use GT85 for everything... I love the smell!

Although this thread has made me realise why my fork seals didn't last long!

Now I have to buy into the marketing bollocks and buy some fork oil! 😕

Now I have to buy into the marketing bollocks and buy some fork oil!

To be fair suspension fluid isn't as expensive as GT85 by volume and if you apply it sparingly you won't use it as quickly. Fork oil only comes in biggish bottles an you tend to use lots doing a fork service, a few drops every now and again isn't gonna drain the bottle.

^^ fork damper oil doesn't actually make a very good lubricant.

I've just striped, raked out (literally) and refilled a marzocchi doppio air cart. Over the years fork damping oil had gotten into it (and possibly some from factory/service) and caused the thing to jolt up and down, the O rings using the damper oil to stick to the inner walls of the unit like crazy. Post clean op, a few smears of Slide lube (usually for a lathe saddle etc) in there and now buttery buttery buttery smooth, the difference was incredible.

Have a few pairs of forks to build this week and I think Havoline slide lube will be finding its way into other parts of the fork*

*bush's often have a teflon or ceramic coating on them that is quite porous and actually requires the right kind of fork damper oil/open bath oil to provide any form of lube; if you use the wrong oil the fork will feel slack and have all the smoothness of a washing machine been dragged through gravel (and it'll likely wear through the stanchion or bush in a matter of hours).

Been using GT85 since day one. I spray it into a cloth and wipe the stanchions.
I also use mineral brake oil applied with a brush to my mechs and cassettes.
My 2004 SIDs seem happy enough.