Wd-40 is not a miracle product. It’s main purpose is to unseize stuck parts. It’s good to remove rust and moisture. It’s a mix of different chemicals, that does leave behind a thin layer of lubrication and does do some degreasing, but it doesn’t really count as proper lubrication (AFAIK it doesn’t last long, it’s too thin to be suitable for mecanisms that require heavy grease and attracts too much crap for mecanisms that require light grease)

Now I’m not the expert on bikes, I wouldn’t mind using it on my bike as part of the cleaning process but I’d only use it as a temporary solution for lubrication while I get the proper product.

WD40 is not a lubricant!

I am not at all an expert on bikes, I’ve always been told that you shouldn’t use WD-40 on bike chains, but I’ve never really dug into the details on that. And not for nothing my own bike is a belt drive so it’s not even relevant to me.

Every time WD-40 comes up you’re going to get a whole lot of regurgitated, half-right information.

A lot of people are going to tell you that WD-40 isn’t a lubricant. That’s wrong. It’s not a particularly good lubricant for most applications (I think I’ve heard that it actually makes a pretty good cutting oil for certain machining tasks in certain metals) and there’s usually going to be a better, more effective, longer-lasting lubricant you should be using instead, but it does, in fact, provide some lubrication. Rub a little bit of it between your fingers, feels slick and oily doesn’t it? That’s lubrication.

People will bang on about it being a water displacer. Know what else displaces water? Oil. Grease. Pretty much anything else that doesn’t mix with water.

As for being a degreaser, like dissolves like. Non-polar chemicals like oil and grease are generally miscible in other non-polar substances, so a lighter oil will help to thin out thicker grease so that they’re easier to clean away.

I believe it also contains some other more volatile solvents that also help with degreasing. This is part of how it does it’s water-displacing/rust-preventive thing. The oil is further thinned out with those solvents so it can coat the surface better and those solvents then evaporate off leaving a thin film of slightly thicker (though still pretty light) oil.

And being so thin and light, it makes an OK penetrating oil so that it can soak into the tiny gaps around seized-up bolts and such to lubricate them, and the solvents help break up any other dirt and grime in there to help break it loose.

Again, not a bike mechanic, take my advice for what it’s worth (not much) but WD-40 is probably just too light of a lubricant to use for long. In a pinch if I had a bike with a really rusted, gummed-up chain that I only needed to ride maybe a couple blocks to get home (and just walking it on throwing it in a car wasn’t an option for some reason) I personally wouldn’t hesitate to douse it in WD-40 and hope for the best until I get it home to properly clean and lube it.

My general DIY philosophy for WD-40 is "this will get things moving right now so that I can diagnose the problem or finish the immediate task at hand, then I need to run out and get the right oil/grease to do things properly.

WD40 is closer to a cleaning product with an oil in it to prevent rust than a lubricant. It’s brilliant if you want to strip away old and dirty lubricants when dismantling and/or storing parts, but you do not want it as permanent lubrication.

You need grease for bearings and anything that moves, since it’ll stay in the component for long enough to coat the moving parts and create an oil based bearing surface to stop them from rubbing.

WD-40 is not a lubricant. At least not in the sense of one you would need for a bike chains. The oil-film that it places between the chain links is so thin that it doesn’t really reduce friction enough. So your chain will wear quicker if you just use WD40 alone.

Personally, I don’t care too much about chain wear and just take a cotton rag and some standard chain oil. In the evening, I just dry-wipe my chain clean, apply some oil and then wipe off the access again. Works good enough for me. Also: The oil can be used on other parts and bearings as well.

If you want to have a very low maintainence chain (in dry weather conditions) you could also look into waxing your chain. However, there is some additional invest (time & material) needed to set it up initially.

It’s a solvent that can dissolve a lot of stuff. This may make the part seem lubricated at first but it shouldn’t be used as a lubricant. It attracts dust that will, eventually, gum things up.

As others said it isn’t the best or even good product for what you want to use it for.

That said there are options for touring, for example last year I started my tour with waxed chain. It isn’t the best solution either, it doesn’t like wet conditions without bit more maintenance than oil (if you don’t do it it starts to rust).

I switched to oil and bit more cleaning after a while, but because I use spirit stove I had already some alcohol with me so in the end it was quite a breeze to deal with it. Also when you use drip on oil and apply it correctly (just enough on rollers and wipe the excess) it last quite a bit longer and doesn’t muck that much.

For one product I would take something for wet conditions in drip on package. I have something from motorex.

But if the condition of the trip is right the wax is better option.

If you’re only bringing one product to clean and lube with, maybe 1-Step is the kind of thing you’re looking for.

The name comes from what it was supposed to do, displace water. It’s the 40th attempt they made to create something like that and found something that can displace moisture and lubricate. It’s not technically a degreaser.

It’s handy for cleaning but for protection/lubrication use something else.

There was a noisy door in an office I used to work in. I cleaned it with WD-40 (dubya dang) and then lubricated it with 3-in-one oil. It went from being a door i could hear being opened to being a door I could hear slamming against the wall when it shut.

@JubilantJaguar WD40 is useful in a chain cleaning routine but not really a lubricant. if you’re touring and want to be able to top up the chain lube I’d just carry a small squeezy bottle of something, you’re not going to need very much. wax-based lubes tend to run cleaner but they’re not as good in the rain, wet lubes are more tenacious but can get pretty filthy especially if you’re on dirt at any point.

What are you planning to use it for? I don’t think it would be all that useful for touring. It’s not great for lubricating chains and I’m not sure what else you’d want to use it for while touring. I’d just take some chain oil and maybe fill a small amount of grease into some kind of small container in case you want to grease some bolts or something.

Yes, it is sort of miraculous! And it may serve you well, as long as you’re careful with it. Many cyclists do not favour using it with bikes because it is not a very good long lasting lubricant and will interfere with better lubricants. Some are nervous about it particularly around greased bearings such as a bottom bracket, where it might get in there and compromise seals and good grease. That being said, it is a pretty great product for cleaning and short term lubing stuff in my opinion. Just got to be careful and aware of limitations. However, not sure it’s worth the size of a can for touring. Might depend on a bunch of factors such as type and location and duration of tour. As much as I personally like the stuff it would not be high on my priority list. But you do you! Have fun, however you decide.

You’re getting downvoted because you’re objectively wrong. You are putting forth false information that is not true.

WD-40 isn’t for bikes. It’s neither a degreaser or a lubricant. It’s meant for removing water and rust.

It doesn’t belong anywhere near a bicycle. Yes you can use it. You can also stick vegetable oil in your car engine and it will ‘work’, but it’s a horrible idea.