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mad max on bikes would be amazing (quokk.au)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/sigh_fi
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[–] 8 points 9 months ago (8 children)

I loved Turbo Kid. Its such a great post-apocalypse film. But I couldn't help but wonder how they kept the bicycle chains lubricated.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    I'm not sure I understand. They aren't running Tour de France races, they are using them to transport resources and themselves. I feel like nearly any greasy substance will do? It might not last as long or work as well, but it will work. I'm not an expert in chain lubrication, but I think tires might be a bigger concern.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    This comment reminded me I needed to re-lubricate my bike chain, which I hadn't done for something like 7 years, so I did that and took it for a spin. Got rid of the squeaking, noticeably smoother and easier pedaling, but a relatively minor difference.

    But yeah, if you can't get replacement tubes, that's a different story, I have to replace those once or twice a year or the bike is not going anywhere.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    For sure! But like another comment says, bikes just used paraffin wax for chain lube for a long time. Although not very easy to make at home, we have a fuck load of candles in this world already.

    I think bike tires would be a relatively easy to solve problem tbh. Really just need flexibility.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    What is the solution? It seems like inflatable tubes would be difficult or impossible to make without access to equipment or materials. Supposedly they do sell foam inserts that can be used instead of inflated tubes, but I got the impression from the reviews that they are basically unusable, and those might also be unavailable. I guess wheels before tires used to be wooden, but biking on wooden wheels sounds like it wouldn't work very well.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Wood tires are actually better than people think, and bikes did use them. You can texture the wood or coat it to give it more grip, even put spikes in it. Otherwise something flexible, doesn't need to be air filled really. Or we can make tubes from the intestines of our enemies. Like air filled sausage for your bike.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Bike chains can retain up to 82% efficiency completely unlubricated, though they slowly take damage.

    Weird factoid about chains

    I've also successfully lubricated one using vegetable oil in an emergency, it worked shockingly well

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    I've used WD40 on a bike chain before. It's amazing how angry that made the bike techs at my local shop. I suspect vegetable oil would make them kill and eat me.

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