Any Scottoiler users here?

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Recently, I have been looking at on-bike chain oilers as a means to keep the chain nicely lubricated while on the move in wet conditions. Rohloff no longer market theirs; at any rate, like all I have seen, it was intended for use with derailleur drivetrains and consisted of an oil reservoir that applied a metered flow of oil on-demand via small-diameter tubing, terminating in some specially grooved rear derailleur pulleys.

The only similar thing on the market today is the Scottoiler, which has recently caught my eye. Some reviewers and proponents claim it greatly narrows the gap betweenderailleurs and  Internally-Geared Hubs (like Shimano's Alfine/Nexus and Rohloff's Speedhub) in wet and/or muddy conditions.

Here are some links...
Company website:
http://www.scottoiler.com/uk/products/active-fluid-system.html

User reviews and test reports:
http://www.fakawitribe.com/v5/index.php/bike-tools/articles/archives/37-features/291--2009-pump-tracks-worlds-invitationaln
http://www.terratrailblazers.co.uk/Product_review_Page.htm
http://www.patrickjames.co.uk/bic_scot.php
http://www.mtbr.com/cat/accessories/lube/scottoiler/active-fluid-system/prd_414117_131crx.aspx

The Scottoiler is much like the earlier Rohloff unit described above, but differs in some key ways. It's reservoir is not machined aluminum with a plunger, rather it is a plastic bag called a "squid". The user squishes it by hand and a fresh batch of oil douses the chain. Looking at the reviews, it seems to use rather a lot of oil and the oil -- seeming a water-based lubricant (!) -- is very short-lived. the basic idea seems to be to keep the chain lubricated with something and frequently. The heavy dousings apparently wash off grit, though I am skeptical. The usual familiar black grunge is produced as a result of aluminum oxides, ground up dirt, and general environmental debris, but it apparently washes off with water -- including from the drivetrain, which makes me think this might not be the best lubricant. I see why it needs frequet reapplication.

At any rate it is intriguing, and winter is coming with its usual rains, snow, and generally wet conditions, so I'm wondering if any Forum members have experience with the ScottOiler or any similar product. It might work for some, but doesn't apear useful to my needs (due to oil composition and the means for dispensing it pus the requirement to use special deraillewur pulleys). It would be nice to find and mount a compact on-bike oiler to the Nomad, but re-oiling the chain from a small bottle is not on onerous task, and goes by pretty quickly. Kind of hard to improve on in most circumstances, but for mountain-biking in mud and dirt, an oiler just might do the trick, provided it was used frequently. Several of the reviews above mention "hearing" when a re-oiling is needed (I'll bet one can!).

A Hebie Chainglider or similarly light and robust chaincase would seem to put the lights out on any sort of oiler. Keeping the chain dry and clean and well-oiled is the exclusive province of a Chainglider...but not for derailleur drivetrains.

Thoughts?

Best,

Dan.

[NZPeterG]

Hi Dan,
I have on motorcycles at my old work!
I have looked at Scottoiler and the old Rohloff oiler's in the pasted, But I have not liked the set up to run on a Rohloff Bike.
BUT I have come across so oiler's for motorcycles (which is a 2 x small bottle's plus some hose) made in the U.S.A. (Where is the U.S.A.?  ) which would work on a Nomad Rohloff Bike! the Make? sorry I have no idea. Try the "DOT COM" thing (Google)
All the best 

Pete......
 

[NZPeterG]

Hi Dan,
I have just looked up and find the oiler that I find to work very well and I think would work on your New Nomad!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjZCSv0mrJs
And Yes it's not from the U.S.A but the U.K. look up http://www.loobman.co.uk/about.asp You can make one.
By the way I would run Bicycle lube in it..

Pete....
 

[Danneaux]

Well now, Pete this is just too cool for words; thanks so much for the link!

Yes, I am already hard at work, looking at various bottles and tubing and such to make my own version. Good on ya' and thanks very much; I just knew someone with a background in motorcycles would be intrigued by this thread (and I figured it might be you!).

Motorcycles use o-ring chains, but still something similar for bicycles might be rigged for really wet conditions and oiling-on-the-move. It will take some thought.

All the best,

Dan. (...off to the garage and whistling, usually a sign of Things To Come...)

[martinf]

I used the Scottoiler bicycle oiler on a couple of bikes with derailleur gears. I found it worked reasonably well in frequently rainy conditions, but not so well in dry, dusty conditions, where I reckon the frequent application washed the dust into the inside of the chain and caused more wear than would have occurred with ordinary oil.

Two downsides were that I used the special Scottoiler water-based lubricant at a fairly high rate and I didn't like having to remember to press the oiler every few kilometers. One plus was that it was easier to wash the chain/sprockets clean under a hosepipe when things got dirty. This worked particularly well after riding on icy roads recently treated with salt/grit, probably quite frequent in winter in Scotland where the system was designed, but less so here in Brittany.

After trying Scottoiler for quite a long time (18 months on one bike and about 9 months on another), I decided it wasn't the best solutuon for my mix of riding conditions, so I removed the Scottoiler and went back to using traditional oil. But on a new chain I first use it with the factory lubricant for as long as possible.

Scottoiler isn't designed for hub gear systems without a derailleur or tensioner, but, in my experience, these don't get dirty so quickly and with fewer sprockets/chainrings are also easier to clean. And if the hub gear system is compatible, a Chainglider should reduce the need for cleaning and oiling still further.