PRODUCTS FOR BICYCLES
Your invitation to write has tempted me to tell my history of AMSOIL use. I may not be the first to buy AMSOIL, but I purchased my first case in 1973. At the time I lived in Crystal Lake, Ill., where two of my neighbors were pilots.
At the time I was selling conveying equipment and owned a 1972 Mercedes 220 diesel. In Peoria, Ill. in 1973 the diesel would not start at 15 above. I told my neighbor who was an American Airline pilot about my problem, and he said he had a pilot friend in Wisconsin who had an oil that could handle low temps. The Mercedes then started at zero degrees with AMSOIL in it. I have used AMSOIL ever since and been a Dealer for some time, though not very active.
When AMSOIL came out with their original grease, I used to lube all my bike bearings with that grease. Without a doubt, I had one of the fastest bikes around. The current grease is too heavy for that purpose. However, most decent bicycles today use greased-for-life bearings.
One area AMSOIL could go is bicycle chain oil. While I soak a chain in AMSOIL over winter, in spring I have to clean it well or it will pick dirt and turn black. I ride a TerraTrike Recumbent which uses a very long chain, as do most trikes. Overall there is a lot of chain footage used throughout the world.
Thanks for the good work and dedication to your products.
AMSOIL: It’s great to hear about your long-time use of AMSOIL products. As far as your bike, AMSOIL recommends Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease for bicycle bearings (either GLC [NLGI #2] or GLB [NLGI #1], depending on the NLGI grade recommended by the bicycle manufacturer).
Both AMSOIL Metal Protector (AMP) and Heavy Duty Metal Protector (AMH) are excellent for bike chains, depending on severity of service, environmental contaminants and desired performance. Heavy Duty Metal Protector does not attract dust or dirt, stands up very well as a motorcycle chain lube and provides even better performance in bicycle applications.
HIGH-MILEAGE CLUB
I have been using AMSOIL for some time, and I’m also a Dealer. I’m always surfing the web looking for that AMSOIL customer testimonial about a high-mileage vehicle. Will AMSOIL ever have something like that in their magazine? In the past, I’ve seen stories in the Action News about how Dealers have sold customers products and how well they work. I think customers would like to see a “high-mileage club” of people setting records on cars, trucks and powersports equipment.
AMSOIL: AMSOIL has published testimonials on high-mileage vehicles in the past, and currently offers a 930,599-Mile Van brochure (G2578) that highlights a 1999 Chevy delivery van that reached its impressive mileage mark using AMSOIL products. Dealers and customers are encouraged to submit testimonials about high-mileage vehicles, and AMSOIL will consider them for publication online or in AMSOIL Magazine.
SHIPPING
I would like to address a few problems:
- You need a distribution center in Atlanta. When I lived in Las Vegas, I could drive to one and pick up what I needed. When I lived in Florida, I would get what I needed in one day. Now I live in Georgia and it takes days to get what I need out of Richmond.
- I recently ordered 10 retail catalogs (G100). The shipping cost more than the catalogs. When the catalogs arrived, I saw why. Instead of an envelope, which might have cost a few dollars to send, they were in a big box stuffed with bubble wrap.
AMSOIL: AMSOIL does not plan to open a distribution center in Atlanta at this time, but it may be considered in the future. While it appears you live in a 2-3 day UPS shipping zone from Richmond, many variables determine how quickly orders are received. For example, because UPS does not deliver on Sundays, orders placed later in the week can delay delivery an additional day. AMSOIL understands your concern regarding freight costs on your catalog order; however, retail catalogs are among the items with a computed freight cost (see the Literature & Sales Aids Price List [G15]). Regardless of how they are shipped, the computed freight charge applies, based on the weight of the catalogs. A good tip for saving money on freight is combining as much product as possible into one order to spread out the shipping costs.
FLUSHING TIPS
How do you flush an engine using AMSOIL Engine and Transmission Flush? According to the instructions on the bottle, you simply add the contents to the engine oil fill port, idle for 10-15 minutes, then immediately drain the oil.
In my opinion, this is a very inefficient procedure because the old filter is full of sludge and other contaminants. So, the flush dissolves the soluble contaminants in that old filter, which then re-circulate throughout the entire engine being “cleaned.” I believe this also reduces the power and effectiveness of the flush itself. Because of this, I always purchase a low-priced generic brand oil filter for the flushing process. This gives any sludge/ contaminants a place to be trapped and held for the 15-minute process, and insures that the full power of the flush goes to cleaning the engine, not a dirty oil filter.
AMSOIL: Thank you for your advice, David. Yes, using a new oil filter for the flushing process is a good way to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Engine and Transmission Flush. However, the vast majority of soluble materials that the flush is designed to clean are in the engine and transmission itself, while the filters catch mostly insoluble metallic and silicon-based contaminants.