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Oil
A viscous liquid lubricant. Oil, more or less the consistency of cooking oil, is used on pivots of levers, brakes and derailers and in some internal-gear hubs. A common oil for bicycles used to be Sturmey-Archer oil; Phil Wood Tenacious Oil supplanted it as the msot popular, at least in the U SA. but now has been replaced with a new environmentally-friendly version; too early (2010) to tell how it will work out.Thin spray lubricant is convenient but washes away or evaporates quickly; 3-in 1 "household" oil is acidic and will coat the insides of an internal-gear hub with brown gunk. Automotive automatic transmission fluid is a good lightweight oil available in quantity at a low price.
Not all oil is appropriate for every use. Don't use cooking oil or other oil not intended as a lubricant! Coaster brakes should be lubricated using high-temperature grease; some internal-gear hubs also are intended for grease lubrication. Motor oil is generally not suitable for use on bicycles because it contains detergents which otherwise cause it to wash out if not replenished continuously by an oil pump. If motor oil is used on a bicycle chain, the chain will squeak the next day! [This section added by John Allen, April 20, 2010.]
See also Grease and my article on chain lubrication, which describes many different lubricants.
