I like ProLink chain lube but the bottle has a tendency to leak.  My preferred solution is to get Al to carry it, but that doesn't work well for solo trips.  I tried a Coghlan's bottle with flip-up top  but it didn't work well for actually oiling the chain (I like to put a drop on each link).

Anyone have a good way to carry chain oil?  I always carry it in a freezer-quality ziploc but it's nice not to have an oily mess in the bag and on your hands...

Chain lube?  What a concept!  No wonder our chains always end up rusty at the end of a tour.  We’ll have to give it a try.

Jacquie, it's been ages since I even thought about chain lube and touring in the same breath, 'cos for the last five years I've always used my Thorn Raven-mit-Rohloff, and the chain is protected by a Hebie Chainglider.  I check my chain tension & condition once a year, as part of my winter oil change.  Usually, my chains last a couple of years, without lubing.

But all that's about to change:  a couple of days hence, I'm taking my derailleur Eclipse on a five-day tour from Orillia to the Huron shore & back.  I'm credit-card touring with a friend, so am taking my ti-framed Eclipse with a mere 8 kgs of gear (bags included).

All-of-a-sudden, I'm faced with your dilemma, sharpened by the possibility of rain, the tag end of Hurricane Barry.  Ah, jeez, wot to do?   FWIW, I'm taking a small (sample-size) bottle of chain lube, a mix of Squirt and the Purple Extreme which was originally in the bottle. That has a nice tight cap, and sits in a slider Ziploc bag with the rest of a small chain-care kit, along with an old toothbrush and a 60 ml nalgene bottle of MEC green chain cleaner.  I'll lube the chain with Purple Extreme the night before we leave .

Gawd, unaccustomed to all this fussin', I'm exhausted just thinking & writing about it...  Anything longer than a few days and I'll take the Raven instead.
Cheers,  John

A tough, appropriately sized zip lock bag helps limit any mess.  A zip lock bag in a zip lock bag works even better.  Flying with oil is a problem because of the pressure changes so chain lube is one of the first things I buy when arriving at the starting point of the tour.  Then it goes into the zip lock bags.

When I fly to the start, I pack  a fresh, sealed bottle in a freezer-grade ziplock. But on my last trip, the oil leaked in the ziplock and every time I opened it, the bottle and inside of the bag were very oily. 

I’ll always use a ziplock for a second barrier, but it would be nice if it weren’t so very messy inside. 

Hi Jacquie,

Last trip to China, I found a local bike shop and bought a couple of cute little one application tubes of chain oil. I might just pack a couple of extra ziploc bags and hunt down a bike shop on my next trip and see how that goes. 

Nalgene does a set of TSA compliant mini tubes. If they come with mini flip up squirt tops, then you could use one of those. Overall, I've found their bottles don't leak, but I'd still put it in a ziploc bag to be double safe. 

I don't tend to take chain lube on planes. It flammable and dry lubes are extremely flammable. If I'm taking the train or bus to the start point it's a different matter. The little Coghlan type bottle have in my experience let the more volatile parts of the lube evaporate leaving a gooey blob in the bottom of the bottle.

If I don't take any lube with me I purchase some at the first bike shop or hardware store along the way. Triflow seems to be universal and works reasonably well. I've never had any lube bottle leak and haven't taken secondary containment measure, perhaps I will now.

Bottom line is I expect the chain to be toast at the end of a four or five week tour no matter what lube I use. I do take a used travel toothbrush along to get at least the worst of the chain gunk off before adding new lube.

I take a sealed bottle (4 oz; 118 ml) on the plane, packed with my bike, because I don't want to have to run around trying to find a bike shop.  I don't try to bring it home because the low pressure in the plane would cause a leak for sure.

On our recent trip, we didn't see a bike shop in either Paris or Bordeaux (though we weren't looking) and when we did look, after the Domme incident, it took us quite a few days to find one that was open.

I see Triflow comes in a different type of bottle and also comes in a 2-oz size.  I might give it a try.