Is there any point lubing chains at this time of year? Spray with something after a ride to prevent rust, yes but the mud seems to polish the chain clean of any lube on any run.

depends where you ride I guess. I use finish line green and it seems to stick pretty well.

Forget the rest and buy some Rock N Roll. Your chain will sparkle, shed all mud and will last longer to boot

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/maintenance/wet-chain-lube-versus-dry/4831.html
have a read of this review.
Dave powell just finished strathpuffer solo in 2nd place riding 163 miles without lubing and his chain was sweet.Jason Miles was 3rd on the same stuff.

request a sample and see for yourself at in2dust

Squirt is fantastic! I apply liberal amounts like a wet lube and wipe off in the mud, but as a dry lube it ROCKS!

Still a big fan of the putoline motorcycle chain wax. I had it on my bike at the puffer and tho I did not do the miles the chaps above did my chain was both clean and had plenty of lube in it at the end. The chain was not gritty if you twisted it and the bushes were still full of the grease.No stiff links, it does not attract and hold grit.

its cheap as well – under £20 a kilo rather than a fiver for a 100ml.

I will not use anything else again. I have been using this for a year now and my chains are lasting several times longer and rather than a clean and relube every week its every couple of months.

the commuters are going several hundreds of miles between relubes and the mtbs a couple of hundred miles. Thats used in wet gritty peaty conditions and salty roads

Science officer of this place did not find it as good as I do but I am totally evangelical about it I find it so good.

I have indeed found putoline to be no better than a decent, thick, wet lube in the winter, off road. Its fine stuff in dry and intermediate conditions and I'd happily use it in the wet too, but its method of application makes it too labour heavy for frequent application (every ride in the winter). These days I ride almost exclusively on Mendip, but it the past I've ridden peaks and lakes fairly extensively – Mendip is pretty abrasive – on a par with the peaks IMO.

Therefore, less abrasive conditions may give longer service intervals – perhaps that's the discrepancy between TJ's experiences and mine.

I'm preferring Squirt lube at the moment – yes its more expensive, but seems to last as long as Putoline in the wet, but is much easier to work with and apply.

Therefore, less abrasive conditions may give longer service intervals – perhaps that's the discrepancy between TJ's experiences and mine.

I would agree bar the fact I have never ridden in such abrasive conditions as at the 'puffer – peat and quartzite????? everything else was abrading away and the guys linked to above found it abrasive. I did 60 odd miles in the worst / most abrasive conditions ever. Pads worn out which never normally happens to me and a brand new bb all gritty and rough

However I am at a loss to know why our experiences differ.

yes, lube the chain at this time of year! there is so much grit about that bikes get trashed.

TJ- the puffer trail is my local, can you imagine how bad that is for wear in bikes?!

I've been thinking about this for a while – It may be that we have differing opinions on when the lube needs re-applying.

I note on one thread you said that you run your finger on the outside of the link and if there's two lines of grease from each side of the roller you consider your chain lubed.

IMO I don't think thats an adequate way to tell, since this is precisely where displaced wax from the interior of the chamfer and rollers will build up.

I don't think there is any reliable way to check that a chain is still adequately lubed, short of the Sheldon Brown dismantle-into-constituent-parts approach. For may years now I've settled on the 'rattly roller' technique – i.e. if it rattles like a 'dry' chain, it probably is a dry chain. Even 'dry' lubes, freshly applied and little used, prevent roller rattle in this manner.

That said, its probably no better than any other method out there.

I'm also notoriously intolerant of mechanical imperfection, which may lead to a slight OCD state about these things. 😳

Science officer – me too – I suffer from OCD on chains!

The rollers are not rattly, twisting the chain ( my usual way of telling) there is no grittyness, the chain turns smoothly there is obviously still grease in the bushes as you can feel it as you bend and twist the chain – no metal on metal contact. the outside of the rollers is dry

As for the finger thing – its not a build up of grease in that space – its a tiny amount of grease escaping from the bush. If there is no grease left there will be none to escape.

I really dunno. I am on SRAM chains are they enough different from others?

have a search for CHAIN-L it really good

I normally always use Rock n Roll Exteme however the last few rides in Chase Paste has given me go awful chainsuck purely down to the mud. i never have the same problem on the SS which I run the chain bathed in wax type lube (White Lightening?)Tis chain has never shown any rusting even after the dirtiest rides. I may switch back to waxing the geared HT for a while to see if the chain rusts or the suck persists. I also have some Finish Line wet but last time I used that I still had chainsuck in the serious mud at the Chase and black crap all over the roof of the car etc etc etc.

Science officer – you have a lot to answer for! I have just dismantled a chain and have been examining the component under a magnifying glass

The chain that was on my 'puffer bike had been removed. This is the chain that did 60 of the most abrasive miles I have ever ridden.

I just dismantled a load of the links to see how much lube was left in it. Teh chain still felt well lubed and plenty of was visible in the chain. However on dismantling it to get some rollers out inside the rollers there was virtually no lube left if any at all. Plenty on the sliding surface between the outer and inner plates and some on the sides of the rollers where they touch the side plates but almost none if any at all left between the rollers and the pins. No dirt in this space either.

IIRC the wear happens where the inner plates pivot on the pin and there was lube in that tiny space – it could be seen on the pin as a tiny smear of the waxy grease

I shall have to lube a chain in the molten wax and dismantle it to see how much lube is in the various spaces when it is freshly done and then repeat after riding it for a while.

Not as good as I hoped but to have any trace of lube after those 60 miles is mor than most I guess.

Out anorak that you geeks!

Tj i`m in awe 😯

😳 The chain was due for the bin anyway and I wanted to see and I;m a serious anorak and I can't think of another excuse.

I'll report back after having done the same to a freshly lubed chain 🙄

Time for belt drive 🙂

Crikey TJ – you won't find me doing that! Not with a 3 and 6 year old to look after. I have once done a 'how clean is a clean chain' experiment, but that's another story…

Interesting stuff – however, the rollers in modern bushless chains (I've read on mr browns site, and others – See here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html ) don't directly pivot on the pins – they pivot on the chamfer of the inner plate, ergo the wear happens between the roller and the chamfer, with secondary wear on the pin via pressure through the chamfer.

Theoretically, with a gap between the chamfers, a wet lube should be a better bet, since it will penetrate easier and migrate back into position after being displaced during the pressure of power transfer – this of course, ignores the environmental conditions that we ride in – i.e. wet and dirt.

My biggest question in all this actually relates to wax and other dry lubes – I do wonder, since they're solid(ish) how long they provide protection from wear for, since they must be displaced from the chain relatively quickly and clearly can't migrate back – this must be related to its ability to resist pressure/and its behaviour under pressure (perhaps creating a liquid film like ice), but I can find very little information on this.

Perhaps I'm thinking a little too much about it. 😕

I'm still using Mineral brake fluid applied with a 1" brush into the cassette, chain and rear mech. Fantastic results.

That must splatter everywhere on the rough stuff surely? Its very thin.

No not at all. I think applying it with a brush helps though i.e you get good adhesion.
So far I've had no winter related issues at all. My kit seems to be lasting as well.
I know the fluid is staying on because after my last long ride of about 7 hours a few weeks back, when I hosed the bike down for cleaning I could see the remaining lube in the drain off water.
It also doesn't pick up debris which is a bonus.
TBH I used it once when I ran out of my normal lube, and after reading about US based cross racers using Pam spray oil I thought well how scientific is all this really?
Though I think that because I keep a clean bike and lube on a regular basis I'll not have problems.

Yes, I agree – irrespective of lube, the most important thing is regular cleaning and lubing intervals.

I'm not sure that seeing a film of oil on your washdown water is proof positive that enough oil is left on your chain. It takes very, very little oil to produce an iridescent sheen.

I hoping Squirt lube is 'the one lube' for me, but its too early to tell – time and regular chain checking will provide the evidence.

Just as a note, I'm finding that I'm getting better VFM by using quality cassettes and chains throughout the year.
My XT cassette is lasting silly long as are the Hardcoat rings.
Though as I said overall maintenance is the key, dabbing a bit of lube on any old how isn't some sort of winter miracle maintenance system.

Do you mean you previously used to use lower spec drivetrain components when the conditions deteriorated?

That not something I've ever done – XT cassette, chainings and SRAM 971 or above for me all year round. I also rotate three chains per transmission to spread wear, and to give me time to clean and lube those not in use properly.

I'm seriously impressed with muc off's wet lube in the Bristol / Wales mud and grit, the only drawback is it pungent smell.

Not exactly. In the past I would use a singlespeed and a second mountainbike with cheaper parts, now though I just have one mountainbike with XT/XTR mix that I use all year.
However I often hear people say that they buy a cheaper drivetrain for winter.

i did the puffer(and finished right behind dave and jase) on one application of white lightening epic ride.

I dont think id have finished had i not lubed the chain – any kinda spray would have just washed off on first couple laps when fire road was wet and made it feel horrible to ride !

will be trying out squirt though once ive fitted my new gear set up.

got given a bottle at the end for picking up a duck haha

So I tried "squirt" dry lube in the summer after degreasing the nearly new chain and sprockets in the chemical bath and work. Trust me, it was very very clean. Gave the chain a couple of days to dry out and applied the lube exactly as described on their website, twice and all that….

….bloody rubbish! Went out and after less than a few miles of road and fireroad it felt bone dry, rattled and squeaked and changed gear awefully. Is that just how dry wax lube is supposed to be? or did I not shake the bottle in some magic special way before I applied it?

I really like the idea of the stuff, so please tell me what I did wrong, because Ive got a full bottle gathering dust whilst I rely on the finish line wet, which to be fair is very good.