I thought I’d try the wax-based Squirt lube. It’s supposed to be ‘clean’ and leave no black marks, but I’m not finding that to be the case. My chain came off the other day, and my hands ended up with black marks all over them. It seems to clean off without too much bother, but it’s not what I was expecting. Also, my clothes ended up quite dirty when I had to lift the bike into the back of my van.

Before first use I fitted new a new chain which I cleaned according to the instructions – multiple baths in turps and meths. I also fitted new jockey wheels and a cassette which I also thoroughly cleaned. I also cleaned the existing chain-rings.

I’ve been mainly using the bike on the turbo trainer. I think I read something about rubber dust mixing with the lube, but I’m not sure if that would be the case.

When reapplying the Squirt I first wipe the chain down with multiple kitchen paper towels (they always end up black). Also, the wax does seem to build up – I assumed it would dry ‘harder’, but it doesn’t seem to flake off as the instructions say it will. The bits which drop off next to the turbo trainer are almost like a black paste.

The bike seems to run smoothly when the lube is fresh, so I’m quite happy with it. However, I’d much prefer it if it didn’t make such a mess.

Has anyone else discovered this, and is there a ‘cure’?

A cure for getting a bit of dirt on your hands?

I suggest a large serving of MTFU 😆

I find it does that. Those black bits are the wax and dirt flaking off. I have used it for a few years now and find that the old stuff falls off and just add new lube every few rides or after a wet ride. The only time it doesn’t work well are long rides in the way, but the lack of picking up grit is worth that compromise

Only ride in hermetically sealed environments!

Tbh i found it quite shite as a lube anyway.

Call me mental but i dont stop mid ride to relube on an average ride. I certainly wouldnt expect to relube every lap of a 24.

Squirt seemed to necessitate that.

I found white lightening wet extreme to be worth the deep clean once a month, at least i knew it would stay on the chain.

Also , your lifting your bike wrong if you cant get it in the van without getting dirty. You can strip wheels off and get a bike into. Saloon car without getting oily….

Really rate Squirt for anything but foul conditions. Apply at the end of a ride, ready for the next time. Useless if you don’t give it proper time to dry though – no point putting it on just before you go out.

Thanks – at least it’s not just me. It’s for road-riding, but including some longer audaxes, so perhaps it wouldn’t be ideal for a wet 400k or 600k.

The bike I was trying it on is a recumbent, so it has almost 3 chains, and they flap around a bit. Loading it into the back of my SWB Land Rover was interesting – I wasn’t even sure it would fit, but it did go in, although I did make contact with the chain. A bit of practice will help, but it might still be difficult to avoid contact.

I’ve been using Purple Extreme for a few years – it stays on and doesn’t need to be applied too frequently. However, it doesn’t run as smoothly as the Squirt, and the chain needs to be degreased between applications.

Hated the stuff. Black sticky mess from day one despite thoroughly degreasing etc before initial use.
Now using ultimate bike solution and it’s amazing

It’s great on MTB, but there is a lot online about it being poor on road bikes. Something to do with static and road dirt. I find it clean and perfect off road unless very wet conditions, and black and gunky on road….

I only use it on my mtbs. It seems to suffer in spray and salt from the road. Ace on the MTB, just reapply after a ride.

Use it on all of my bikes year round, both road and Mtb, have done since first launched in UK. You do need to let it ‘set’ rather than applying and riding – as stated above. I apply the night before riding (being lazy I don’t do much more than wiping mud off chain). Apply it before the ride, especially in grim conditions and it will make a nasty black paste and wash off. My gold KMC chains have stayed visibly gold year round.
I would say though that I don’t winter commute in the city, the muck from which will strip pretty much anything and need heavier weight lubes

After initial application it made my chain black but after a short time it’s pretty good. I can run my finger down the chain and it’s clean to the touch. Not much mud her though so not sure how it would be with UK gloop.

Definitely messier on the road bike. I still use it but should find something else. Too much faff for daily all weather commute as well

The only time I’ve had it turn even remotely black is when I hadn’t quite degreased the chain fully before application – thought I had but clearly hadn’t as after I did it again it was all fine. No issues on either mtb or road.

I gave up on it, it’s too situational- deals well with a lot of conditions but every so often it’d take offence to some particular flavour of mud and just fail totally. And yeah, I got a fair amount of black goo, didn’t bother me at all mind

I stopped using it on my road bike as it soon turned the whole transmission black.
I’ve been experimenting with a few dry lubes and have been surprised to find Weldtite TF2 dry to be the cleanest and longest lasting.

It does that. As others have said, once it picks up dirt (and turns black) it flakes off. Don’t let the black flakes get anywhere near carpets or clothes as they’ll stain them something rotten.

You need to get the chain really really realllllly clean and fully degreased before the first application though, which can be a pain in the arse. If you don’t get it clean enough, it won’t stick, and you end up having to relube more often than if the chain was clean from the start.

Its a bit of a faff initially but once you get it to stick properly I find that I rarely need to clean my drivetrain until the really wet weather comes around (and then I switch to a wet lube).

I find it useless I the road, I tried it on my winter bike and it was dirty and needed far too regular reapplication. Not for me.

Utterly useless in very cold (<-5°C) conditions but effective for the rest of the year if you start with a super clean chain. You do need to pay attention to the jockey wheels though since they have a tendency to get gummed up quite quickly with the wax.

I thought I had thoroughly cleaned the chain and cogs. I suppose I could buy some more chains and start again.

The two reasons I wanted to try it were that it was supposed to be completely clean, and be really smooth running. The latter does seem to be the case, but I’m not sure how long the effect lasts for.

I’ve been cleaning it off and reapplying it once a week (I let it sit overnight before using the bike). On the first ride it feels great, but by the end of the week it must have deteriorated – this is typically less than 5 hours of turbo trainer use. It might not be relevant, but because my chain is almost three times longer than a normal chain I would have thought the lube ought to be lasting longer than it would on a normal bike.

Has anyone tried the melted wax such as “Molten Speed Wax”? It seems to be more of an American thing. I had hoped Squirt might give the same benefits but be less hassle to reapply.

The Ultimate Bike Solution – I had an original Scott Oiler on one bike, but the lube didn’t seem very good, plus it froze in the icy weather. The UBS sounds like it might be better suited for short-ish MTB rides if you wash your bike after each ride. It sounds like it might not be the best choice for long road rides, especially if the bike rarely gets washed.

I use putoline, which is a melty wax. It’s absolutely superb for mountain bike use but I’m not sure it’s ideal for you tbh, it stays kind of slimy and also isn’t great for corrosion protection (I use it on my commuter, but I overcoat it with a cheap wet lube otherwise it rusts quickly in winter)

I’ve found Muc Off dry to be excellent. Doens’t flake off, lasts ages, doesn’t go black. This is because it stays slightly sticky and doens’t dry to wax; consequently it gathers ever so slightly more dust and grit on the outside of the chain but doesn’t seem to end up on the inside.

I thought I had thoroughly cleaned the chain and cogs

How?

I agitated it and let it soak in multiple baths of white spirit, then the same in methylated spirits over a period of a week or so. There didn’t appear to be any discolouration of the solvents by the end of the process. At the end I dipped it in boiling water then hung it up to dry in the airing cupboard. All the links seemed to be moving freely.

I had been thinking about buying an ultrasonic cleaner for final stage cleaning, but I wasn’t sure it was necessary.

It wasn’t the most expensive chain – I thought I’d buy three cheap ones and see how I got on with the process. I think it’s a KMC 9-speed, but without any fancy plating.

I agitated it and let it soak in multiple baths of white spirit, then the same in methylated spirits over a period of a week or so. There didn’t appear to be any discolouration of the solvents by the end of the process. At the end I dipped it in boiling water then hung it up to dry in the airing cupboard

😯

I just spray liberally with chain cleaner.. or more usually spray lightly with chain cleaner or muc-off and jetwash.

OP, I wouldn’t bother buying an expensive ultrasonic cleaner just to try and get a £7 bottle of lube that isn’t working well for you to stick to the chain.

Just try a different lube until you find something that works for you.

Chain L oil. Tried loads, this one really works.

Anyone have any luck with Finish Line ceramic lube? I’ve been through a few applications and so far all I can really say is that it feels like a very thin dry lube which doesn’t last very long, lots of ‘rattle’ from the chain. Bit annoying for £9 a bottle, more fool me I guess…

edit: I do like Squirt but treat it as a summer only lube, performance seems to improve with application but I do apply liberally.