[Closed] Chain lubes

Juice Lubes wet

I've just bitten the bullet and gone down the Putoline route.

Bit more hassle initially, but so far I've not had to relube after 3 wet and muddy rides. So I'm hoping it's going to be worthwhile.

Just giving it a wipe with an oily rag after washing the bike to stop surface rust.

Been using squirt lube for nearly a year now. Great stuff, you don't get all the crap stuck to your chain

At this time of year what ever is the cheapest

My bike gets so dirty it has to be washed after every ride which means re lubing the chain so no point in putting expensive wet lube on

Come summer time the bike will get washed once every couple of months if needed, re lube the chain and its good for a couple of months (weather dependant)

*sings the putoline song*

Its the best, its the cheapest, I have used nothing else for a decade or more.

I'll "second" anything made by Juice Lubes but I'm a wee bit biased - (Wife used to work for Velo Brands.)

Our lube of choice is Juice Lubes - Viking Juice.

Mind you, still haven't found anything that comes near to beating "Morgan Blue" as a chain degreaser. (Sorry, Mr Miles!!)

I'd highly recommend Muc-Off Wet Lube. I've found it to be the least 'claggy' of all the ones I've tried. I've a new bike coming soon so may try the Putoline route tho.

Been using squirt lube for nearly a year now. Great stuff, you don’t get all the crap stuck to your chain

Squirt lube for me too, I’m about to run out and will be getting some more. Needs to be applied to a thoroughly degreased chain but after that keeps the chainset nice and clean

*Joins in with the Putoline song*

I liked Fenwick's Stealth, although it required application in advance to 'cure'.

Have moved to Putoline though. It took some time to learn to have faith in it, but it lasts over multiple filthy muddy CX rides and hosings, and the chain stays cleaner on the outside than with a wet lube. Post-ride/wash, I just run the chain through a rag soaked in GT85.

Not a massive fan of repeatedly breaking quicklinks to relube though, this could actually be reason enough for me to switch back to drip lubes once the current chain is done.

Squirt in the summer. For the endless wet now I am using Fenwicks Pro. Works well enough in the wet and doesn't need applying every ride. Stinks like cow poo.

Weldtite has been a game changer for me lately. Very cheap, very clean and really handles the worst conditions. I've just bought a litre bulk bottle for £17.

Just cracked open a bottle of Muc Off wet ceramic. Too early to tell if it's amazeballs as yet but for the money it wants to be

la la loo lala... Putoline!

(or as my son said as we watched Back to Future as a family when Doc gets shot by the Iranian's over the nuclear fuel: "Daddy, is that what you put on our chains?")

To be honest I don't fancy the hassle that comes with needing a fryer and a sparkly gleaming chain to start with. Something that simply works will do. Will give the juice stuff a go as I know the LBS stocks and rates it. Maybe try wax when new chain time comes round.

Thanks for the input guys 🙂

Squirt year round. Works ok for wet 2h rides this time of year.

Squirt all year round, I don’t use anything else these days and havent done for a few years.

Putoline
Works
Cheap as chips
Easier than cleaning grinding paste off the drive chain, waiting for it to dry, then re-lube after every ride.

*Also singing the Putoline song*

Tried Rock and Roll extend after years of just throwing Finish Line on. S'alright in the summer, crap in the wet.

Squirt all year round for me too, being using it for years with no issues

To be honest I don’t fancy the hassle that comes with needing a fryer and a sparkly gleaming chain to start with. Something that simply works will do.

You don't need a fryer, You only need to clean the chain the first time and only then if its filthy. It does simply work. I did one the other day. tin on hob ( forme - your other half may disagree) or a camp stove. chain off the bike and chuck in tin. Check every few mins until its nice and runny, take hot tin into workshop, fish chain out and hang over tin, refit to bike, run thru a rag. 5 mins work, 5 mins on the hob. I'll do it again in a few hundred miles and enjoy the well lubed chain for that time. more than a decades I have been using it. cost less than £3 a year for 5 - 7 bikes used by two of us

Weldtite TF2 for wet conditions for me.

White lightning epic ride if it's mixed conditions.

Mucoff dry lube for proper dry conditions.

The weldtite and mucoff were about £12 a litre each, the epic ride a bit more but it is my favourite.

I would just like to say I think Putoline is overrated for MTB in winter (so nerr to the lot of you). When you have to properly hose the bike down, which is most rides, you still end up with a rusty chain - oily rag or not. Also did a four day Lakes trip last year, was almost completely dry, no cleaning and chain was squeaking by the last day. Might go back to squirt.

Quite good on the road bike though

I tried the Putoline method but now gone belt drive 😇

Here's the Weldtite stuff, I'd be quite happy if this was the only lube I could use...

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/weldtite-tf2-performance-oil/

When using the Putoline with a brand new chain do you have to clean off the coating that the chains covered in initially or do you just chuck it in the tin?

Pedro's wax. I was a Squirt convert & delighted with its all year performance, less so with the the price. As wax emulsions go I can't tell the difference between the two but the Pedro's is about 60% of the price. Transmission is always clean & there's no claggy build up or jocky clogging black goo.

When using the Putoline with a brand new chain do you have to clean off the coating that the chains covered in initially or do you just chuck it in the tin?

Straight in. On used chains, I've given them a good soak in white spirit first.

Straight in. On used chains, I’ve given them a good soak in white spirit first.

Cheers. Think I’m going to give this a go when my new bike arrives.

I use Squirt. I just apply it more frequently after wet rides. Does the job and no oily transmission.

Muc-off wet lube. It's great, even smells nice. One application did me round the Cairngorm Loop last year. Bike sounded a bit tougher towards the end but worked fine for the other 250+ km's.

I've tried lots of different ones over the years and think the Muc-off is the best.

I've become a bit of a fanboy of theirs recently. Their tyre sealant is also great. Plus I'm loving their condensed bike cleaner with reduced packaging. You can even get a refill at some bike shops. 👌

Just cracked open a bottle of Muc Off wet ceramic. Too early to tell if it’s amazeballs as yet but for the money it wants to be

I bought a lifetime 1l c3 ceramic wet bottle for ~£7 a few years back, it lubes the chain and doesn't rapidly vanish in the rain making it suitable for the modern typical UK climate, but it doesn't take long to turn into a black sludge.

I've got a small bottle of Muc Off dry to try, just in case by some miracle we get another "summer" that starts in March like last year.

Muc off wet - although drivetrain stays quiet, everything and it’s brother will stick to it and jockey wheels caked up with tar.

Juice lubes Viking - too wet and runny for winter rides so didn’t find it gave it a good coating. Pretty average and didn’t float my boat at all

Currently using a Pedros syn lube because it was cheap and for winter rides it seems ok and works.

Once things dry up I use rock n roll blue for mtb and their red absolute for road bike.

Might give squirt a try one of these days. Won’t be trying putoline as I don’t want a black chain all the time and will be bound to get it on trousers etc. I also won’t be removing quick link constantly as I think the tolerances get weaker until eventually can remove and snap in place with hands.

Intrigued by the folks using Squirt, I like it on the summer road bike but considered it a non-starter for any sort of wet use. Will it last a whole wet ride?

Won’t be trying putoline as I don’t want a black chain all the time and will be bound to get it on trousers etc.

I was afraid of this, but any surface wax seems to wear off quite quickly (hence giving it a wipe down with GT85-y rag after rides). My Putoline chain is obviously still lubed internally as it's silent and runs smooth, but it's bare metal silver on the surface. Barely any dirtier to touch than my Squirt lubed summer bike that barely leaves the turbo trainer.

Still on the old RnR extreme, but haven't tried the new recipe yet. It's great, tried squirt, it didn't last a ride.

Will it last a whole wet ride?

I would say no, depending on how well you've applied it (ie how clean your chain actually was when it went on). I've never managed to get through a properly wet ride with a silent chain with it.

Smoove is a bit better in terms of a wax-based lube, IME.

Intrigued by the folks using Squirt, I like it on the summer road bike but considered it a non-starter for any sort of wet use. Will it last a whole wet ride?

Depends on your wet ride. Bit of rain and damp trails - yes it will.
River crossing, torrents of water everywhere - not a chance.

Been using squirt for a while now, but finding there is corrosion on the chain, even with drying after wet rides/washing. Going to try the juice lubes wet after reading some good reviews of it.

If it's -

Dry - Squirt
Wet - Squirt
Cold - Squirt
Hot - Squirt
Sunny - Squirt
Freezing - Squirt
Foggy - Squirt
Snowing - Squirt
Muddy - Squirt
Dusty - Squirt

Another Putoline singer here. It's been wet, gritty and wet again. Chain no more rusty than if it was covered in other wet-lube but it is still lubed up after 10 days with no attention. I expect while it's this grim weather-wise every other week in the fryer may be a good idea.

Just nabbed the last bottle of Weldtite performance for £4 off CRC to try. Of course I had to buy some cable cutters as well to get over the £20 free delivery threshold....

Just started recording distance on my new bike, and lubings. I deep-fried my chain in Putoline a second time on Saturday morning, which makes it 499km on one application, and I think ten bike cleanings in 12 rides. In wet and shitty conditions, mostly country lanes.

Normally I'd clean and lube after a wash. However, if I were relying on normal wet lube I wouldn't clean it every time because it'd be taking longer - I would have been leaving it with dirt and salt on it. So I'm probably prolonging the life of other components as well as the chain. I hadn't thought of that before!

Right... I'm going all in on the Putolene.
I've ordered the tin from Amazon, and also picked up a 1.2 litre fryer from Asda for £15. I've been using Squirt for some time, but it doesn't last more than an hour or so in the current conditions. Loads of bikes to maintain so should work out cheaper, and less faff, in the longer term.

I used to use similar "hob-top" potions on the motorbikes back in the 1980s, before O-ring chains moved the game on. Looking forward to trying this!