[Closed] Chain lubes, what's the holy grail all rounder de jour?

I'm a recent putoline convert after using various other magical remedies previously. Nothing comes close for longevity and cost wise it'll save a small fortune over the years.

I've always sworn by FinishLine Dry, but I suspect there may be better options out there now.

Jojoba oil going strong here.

I've been using Squirt all year round for a number of years now. No problems here.

Rock and Roll Extreme, all year.

Struggles a bit with Swinley ginge in that it needs a wipe after a run there, but I'm not sure anything is immune to the ginge.

Dry; Smoove (just a slightly better version of squirt)
Wet; White lightning wet ride.

In terms of chain wear and watts expended.

Then if you're the kind of person who buys an OSPW from Ceramicspeed, I can suggest making up your own waxed lube with Moly and other bits, but unless you're contesting a TT or hill climb podium, the marginal gains are not worth it. You'd probably gain less than a watt over smoove (tested).

I just use gt 85, as I found everything else just attracts dirt and crap.

White lightning epic on mtb and road all year

Another Putoline convert here

*sings the putoline song"

The high priest of putoline is looking for more recruits!

I want the best lube what do I need 

ah, you've come to the right thread, you need Putoline.

Never heard of it

I'm surprised, it's a solid wax based lube that comes in a kilogram tin. It comes out top of nearly every test, cost about £30 for a tin that you'll probably be able to hand down to your children

Sounds great; wait, did you say solid?

Yep, solid, you'll need something to melt it

Ok, on the hob?

I wouldn't unless you either live alone, or have a very understanding partner. Most folk use a deep fat fryer

Ah, I see, I don't like the sound of that, I don't want waxy chips 

No one does, you'll need to buy one to use solely for Putoline, you can get a cheap one from Argos

Right...this is sounding a bit more involved, anything else I should know 

It stains anything it comes into contact with, and you'll have to take the chain off the bike, but at least you won't have to do it that often, it lasts for ages.

Right, well my grand-dad had gardening trousers, so I think it'll be cool to have some chain lubing versions.

That's the spirit

Anything else? it does all sound a bit like a ritual each time I want to lube my chain. 

Well it does have a bit of cult following, and you'll have to admit that TJ was right all along...

Bugger, what in public?

Yep, although if you can't bring yourself to do that, if you ask him nicely, he might do a chain for you for free, so you can test it before you buy everything.

That sounds cool. 

Yep, TJ is one of the good guys, don't say anything though, as I'll never live it down

Mum's the word. 

Putoline +1

Rock and Roll Extreme, all year.

Struggles a bit with Swinley ginge in that it needs a wipe after a run there, but I’m not sure anything is immune to the ginge.

Putoline survives until the conditions are absolutely biblical. It survives rain or mud, but not 30 miles in the sort of weather that turned the NE Switchbaks into a stream (Gorrick 100 circa 2010)!

Dry; Smoove (just a slightly better version of squirt)
Wet; White lightning wet ride.

Greetings, lube-brother - exactly the same here!

Smoove is excellent, but the downside is a build-up of wax around the jockey wheels after a few reapplications. Not really an issue as every few weeks, it all comes off for a proper degrease anyway, but it's the only real downside I've found of it.

LOLz@ nickc!

I’ve said this before, but putoline is so good, that nothing else really compares.
It’s in a different league to anything that can be poured onto a chain.
It doesn’t attract dirt, it resists biblical conditions better than any little bottles of ‘lube’.
£30 for that, £16 for a cookworks dff at argos, and some quicklinks for the chain and you’re pretty much set for life.
Take chain off bike, heat wax up to c140 degrees, dunk chain in there for 15 mins, lift basket up to let it drip dry for 5-10 mins, then wipe chain off with your wife’s favourite curtains.
Or, if you don’t want a divorce, use an old rag.
Your chain will now be smooth and clean for a few hundred miles of perfect running.

Juice Lubes Viking Juice all year round, not had an issue.

ive been alternating between smoove and squirt (on different chains) to test the difference,

smoove is better. ill be moving back to that once my squirt runs out.

White Lightning Epic Ride is my chosen one lube to rule them all.

Though I do use cheaper wet lube or dry lube from my stock when it's particularly minging or dry.

Haven't tried Smoove though, looks very promising.

I’ve said this before, but putoline is so good, that nothing else really compares.

<snip>

Your chain will now be smooth and clean for a few hundred miles of perfect running.

Any thoughts for road bike use? Downside would be mileage - few hundred miles isn't so much on a road bike and I'm not sure that I could be arsed going through this every couple of weeks, when I can just spend 30s applying some more Smoove every few days instead.

Interested in people's experience here.

I’ve been using Squirt recently. It’s ok, but it leaves my chain and cassette looking a bit grubby - maybe I’m using a bit too much? It lasts for a 100km or so I’d say, thing like the distance they claim.

When I finish the bottle I’m going to try Smoove as it has some fans around here.

If I’m not impressed with Smoove I’ll go back to http://www.boeshield.co.uk/category/boeshield-t9-bicycle-mountainbike/ , I reckon that’s the best thing I’ve used.

Dearn - I used it on my commutter doing 35 miles a week and did it twice a year so maybe over 1000 miles in summer and over 500 in winter. I also used it on the tandem 400 mile road / offroad tour with some rain and it didnt need redoing on return indeed didn't get redone for months

I think I get a couple of hundred miles winter MTB, 400+ summer MTB, 500+ miles winter road, 1000+++++ miles summer road out of one application - only roughly tho as I do not note it down and its so rare i redo them

Chain life I think is about 4 times as long
edited as I cannot do basic arithmetic

I used my own very special mix of chainsaw oil and white spirit.

But people think I'm odd.

I’ve used putoline for a year or so now and it is good, one of the few chain lubes that can survive a wet sandy Surrey hills, but there are a couple of downsides.
It covers your drivetrain in sticky black wax, never an issue for me with my SRAM eagle black cassette, but if you’ve a shiny gold, silver etc cassette and chain then it might not be for you.
Also if you get it on your clothes then it doesn’t come out. I’ve a couple of pairs of gloves that have black stains on the fingers where the chain has dropped and I’ve had to handle the chain to get it back on.
I’m happy to live with those issues for the benefits but others might not.

putoline when i remember and then the first thing i can grab in the shed to stop the chain sounding crunchy after not bothering to clean it after riding on the wet beach.

I use both Smoove and Peatys now, which seem to cover all bases, plus Pedros Ice Wax on the good road bike.

Need to decide what to put on my new ebike - it’s had a handful of rides so far on the factory lube so will be due either a top up or a degrease and start afresh soon.

Dearn – I used it on my commutter doing 35 miles a week and did it twice a year so maybe over 1000 miles in summer and over 500 in winter. I also used it on the tandem 400 mile road / offroad tour with some rain and it didnt need redoing on return indeed didn’t get redone for months

I think I get a couple of hundred miles winter MTB, 400+ summer MTB, 500+ miles winter road, 1000+++++ miles summer road out of one application – only roughly tho as I do not note it down and its so rare i redo them

Thx. It probably makes sense for a commuter bike which often don't get much love. Not sure I'd want to ride around with a filthy-looking drivetrain on the summer bike though - it would offend me far too much 🙂

Chain life I think is about 4 times as long
edited as I cannot do basic arithmetic

This would, I presume, be compared to someone who neglects their drivetrain - i.e. Putoline once per 6 months vs slapping some 3-in-1 on at the same interval. I could definitely believe this, but for those of us that maintain their drivetrains properly, I am sceptical in the extreme of such claims!

Its not a filthy drivetrain and thats compared to me using finish line wet and maintaining the bike properly ie regular degrease of the chain and a relube with finish line. to me it really is that much better

My commutter gets a lot of love! I cannot stand noisy and neglected bikes.

~this is the drivtrain of my fatbike after 2 3hr wet rides after putolining it. so after 6 hrs usuage in wet a muddy conditions - the chain is still perfectly lubed at that point

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49338785312_4b16c2acae_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49338785312_4b16c2acae_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2iaUaWh ]IMG_1265[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr

Dunno where you are Daern but get a chain to me I will treat it and get it back to you so you can try it. Post if you want
I'm edinburgh based

also in that pic above the cassettee has not been cleaned since I got the bike! maybe a thousand miles? its never been lubed with anything else thats just how it always looks. a bit of dry hard wax covered in dust

Its not a filthy drivetrain and thats compared to me using finish line wet

Finish Line Wet is pretty much the poster child for attracting drivetrain filth, though.

Finish Line Wet is pretty much the poster child for attracting drivetrain filth, though.

Absolutely, it's like a mankmagnet, Smells great mind!

Any thoughts for road bike use? Downside would be mileage – few hundred miles isn’t so much on a road bike

A few hundred miles of sodden gritty off road. On road or in dry conditions it lasts probably a few thousand. I did my rigid bike and my road bike just before lockdown, still smooth and I rode loads.

If you get it nice and hot and really rub it down well then it doesn't get your cassette grimy. I didn't do this well enough on my road bike at first and it got grimy, however it's only the excess that came off. Once I'd cleaned the cassette once it stayed pretty clean. Perhaps not suitable if you want a showroom finish every ride maybe.

Being solid it also doesn't get on the outside of your front mech so you don't get an oily leg.

Also worth noting that as well as staying on for much longer it's also much quieter than fresh drip-on lube ever is.

I’ve used putoline for a year or so now and it is good, one of the few chain lubes that can survive a wet sandy Surrey hills, but there are a couple of downsides.
It covers your drivetrain in sticky black wax, never an issue for me with my SRAM eagle black cassette, but if you’ve a shiny gold, silver etc cassette and chain then it might not be for you.
Also if you get it on your clothes then it doesn’t come out. I’ve a couple of pairs of gloves that have black stains on the fingers where the chain has dropped and I’ve had to handle the chain to get it back on.
I’m happy to live with those issues for the benefits but others might not.

Forget Smoove or Putoline wax (Putline also has other chainlubes mind you); Smoove gunks up your jockey wheels ans chain terribly, re putoline wax - read the above, plus it's a lot of faff to apply, one of the most expensive options if you factor in the time cost, only for people enjoy diddling around with their bikes.

What you want having tested a dozen lubes is Weldite TF2 Performance.

A very low viscosity all-weather lube with teflon, absolutely minimal gunking up of the chain or jockey wheels, needs to be reapplied more often than waxes and thicker lubes but this takes 10 seconds, extremely easy to clean off too and cheap as chips.

A very low viscosity all-weather lube with teflon, absolutely minimal gunking up of the chain or jockey wheels, needs to be reapplied more often than waxes and thicker lubes but this takes 10 seconds, extremely easy to clean off too and cheap as chips.

Wish it was this simple, there's no way anything of that sort is going to withstand a long day of wet splashy trails and roads. My painstakingly applied Fenwick's stealth, which otherwise seems quite good, was a dry squeaky mess after 80km of Fife's best 'gravel' (read: puddles, connected with mud) at the weekend. I'm fine with frequent applications of lube, but not trailside.

I'll come round to Putoline one of these days, it's the initial outlay and learning curve that puts me off, plus I'm ashamed to admit I like the chain on my 'good' bikes to look nice and bright and silver...

Wish it was this simple, there’s no way anything of that sort is going to withstand a long day of wet splashy trails and roads.

It is that simple, it's long lasting for a low viscosity lube and the best of both worlds - no need to faff around with wax possibly with the exception of those squeezing out every last marginal watt gain - another UK forum review:

I've been Weldtite TF2 Performance since early Autumn last year and found it to be very good,especially in wet weather drivetrain remains quiet and rollers don't shine up for ages,a sure sign the lube is still working internally where it's needed most.Time/mileage between relubing is loonnnggg and it doesn't attract road and trail dust and dirt much between chain cleaning.

, re putoline wax – read the above, plus it’s a lot of faff to apply, one of the most expensive options if you factor in the time cost, only for people enjoy diddling around with their bikes.

Even if I figure my time at £20 an hour its still miles cheaper than anything else because the wax s so cheap and you do it so infrequently - and you save on drivetrain wear

Its interesting that since I started banging on about this loads of folk have tried it and only 2 have given up on it

It really is to me a quantum change its so good

I’m ashamed to admit I like the chain on my ‘good’ bikes to look nice and bright and silver…

Nothing to be ashamed of, I don't want a black chain (and clothes) either - and I don't want to faff with a deep fat fryer every month or so.

Also, I just don't feel right if I haven't lubed up pre-ride.

I might spend £15 a year on lube (maybe less), but it's one bit of biking that doesn't really need fixing for me.

I don’t want a black chain (and clothes) either – and I don’t want to faff with a deep fat fryer every month or so.

Putoliner here - no black chain (if you wipe the excess off well, like any lube), no black clothes (ditto), some faff but more like every six months or so.

It is that simple, it’s long lasting for a low viscosity lube and the best of both worlds

actually d'oh, hadn't realised it was a wet lube, assumed teflon = dry lube...

So a wet lube that doesn't pick up muck etc, could be worth a look.

I'm using Morgan Syn Lube blue on the winter bike and CX bike, it runs beautifully but seems very sensitive to how much you apply and seems to leach out of the rollers over time, you think you've applied sparingly and wiped off excess then next morning your chain appears to be swimming in it again!

13th - I'll do a chain for you as well if you want to try it. I know you are fairly local

ven if I figure my time at £20 an hour its still miles cheaper than anything else because the wax s so cheap and you do it so infrequently – and you save on drivetrain wear

Don't think so. And I doubt chain wear with teflon lube reapplied weekly is that much worse than wax? Or do you get 3 times longer chain life out of wax? Which is the only thing I could think of that could warrant the faff.

Putoline time to remove and reapply: 30 min, frequency of application once every 3 months.
Time cost/year: 2 hours or £40 @ £20 pr hour.
Putoline cost £25/kg - not sure how much you use pr year, but let's say 50g, so £1-2 pr year, total cost £41-42 + one time wax heating device cost, let's add £5 for that so £44-47, more if you value your time more..

Weldtite TF2 Performance time to apply: 15 seconds, frequency of application every week (aggressive).
Time cost/year 13 minutes or £4.3
Weldite TF2 P cost £30/kg, 100 ml lasts me a year, so cost is £3 pr year, total cost pr year = £7.3.

Weldtite TF2 Performance is 6 times cheaper than putoline factoring in all the faff..

I'm staggered just how many people are getting on the chain waxing bandwagon! REALLY?!?! I mean, if you're a Pro roadie (well you'd have a mechanic to do it for you then) and the last 0.1% matters then ok, but for the rest of us...?

Juice Lubes Viking Juice is the single best lube I've used, bar none... Use it all year round on the MTB, and about 11 months of the year on road (when it's hot and dry enough, their ceramic lube comes out on the road bike, but it can get dirty quickly in sub optimal conditions)... Superb stuff!

Can't remember if I've posted this before buuuut GEEK OUT! dit diddly da, dit diddly da, GEEK OUT! (apologies to Nile Rogers) https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/fast-chain-lube-that-saves-you-money/ or everything you wanted to know about chains and chain lubes but were afraid to ask. Be warned there's a whole series of articles down that particular rabbit hole!

I'm currently using Muc-off wet lube but that's partly because I need something I can apply whilst out in the sticks on multi-day rides and not all lubes play well with the various chain coatings or putoline.

Forget dry lubes off-road, one dousing of that milky tea coloured grit filled water and in ten km your chain will be squeekier than a leather fetishist's convention!

Drivetrain wear with teflon lube reapplied weekly shouldn’t be bad at all.

The problem with all drip on lubes is that they wash off in no time at all in wet mud. And they get gritty very quickly even if they are also still oily. Putoline doesn't get gritty.

I mean, if you’re a Pro roadie (well you’d have a mechanic to do it for you then) and the last 0.1% matters then ok, but for the rest of us…?

It's nothing at all to do with performance. For me it's about not destroying chains with grit, and about ease of use. Yes, really. The chain doesn't get gritty, which means it doesn't need a thorough clean and the chain doesn't get ground to death.

Weldtite TF2 Performance time to apply: 15 seconds, frequency of application every week (aggressive)

It's not just 15 seconds to apply, it's 5 mins getting all the crud out of your chain if you are quick and efficient, or cleaning off accumulated gunge if you just reapply all the time.

I spent 25 years trying everything looking for the most durable lube to protect my drivetrain and the easiest maintenance routine. Putoline is both.

I need something I can apply whilst out in the sticks on multi-day rides and not all lubes play well with the various chain coatings or putoline.

Putoline is even better for multi day trips, because you don't need to do anything or bring anything.