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Rock n Roll Holy Cow on the wet weather commuter at the moment, seems pretty good. Squirt on the dry weather commuter, squirt is pish if it rains though.
Was using muc-off wet lube but my chain was filthy with it.
A mix of chainsaw chain oil and white spirits. Its a little mucky but I ride in all conditions and it keeps working no matter what the conditions.
At the end of the winter i strip everything and deep clean and use dry lube until the mud appears again in November.
I'm an absolute shocker when it comes to lubeing my chain, never think about it till its screeching and even then it just gets a squirt of GT85. The Mrs is even worse, hers looks like its been at the bottom of the sea, covered in rust and mud.
I don't mind it being a bit of a faff when I do it, I just don't do it often, do the putoline users think it might suit,
I use Fenwicks Stealth Lube,
Its really stodgy and hard to apply, but it doesn't drip.
Chain is lasting well been on there for about 2 years.
EP90 oil. Got a gallon left from something. Use an ordinary oil can to apply. Messy maybe but so is winter riding. Chainsaw oil is too expensive for chainsaws let alone bikes. Use veg oil.
3 in 1 oops meant Muck Off Wet only because its available in a small bottle that fits in my tool pouch.
Incidentally do you lube from new or run a new chain in before you lube?
sweepy - MemberI'm an absolute shocker when it comes to lubeing my chain, never think about it till its screeching and even then it just gets a squirt of GT85. The Mrs is even worse, hers looks like its been at the bottom of the sea, covered in rust and mud.
I don't mind it being a bit of a faff when I do it, I just don't do it often, do the putoline users think it might suit,
Yes. For a commuter I did it twice a year for a 14 mile round trip. On an MTB it lasts a hundred or two miles in horrid conditions - many hundreds in good conditions
I don't know if I'm doing putoline wrong but it lasts 3 MTB rides tops for me. I quite often get the chain submerged in rivers/puddles and I presume it just washes out. I don't think that anything else would last any better but atm I'm just using the cheapest lube that wiggle sell and reapplying each ride as it's just easier.
Fenwicks Stealth. Found nothing as good.
Wilkinsons bike oil here, it's like a quid. Apply, take off excess, ride, wipe & re-apply. Faultless.
For a commuter I did it twice a year for a 14 mile round trip.
That's impressive, I lube my chain at least twice a week!
Does putoline run clean?
chvck - is just the outside is dry? ~Are you getting the wax smokey hot? the lube remains in the rollers for a much longer time than it is visible on the outside. In the rollers is where you need the lube. Sometimes you need to wipe the outside of the chain with an oily rag
3 mtb rides would be 100+ miles for me usually.
Edit - are you using degreaser or oil on the chain at all? Both dilute the wax and allow it to come off
Gary - depends what you mean? the stuff itself is filthy and you have to wipe it off the outside of the chain. It is very sticky so attracts dust - but once a thin layer of dust builds up then no more adheres and cassettes remain clean
Being a solid wax it does not move around the chain and cassette. Once its on its on.
but I have now been using it for years. chain and cassette replacements are now really rare events whereas with ordinary lube I was replacing them often
I am evangelical about this stuff. Others less so. I am so confident I will treat anyones chain for them if they want to try it out
Putolene for winter / commuter and Squirt for summer.
The thing I like best about Squirt is it's so easy to use. Apply, ride, quick wipe with a rag after and repeat.
It lasts better than nearly everything I've tried (I think it works best after a couple of applications) and there's no build up of gunk... Very rarely have to do a full degrease.
depends what you mean?
I mean does the chain stay clean looking or it it a filthy black mess.
chvck - is just the outside is dry? ~Are you getting the wax smokey hot? the lube remains in the rollers for a much longer time than it is visible on the outside. In the rollers is where you need the lube.
Yeah getting it smokey hot and no I can hear that the chain is really dry so not just the outside. It really does depend what I ride though, if I avoid rivers then it tends to last.
I'm back using Fenwicks stealth(now called professional chain lube I think), after dabbling with R'n'R Extreme which as previously stated has become thin & watery, although it is clean when it gets really wet and gritty I've found R'n'R just doesn't stay around long enough on the chain...so back to fenwicks and it's pretty good.
You're not alone chvck.
I found putoline to be not worth the hassle for the limited extra durability over a more traditional 'wet' lube.
It also has a hateful stink.
The thing I like best about Squirt is it's so easy to use. Apply, ride, quick wipe with a rag after and repeat.It lasts better than nearly everything I've tried (I think it works best after a couple of applications) and there's no build up of gunk... Very rarely have to do a full degrease.
Same, except maybe a stiff brush was well as a rag off if there is any solids build up, eg jockey wheels. Ran it on my bike from new and didn't do a full degrease for about 8-900 miles, and as stated I like a clean drive train.
Squirt in dry periods
RnR Extreme or ProGold Prolink Extreme rest of time
It lasts better than nearly everything I've tried
If I do a 20 mile wet commute with squirt on the chain, the chain is noisy on the ride home. Doesn't last at all in the wet for me.
I can't get Squirt to last anything close to a day ride. I've tried it a few times based on others recommendations, including cleaning the chain beforehand etc. It simply doesn't work as soon as it sees anything closely approximating to moisture.
I quite often get the chain submerged in rivers/puddles and I presume it just washes out.
maybe you should be using green oil?
Science officer - seeing as I persuaded you to try it and you don't like it and i need a new tin do you want to sell me the tin you bought?
Got a couple of 1 litre bottles of UBS. Should get a couple of years out of them
Its not as tenacious as wet lubes but its about 100 times cleaner. I just reapply after every wet ride. It will last a good bit longer in the summer
[i]Just give it a spray with GT85 to stop it rusting and you'll be fine.[/i]
This mostly. If I remember I give it a bit of Fenwicks Dry. Most lubes just make cleaning a chore.
Tried Green Oil's GT85 replacement, Ecospray. Bio it may be, but unfortunately it's messy gunk. Shame really, but just can't find a use for the stuff.
Got a couple of 1 litre bottles of UBS. Should get a couple of years out of themIts not as tenacious as wet lubes but its about 100 times cleaner
Lasts about half the time squirt lasts, and that's not very long. It's fine in the dry but a lube that only lasts half as long as one that doesn't last long is useless in the wet.
Maxima chain wax as I like my bike to smell like an american coffee shop.
Its not as tenacious as wet lubes but its about 100 times cleaner. I just reapply after every wet ride. It will last a good bit longer in the summer
Even on my road bike it was gone <50 miles*. What's the point of a lube that needs re-applying twice in a dry ride? Squirt was better, but not by enough to convince me.
*yes the chain was clean, and I gave it several applications the day before, and I persisted with it for ages before giving up. It also turned my chainstay yellow.
supersessions9-2 - Memberold candles, some beeswax and some carnauba wax in a deep fat fryer.
does the job, drivetrain stays very clean. seems to cope with wet rides ok. not that much a faff to do either (with quick links)
What's the purpose of adding carnauba wax to the mix? The beeswax is meant to be softer than the candle wax apparently though I don't find it makes a huge difference. I've not tried carnauba yet so it'd be interesting to know how this helps.
Tried Viking Juice - can't comment on the performance, but it's so heavily solvent-y that I felt il after applying it in the shed - even with a 10-ft garage roller door fully open 3 ft behind me
UBS for me performed exactly as well as I'd expected a water soluble chain lube to work.
[i]not that much a faff to do either[/i]
Hell of a lot of faff compared to squirting some stuff out of a bottle. Especially if you don't have some old candles, beeswax, carnuba wax or a deep fat fryer to hand!
I also dropped in the old Yankee Candles we had, my chains now smell of "Clean Linen"
My missus got worried when I got all excited about the various scented candles in IKEA.
I'm still keen to add either 'Summer berries' or 'Apple' to the mix, she seems to think they're for making our house smell nicer... 🙄
Question for those who do their own hot-waxing:
What else are you adding?
I've dolloped in some Moly Grease and a bit of mineral oil and that's about it, I have read of people buying Molybdenum Disulphide powders (Not particularly cheap) rather than just melting some Moly-loaded grease, Graphite powder, PTFE and all sorts of other stuff, but TBH I'm not sure many additives are really necessary...
Nothing I can think of will make it adhere to the chain for longer or improve it's (already quite good) ability to shed muck and moisture... it's really only dry lubricants of some sort that you want to load it with but what proportion/volume and what type(s)?
I am still experimenting with waxes for hot dipping, following the "Oz Cycle" video:
[url=
But not using Xylene because it sounds a bit nasty.
I tried some candlewax and lamp oil but I think I needed the mixture a bit more squishy. Has worked well on the single speed commuter, left outside during the day in all weathers at work for a few weeks now, chain clean and quiet. Not so well on the geared road bike, used less and sounding a bit dry now, maybe the changes in chain angle squish the wax out more. But lasted longer than a squirt of other lube would.
Had less luck with the squirt on stuff, always solid in this weather so needs a hairdryer. Using Coleman stove fuel as the volatile additive.
Also, try searching ebay for "low melting point wax". But not at work!
finish line wet lube
Chain-L.
Used to use "wet" lubes like muc off but found that badly gunked up the drive train.