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I'm a long time user and advocate of Putoline, but I acquired 2 x 120ml bottles of Squirt free at an event a while back.
Setting up a brand new drive train the other day I thought I'd give it a go as I had it there - degreased the chain, Squirt on every link, let it soak in and set, wipe the outside, and then applied a bit more and let it set again.
Did a big old gravel ride last Sunday (96km with 1600m of climbing) and I was very impressed. Obviously no water or muck, but the drivetrain stayed silent and smooth the whole way round.
Didn't reapply, and did another 50km on Tuesday, still nice and quiet 👍
So I'm thinking I'll convert to Squirt over the summer months, but I'm guessing Putoline will still be better over the winter and spring months?
That's good going for Squirt on my experience! 😂
I'd only use a lube like that on my Sunday best road bike that rarely goes out in the rain, last time I used Squirt off-road a mixture of rain and river crossings left me with a squealing dry chain in the middle of nowhere and Squirt ideally needs to be indoors overnight to set.
If you're already a hot waxer then I would recommend Silca + Endurance chip + 1/3rd bottle of Synergetic as a perfect clean-running year round wax.l, but appreciate that's a lot of additional outlay...
If you think Squirt is good, I can sell you a bottle of piss which, in my experience, would be a better option.
If you think Squirt is good, I can sell you a bottle of piss which, in my experience, would be a better option.
Hmmm, tempting 😆
If you think Squirt is good, I can sell you a bottle of piss which, in my experience, would be a better option.
Doesn't matter what it really is, as long as she's enjoying it 😉
I've been using it for about 14 years now...seems to work for me, but if I'm coming back with a manky bikes, it gets a hose down and the chain squirted by default.
I've only had a dry chain twice in that time and both times as I hadn't replied for about 7 weeks as weather was dry and dusty for a while.
Each to their own though, but I'm happily using it.
I do t get all the hate for squirt. Been using it for a few years now and works really well in my experience.
A new convert here. Trialled kmc go wax on one bike and squirt e on the ebike. My first ebike chain was toast after 500km with normal lube in mostly dry conditions. 500km with squirt over a wet winter and there's barely any wear that I can measure. The kmc stuff seems to be doing a similarly good job but the squirt is a little less messy. I'll be buying more squirt!
Another Squirt fan here. I have noticed that when I first apply it, it takes a few applications to really coat the chain and last a long time.
I’m interested to compare how it does to hot waxing.
I use Squirt, it’s genuinely good in the summer. But in the winter it’s just about ok. In the winter I’ll wipe it into the outside of the chain as they seems to fight rust a touch. Not surprisingly it works best on top end chains
I've been using Squirt for a year, since Rock-'n'-roll Extreme stopped coming into the country. I'm happy enough with it, although I'd probably go back to R&R Blue if it was available at a sane price.
I used to use R&R Blue but since I’ve been in Spain tended to use squirt as it’s easy to get hold of and it’s more dry here,I tend to avoid rainy rides as it’s more like tropical rain storms than the usual U.K.
It seems fine here YMMV.😀
I can sell you a bottle of piss which, in my experience, would be a better option.
Discovered that trick when labouring on a building site.Squeaky wheelbarrow. Remove the squeak by pissing on the front wheel bearings.
Squirt works well for me. I reapply frequently but my chains are never black and gunky and they last reasonably well. I live in a wet place by UK standards and ride through sand a lot.
Another Squirt fan here. I have noticed that when I first apply it, it takes a few applications to really coat the chain and last a long time.
I’m interested to compare how it does to hot waxing.
After reading a fair bit of Zero Friction's waffle I've been running two systems in parallel on four bikes to see if there's much of a difference. It's been fairly wet here over the last few months, and our sandy clay geology makes a perfect grinding paste.
Squirt on my kids bikes and my (gravel route) commuter because all the chains were part worn (but thoroughly cleaned before applying the first time). All are getting 2-3 rides a week. The commuter ~100km/wk.
Silca hot wax and top ups on my trail bike (~30-100km/wk) as I had a new chain.
My findings are entirely subjective given the varying conditions of chains etc, but I've found both are really quite good, however the Squirt doesn't last as long. That said the commuter goes through a creek twice a day and a BB bearing seized recently so it's had a tough run.
But the relatively clean drivetrain is really nice to deal with compared to the alternative wet and dry lubes i've used in the past.
If you're just drip waxing then I think Silca Super Secret is better (despite the stupid name).
For immersion hot waxing Squirt recently launched their own version and after ZFC rated it highly I bought some to switch to (normally use the Silca stuff). I've only done around 300 dry miles on my road bike so far, seems OK but is getting dirtier than Silca does - I expect as it's a lot softer so dirt sticks more (at least on the outer plates). I haven't tried it on my gravel bike or MTB yet but might stick with Silca for those.
10 years using Squirt through all conditions and never had any issues. Worst one I've ever tried was Joe's.
I'd been using squirt chain lube as I find the drip waxes are the best all round lubes as I can't be bothered with the faff of hot waxes and don't like the mess of the wet lubes. I recently switched to the Effetto Mariposa flowerpower drip wax after the ZFC review. Seems good so far but early days and it's only been dry and dusty so will wait and see if the ZFC claims hold up when we get some wet weather.
Another +1 for Squirt. Been using for years, never had a problem
haven't tried it on my gravel bike or MTB yet but might stick with Silca for those.
I’m another fan of Silca Super Secret drip on wax for road bike, however for gravel I find their Synergetic lube more of a durable all rounder.
for gravel I find their Synergetic lube more of a durable all rounder.
I used synergetic for a while on my gravel bike but found it went black and gunky. I use squirt now (on MTB and gravel) and it stays clean and quiet.
Never tried hot wax so can't compare to that but I've no complaints.
Not tried squirt, but have been impressed with Silca Super Secret. My feeling about drip wax lubes is that you get the big benefits of immersion wax but (initial chain prep aside) with much less faff. I honestly think the best reason to use an immersion wax over a drip wax is if you enjoy all the potions and processes (I do).
It's not really that much faff really after the initial chain prep.
I've a slow cooker, an old saucepan and a kettle in the shed. Take the chain off, chuck it in some boiling water and give it a swirl, leave it to dry (I hang it on a fan), then chuck in the slow cooker.
I used synergetic for a while on my gravel bike but found it went black and gunky. I use squirt now (on MTB and gravel) and it stays clean and quiet.
Never tried hot wax so can't compare to that but I've no complaints.
I moved to hot wax from Squirt. In my experience hot wax runs cleaner (over time Squirt still accumulated in a sort of grey sticky gunge between cogs, maybe I was applying too frequently...) and lasts longer, I can rely on a hot wax application to at least last ~150km in mixed wet off-road conditions, usually longer.
I carry Synergetic on really big days out as a get-me-home lube but have suffered the gunky black mess issue, it seems to need ridden a few km and then to have the excess wiped off again otherwise it causes a horrible mess. I still mean to pick up a wee bottle of Finish Line green as a get-me-home instead.
Yeah Synergetic is just a very viscous lube, after failing to get decent longevity out of my wax mix last winter (lots of wet rides) I'll switch to a fresh chain with Synergetic next winter then back to wax in spring
I've a slow cooker, an old saucepan and a kettle in the shed. Take the chain off, chuck it in some boiling water and give it a swirl, leave it to dry (I hang it on a fan), then chuck in the slow cooker.
That's already more steps than "wipe chain, drip on lube, leave overnight" and you're missing out the faff of waiting for the wax to melt, breaking the chain in etc.
To be clear, I do immersion waxing and I enjoy the ritual and the benefits but I'm under no illusion that it's even in same league of labour intensity as drip lubes.
Just a quicky, but my experience is that Squirt is a bit useless, if you want something that's similar but better, Smoove is pretty good.
Smoove is ok but I found it gummed up my jockey wheels a lot. Super secret is much better. I haven’t tried the hot wax yet. I have a hot waxed chain to put on my road bike when the current chain wears out. Seems cheaper to just buy your chains prewaxed than faff with DIY hot wax. However I’m not sure if I can just continue to top up my hot waxed chain with super secret indefinitely or I need to re hot wax it after a while.
Seems cheaper to just buy your chains prewaxed than faff with DIY hot wax.
I don't believe a drip lube can ever penetrate the chain in the same way as fully immersing it in molten wax can, so buying pre-waxed is a clever way to side-step the initial cleaning faff but once the original wax application has worn off it will be no better than any other drip-lube chain.
I use Squirt E-bike on all my bikes, manual and electric. In my experience (+5 years) it works well and is more durable/longer lasting than standard Squirt
@13thfloormonk, if you put your bike chain on the biggest cassette ring as you back pedal n drip lube, the flexing of the sideplate actively moves lube into the pins.
Another happy Squirt user but I ride in predominantly dusty conditions and it avoids buildup on the drivetrain.
Whenever I've looked at pre-waxed Shimano and SRAM 12 speed chains they've been crazy expensive
@13thfloormonk, if you put your bike chain on the biggest cassette ring as you back pedal n drip lube, the flexing of the sideplate actively moves lube into the pins.
Yeah I do this, actually had been using some leftover Super Secret drip lube to top up a waxed chain on my road bike.
Still don't believe that drip lube can penetrate the internals of a chain as well as full immersion, I thought that was the key defining advantage of hot waxing!
Not saying drip wax isn't good, just that the benefits of a pre-waxed chain only last as long as the initial application, after which it's no better than a drip lubed chain.
I've not heard of Super Secret. I've been happy with Squirt for a few years now , although I try and avoid riding in the wet these days. My bike is in the LBS at the moment and while it's there they're putting the chain and cassette through their ultrasonic cleaner, so I'll be starting from scratch and could be persuaded to try something else. I don't think I'm up for the full immersion wax experience though.
I feel lubes are a bit like tyres - hard to objectively gauge how well they're going to work for you.
That’s why I read the ZF cycling guy’s tests. He’s done the most objective testing I’m likely to find.
The ZF reviews put Super Secret and Synergetic, both from Silca in top spots I recall. The Super Secret is drip wax, Synergetic better for mixed and wetter conditions.
