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How do you tell if a fellow mountain biker uses Putoline on their chain?
They will tell you... at length.
I've used squirt all year round on both bikes and its bang on. I ride mostly in sandy conditions (Woburn) and its only when its muddy puddled mess that it all becomes a bit noisy - but then nothing I've ever used has been that good it didnt do the same.
Half way round W2 last year it was Biblical and the chain was a squeaking like a squeaky thing so I just applied some wet lube to get me round, and it was fine.
If the bike needs a clean, the chain gets washed, obvs, then I GT85, dry it off and re-apply Squirt - never bother degreasing it fully again. If after a night ride I just try and remove as much water as poss, add more GT85 and re-apply squirt another time but well before the next ride.
It’s definitely a local soil type thing - Finishline wet lube (and other similar lubes) work well here round here but we have soft clay/chalk dirt. Ride somewhere sandy and it gets grindy pretty fast.
I put plenty of lube on but wipe it off thoroughly by running the chain through a rag for plenty of crank turns. My bikes look filthy through the winter apart from the stanchions and chain which are usually gleaming.
I stick with Squirt summer and winter. When you hose down the bike after your ride, the chain comes up so clean. Your issue of a wet chain ...to dry the chain just run a rag over it to get most the water off then apply more Squirt. Then its dry and ready to go again the next time you ride. Less faff. I tried smoove, it seems to last longer but Squirt is cleaner and seems to hold less crud, so I am sticking with it.