Best chain lube (which doesn’t gunk up?)

Hi all,

Any suggestions for a chain lube which avoids turning everything into a filthy black sludge? I use a standard wet lube but after a week or two the chainset is filthy.

Cheers

Finish Line dry is still my go to. You’ll need to reapply more regularly but it’s not too mucky.

Peatys… Formerly wickens and soderstrom is easily the best lube I’ve ever used.
Road cc did a review of the w&s version and peatys is pretty much the same

https://road.cc/content/review/177819-wickens-soderstrom-no5-drivetrain-lubricant

Squirt lube

Squirt.

Heard that Smoove is better, which I’ll be trying when my current bottle of squirt runs out.

Mucoff dry works well for me – needs reapplying a lot more regularly but I’ve found I can just run the chain through a couple of wet wipes and reapply no probs…

+1 squirt

On a bottle of Smoove at the moment which is pretty good but I think squirt just edges it.

Squirt

Squirt for me on the mtb and summer roadie. Been using the Peaty’s stuff on the winter roadie this year and seems to be working pretty, though I’m going through it quite quickly.

Another for Squirt. I got a small bottle of smoove free with an order a while ago and it’s good, but bought a bigger bottle of squirt, use it on both MTB and gravel bike.

Pedro’s Syn lube is gunk free. I usually jetwash the chain afterwards comes, up as clean as a whistle.. then zap it with GT 85 before re-lubing it…

Bikes

putoline motorcycle chain wax. so much cheaper and so much better than cycle lubes its not funny.

A faff to apply but it doesn’t need doing often and your chain life will be many times as long

Mucoff dry or wet. Wipe clean chain after washing bike. Apply lube. Leave on chain as long as possible. Wipe chain as dry as you can get it. Go ride and repeat. Works for me.

I’m on Juice Lubes Viking, best non gunky I’ve tried.

I didn’t like Muckoff standard wet line – gets really gunky really quickly.

Their standard dry lube is better –
It goes on white and kind of waxy but doesn’t seem to attract loads of dirt. Probably doesn’t last as long as wet lubes in the wet mud though.

Morgan Blue extra dry lube in aerosol format is my current favourite

I used to use Squirt in dryer conditions and Putoline in wet conditions.

I switched to Smoove one summer and found it better than Squirt, especially when getting caught in the wet. In fact, it worked so well, I didn’t bother going back to Putoline.

+1 here for Squirt. Used it for years even in wet conditions. As long as you do a really thorough degrease of your chain once the factory lube has worked its way through, Squirt sticks just fine.

+1 for Squirt, there is also a low temp version for colder temps

I hear lots about Squirt. What are the costs of using it as I hear you need to lather it on like KY Jelly in the Sahara?

+1 for Boeshield T-9, I’m happy with it.

Having said that I’ve never tried Squirt, but after all the recs here I think I’ll give it a go.

Just moved to Putoline also.

Screwfix degreaser to clean the chain then a Putoline chain wax treatment.

Plan to do it every three months and see how I go.

Another vote for juice lubes Viking here, works well in South Downs conditions.

I’m just finishing a bottle of the wickens and soderstrom which is good in the slop. Will either move into the Peaty’s or may try squirt. CBA with the plutoline.

This article

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/4-key-facts-from-the-cycling-tips-ultimate-chain-test.html

led me to this….

Seeking the holy grail: A fast chain lube that saves you money

Mucoff ceramic for me.

I think I may give motorbike chain wax / putoline a go next.

“putoline motorcycle chain wax. so much cheaper and so much better than cycle lubes its not funny.

A faff to apply but it doesn’t need doing often and your chain life will be many times as long”

TJ kindly offered to Putoline a chain for me but I never got around to sending him one and bought a tin of it and a £15 mini deep fat fryer to melt it. It’s bloody brilliant! I did three chains at once and intend to swap to a fresh one every month or two and then rewax the lot.

I commute and MTB on my ebike and with normal lube it eats drivetrains so fast, but from the sound and smoothness when pedalling post Putoline I’m very hopeful.

Squirt lasts very well as long as it’s applied to a throughly cleaned chain.

+1 for putoline, it’s in a different league to any bicycle specific ‘lube’.
Bit of a faff to apply, but well worth it from that moment on.
One tin will last years and years, at the very least.
My MCopinion: if you think anything else is better, you haven’t tried this.

I think the takeaway from all these types of threads, is the advice: clean and lube your chain frequently (at least after every off road ride) with a chain lube that you’ll continue to use (because of whatever reason is important to you), is the best method of extending your drivetrain life-span.

Squirt, the low temp one when it’s under 5deg C as the carrier evaporates quicker, so the wax lube dries quicker.

Clean, lasts brilliantly and chains seem to last longer too

This has finally triggered me to buy the Plutoline for the commuter. Might stick with something more conventional /quick for the rest of the bikes

Muc off wet is the worst for gunking up. Makes a black sludge that sets like tar.

I’m using Fenwicks professional at the moment. Needs applying to each roller individually but only takes a few minutes. Doesn’t gunk up and lasts well.

To the Squirt users – do you use it year round? I used it in the dry(er) months, but was advised to use something else in the winter so opted for Extreme Blue.

Wilco’s wet lube. Was an emergency buy one day, didn’t expect much much but really surprised by how good it is.

“This has finally triggered me to buy the Plutoline for the commuter. Might stick with something more conventional /quick for the rest of the bikes”

Doing lots of chains takes no more time than doing one, you put them all in together.

putoline motorcycle chain wax. so much cheaper and so much better than cycle lubes its not funny.

A faff to apply but it doesn’t need doing often and your chain life will be many times as long

+1, and id agree with the comment that if you think something is better, you’ve not tried putoline.

Its a whole different ballgame.

nickc

Subscriber
I think the takeaway from all these types of threads, is the advice: clean and lube your chain frequently (at least after every off road ride) with a chain lube that you’ll continue to use (because of whatever reason is important to you), is the best method of extending your drivetrain life-span.

Except for putoline, when realistically its 500+ miles in the dry, and a lot longer than any liquid applied lube in the wet. I think my CX bike is currently doing worst at 100 (filthy) mile intervals.

Its on the same sort of frequency as brake pads!

The side benefit of longer lasting drivechains is simply a function of how long the wax lasts. Putoline almost always lasts >1 ride, even in the worst conditions on a long ride. It has to be utterly horrific to wash it out. So most of the time iy lasts weeks/months.

How often do you hose your bike down after a ride and come back the next morning to a rusty chain (indicating that at least some of the last ride was without lube).

The wax lubes are always the best option but the likes of putoline come with extra faff of the application that I can never be bothered with TBF.

I never have a rusty chain as I’m a bit anal about washing and reapplication which I’m aware is probs as faffy as the occasional putoline application, but at least with the benefit of not having to remove and refit a chain or melt a tin of wax on a stove. This time of year I’m only using the MTB once a week anyway, so it’s not the end of the world to drop some lube on the chain after washing it.

Like I said, the best lube is the one you put on your chain regularly

Putoline almost always lasts >1 ride, even in the worst conditions on a long ride.

That doesn’t sound so great. Realise it is the extreme short end but a lot of difference between one ride in worst conditions and the people claiming 3 months?

I just use dry lube as the wet lubes makes a mess. I put a new chain on in Spring so I have it at it’s best in drier months then by end of winter it needs replacing. I get 2,000+ miles out of a chain riding in all weather (a lot of gritty, wet gravel) and just lube eery other ride.
This is all single speed though so guessing that is why they last so long as not chain not being continually put at angles.