Elo,

So…. Much experience here so I would like some advice if you wouldn’t mind.

So, here’s my problem. My chain and rear cassette look black and covered in crap. I keep sing other people out and their chains and rear cassette seem to be their original colour or look kind of nice at least.

What lube can I use to get the same effect? Until now I have been using pedros dry lube, except it doesn’t seem very dry at all. I put it on and it stays wet. If I don’t chuck loads on I get a squeeky chain after about 150 km.

Any suggestions?

Cheers chaps

Rock n Roll Extreme all year round. Doesn’t turn into a horrible black sticky mess and keeps the chain lubed as long as anything else I’ve tried on all day muddy rides. You need to apply it as stated but then a quick hose and scrub with plain water before relubing is all that’s ever required in winter and in summer it lasts a few rides then you can just wipe with a rag before reapplying

Finish Line Dry Ceramic

Squirt works for me. Haven’t cleaned a drivetrain since I started using it – just wipe the old stuff off with a rag and re-apply.

It needs applying very frequently during winter but in practical terms it only needs one drop on each roller so a small bottle lasts ages. Just be aware that it has no staying power and mid-ride squeaks are not unusual when the weather’s bad. 150km between applications is pure fantasy for Squirt but the huge bonus is that your expensive drivetrain no longer resembles a conveyor belt of black cack.

http://www.in2dust.co.uk/

Rock n Roll Extreme

Another vote here. Had to use some wet lube on holiday for a couple of weeks when I forgot to take it with me. I’d forgotten about the horrid black mess that drive chains end up in. Very glad to have fully de-greased when I got home and back to the rock-n-roll.

Rock n Roll Extreme

Another vote here. Had to use some wet lube on holiday for a couple of weeks when I forgot to take it with me. I’d forgotten about the horrid black mess that drive chains end up in. Very glad to have fully de-greased when I got home and back to the rock-n-roll.

+3

Great stuff.

Keeping the drive train pretty IME is down to regular cleaning and frequently applying a lube and then wiping away any excess, the black sludgy mess comes from an excess of lubricant full of grime, you’ve got to clean the shite off if you want it to look pretty…

Personally I find too much cleaning a bit of a faff and don’t really bother all that regularly, I rinse off, then re-apply thinner oils then wipe away excess, just to keep the chain lubricated, I remove the chain and try to flush it through with white spirits every now and then or after a particularly shitty ride, but its not a frequent thing for me.

I did try Finish line – Wet and Dry lubes in the past and found both pretty crap, expensive for what they are and not all that long lasting TBH…

A lot of people seem to swear by motorcycle chain waxes (Putoline and the like) for longer term lubrication of bicycle chains, I’ve yet to try it, but I can certainly follow the logic of using such products.

Finish Line Dry Ceramic

+1

Been impressed with this compared with their other stuff.

+1 for Squirt. Hardly picks up any dirt and does the job. I wouldn’t use anything else.

It’s all a load of bollocks, just use whichever is on offer, lube is lube at end of the day and the drivetrain won’t last longer than a year with average mileage in British conditions anyhow. Those that recomend oil are either selling the stuff or a bike gimp 8)

Keeping the drive train pretty IME is down to regular cleaning and frequently applying a lube and then wiping away any excess

This. I religiously degrease my drivetrain after every wet ride and every two to three dry rides in the summer.

Been using the green Finish Line wet lube which is notorious for blacking up your chain and cassette if you don’t keep on top of it and the last time I took my bike into the LBS they commented on how clean it looked. 😀

Funny..was just looking into this myself. Been using Muc Off Dry all year so far which has been good. I pretty much wash my bike down after every long ride, obviously not if its been really dry out there and everything is still nice, clean and shiny.

Used Muc off wet once and hated the stuff, it just makes a soup of grit and dirt in your chain.

With winter approaching looking for something a bit tougher than muc off dry so may try Rock n Roll Extreme.

EDIT: After looking through some reviews, seems a gripe is that you have to use a lot, may stick to the muc off dry – 125ml bottle has lasted me 500 miles of trial riding.

right chaps,

I think I will get a couple of alternatives which have been suggested and then evaluate them all !
Thanks guys

This stuff http://youtu.be/ukI7mafPoV4

Chainsaw oil, after jam jar and paraffin. Decant the paraffin out once detritus has settled and it lasts for many many months. If you really are going to cycle lots then an Aldi ultrasonic cleaner full of paraffin really works wonders, been using one for years.

+1 for finish line ceramic of the wax one whatever it’s called now. Wet lube is only really necessary in absolute gloppy mum conditions in my opinion but I know people with expensive bikes who only use GT85 in the summer.

For cleaning the park tools pricey stuff you get in a tube is great and you only need a tad. Not sure how environmentally friendly it is but better than petrol!

White Lightning for me if I’m using conventional lube, but mostly I’m using putoline motorbike chain wax now on TJ’s recommendation- and it’s brilliant. Chain looks a little dirty, as the grease is black, but it’s fairly low stick and it lasts better than anything else I’ve used. Extra faff to apply but not that much over time since you apply it much less often. And the tin seems like I might be able to hand it down to my grandchildren.

+4 Rock n Roll Extreme its just very good.

Another Rock n Roll Extreme addict here too.

Squirt for dryish conditions here. Thinking about changing from Muc off ceramic wet to rock and roll for winter gloop, but not yet convinced..

Chain-L.

White Lightning Epic here. Lasts ages & doesn’t collect crap.

Just started using muc off ceramic and very impressed compared with wet lubes. Nice clean, rust free and much less gunk accumulated.

Squirt +1 here as well.

R&R for me too, though just got some new stuff to try out as a demo so will see how that goes.

Pretty pleased with Juice Lubes Viking juice so far

I thought I’d give this a go since I couldn’t find my favourite (White Lightning Epid Ride) for a good price anywhere…

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/weldtite-tf2-performance-oil/rp-prod5960

Could be an utter bargain or end up lubricating my door hinges for next three decades.

Normally use Purple Extreme over here in Oz but I ran out and bought some RnR Gold which seems alright. Dont generally have to worry about mud or excessive water washing the chain of it’s lube so the dry/wax type stuff really lasts. Been using Purple for yonks (and their degreaser too) but I cannot find anywhere in Oz that sells it so had to order off the interweb.

I use Finish Line Dry Ceramic here in Oz, and used to use their XC which is wet in the UK.

Supposedly it’s only the internal chain surfaces inside the rollers that need lube, anything external just turns into a medium to attract dirt and create an erosive paste.

My question though, especially with dry lubes, is how do you tell if it’s doing its job? For all I can tell I’m running a totally dry drivetrain. With the wet XC stuff the drivetrain got a little dirty, but it quietened the drivetrain to a point where it sounded and felt like it was running more smoothly. I’m half wondering if it’s better to return to wet and accept a slightly dirtier drivetrain due to the dust.

For me, when my chain is needing more lube it sounds like it needs it. Sort of a squeeky dry metal on metal sound. I find the dry lubes tend to not attract as much sand on the coastal paths which is horrible when it gets into the jockey wheels, chain and cassette.

yeah, it’ll tell you with unpleasant noises

Totally OTT to degrease after every ride even if it is winter – you’re not even giving the lube chance to soak into the chain surely?!

I use some pink Muc Off stuff all year round. It’s a wet one, so will be buying some of that squirt sooner or later.

Drivechain stays nice and shiny and shifts well, all year round. I clean it maybe once every 3 months. Not died in flames yet.

I use the pink Muc Off ceramic stuff too any my drivetrain is a black gunky mess within a couple of rides. Maybe I’m doing something wrong.

I tried Muc Off Wet for a while, my god it was worse than Finish Line Green for creating black gunk everywhere.

Just saying.

Its a trade off for me.

If you use the really thin stuff like rock n roll then yes the mud doesn’t cling to it anywhere near as much as the thicker stuff like Finish Line. But the reason for this is that the lube doesn’t actually adhere to the chain. Even when you apply it you find a large puddle of the stuff on the floor- and if you ride in the wet forget it – you might as well not bother with lube at all cos your chain will be free of the stuff in 5 mins.

Using rock n roll I wound up with a slightly rusty chain even when I applied virtually every day. It might keep the chain clean but so does nothing – which is cheaper.

the real solution is thick lube and a Park chain cleaning device (other brands are available). These are superb, I fill it with muc off instead of degreaser to save money – it takes 2 mins for a perfectly clean chain and all the cr*p ends up in the device not in your face. One of the best things I ever baught. Sometimes I use it even when I cant be bothered to clean the whole bike.

This is the way forward!!

So as usual down to the individual. I don’t de grease the chain after every ride, but do wash it along with the rest of the bike..dry off, quick reapply of dry lube and its good for next time. Only takes 15mins for a full bike clean doesn’ it and well worth it IMO.

Northwind: mostly I’m using putoline motorbike chain wax now on TJ’s recommendation- and it’s brilliant. Chain looks a little dirty, as the grease is black, but it’s fairly low stick and it lasts better than anything else I’ve used. Extra faff to apply but not that much over time since you apply it much less often. And the tin seems like I might be able to hand it down to my grandchildren.

My dad told me the best motorbike chain lube was the tin of melted wax stuff but never tried it as had an o-ring chain without a split link.

Roughly how many wet muddy rides and hose downs does it last? I’ve started alternating two chains to spread the wear and save the cogs so the tin of melted wax wouldn’t be a big hassle really.

Re responses to my question

I relube every 1 to 3 rides, 1 drop to a roller a couple of days beforehand, so somewhere between 40 and 140 km which I believe is in operational parameters for the Finish Line Dry Ceramic. This is probably why I can’t tell! Generally it doesn’t need further cleaning than a rinse with a hose, if that. The wet is kind of reassuring in that you can hear it, albeit quietly, but it’s possibly a bad thing compared to next to no noise.

I also have a Park chain cleaning device, but I don’t use it that often, it’s more for cleaning during rebuilds.