What are you using this winter?

I always use Muc Off wet weather lube, is there something better I could be using? Seems like my chain just ends covered in black gunk.

Putoline wax as ever. Only chain lube i have used in more than a decade.

Seriously?

once it gets proper manky I’ll swop from Fenwicks to Purple Extreme for MTB use.

Road and gravel bikes on Smoove throughout

I’m a Putoline convert.

Saying that, anything is better than MucOff Wet, I’ve never known a lube that got so grim so quickly, and then transmits the gunk to every part of the drivetrain so effectively

Try this stuff, cheaper and much less gunky than what you’re on now.

https://fawkes-cycles.co.uk/weldtite-tf2-performance-all-weather-lube-with-teflon-100ml-p11332/s22355?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=weldtite-tf2-performance-all-weather-lube-with-teflon-100ml-3047&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&cid=GBP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwY-LBhD6ARIsACvT72POTkesTnHyBSKU0iPt1rZkZ1GUjk7jf3tLhAh-axWIGd93-yEJvwsaAmCFEALw_wcB

I have to agree with IHN, literally ANYTHING is better than mucoff wet, I’ve banned my fella from using it after I had to chisel the grime of his jockey wheels the other day.

Thanks @chakaping I’ll give that a try

Thanks @chakaping I’ll give that a try

You can also get it by the litre to decant into smaller bottles.

I only really use Smoove in all conditions. Seems to make chains last ages and if you properly degrease and re-apply every 4-5 rides (possible more in grim conditions), it seems to last well.

I had a putoline epiphany at the weekend. Having waxed my chain months ago, I finally got round to degreasing my jockey wheels, cassette, chainring and wiping the chain to remove the build up of black gunk. Once I’d done that, the drivetrain was clean and still smooth from the putoline still within the chain. I can’t be arsed having such a gunked up drivetrain again for a smooth chain. Back to mucoff wet lube from here.

Putline + whatever were upto now.

Having waxed my chain months ago,…………the drivetrain was clean and still smooth from the putoline still within the chain.

Wait, so putoline kept the chain lubricated for months, and your swapping back to muckoff wet?

(Sounds like you just had too much left on the outside of the chain of it’s accumulated on the jockey wheels, you need to wipe down the excess with a rag like any other lube).

I had to chisel the grime of his jockey wheels the other day.

*giggle*

If you wipe the putoline off the outside of the chain you do still get some on the teeth because there’s still excess between the links. But I don’t think it causes a functional issue. I don’t worry about it. Sometimes clean excess off next time I’m tinkering with the bike.

I’ve decided putoline is great but not for proper winter.

It lasts months in summer but one Scottish slop horrific night ride will get rid of it in one go and your chain turns to rust.

It’s convenient when there’s big gaps between applications but not when it needs done every one or two rides

+1 Putoline

I think after a few rides with a freshly Puto’d chain there is a bit of gunk around the jockeys dependant on how well the outside was wiped, but once that is removed it stays fresh and clean for ages. Throughout the summer I have only needed to rinse the dust off the mech to keep it pristine. No rust anywhere on the cassette or chain. Pretty sure it helps with wear and tear also. I’ve got an M9100 chain on and after 250 -300 miles it’s still showing as only .25 worn. I’m using an M9100 12sp chain as even though they are ££, apparently, they can last up to three times longer than an M8100 or below meaning they are cheaper in the long run – so far that looks to be the case too..

the last few years i’ve had, weldtite tf2 1 litre for £15-16 on wiggle/crc and a dispenser bottle.

great if hosing washing the bike regulalrly,

agreed mucoff is terrible and should be renamed mucon

It lasts months in summer but one Scottish slop horrific night ride will get rid of it in one go and your chain turns to rust.

I find peat slop can pull it out of the chain but not one ride. You are not mistaking surface rust on the outside of the chain for a lack of lube in the rollers? Sometime a wipe with an oily rag is needed to prevent the surface rust even tho there is still plenty of lube in the rollers

It’s convenient when there’s big gaps between applications but not when it needs done every one or two rides

Yes it definitely needs doing more often in winter but I rotate two chains for this reason.

Ahhh, that time of year when the Putovangelists continue to declare it the golden ticket… and I have to dig out my chain photos again😂

This is Putoline, one ride in actual mountain biking conditions, not riding around the streets of Edinburgh 😉, and then put away in the shed for a few days.

It’s great for lubrication. Chain is lovely and quiet right after application.

But it’s terrible for corrosion protection in my experience.

Certainly not ‘fit and forget’.

One ride this is.

Draw your own conclusions.

You can use it, but unless you’re riding in nothing more than a slight drizzle, you will need to clean the chain down and use an interim lube such as Squirt until next application.

I will continue to use it. Partly because I fell for all the plugging and bought a tin plus a deep fat fryer, but also because I do actually believe it prolongs your chain life, with the caveat that it does require regular maintenance and upkeep. It’s not an apply and leave for weeks/months system by any means, and therefore I’m not sure that it’s actually any easier than using whatever other chain lube you’ve been using.

I use Putoline on 9 speed but Smoove on 11 speed and above. I find that on narrower chains, Putoline feels a bit stiff and slow. I find Smoove makes the shifts quieter, smoother and faster.

Kayak23, that’s exactly what I was talking about.

It is great at being lubricated and in the summer is great as it’s faff free but in the winter it’s just too much work to keep on top off

My experiences of putoline are the same as Kayak’s.

Too much faff vs frequency, and not protective from corrosion.

Putting another lube on top of putoline does not work ( the solvents just remove the putoline) and that looks to me like surface rust only – easly removed with a wipe down with an oily rag and I bet there is plenty in the links still

I have been using it for decades road / offroad and commutting. Even in sloppy winter riding it lasts a good few rides but as above – acidic / peaty muck tends to remove it especially from the outside

peaty soils and putoline do not play well together tho

Rock and Roll Blue for me.

I’ve just bought my second bottle of TF2 – previously I’ve finished a bottle of something off and thought, meh, there’s got to be something better than this…. so I reckon I’ve found my golden ticket.

This forum could really do with a Putoline filter, eh?

mucoff is terrible and should be renamed mucon

Haha, why have I not heard that before.

White Lightning Epic Ride or if it gets really Grim then White Lightning Wet Ride.

Finish line wet on all my bikes at all times of year.

I bought some muck off wet when it was cheap. It was crap, chain was noisy and rusty.

I’ve tried other lives in the past. They were never as bad as muck off or as good as finish line

I use purple extreme on everything including a station / rat bike that lives outside.

The chain on that can go months through the winter without any sign of rust even though the “care” it receives is limited to standing in rain for weeks at a time.

Having said that the new silca synergetic lube looks good so I might give that a try on my road bike at some point.

@kayak23 looking at the rust on those jockey wheels it looks like it started going rusty during the actual ride! 😲 Were you riding it in the sea??!!!

The Putoline does require more effort in the winter though for sure but I’ve not ever had mine looking like that. I think if I did ever get to that stage, like you, I would certainly be looking for an alternative.

and that looks to me like surface rust only

Becoming a Putoline apologist?

Unacceptable for a chain lube to not exclude water completely on the first ride IMO.

‘surface rust’ means that parts that slide against one another are no longer smooth, and that accelerates wear.

surface rust only

What other sort of rust is there?

I am pleased that putoline criticism now seems to be allowed! It has its uses but is definitely not the answer to winters problems

Anyone tried this..?

Putoline Tech Ceramic Chain Wax Non Fling 500ml Suitable for Any bike : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

Smoove on the gravel bike and Squirt on the MTBs. No preference for either. I have been using Squirt for years and started using Smoove as a trial when I replaced the chain on the gravel bike. Both seem to offer the same degree of lubrication and neither forms a gunky mess.

Tried Muc-Off Wet Lube one winter and swore never to use it again. It just forms a dirty, sticky grinding paste.

Ocean skipper – pointless – it just puts the lube on the outside – whatever you use the lube needs to be on the inside of the rollers

Thats for O ring motorcycle chains where its only use is for the outside – they are lubed for life internally

@kayak23 looking at the rust on those jockey wheels it looks like it started going rusty during the actual ride! 😲 Were you riding it in the sea??!!!

Shropshire, so quite close to the sea. 😂

I would never normally just put the bike in the shed after a wet ride without doing something to the chain, but such was the impression from the evangelists on here that you didn’t have to touch it between applications, I thought after one ride it might be ok.
It wasn’t.

In my experience and opinion it doesn’t really matter what you use,  if you get into a decent maintenance routine. Make sure you regularly clean your chain and lube it. If you keep up to it then it doesn’t really matter what you use as long as its a good quality oil and not muckoff.

The more you ride, the more you clean and lube. The worse the conditions the more you clean and lube! Maintenance is the secret, not some snake oil with unicorns tears thats £1000 a kg!

If you want to lube and forget then it’s more important what you buy. As per @kayak23 photos but if you ride in extreme conditions then put your bike in a cold damp shed it’s almost always going to end like that, putoline or no putoline.

Whilst yo up can wash putoline off in one ride, I’ve never found anything that will last “that” one ride.

For the other 364 days a year when you’re not riding hub deep through a pest bog for 6 hours, it’s fine.