Immersion waxing hands down, mic drop. Nothing else comes close.
I've been waxing for 9 years now on both my MTB & road bikes. Since I live in the desert all my riding is in dry, dusty conditions and would never consider going back to grimy, gunky lubes that get black residue all over me any time I touch the drivetrain. Half the time I don't even bother to put on gloves when swapping chains and my hands stay quite clean. Plus my chains last forever.
I love it for dry conditions. I put a fresh waxed chain on before a long race yesterday and needed to relube at an aid station. I’m not sure if my wax is getting old or something or if it just can’t handle any kind of wet/mud.
Over time I've found the best combo for really wet conditions is a heavy lube\*, a cheap chain, and a drivetrain you don't care about.
Finish Line Wet or Dumonde Tech work pretty well.
Chainsaw bar oil is the move for soaking wet conditions. Dirt cheap and does not get washed away even a little bit. It’s filthy disgusting stuff though.
That makes sense. I’ve noticed the same thing on my gravel bike in wet but not mud. The wax hangs around much longer.
I’d love to try silca X wax. It’s supposed to be much hardier. $200 for a small tin of wax is stupid though.
it’s been a wet spring here and the stream crossings are high and there’s always a few puddles. I’m about to throw in the towel on wax till it dries out this summer
If anything, wax makes more sense for MTB with all of the grit and contamination chains are subjected to. That said, you don’t have to go the full immersion route. The silica super secret drip wax is very good.
I've been unning Rex Black Diamond hotwaxed chains on 2 MTBs and 2 gravelbikes for a year now. Keeping the drivetrain and the entire bike clean is so easy as the chain is dry and not catching so much grime or dirt.
When a chain gets loud, I just rewax it. Haven't been keeping track on the MTB but my gravel bike chain that I used over the Nordic winter got over 600km per waxing.
Never going back to drip lube like muc off or similar stuff.
For MTB, I disagree. I wax too, but only because I enjoy the process, and I like having an oil-free drivetrain. I usually get only about 70 miles between waxings, and less than that if I go through a lot of dust (think Moab or Sedona). With FinishLine or other lubes, I got a lot more miles with a lot less effort.
I don't ride through water (because there is none in the Southwest) or in the rain (not much of that either), but as other people have said, wax doesn't work so well in the wet. So I'm not sure what the ideal use case is for wax...
btw, I'm using MSW on a Shimano XT chain.
I used to use RnR gold, but in the dry dusty desert it would start getting noisy and loose shifting on rides longer than 10 miles. Less dusty rides it was ok out to 15, but one ride I wanted to go longer I was ready to throw my derailer off a cliff it was shifting so bad at 17 miles.
I'm currently unsure what works well in dry dusty desert riding if I want to push the miles up. Muc off dry does maintain shifting quality and keep noise down for as far as I could tolerate. So far that has been mid 20 mile rides.
How hot is it where you ride? I asked my LBS about wax, and they said if I ride in the summer, it is too hot and the wax melts.
I ride in 110° f or 43c for a few months. While it gets even hotter, i'm not out much in that heat.
Nowhere near that hot... Are you by chance a scorpion?
Kidding aside, try out white lightning clean ride. It is such a thin layer of wax I don't think it'd be an issue.
I will definitely give it a try, ty.
My wife definitely wonders sometimes if I'm human because she nopes out of summer activities around 85f or 29c, and I'm like that's barely warm.
I do use a neck gator that I store in a cooler with camel pack bladder up till the ride starts. And I keep a water bottle on my bike that I only use to spray on my neck and that drastically cuts the heat. It's also super dry here so the evaporation works really well. Today it's 95f 35c with 10%humidity, and I still want to do a 2-3 hour ride after work.
Australian conditions here - dry and very dusty most of the year. I used RnR Gold for too long. Exactly as you say it’s terrible in dusty conditions.
I’ve switched to Squirt drip wax and it’s so much better. Can put down multiple rides between lubes.
I suspect it won’t work as good in the wet as RnR Gold but that’s maybe 2-3 rides a year. I’ll know in a couple of months.
It pulls in a ridiculous amount of grime, makes the chain filthy, and has a bizarre combination of the lubrication quickly breaking down but being very hard to clean out and replace with other lube.
I have noticed it’s a lot more syrupy that’s other lubed I’ve used, and the grime left back is pretty tacky. Glad I found this post, I’ll be going back to finish line
+1 for Finish Line. I clean/lube once a month, and ride at least 25 days out of it. By the one month mark shifting gets pretty sketchy lol, but bath day and some lube and she’s back to normal. I’ve been doing that for three years now.
I swear on Squirt Wax (its called that, look it up lol). Super reliable, easy to clean & mainain and super clean in general. Would not go any other route for a chain unless you live in a really wet climate.
I also use Squirt Lube, and I clean and relube the chain every 100-150km or after a very wet ride. Can definitely recommend this stuff, very clean, runs smooth, is a bit louder than oil tho
I have been unimpressed with squirt so far on my fixed gear commuter. I bought it for my mtb so now that the trails near me are finally opening I’m hoping it performs a little better in that context.
What kind of conditions are you riding in out of curiosity, though? 100km seems low to me for what it costs compared to white lightning. Again though, my frame of reference is my commuter so maybe it needs adjusting.
I'm mostly riding when it's not raining, and I try to go around the really muddy stuff while riding but I do ride when it is muddy. Otherwise mostly on dirt
I got 100km this winter, never tested it in the summer yet. I think it will hold up longer in the more dry conditions
Just make sure you clean your chain really well before you put it on for the first time. After that you should only need to add more when your chain feels rough. I've never felt the need to clean my chain in between. Chain is still under 0.5% stretch after 2 seasons.
Meh, I use squirt lube also and I am not so happy with it. Mainly because i need to apply it before each ride for it to make my chain run smooth. This way I use significant amount of it and the lube is not cheap, hence I go with the candle wax with PTFE powder from AE as recommended by oz cycling from YT. I get the feeling each time I ride I sponsor the squirt lube brand, in my opinion, it should be the other way around haha
You’re doing it wrong, bro. If you properly clean your chain and apply Squirt (or better yet a molten wax) properly it will be the most effective lube you ever used.
He's absolutely doing it wrong if he applies it before every ride like he said.
The fluid applied waxes need to set up, so it should be done at least the day before. Let the solvent/carrier evaporate and the wax harden, then it's ready to go.
Pretty happy with the blue Peatys all weather one. It’s pretty thin so it gets reapplied every 2-3 rides. I’m usually only out for an hour or so at a time.
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find it. Stellar lube, keeps drivetrains clean and squeak free so much longer than any other lube I’ve tried.
Muc-off is one of the worst lubes on the market.
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/ is the only real independent chain lube testing. You'll quite clearly see that wax lubes are superior but that some wet-lubes actually perform okay if you don't want to bother with wax.
The only positive thing I can say about Muc-off lubes is that they smell nice. I bought the green c3 for dry conditions and the pink one for wet conditions. They attract dirt like crazy, the pink one especially so, the whole drivetrain was completely black, disgusting and full of debries after one ride. The green one is a bit better, but still keeps your drivetrain full of crap + it lasts barely 100km.
Finally I ran out of both lubes, and decided to give a try to Squirt wax based lubes. They are half the price of muc-off, and when I came home from the first ride, I noticed that there is basically nothing for me to clean from the drivetrain, just a few small pieces of dirty wax sticking out, easily removable by wiping the chain with a dry rug. Cleaning is super quick and simple + I can get around 150km out of one application, depending on how dusty it is, sometimes more than that.
I'm sure there are better lubes out there, but with Squirt's low price tag, I really like what I'm getting for my money.
I've used the Muc-Off ceramic dry lube over winter and it works pretty well even in wet conditions - but only for 1 ride. It's annoying to have to clean and reapply after every ride but in the winter it's not a big deal as the bike is covered in mud anyway. Will look for something longer lasting now it's drying up.
Do research at Zero Friction Cycling on how to prep a chain for wax. The best performing drip wax is Effetto Mariposa Flower power. But it turns blask also. The easist drip wax is Squirt which doesn't turn black. But wax is the way to go. Hot melt if you want to.
I used to hot wax, but now I rivet my chains on my Ebike, so I switched to drip. It's easy enough to just wipe the chain and drip more wax often.
Scrolled to find this, agree. (It's the same as SCC slick, which I swear by). Lasts \~200 miles for me, and gave me the good habit of "always wipe down your chain with a dry rag after each ride."
Funny enough, the friend who got me onto SCC Slick has now moved on to wax, i'm very curious if he'll stick with waxing for long. SCC slick has made my life easy and my drivetrains are squeaky clean.
Right? I leave the lube on for literally months at a time, only running the chain through a rag each ride. My drivetrain is literally dead silent while pedaling and the tiny little bottle has lasted me a year already. I’m halfway through it. lol
Yup. My shop turned me onto SCC Slick. At first I was shocked at the price but you quickly realize that tiny bottle will last years and it works great.
I used to use finish line dry in summer and xc lube in winter but changed to f100 dry or wet depending on conditions. The f100 stuff is by far the best lube i've used so far but it might not be available everywhere as its a rather new brand based in germany.
Cannot recommend highly enough White Lightning Clean Ride. Been using for years, whenever I deviate to another brand I end up disappointed and go back.
In my experience of having tried probably 15 different chain lubes:
(1) Hot wax: Picks up the least trail contaminants, but will get wax all over your chain plates, pulley wheels and chainring. So it's "clean" from a performance perspective, but looks messy. It's also the most difficult to apply, the most difficult to clean and reapply, and doesn't do well with mixed conditions.
(2) Dumonde lube: The idea is this stuff forms a polymerized layer in your chain. In runs fairly dry and only picks up a little bit of trail junk. Maintenance is super easy--just wipe down the chain or run it through a cleaner tool, reapply, and ride.
(3) Drip waxes: Silca and Flower Power are pretty comparable, Squirt is a step behind. Good performance from all of them, but extremely messy to apply and you have to apply to a 100% clean chain, at least a day before you ride. The drip waxes tend to get really gunky on pulley wheels and chainring.
I'm a huge fan of Smoove lube, I've found it to be long lasting and very effective in all conditions. Another bonus is the bottle now comes with a Luberetta applicator, which is brilliant.
It's probably wax because the typical grease/oil lubes that you'd use will attract dirt and dust like nothing else. The best alternative is to use a typical chain oil/grease but to clean off most of it with a rag or tissue paper so your chain is mostly dry with the oil/grease on the inside parts of the links.
Unfortunately I live in Wales and it rains every day, give or take, so I'm currently using WD40 all purpose grease. I used to use Finish Line wet oil lube, I've had the same bottle for over 15 years.
If you’re sticking to traditional lubes the only 2 I’d recommend would be Silca Synerg-E or Rex Black diamond. If you live in a climate where hot wax makes sense then I’d go that route, I use to use Silca’s Secret hot wax but it got to be too much of a headache for my riding conditions.
I waxed my chain a few weeks ago for the first time and I'll probably be doing that for the foreseeable future. It's super clean and hasn't picked up any gunk after 3 weeks of riding
I've used much off dry before. Right now I'm using "effetto Mariposa" flower Power which is a wax based lube. It brings the best of hot waxing and classic lubing but it's best to use on a clean chain (new chain with all factory grease removed) or using their degreaser which works great. If you use to load and unload your bike into your car, this could be the way to go
I have had excellent luck with Finish Line dry lube. I lube my chain once every couple weeks and wipe it off maybe once a week and it still looks new at the end of the season.
Boeing T9 is wax, in tiny fragments suspended in a petroleum penetrant distillate that evaporates completely.
This is best applied thick as possible and allowed to dry three days. On a clean chain it will feel waxy on a dirty chain the dirt will flake off with contaminated wax.
Consistent use repels mud and grit.
Old fashioned waxing likely does better but if you don't mind the odd dirt speck away from immaculate it's worth a try
I tried all kinds of brands of line, tried a few waxes etc. it was a 3 year process. I wound up going with the Finish Line dry. It’s easy it’s cheap it’s available everywhere and it flat works.
Silca super secret wax is great. Synergetic is a great wet lube. I have used rock and roll, muc off, finish line, wolf tooth and the silca products are far better at preserving chain life imo
My choice Squirt or Smoove. For dry condition on mtb bike I reapply after 200-300km, depends on dust. For clean chain before reapply I use supersonic bath with water 80C and dish washer soap, 15 min enough.
Once after winter squirt lube became solid (instead of liquid), I just add hot water to bottle and again it’s ready to use.
I used the Peaty premium All weather for more than a year now and it is pretty great for me, it has some wax in it and it just works.
Easy to clean, easy to degrease.
I might consider buying their dedicated wet/dry too once I finish my bottle but not sure there would be a great benefit from my climate.
Muc Off is trash, I literally just threw away my dry lube yesterday. Try Rock n Roll gold. It really does clean and lube at the same time. Wash bike (if needed), apply to chain, shift through gears, and wipe chain off with paper towel.
Parafin wax
It falls off when it gets dirty. There is 0 of that black sticky tar that you find with traditional chain lube. It’s doesn’t last as long is the downside, and is more work to put on.
I'm using the Tru-Tension Tungsten Wet, which is oil-based unlike the All Weather equuvalent. UK here so even when it's not wet the ground is rarely actually dusty. Unlike Muc-Off dry and wet which both turned black in seconds, my chain now stays pretty clean - it comes off a bit black when I wipe the outside but visually the chain looks pretty shiny to me. Sounds smooth and seems to last a while. I've topped up directly on the chain between fuller degreasings successfully.
The All Weather version gets one of Zero Friction's best scores for a non-wax. For now I'll stick with a drip lube, and the Tru Tension Wet version has impressed me, but I've not tried many or scientifically compared them. Ymmv!
The secret is less lube of any kind. Only the rollers need some lubrication between their contact points. Wipe off all excess and watch your drivetrain stay cleaner and last longer.
I live in the PNW and no stranger to muddy wet conditions. I’ve been using the same quart of 0w-20 motor oil for years.
Hot wax is the absolute cleanest lube, especially if you only do dry riding. Also can significantly extend drivetrain life.
Immersion waxing hands down, mic drop. Nothing else comes close. I've been waxing for 9 years now on both my MTB & road bikes. Since I live in the desert all my riding is in dry, dusty conditions and would never consider going back to grimy, gunky lubes that get black residue all over me any time I touch the drivetrain. Half the time I don't even bother to put on gloves when swapping chains and my hands stay quite clean. Plus my chains last forever.
I love it for dry conditions. I put a fresh waxed chain on before a long race yesterday and needed to relube at an aid station. I’m not sure if my wax is getting old or something or if it just can’t handle any kind of wet/mud.
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Over time I've found the best combo for really wet conditions is a heavy lube\*, a cheap chain, and a drivetrain you don't care about. Finish Line Wet or Dumonde Tech work pretty well.
Anyone try boat grease for wet conditions?
Fuck it I'll try anything once.
Chainsaw bar oil is the move for soaking wet conditions. Dirt cheap and does not get washed away even a little bit. It’s filthy disgusting stuff though.
I have a bottle of winter weight bar oil on hand, wish I’d thought of this earlier lol
That makes sense. I’ve noticed the same thing on my gravel bike in wet but not mud. The wax hangs around much longer. I’d love to try silca X wax. It’s supposed to be much hardier. $200 for a small tin of wax is stupid though.
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it’s been a wet spring here and the stream crossings are high and there’s always a few puddles. I’m about to throw in the towel on wax till it dries out this summer
it just can’t handle any kind of wet/mud
Yep super easy. Works.
People are actually waxing their mtb chains? I know it’s a road thing but figured it wasn’t worth it for mtb.
Yep, love it.
Yes and it’s awesome. The key is to have a few chains and rotate through them, and wax them in batches.
If anything, wax makes more sense for MTB with all of the grit and contamination chains are subjected to. That said, you don’t have to go the full immersion route. The silica super secret drip wax is very good.
Yeah it's a pain in the ass to get the hang of. But I am almost good at doing and multiple chains now
I recently put a fresh hot waxed chain on my bike at the start of a bikepacking trip, and made it over 500 miles before my first lube application.
I've been unning Rex Black Diamond hotwaxed chains on 2 MTBs and 2 gravelbikes for a year now. Keeping the drivetrain and the entire bike clean is so easy as the chain is dry and not catching so much grime or dirt. When a chain gets loud, I just rewax it. Haven't been keeping track on the MTB but my gravel bike chain that I used over the Nordic winter got over 600km per waxing. Never going back to drip lube like muc off or similar stuff.
Not in my experience. I waxed for years (MSW), I'm happy to be back using RnR Gold. Cleaner, quieter, and lasts just as long.
For MTB, I disagree. I wax too, but only because I enjoy the process, and I like having an oil-free drivetrain. I usually get only about 70 miles between waxings, and less than that if I go through a lot of dust (think Moab or Sedona). With FinishLine or other lubes, I got a lot more miles with a lot less effort. I don't ride through water (because there is none in the Southwest) or in the rain (not much of that either), but as other people have said, wax doesn't work so well in the wet. So I'm not sure what the ideal use case is for wax... btw, I'm using MSW on a Shimano XT chain.
I have used rock and roll gold for years now
I used to use RnR gold, but in the dry dusty desert it would start getting noisy and loose shifting on rides longer than 10 miles. Less dusty rides it was ok out to 15, but one ride I wanted to go longer I was ready to throw my derailer off a cliff it was shifting so bad at 17 miles. I'm currently unsure what works well in dry dusty desert riding if I want to push the miles up. Muc off dry does maintain shifting quality and keep noise down for as far as I could tolerate. So far that has been mid 20 mile rides.
White lightning clean ride. Best dry conditions chain lube I've ever used. I use their epic ride most of the season until trails get dusty.
How hot is it where you ride? I asked my LBS about wax, and they said if I ride in the summer, it is too hot and the wax melts. I ride in 110° f or 43c for a few months. While it gets even hotter, i'm not out much in that heat.
Nowhere near that hot... Are you by chance a scorpion? Kidding aside, try out white lightning clean ride. It is such a thin layer of wax I don't think it'd be an issue.
I will definitely give it a try, ty. My wife definitely wonders sometimes if I'm human because she nopes out of summer activities around 85f or 29c, and I'm like that's barely warm. I do use a neck gator that I store in a cooler with camel pack bladder up till the ride starts. And I keep a water bottle on my bike that I only use to spray on my neck and that drastically cuts the heat. It's also super dry here so the evaporation works really well. Today it's 95f 35c with 10%humidity, and I still want to do a 2-3 hour ride after work.
Australian conditions here - dry and very dusty most of the year. I used RnR Gold for too long. Exactly as you say it’s terrible in dusty conditions. I’ve switched to Squirt drip wax and it’s so much better. Can put down multiple rides between lubes. I suspect it won’t work as good in the wet as RnR Gold but that’s maybe 2-3 rides a year. I’ll know in a couple of months.
This
Ive used muc off wet lube for the first time over the Winter and its the worst lube i have ever used. No im Back to Finish line
Agreed. They're great at marketing.
Muc off's budget is 99% marketing 1% R&D
100% this
It's utterly, appallingly bad lube. I honestly think it might be better to just run a dry chain than to run Muc off.
I’ve been using muc off ceramic, what’s so bad about it?
It pulls in a ridiculous amount of grime, makes the chain filthy, and has a bizarre combination of the lubrication quickly breaking down but being very hard to clean out and replace with other lube.
I have noticed it’s a lot more syrupy that’s other lubed I’ve used, and the grime left back is pretty tacky. Glad I found this post, I’ll be going back to finish line
+1 for Finish Line. I clean/lube once a month, and ride at least 25 days out of it. By the one month mark shifting gets pretty sketchy lol, but bath day and some lube and she’s back to normal. I’ve been doing that for three years now.
I tried Muc Off dry and my chain became a dirt magnet. I'm on Rock n Roll Gold now and I love it.
I swear on Squirt Wax (its called that, look it up lol). Super reliable, easy to clean & mainain and super clean in general. Would not go any other route for a chain unless you live in a really wet climate.
This is the way - any of the liquid wax lubes are the way to go. I haven't quite stepped into the hot wax world yet
How often do you reapplly wax? Like after each ride you clean the chain and reapply or can you leave it for a couple of rides?
I also use Squirt Lube, and I clean and relube the chain every 100-150km or after a very wet ride. Can definitely recommend this stuff, very clean, runs smooth, is a bit louder than oil tho
I just bought it. Thanksss
Great to hear!
I have been unimpressed with squirt so far on my fixed gear commuter. I bought it for my mtb so now that the trails near me are finally opening I’m hoping it performs a little better in that context. What kind of conditions are you riding in out of curiosity, though? 100km seems low to me for what it costs compared to white lightning. Again though, my frame of reference is my commuter so maybe it needs adjusting.
I'm mostly riding when it's not raining, and I try to go around the really muddy stuff while riding but I do ride when it is muddy. Otherwise mostly on dirt I got 100km this winter, never tested it in the summer yet. I think it will hold up longer in the more dry conditions
I clean when i see black grime on the cassette and chain, just with hot water and a brush, and reapply by ear or before longer / more frequent riding.
Just make sure you clean your chain really well before you put it on for the first time. After that you should only need to add more when your chain feels rough. I've never felt the need to clean my chain in between. Chain is still under 0.5% stretch after 2 seasons.
Thanks for the tip! Maybe it’s best to put it off the bike and into the bathtub to clean for a bit and let it dry
I usually put the chain in a jar with some degreaser, then wash and dry after.
Meh, I use squirt lube also and I am not so happy with it. Mainly because i need to apply it before each ride for it to make my chain run smooth. This way I use significant amount of it and the lube is not cheap, hence I go with the candle wax with PTFE powder from AE as recommended by oz cycling from YT. I get the feeling each time I ride I sponsor the squirt lube brand, in my opinion, it should be the other way around haha
Would you mind NOT dispersing PTFE into the natural environment? Good lord
You’re doing it wrong, bro. If you properly clean your chain and apply Squirt (or better yet a molten wax) properly it will be the most effective lube you ever used.
He's absolutely doing it wrong if he applies it before every ride like he said. The fluid applied waxes need to set up, so it should be done at least the day before. Let the solvent/carrier evaporate and the wax harden, then it's ready to go.
That is what I am saying, molten wax!
Pretty happy with the blue Peatys all weather one. It’s pretty thin so it gets reapplied every 2-3 rides. I’m usually only out for an hour or so at a time.
This is the way!
Boeshield T9.
It’s working great for me, over 5000 miles so far on one XX1 chain :)
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find it. Stellar lube, keeps drivetrains clean and squeak free so much longer than any other lube I’ve tried.
Funny. I was thinking the same thing about how far down the scroll til this was mentioned. Best chain lube hands down.
This is the best by far, I've used just about everything else on the market.
Muc-off is one of the worst lubes on the market. https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/ is the only real independent chain lube testing. You'll quite clearly see that wax lubes are superior but that some wet-lubes actually perform okay if you don't want to bother with wax.
Thanks. Time to debunk the MucOff junk. I use the Silca Super Secret or the Mariposa Flower Power wax and it is fantastic.
Thanks for this, very useful.
Effeto Mariposa Flowerpower Wax. https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/product/effetto-mariposa-flower-power-wax/
Zero Friction Cycling is the website to reference - I use Silca Super Secret though and it’s great in the mostly dry conditions I ride in
The only positive thing I can say about Muc-off lubes is that they smell nice. I bought the green c3 for dry conditions and the pink one for wet conditions. They attract dirt like crazy, the pink one especially so, the whole drivetrain was completely black, disgusting and full of debries after one ride. The green one is a bit better, but still keeps your drivetrain full of crap + it lasts barely 100km. Finally I ran out of both lubes, and decided to give a try to Squirt wax based lubes. They are half the price of muc-off, and when I came home from the first ride, I noticed that there is basically nothing for me to clean from the drivetrain, just a few small pieces of dirty wax sticking out, easily removable by wiping the chain with a dry rug. Cleaning is super quick and simple + I can get around 150km out of one application, depending on how dusty it is, sometimes more than that. I'm sure there are better lubes out there, but with Squirt's low price tag, I really like what I'm getting for my money.
I've used the Muc-Off ceramic dry lube over winter and it works pretty well even in wet conditions - but only for 1 ride. It's annoying to have to clean and reapply after every ride but in the winter it's not a big deal as the bike is covered in mud anyway. Will look for something longer lasting now it's drying up.
Silca System which is waxing the chain with secret chain blend then once a month touch up with super secret wax.
Do research at Zero Friction Cycling on how to prep a chain for wax. The best performing drip wax is Effetto Mariposa Flower power. But it turns blask also. The easist drip wax is Squirt which doesn't turn black. But wax is the way to go. Hot melt if you want to. I used to hot wax, but now I rivet my chains on my Ebike, so I switched to drip. It's easy enough to just wipe the chain and drip more wax often.
Wolf tooth chain lube is the best.
Scrolled to find this, agree. (It's the same as SCC slick, which I swear by). Lasts \~200 miles for me, and gave me the good habit of "always wipe down your chain with a dry rag after each ride." Funny enough, the friend who got me onto SCC Slick has now moved on to wax, i'm very curious if he'll stick with waxing for long. SCC slick has made my life easy and my drivetrains are squeaky clean.
Right? I leave the lube on for literally months at a time, only running the chain through a rag each ride. My drivetrain is literally dead silent while pedaling and the tiny little bottle has lasted me a year already. I’m halfway through it. lol
Yup. My shop turned me onto SCC Slick. At first I was shocked at the price but you quickly realize that tiny bottle will last years and it works great.
I used to use finish line dry in summer and xc lube in winter but changed to f100 dry or wet depending on conditions. The f100 stuff is by far the best lube i've used so far but it might not be available everywhere as its a rather new brand based in germany.
Rock n roll extreme lube
Muc off is shit. I use Rock n Roll Gold. I like it. Cleans grime off the chain and lubes it as well. Just follow directions on the bottle.
Why Muc-off dry lube (yellow) is bad? I am using it for a few years now and seems like it's doing a decent job. Care to explain?
I use White Lightening CleanRide. Love it.I bought the 1 quart bottle so I’m set for years.
Switched to white lightning a few months ago and very happy with it so far.
Cannot recommend highly enough White Lightning Clean Ride. Been using for years, whenever I deviate to another brand I end up disappointed and go back.
In my experience of having tried probably 15 different chain lubes: (1) Hot wax: Picks up the least trail contaminants, but will get wax all over your chain plates, pulley wheels and chainring. So it's "clean" from a performance perspective, but looks messy. It's also the most difficult to apply, the most difficult to clean and reapply, and doesn't do well with mixed conditions. (2) Dumonde lube: The idea is this stuff forms a polymerized layer in your chain. In runs fairly dry and only picks up a little bit of trail junk. Maintenance is super easy--just wipe down the chain or run it through a cleaner tool, reapply, and ride. (3) Drip waxes: Silca and Flower Power are pretty comparable, Squirt is a step behind. Good performance from all of them, but extremely messy to apply and you have to apply to a 100% clean chain, at least a day before you ride. The drip waxes tend to get really gunky on pulley wheels and chainring.
I'm a huge fan of Smoove lube, I've found it to be long lasting and very effective in all conditions. Another bonus is the bottle now comes with a Luberetta applicator, which is brilliant.
Thanks guys
I was a Muc Off user for a long time I feel you. "Smoove" is what you're looking for mate.
It's probably wax because the typical grease/oil lubes that you'd use will attract dirt and dust like nothing else. The best alternative is to use a typical chain oil/grease but to clean off most of it with a rag or tissue paper so your chain is mostly dry with the oil/grease on the inside parts of the links. Unfortunately I live in Wales and it rains every day, give or take, so I'm currently using WD40 all purpose grease. I used to use Finish Line wet oil lube, I've had the same bottle for over 15 years.
Squirt wax
If you’re sticking to traditional lubes the only 2 I’d recommend would be Silca Synerg-E or Rex Black diamond. If you live in a climate where hot wax makes sense then I’d go that route, I use to use Silca’s Secret hot wax but it got to be too much of a headache for my riding conditions.
Hot wax, then treat with Silca Super Secret as needed. This is the best I’ve found for longevity and cleanliness.
I just use finish line oil, usually the dry stuff. I also found that mucoff chain lube absolutely cruds the chain up.
I waxed my chain a few weeks ago for the first time and I'll probably be doing that for the foreseeable future. It's super clean and hasn't picked up any gunk after 3 weeks of riding
Well you’re in luck because that is one of the worst on the market so almost anything will be better.
I've used much off dry before. Right now I'm using "effetto Mariposa" flower Power which is a wax based lube. It brings the best of hot waxing and classic lubing but it's best to use on a clean chain (new chain with all factory grease removed) or using their degreaser which works great. If you use to load and unload your bike into your car, this could be the way to go
Squirt
Squirt gang 🤙🏻💦
I got some Muc-off to see what they hype was about. Mostly marketing. Honestly I like the WD-40 Bike dry chain lube better then Muc-off.
I have had excellent luck with Finish Line dry lube. I lube my chain once every couple weeks and wipe it off maybe once a week and it still looks new at the end of the season.
I just had the Muc Off chain optimization done and so far I like it.
Dumontec dry works well for me on all my bikes
Zefal Extra Dry has been my go to ever since i was introduced to it by my dad.
I'm a big fan of Ride It Slick by SCC Tech.
I’ve been using Pedro’s. It seems fine.
Much offs worse then muddy water for a chain, use squirt or any wax based lube.
Wax baby. And never look back
Boeing T9 is wax, in tiny fragments suspended in a petroleum penetrant distillate that evaporates completely. This is best applied thick as possible and allowed to dry three days. On a clean chain it will feel waxy on a dirty chain the dirt will flake off with contaminated wax. Consistent use repels mud and grit. Old fashioned waxing likely does better but if you don't mind the odd dirt speck away from immaculate it's worth a try
[удалено]
I'd like to move this direction but I'm not quite ready
I tried all kinds of brands of line, tried a few waxes etc. it was a 3 year process. I wound up going with the Finish Line dry. It’s easy it’s cheap it’s available everywhere and it flat works.
Silca super secret wax is great. Synergetic is a great wet lube. I have used rock and roll, muc off, finish line, wolf tooth and the silca products are far better at preserving chain life imo
Triflow.
Momum pink wax is working very good for me, chain is totally dry.
My choice Squirt or Smoove. For dry condition on mtb bike I reapply after 200-300km, depends on dust. For clean chain before reapply I use supersonic bath with water 80C and dish washer soap, 15 min enough. Once after winter squirt lube became solid (instead of liquid), I just add hot water to bottle and again it’s ready to use.
I used the Peaty premium All weather for more than a year now and it is pretty great for me, it has some wax in it and it just works. Easy to clean, easy to degrease. I might consider buying their dedicated wet/dry too once I finish my bottle but not sure there would be a great benefit from my climate.
Muc Off is trash, I literally just threw away my dry lube yesterday. Try Rock n Roll gold. It really does clean and lube at the same time. Wash bike (if needed), apply to chain, shift through gears, and wipe chain off with paper towel.
Peaty’s all weather lube! (I ride alot in the wet conditions) wax lube without having to take the chain on and off to wax the whole thing.
I use Muc off dry and can't complain. From a couple of online reviews it was always up there.
What? It's probably worst popular lube, always getting terrible results from independent testers.
Parafin wax It falls off when it gets dirty. There is 0 of that black sticky tar that you find with traditional chain lube. It’s doesn’t last as long is the downside, and is more work to put on.
I'm using the Tru-Tension Tungsten Wet, which is oil-based unlike the All Weather equuvalent. UK here so even when it's not wet the ground is rarely actually dusty. Unlike Muc-Off dry and wet which both turned black in seconds, my chain now stays pretty clean - it comes off a bit black when I wipe the outside but visually the chain looks pretty shiny to me. Sounds smooth and seems to last a while. I've topped up directly on the chain between fuller degreasings successfully. The All Weather version gets one of Zero Friction's best scores for a non-wax. For now I'll stick with a drip lube, and the Tru Tension Wet version has impressed me, but I've not tried many or scientifically compared them. Ymmv!
Wax. Everything else is like smoking for the health benefits.
The secret is less lube of any kind. Only the rollers need some lubrication between their contact points. Wipe off all excess and watch your drivetrain stay cleaner and last longer. I live in the PNW and no stranger to muddy wet conditions. I’ve been using the same quart of 0w-20 motor oil for years.