"Best" chain lube

DCR00

What’s the “best” chain lube ?

I've been using Finish Line Teflon, and as good as it is for bearings and threads, it’s longevity on the chain isn’t great (especially when the bike is hosed down after each ride)

I will be taking more effort to ensure that the chain is lubed more often, but i don't have time to do it after each ride

I've just bought a new KMC chain and it has some sort of lube on it already which seems to be a bit more robust that the Finish Line

Any ideas what this is ?

cooldad

The factory lubes are normally best and last a while, but no one knows what they are.

Northwind

The last couple of KMCs I've bought were greased but it was more packing/anti-corrosive than bike lube, far too sticky- tried to use one of them without fully cleaning it first and it lasted 5 miles before it was so clogged with dirt that it started constantly chainsucking (it had bits of twig stuck to it ). So took it home, cleaned it, unbent the bent links, lubed it with proper lube, and it was fine.

Someone'll be along in a minute to quote Sheldon at you but he was talking about road bikes, in a clean climate.

For wet lube I'm just using up some finish line wet- the sort that comes in an aerosol. This time of year I clean the drivetrain after each ride anyway so can't speak much of longevity but it works well til I clean it off.

Pr][nCe

Wet lube i would say "muc-off wetlube"
dry lube, well i live in South Wales not much call for that here lol

Danlube

Muc-off wet lube is fantastic stuff for all round lubing such as cables n chains but it has quite an odd smell that can make you feel a bit sicky (well it does me anyway) Finish line wet lube is also pretty good, nice smell and is a tad thicker than the muc off which is good for chains but can be tricky lubing cables, muc off wet lube is the better option to lube cables, tad thinner (easier to pour into outers and seeps into inners easier)

Finish line/muc off again for the dry season (roughly april until september)

thel33ter

Wet lube - finishline

Dry lube - Squirt lube, you buy it online, and they do free samples.

t0pc4t

purple extreme in winter and finish line dry in summer for me

Arkady001

Wet-lube - Finish Line synthetic ATB lube (I remember when it was still called 'Century Lube'...).

Dry-Lube - Finish Line wax-based lube. Apply sparingly, wipe the chain through a dry rag and wait two hours before riding (it say on the bottle - like i'm ever going to wait two hours...lol)

By the way - In the Winter, I wash the bike after every ride, de-grease and re-lube the chain - nothing seems to work for more than one ride and in any case why use lube mixed with dirt?

Summer - depending on the amount of dust i might just wipe the chain through a rag soaked in WD-40 and re-lube when it's dry.

The factory lube is probably something called Mecsil - i came across it working in a machine workshop - awesome stuff and I've never been able to find it in retailers. Came in 1/2 litre aerosols. You had to use it fast, because it gummed up the aerosol nozzle after a couple of weeks and stopped working.
I once used it on a rusted gate-bolt and the next day the Mecsil had done away with the rust and the metal had a waxy -dark appearance that never went away even after another year out in the open...

allthegearnoidea

pedro's chainj for me, pretty much most the year round, occasionally use a dry lube in the summer either finish line or weldtite i think it is,

mostly in the summer i stick with the chainj and leave it for a few hours post ride and run the cahin through a cloth to remove any excess,
but then, i get very anal about cleanign my bike!! every ride its done, (once a week) but the bike's So blinged up i like to keep it all shiny!!

joshtp

Nut Lube, obviously


though, due to silly people making silly rules, you cant buy it yet. I'll let ya'll know when it's available.

DCR00

lots of replies, thanks all

think ill give the Finish Line a try since a few recommended that

reality is i need to give my chain some more love

dont really want to have to buy a new chain and cassette every 6 months...

WisePranker

I think that the Juice Chain Juice wet-lube is pretty good. I've been using it for a while and it seems to last quite well

WisePranker

I think that the Juice Chain Juice wet-lube is pretty good. I've been using it for a while and it seems to last quite well

dennisn

The "best" lube is the new one coming out on the market next week. Everyone knows that.

pilsburypie

I'm coming near to the end of my finishline wet lube - lasted nearly 2 years!

May well just get the same again seeing as others rate it too. Must say, it is so much nicer when you take your chain off, scrub it and white spirit it super clean then lube it up....... ooooh, silky smooth...... :shock:

The Northern Monkey

Halfords own is more like glue. Avoid.

TowerRider

No mention for Rock N Roll lubes? I find them to be great.

Devastazione

I've been using Shimano stuff lately and I'm very happy with them.

floodthecities

cooldad wrote:

The factory lubes are normally best and last a while, but no one knows what they are.

Motorcycle Silicon Lube (comes in an aerosol) I used it on a mtb chain the other day. I just took the chain off to do it. It lasted, plus it's was clean too.

Arkady001

DCR00 wrote:

lots of replies, thanks all

think ill give the Finish Line a try since a few recommended that

reality is i need to give my chain some more love

dont really want to have to buy a new chain and cassette every 6 months...

But you should swap chains every six months, that's the whole idea...otherwise chain-stretch will wear your other components faster that necessary requiring them to be replaced more often...
Depends on useage, of course, but if you ride for a few hours every weekend that's about right.

On my commuter-bike covering 40 miles a day, I'd swap (cheap) chains every three months or so, especially in the Winter months. Minimal maintenance - wash, wipe, oil.

This year on my MTB - which gets far more TLC than my hack-bikes ever did - I predict with the useage I expect to be getting, to go through at least two chains between now and September (due for a swap within the next month or so).

edjo

to be controversial...no such thing as the 'best' lubricant as everyone has their favourite based on their experience. even the pro mechanics have different products they use and some are in plain bottles as they're not using the 'official' team product.
find what you like and stick with it...

NatoED

i use a mixture of the bikhut wax which is pretty nice and GT 85 for the summer then finish line wet for the winter.
But I also clean and relube after every ride if it's wet and muddy. I also clean my whole drive train after every winter ride

getonyourbike

Wet: Muc Off Wet Lube. It smells nice, it's 'light' and penetrates the links and cables well and somehow, mud doesn't seem to affect it much, I've not had problems with it washing off either. Its won tests in both WMB and MBUK now.

Dry: Squirt Lube, the chain never needs degreasing and withstands those showers well too

stevie_

finish line all conditions light lube for me.

used to use fenwick's all weather but with that and a couple of other wet weather ones i've tried i find they just tend to attract dirt and cake up.... i clean my bike after every ride and the transmission gets a minimum of a good scrub down withdegreaser and water, so i don't allow it to build up.

not sure why people are worried about re-lubing after washing the bike... is it just me or is a £6-10 bottle bought a couple of times a year an entirely acceptable price to maintain your four-figure bike?

ll_sharpy

I'm currently sporting a little Rock N Roll extreme number.

Needs a bloody good shake before use but goes on well without a lot of mess and "seems" to penetrate well.

Not wanting to teach your gran to such eggs but lube needs to be inbetween chain links. Having the outside of a link coated in dirt attracting lube will only lead to clogging fast.

milfredo

DCR00 wrote:

I've been using Finish Line Teflon, and as good as it is for bearings and threads, it’s longevity on the chain isn’t great (especially when the bike is hosed down after each ride)

You really should not be spraying that stuff on any bearings! Really, really bad idea unless you intend to wash all the grease out of the bearings.