dry or wet chain lube

smoggierider

hi whats the best chain lube to use ,ive tried the stuff from halfords in the red aerosol gt something ? but i think if i clean the chain oil the chain with wet lube type lubricant and wipe of any exess this will be more beneficial i j
ust feel the areosol type is more of a jack of all trades

delcol

what does this have to do with rides ???

gt 85 is no good going on your chain as a lube... it's more of a water displacer..

for wetter weather/rides go for a wet lube

for dry dusty conditions go for a dry lube..

and yes it's only the inner part of the link that needs lube not the outter. lube on the ouuter will just attract grit/crap..
so apply leave to soak in then wipe off any excess.

Anonymous

Halfords really should be banned from selling GT85. They chuck it in with everything and then people wonder why all the grease and oil has been stripped out of their chains and bearings!

Anyway..

Dry.

That's it.

http://roadcyclinguk.com/blogs/davids-b ... s-dry.html

This is the conclusion I've come to, as have many others. Wet just makes a total mess and wears components down due to so much grit retained, or you end up having to do a full degrease after each ride and re-oil *properly* (good bath of oil and work it into the rollers as the degrease will have stripped it all out).

Maybe depends where you ride though, but I don't ride anywhere that isn't gritty and cruddy when wet. I feel the wet lube recommendation is more a roadie thing as not much grit, just salt and it keeps the salt off. Non issue on the trails.

green room

Disagree on both counts.

GT- 85 excellent for water dispersion when your bike has been covered in salt spray, eg after the salty commute. It's not a chain lube though, but it is my opinion that the teflon film can certainly help keep corrosion at bay in between regular oilings, when putting more oil on would just build up into a dirty paste, wet or dry.

And I use wet lube regularly and lightly applied. Dry lube just washes off in wet conditions. Never had any issue with wet lube making a mess provided you apply it evenly and lightly, let it settle in and wipe off the excess.

Dry lube has it's place - summer road racing.

trasher

I've been using this on my chain and have to say it's very good
http://www.squirtlube.com/products/index.php

Northwind

Wet lube and dry lube are both a bit condition-specific... Squirt frinstance is nigh godly in summer, White Lightning wet is fantastic in proper full on mud.

If you want one for all conditions, try White Lighting Epic Ride- lasts for longer in bad conditions than most dry lubes, doesn't gather dirt like a wet lube. Not quite as good in either but decent in both.

This is what wet lube's for:

IMAG0130 by Northwindlowlander, on Flickr

Anonymous

Dry still runs fine with that much mud (which isn't that much really, I can still see the frame! And those legs are barely covered :P ). I find.

Mud like that isn't washing the oil off. Just sticks to the chain surface and flings off as you move or grinds into the cogs which is where wet is bad as it retains the grit. Water will strip the oil off though as it's a solvent. So constant riding through big puddles, rivers and lakes(!) is where wet in my opinion is going to be most benefit.

Northwind

deadkenny wrote:

Mud like that isn't washing the oil off. Just sticks to the chain surface and flings off as you move or grinds into the cogs which is where wet is bad as it retains the grit.

Eh, really not at all. Dry lube's useless with that mud, instant chainsuck within minutes. Everyone's chain was jammed full of mud, there's no "retains the grit" once you get like that, there's only lube that can work when it's getting plastered, and lube that doesn't.

Then you add in the bits of trail that had streams running down them (or perhaps they were streams with trails running up them, hard to tell) which does at least wash your legs

cooldad

Fortunately we are softy southerners. Do you wear anything under your kilt when you ride. A padded sporran or something?

Northwind

Nothing but my naked manhood, shrivelled with cold to the size of a maggot.

Hang on, what were we talking about again?

blister pus

depends what kind of dry lube. I can think of two that can handle that. One would last perfectly for 30 minutes before getting overwhelmed and giving up, the other isn't too fussed by much at all and is supposedly for motorbikes. the others I've tried couldn't handle wet and mud like that.

Northwind

Ah, fair dos actually, I've got a can of Putoline wax in the garage to try and folk who've used it say it's pretty amazing,if it lives up to the hype then it'd probably be good for that. Going to stick it on the road bike first but interested to see how it works out. (got to melt it first!)

EdW

+1 for Squirt lube. I realised the other day that I haven't reapplied it to my commuter bike since about november & my chain still runs super smooth & looks like new.

Majski

From my experience it makes no difference whatsoever. In fact I pretty much only use GT85 for everything and 'occasionaly' lube my chain with whatever (wet or dry) i can find in the garage. It still gets clogged up with crap if its wet regardless and you still have to clean it / re-lube it when you're finished

cooldad

Well, you're wrong. On various counts.

timpop

I like the White Lightening Epic Ride lube too. It works well for me in a variety of mixed conditions. Good all rounder.

Anonymous

Still makes me think of cider.

Majski

cooldad wrote:

Well, you're wrong. On various counts.

if you say so

cooldad

deadkenny wrote:

Still makes me think of cider.

Tastes about the same.

cooldad

Majski wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Well, you're wrong. On various counts.

if you say so

I do.

blister pus

Northwind wrote:

Ah, fair dos actually, I've got a can of Putoline wax in the garage to try and folk who've used it say it's pretty amazing,if it lives up to the hype then it'd probably be good for that. Going to stick it on the road bike first but interested to see how it works out. (got to melt it first!)

Do a post when you do that Northwind, be interesting to see the results, I've seen mixed reaction around and about. Even from motorcyclists. I was thinking of Wurth Dry Chain Lube. Which, if you follow the instructions (for motorbikes) on a brand new mountain bike chain and can repeat for the first few re-applications, gets you to a chain that you just wipe down / dry after a shitfest. A light spray as and when needed after. It's odd, and you can see why it works as it should with the heat generated from a motorbike, but I find it works cold (proviso above) and works out pretty economical.

Northwind

Iiiinteresting. I used to use that on the motorbike but wasn't very impressive for that (but then I switched to engine oil in a scottoiler, because I'm both cheap and slack)

blister pus

Once you can get it 'into' a new chain by spraying when the chain is radiator hot (you can see it disappearing) and leave to dry there's nothing that can dislodge that coating inside the rollers. Do it a few more times and it just builds up and it's got in everywhere.

As for the outside, it behaves kind of like a tough Squirt / White Lightning Clean Ride wax cross. And when you think it's washed off (like Squirt / WLCR) have a look and all it's done is taken the initial layer off which means your chain has got louder. Because it's designed for high speed motorbikes, the thin film it puts there is actually like sh!t to a blanket and not going anywhere.

Personally I hose the bike down after a shitfest anyway and that includes the chain. So I just unhook it after and run it through a towel a few times to wipe clean / dry (if a raditor is on I shove it on there). Even if I have to wipe the chain down and spray (reapply) after every ride, it takes seconds to whizz down the chain to respray and you still use less than most so called wet lubes (and certainly less than dry ones).

Obviously in the dry I just leave on the bike and keep respraying and leave for 10 minutes when it gets loud. It's all in the initial chain prep tho and treating a new clean mtb chain like a hot motorbike chain.

Put it like this; the two jam jars are redundant for the life span of a X9.93 and that's what I was trying to eliminate in all this.

Northwind

And it's not sticky? (that's why I stopped using it on the motorbike, crap stuck all over it... Orrible)

blister pus

When it dries and the chain is cold it's low tack. Less tacky than Squirt. I get the impression it behaves totally different under heat but seeing as though no MTBer is ever going to generate that much chain heat I thought I'd try a can and I just carried on using it because it went further than all the other lotions and potions.

You can tell it's not specifically designed for MTB purposes but by the time you've done a long dirty ride, where the chain has got filthy, got wet, then dried off naturally toward van / home, it looks and feels no different than any other lubed chain I've had. I'd say for a dry lube it's about as good as I've had, provided you can be arsed doing the prep.

As for motorbike world, feedback seemed split, love / hate. But those who use it swear by it looking at the feedback comments at Amazon and other motorbike related places.

Northwind

Cool, I'll give it a crack once I've used up the Lube Mountain

al2098

This is what wet lube's for:

But even with wet lube you will need to completely clean and re-lube the drivetrain on that bike.
I migrated to Squirt wax lube a while ago and the positives are rarely touched upon. Ok, it's super smooth ect...(waffle waffle)
The beauty of it for me is the ease of cleaning it. No need for expensive citrus cleaner, just hot soap and water through a chain cleaning device and its spotless. Re-apply and unless your up for a mud bath every other day, it's good to go like any other lube. Expensive?
Bo ho, get a cheap hobby like star gazing, stay away from mountain biking, sailing and stuff like fixed wing flying lessons..

mjs1231

After hundreds of hours of research I have come up with only 1 feasible solution.

You have to except the notion that the chain is a throw away item.

First off is a quote from Sheldon brown

Factory Lube

New chains come pre-lubricated with a grease-type lubricant which has been installed at the factory. This is an excellent lubricant, and has been made to permeate all of the internal interstices in the chain.

This factory lube is superior to any lube that you can apply after the fact.

Some people make the bad mistake of deliberately removing this superior lubricant. Don't do this!

The factory lubricant all by itself is usually good for several hundred miles of service if the bike is not ridden in wet or dusty conditions. It is best not to apply any sort of lube to a new chain until it is clearly needed, because any wet lube you can apply will dilute the factory lube.


As this stands to be the best practices and procedure for chain management.

I would recommend the following only and from now going forward.

forget about oils and lubes.

There is no point other than to take money from you.

Steps:
1.
Clean the drive train completely, apply light film of grease on the front chain ring you use most often. Usually the middle ring.
2.
Install a new chain and size it to your specific application.
3.
Run this chain until it starts to grind, then replace it. This usually is 300 to 700 miles of NORMAL riding.
4.
if you run a chain through a swamp and after you clean the bike, it start to grind, replace it.
5.
Get real with your self's, Running a DH bike through bogs and expecting a chain to last is a fools quest. If you attempt to re lube the chain, your going to end up damaging your chain rigs and cassettes in the long run.

I would ADVISE you refer to step 3 when ever your chain starts to grind.

6.
We all know what happens to rings and cassettes when the internal bearings inside the chain wears, everything in the drive train wears out faster.

I have excepted that this is the only long term solution to chain management and should be the end of the conversation.

You see.....
The grease used in the factory is not just a lube, its also a sealant. It seals debris from entering into the chain bearing housing. Once this seal is compromised, you will start to damage the chain rings and cassette directly due to the loss of bearing tolerance due to debris in the bearing assembly. ( AKA chain stretch )

So to recap, all the nonsense about oils, wet or dry lubes are completely pointless. and nothing but a mis understanding of how chains function, and some marketing magic.

Don't waste your time and effort trying to understand this. Just follow the steps I have laid out and you will be happy for many years to come, extend the life of your over priced components and decrease you maintenance time.


* Once you become knowledgeable, you have a obligation to do something about it *
Ron Paul.

Kowalski675

mjs1231 wrote:

So to recap, all the nonsense about oils, wet or dry lubes are completely pointless. and nothing but a mis understanding of how chains function, and some marketing magic.

WALOB.

Clank

Kowalski675 wrote:

mjs1231 wrote:

So to recap, all the nonsense about oils, wet or dry lubes are completely pointless. and nothing but a mis understanding of how chains function, and some marketing magic.

WALOB.

Yup. You reckon he works for KMC and just want to sell more chains?

Kowalski675

Quite possibly For manufacturers chains are like tyres - even if they could make one that lasts forever, why would they want to? Ideally they just need to make one that lasts just a little bit longer than their competitors' products.