lubrication confusion

kevin_stephens
kevin_stephens Posts: 184
edited August 2017 in Workshop
Wet lube, dry lube, GT 85, chain wax etc etc

So many to choose from, is it harmful to mix them, how wet is wet, how dry is dry?

Basically what's the best routine for chain, derailleurs and other bits for road bike riding aiming for dry weather but with the chance of riding home for an hour or so in heavy rain?

Best as in to look after the kit, make it work well and avoid picking up crap that would require frequent cleaning.

I'm happy to lube after every ride if needs be, I'm less happy to engage in heavy duty chain degreasing etc unless I have to.

Thanks for any advice
I want to climb hills so badly;
and I climb hills so badly
«1

Comments

  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Get 10 cyclists to advise on this and you will get 10 different opinions. Have a play around and see what you think...
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    ^ agree - in fact ask 10 different cyclists and you'll get 25 different opinions.

    The wax type stuff is good for dry rides but disappears quickly is wet conditions leaving you with a chain that sounds horrible. GT85 is best used as only a water dispersant after such a ride. These days I just run a wet lubricant mostly because it seems to be the least faff but then I'm someone who thinks life is too short for fettling a bike. If you can live with a noisy chain for a short while if you're caught in rain, the wax is at least quite clean.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 4,993
    Wet lube, dry lube, GT 85, chain wax etc etc

    So many to choose from, is it harmful to mix them, how wet is wet, how dry is dry?

    Basically what's the best routine for chain, derailleurs and other bits for road bike riding aiming for dry weather but with the chance of riding home for an hour or so in heavy rain?

    Best as in to look after the kit, make it work well and avoid picking up crap that would require frequent cleaning.

    I'm happy to lube after every ride if needs be, I'm less happy to engage in heavy duty chain degreasing etc unless I have to.

    Thanks for any advice

    I'd avoid gt85 - fantastic in the short term, but it will dissolve the grease in bearings and seals.

    Wet lube lasts longer wet conditions, but gets quite gunky. Dry lube is great in dry/clean conditions.

    For my weekend/dry weather bike I prefer cleaning chain with a couple of wet wipes then dry lube, then run through an old rag towel to take off the excess, every 100 miles or so.
    For my commuter/all weather as above, and wet lube in wet weather.

    I've never Tried wax.
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 4,993
    I also found that wet lube turns to lard in winter - couldn't get it out the tube in a freezing garage.
  • Here comes one of those different opinions.

    My favourite is Squirt, a wax lubricant. Used it in wet and dry conditions on the road and CX bikes and can't say I've had problems with it washing off. It encapsulates any dirt that can be wiped or picked off keeping the chain nice and bright and clean.

    I used wet and dry for many years but didn't feel dry was doing a good job for very long requiring frequent application and I found wet to get messy and dirty too easily.
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    My favourite is Squirt, a wax lubricant. Used it in wet and dry conditions on the road and CX bikes and can't say I've had problems with it washing off.

    This is my opportunity to name drop so I'm going to do so shamelessly.

    Squirt is what I used and, so it happens, did Marianne Vos on the Rapha Prestige Limburg we were both doing - I know this because we were both hunting for chain lube at the same stop because the Squirt wax had washed off in the rain. We were about 130k into a 190k ride but my chain sounded terrible and, evidently, so did Ms Vos's. Here she is with a can a degreasant

    Vos.JPG
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • My favourite is Squirt, a wax lubricant. Used it in wet and dry conditions on the road and CX bikes and can't say I've had problems with it washing off.

    This is my opportunity to name drop so I'm going to do so shamelessly.

    Squirt is what I used and, so it happens, did Marianne Vos on the Rapha Prestige Limburg we were both doing - I know this because we were both hunting for chain lube at the same stop because the Squirt wax had washed off in the rain. We were about 130k into a 190k ride but my chain sounded terrible and, evidently, so did Ms Vos's. Here she is with a can a degreasant

    Vos.JPG
    Good name drop and good story.

    Proves your comment earlier that we can have different opinions even when it comes to chain lubes.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Ah you see gt85 and a rag after each ride works for me. Keeps it lubricated and doesn't pick up the dirt. Bit more work than a wet lube but I think it's worth it.
  • svetty
    svetty Posts: 1,904
    Marianne Vos and lube in the same posting........ :shock: :shock: :wink:
    FFS! Harden up and grow a pair :D
  • bigmitch41
    bigmitch41 Posts: 685
    Squirt is only good for dry rides, I wish it lasted in the wet but it doesn't, if you are caught out on a wet ride aka British summer time its going to get washed off and you will be left with a noisy drivetrain.

    Wet lube is good applied the night before and excess wiped off with a rag. I clean the chain after every ride and re-apply.

    GT85 is good sprayed onto a cloth to wipe down the bike after cleaning, don't put it anywhere near the brakes etc.
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  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    Svetty wrote:
    Marianne Vos and lube in the same posting........ :shock: :shock: :wink:

    I know. I was careful to mention "chain lube" :wink: She in genuinely a lovely person though and in no way any sort of prima donna - despite her rainbow stripes and literally being the "prima donna"
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • dannbodge
    dannbodge Posts: 1,152
    I use the Mucoff C3 ceramic stuff when it's dry and their wet lube when it starts to get wetter.

    Apparently a good all rounder is their hydro dynamic stuff as it's designed for both.
  • svetty
    svetty Posts: 1,904
    Finish line ceramic wax dry lube in summer, ceramic wet lube in autumn/spring and wet lube - the green one - in winter.

    I am pretty anal about my chain maintenance although it only takes ten minutes or so each week:

    With the dry lube I clean the chain, jockey wheels and chainrings with a dry rag until the rag doesn't wipe any more dirt off, then re-lube.
    With the wet lubes, the chain gets a bit gunky after a couple of hundred miles or so. Sometimes I'll just wipe as for the dry, sometimes I'll run it through a chain cleaning machine using citrus degreaser, then dry and re-lube.

    In winter it's usually a degrease and re-lube after any ride over 50 miles or so.
    FFS! Harden up and grow a pair :D
  • flasher
    flasher Posts: 1,734
    ProGold Prolink in all weathers.
  • on-yer-bike
    on-yer-bike Posts: 2,974
    Rock n Roll gold every 100 miles
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  • Dannbodge wrote:
    I use the Mucoff C3 ceramic stuff when it's dry and their wet lube when it starts to get wetter.

    Apparently a good all rounder is their hydro dynamic stuff as it's designed for both.

    +1
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Mad_Malx wrote:

    I'd avoid gt85 - fantastic in the short term, but it will dissolve the grease in bearings and seals.

    This should not come as a surprise, to be honest. Any spray lube will contain a carrier/dilute solvent, or it wouldn't come out of the nozzle. The solvent simply displaces whatever lube is already there and replaces it with a new one, which in gt85's case is going to be a light mineral oil. IMO, gt85 works well as a chain lube if applied regularly.
  • Alex99
    Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    Wet lube, dry lube, GT 85, chain wax etc etc

    So many to choose from, is it harmful to mix them, how wet is wet, how dry is dry?

    Basically what's the best routine for chain, derailleurs and other bits for road bike riding aiming for dry weather but with the chance of riding home for an hour or so in heavy rain?

    Best as in to look after the kit, make it work well and avoid picking up crap that would require frequent cleaning.

    I'm happy to lube after every ride if needs be, I'm less happy to engage in heavy duty chain degreasing etc unless I have to.

    Thanks for any advice

    I use the same "winter" wet lube all year round because wetness occurs all year around and I've never liked the un-lubed sound of dry lube. When my chain needs cleaning, most likely so will the whole bike. Morgan Blue stuff applied with a paint brush to make the metal bits silver again, wash, let dry, lube. Very, very occasionally if I can't fit a proper wash in, GT85/rag for a quick and dirty chain clean, then wet lube/rag. It's pretty quick and simple really. I don't lube anything else week to week, just the chain.
  • I'd agree with the above- I tend to use wet lube all year round, as it's really the only type of lube that will actually keep your chain lubricated to the level it should be. I read on some site- might have been here, that almost all team mechanics just use wet lube for this very reason. Sure, yo might have to clean and re-lube a bit more often but....
  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    3in1
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
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  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    Correct
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    I've tried all sorts of stuff over the years. Wax lubes like Squirt are kind of self-cleaning in the dry because the wax flakes off taking a lot of the dirt with it. You need to reapply frequently, and preferably let it dry before riding. Very short lived in the wet though as others have said.

    Proper sticky wet lubes are handy for conditions where the chain is going to get plastered in crap, but unless they are removed and reapplied frequently they tend to attract and retain dirt and start to gloop up the drivetrain.

    The best all-rounder I've found is good old 3-in-1 oil. Light enough for a summer lube, but persistent enough in all but the very worst of the winter weather. Big bottle for a couple of quid from Wilko. Wipe down the chain thoroughly with a rag soaked in white spirit, apply a drop of oil to each roller, spin the cranks a few times, then wipe off any excess really thoroughly. I think for a clean drivetrain that last bit is the most important.

    In the summer if it's dry I may go 4 weeks between lubes. In winter I could be doing it a couple of times a week.
  • Thanks everybody, lots of useful information but no clear answers
    Compromise may be dry lube with a small bottle of wet lube in back pocket if chance of being caught in heavy rain, or just go with wet lube and gather the tools and practice for rapid and regular dismantle/ deep clean. I usually grease cable entry point to frame, what about derailleurs?
    I want to climb hills so badly;
    and I climb hills so badly
  • or just go with wet lube and gather the tools and practice for rapid and regular dismantle/ deep clean.

    I think people sometimes overthink the chain lube thing.

    Despite having quicklinks in all my chains, I never take them off to clean. Just invest in a chain bath and whazz it thru that when required (I use Fenwicks degreaser). Allow to dry, reapply lube....leave overnight to work into the rollers, and whazz thru an old rag to remove excess. Done.

    (I'm glad I'm not the only one who gently taps individual drops onto each individual roller too LOL).
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    I stopped the whole chain removal and cleaning in white spirit thing pretty quickly. I now realise a lot of the cleaning was because I'd over-applied the lube and left it to accumulate dirt for too long anyway. At one point the chain was so glooped up I couldn't see that the quick link was parting company. Despite quick links the chains stay on till the chain wear tool drops in, then they go in the bin.

    I find wiping the chain with a rag less of a faff than a chain cleaning gadget, and given my clumsiness, less likely to spray me or the rear wheel with muck and degreaser. And yes, one drop of oil on each roller is more than you need, so removing the excess and a bit more dirt afterwards is important.
  • janwal
    janwal Posts: 489
    Gt85. I started using it a couple of years ago after advice from a couple of bike hire shops in Majorca.It is all they use as the chain can be wiped and reapplied quick and easy and doesn't collect lots of road crap in the dry conditions they usually have.I give chain a wipe and apply it before and after every ride.Even in the rainy days I have been out in lately it is all you need.My chains stay a lot cleaner and more grit free than other usual proprietary oils I have tried.
  • Alex99
    Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    janwal wrote:
    Gt85. I started using it a couple of years ago after advice from a couple of bike hire shops in Majorca.It is all they use as the chain can be wiped and reapplied quick and easy and doesn't collect lots of road crap in the dry conditions they usually have.I give chain a wipe and apply it before and after every ride.Even in the rainy days I have been out in lately it is all you need.My chains stay a lot cleaner and more grit free than other usual proprietary oils I have tried.

    I have concerns about this from a UK perspective: "in the dry conditions they usually have".

    I guess it really depends on what's important to you; a chain that looks a bit cleaner, or one that is well lubricated and gets you through a ride without feeling the need to carry a bottle of lube. For me, having to think about which lube to use based on the weather forecast is something I can do without (not specifically at you janwal). Also, even with a dry lube, my chain won't be clean clean after a few rides, so why bother?
  • meursault
    meursault Posts: 1,433
    In my thread on this, it seems that most pro teams use Morgan Blue.

    I'm going to give theirs a go. I like the sound of their muscle rubs too, ooeer missus.
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  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    meursault wrote:
    In my thread on this, it seems that most pro teams use Morgan Blue.

    I'm going to give theirs a go. I like the sound of their muscle rubs too, ooeer missus.

    Yebbut they have dudes pressure washing their bikes every night and redoing the lube.

    There's loads of stuff the pros do that I'm not remotely interested in emulating