Recommend Squirt Chain Lube or another lube?

bikegangster
bikegangster Posts: 98
in Workshop
Can anyone recommend which lube to get? I currently use Muc-Off ceramic dry lube. Its obviously no good in autumn and winter times of the year, especially there's lots of rain weather. I do not want to buy any wet lube, although it doesn't get washed off in the rain but it collects a lot of dirt. And dirt getting mixed into your drive train is no good.

I'm thinking of getting Squirt Chain Lube. Apparently it collects very little dirt and doesn't get washed off in the rain as quick. Plus its 100% biodegradable. Squirt fits my needs well.

Does anyone had any experiences of using Squirt and would you recommend me buying it? If its rubbish then what other lube should I try?

Cheers
«1

Comments

  • Sutton_Rider
    Sutton_Rider Posts: 493
    I've tried squirt on the turbo bike just to see how it fairs in good conditions. I've found it clumps and collects around the RD. Maybe I've used it wrong, but not impressed. I use the same ceramic lube on the summer bike as you, thats a nice lube, I've also tried the ceramic wet lube, when dry it was very sticky and seemed to collect all the cr*p. I'll most likely go for the muck off wet lube this year.
  • laguna
    laguna Posts: 24
    I've tried Squirt recently, agree with Sutton_Rider, for some reason it collects around the lower jockey wheel. it also clumps a bit on the cassette and is difficult to remove remembering that you aren't meant to de-grease once you've initially applied it. When first setting off for a ride the drivetrain is very quiet but after about 2 hours in slightly damp conditions the drivetrain was getting noticeably noisier and at 4 hours was very annoying. Going back to wet lube until spring and will give it another go. On a good point though, is that after a wet and dirty ride, cleaning the chain the next day only needed a good brush with a suede brush and there was no messy black gunk on the rear wheel or stays.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    I’ve found Squirt washes off pretty quickly if the roads are wet.
  • Harry182
    Harry182 Posts: 1,170
    There was a thread on here a while back discussing Squirt -- Some people loved it and some hated it. I get on very well with Squirt; for me it's very clean and noticeably more smooth/quiet. I cleaned the heck out of my drive train before using, live in a generally very dry climate and am a fair weather cyclist. Squirt's my "go to". YMMV
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    squirts fine, apply it the night before the long ride and it works great year round.
  • david37
    david37 Posts: 1,313
    the muck off wet lube and regular cleaning for me. Its cheap, works well and even has a nice smell.

    I use fenwicks in summer its ace but stinks like s hite in the period immediately after applying it.
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,833
    Rock and Roll Blue lube for me for the winter/bad weather bike.
  • dj58
    dj58 Posts: 2,224
    I've recently started using Rock & Roll extreme blue on the winter bike, I will be interested to see how it stands up over the wet periods this winter.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    bikegangster said:

    Can anyone recommend which lube to get? I currently use Muc-Off ceramic dry lube. Its obviously no good in autumn and winter times of the year, especially there's lots of rain weather. I do not want to buy any wet lube, although it doesn't get washed off in the rain but it collects a lot of dirt. And dirt getting mixed into your drive train is no good.

    I'm thinking of getting Squirt Chain Lube. Apparently it collects very little dirt and doesn't get washed off in the rain as quick. Plus its 100% biodegradable. Squirt fits my needs well.

    Does anyone had any experiences of using Squirt and would you recommend me buying it? If its rubbish then what other lube should I try?

    Cheers

    You're grasping at straws. Use what you have and use it regularly. There is no magic potion out there. Just a bunch of hype.
  • dangardner27
    dangardner27 Posts: 118
    You're grasping at straws. Use what you have and use it regularly. There is no magic potion out there. Just a bunch of hype.


    100% Agree - tried Squirt and it clogged up my rear derailleur and turned the drivetrain into a gooey mess.
  • loltoride
    loltoride Posts: 460
    Off road I use squirt all year round and have for about 5 years regular cleaning of chain is required but otherwise has been absolutely excellent for me.
    So Far!
  • edward.s
    edward.s Posts: 230
    I use TF2 drywax lube. Its way cheaper than squirt and works as well if not better. its cheap enough you can slap it on with abandon.

    Stops the chain squeaking and doesn't attract crap. No jet black grinding paste. Washes off nicely with hot water (outside hot tap/hose a definite advantage here) taking any dirt with it ready for re-application.
  • MidlandsGrimpeur2
    MidlandsGrimpeur2 Posts: 2,127
    I do not want to buy any wet lube, although it doesn't get washed off in the rain but it collects a lot of dirt. And dirt getting mixed into your drive train is no good.


    To be fair, neither is riding with no lube on your chain because it has been washed off, metal grinding against metal is probably harsher than a bit of dirt on your chain.

    Use a lube that is applicable to the conditions, a dry lube on a dry cold winter's day will be fine, for other conditions use a wet lube.

    Even though wet lube does gather dirt and makes the chain black, it will wipe off easily at the end of a ride. You can then just reapply and you will be fine.

    Personally not a fan of squirt, always found it far too thin and needed multiple applications to get the chain fully coated. I use White Lightning 'Epic ride' and 'Wet ride', both are good. Muc-off is also good but they appear to be a fair bit thinner consistency wise than they used to. Maybe just me but they seem to have altered the formula and it does not last as long.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    I put some Fenwicks super lube on my winter bike, no noise and chain kept pretty clean. Today chain starts making a fair racket and I’m thinking this stuffs no much good. Stood up to sprint and chain snaps. Followed by the sound of a penny dropping. :blush:
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,867
    webboo said:

    Followed by the sound of a penny dropping. :blush:

    You realised Fenwicks is highly corrosive and snaps chains ;)
    Hope you managed to hold it all together when it went.

    I've been using Squirt and it's not up to every day use in winter imo. In the old days when we could ride to work every day it wasn't up to it. Fine in summer, just needs re-applying after rain. Winter use I've just gone back to a wet lube and accepting the black gunge as I hate a noisy chain.
    Kinesis Pro6
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  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Fortunately it didn’t go in a big bang way, more a sort extended crunching way. I was five minutes ride from home. So it was a case of do I fix it and get covered in super lube and the rest or bung it in the hedge and walk home.
  • Harry182
    Harry182 Posts: 1,170
    As said above - Squirt's my current "go to" with the caveat that it does very poorly in cold weather due to it being wax based.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    Harry182 said:

    As said above - Squirt's my current "go to" with the caveat that it does very poorly in cold weather due to it being wax based.

    How do you know a chain lube ".....does poorly in cold weather...." or any weather for that matter? How is this "performance" measured? Are notes kept and put in files?
  • reaperactual
    reaperactual Posts: 1,185
    edited November 2020
    dennisn said:

    Harry182 said:

    As said above - Squirt's my current "go to" with the caveat that it does very poorly in cold weather due to it being wax based.

    How do you know a chain lube ".....does poorly in cold weather...." or any weather for that matter? How is this "performance" measured? Are notes kept and put in files?
    I use chainsaw oil all year round. £4 a litre, it says anti fling formula on the bottle and when applying to each link while running chain backwards I can see stringy threads forming.

    Once applied and soaked in the excess is quickly and easily removed leaving a clean drivetrain, an audibly quieter chain and shifting feels smoother. Of course this could be placebo but if it ain't broke............?
  • Harry182
    Harry182 Posts: 1,170
    dennisn said:

    How do you know a chain lube ".....does poorly in cold weather...." or any weather for that matter? How is this "performance" measured? Are notes kept and put in files?

    "Measured"? We're on a public forum about bicycles. Not sure why you'd expect anything more than biased opinions and personal preferences based on one's own experiences. Some people find this helpful but, take it or leave it, it's your choice.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    Harry182 said:

    dennisn said:

    How do you know a chain lube ".....does poorly in cold weather...." or any weather for that matter? How is this "performance" measured? Are notes kept and put in files?

    "Measured"? We're on a public forum about bicycles. Not sure why you'd expect anything more than biased opinions and personal preferences based on one's own experiences. Some people find this helpful but, take it or leave it, it's your choice.
    Well, pretty much everyone on these sites claims the lubes the use is "vastly superior",
    "much better", "works better in this or that weather", etc. etc. All I'm asking is how do they determine this? Almost everything I've ever used has ended up looking black and funky after a bit. So, what's their point about their lube and how do they arrive at this conclusion that one is better than another? How does any particular one perform better than straight oil?
  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    EP90 (or EP80) gear oil. Mines now 20yrs old having bought it for my morris 1000 at the time and finding it didn't need topping up. Any oil will do.
  • david37
    david37 Posts: 1,313
    stick some on, ride your bike, clean your bike, repeat.
  • masjer
    masjer Posts: 2,727
    darkhairedlord said:

    EP90 (or EP80) gear oil. Mines now 20yrs old having bought it for my morris 1000 at the time and finding it didn't need topping up. Any oil will do.

    I don't believe this story..........owning a Morris that wasn't leaking oil.
  • reaperactual
    reaperactual Posts: 1,185
    masjer said:

    darkhairedlord said:

    EP90 (or EP80) gear oil. Mines now 20yrs old having bought it for my morris 1000 at the time and finding it didn't need topping up. Any oil will do.

    I don't believe this story..........owning a Morris that wasn't leaking oil.
    Next he will be telling us he can put a fruit pastille in his mouth without chewing it.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,492
    reaperactual said:

    masjer said:

    darkhairedlord said:

    EP90 (or EP80) gear oil. Mines now 20yrs old having bought it for my morris 1000 at the time and finding it didn't need topping up. Any oil will do.

    I don't believe this story..........owning a Morris that wasn't leaking oil.
    Next he will be telling us he can put a fruit pastille in his mouth without chewing it.
    That is one of my few skills. 🤣
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • Charlie_Croker
    Charlie_Croker Posts: 1,727
    webboo said:

    Fortunately it didn’t go in a big bang way, more a sort extended crunching way. I was five minutes ride from home. So it was a case of do I fix it and get covered in super lube and the rest or bung it in the hedge and walk home.


    I sincerely hope you didn’t do the latter
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    I have always wondered how any company that wanted to introduce a new chain oil could possibly afford to develop and test one, considering that next week some other company will come out with a new and better lube and cyclists being cyclists will drop it all to try the new brand. I'm not convinced that there is anything more than very short term revenue on a, so called, new oil. There must be a hundred different chain oils out there and at a drop a chain link I don't follow how money is made. Then again there might actually be NO new or different oils out there. Just the same old stuff repackaged.
  • rwoofer
    rwoofer Posts: 222
    Having tried Squirt, Muc-Off and White Lightening, I've settled on Finish Line Wet Lube as the easiest to use. It does collect dirt, but less so than the others and is much easier to clean than Squirt, which as many others find, clumps up on the derailleur and doesn't come off easily with degreaser.
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,389
    People would be much happier if they just accepted the outside is mucky in places.

    I cycled through some sheep shït yesterday and some is probably on my chain.

    I am okay with that.

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