Autumn here in northern Europe. Wet or dry lube for mtb?
I clean my chain after every ride so cleaning will be easier using a dry lube but will it last my ride or should I choose wet lube to protect the drivetrain but more difficult to keep clean?
best regards
Joel
Common rule of thumb is to use the same lube type as your trail/environmental conditions.
Wet Trails & Weather = Wet Lube
Dry/Dusty Trails & Weather = Dry Lube
Idea being that wet lube in a dry environment will attract and hold dust, which can lead to premature wear (and don’t forget the bigger evil… power loss 
).
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Squirt Lube. The end.
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Really? I’m hugely underwhelmed by Squirt. I maybe applied it wrongly (too much, too little) but all it did was gather around my jockey wheels or ball up and flick off the chain.
I’ll stick to Morgan blue race oil.
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Squirt Lube. The end.
+1 here
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I guess I don’t know exactly how you used it, but I’ve not had those issues. It is true that the excess will crumble off, but its only excess, the chain is still getting the lube it needs where it needs. It is so much cleaner and easier. I’m sure there are plenty of applications instructions online, but I’ve found it works well to wipe the chain down good with blue shop towel, then put about one drop on each roller. Then roll the rollers around with your finger to work it down the sides of the roller, then spin the whole chain a few times, and let it dry. This means its best to lube before you want to ride.
Whatever magical recipe they have developed at squirt works way better than any other wax lube I’ve tried. Once the moisture is evaporated, the chain is left buttery smooth. Should thoroughly clean off any other lube product prior to switching over to Squirt. Can run the chain through a few ultrasonic baths of degreaser/cleaner rinse cycles, or boil and rinse repeats until there is no oil product. Rinse the chain thoroughly and make sure its totally dry by putting in oven or hair dryer for a while. Then give it a good Squirt bath for the initial application. After that only need the routine little applications you’d normally do like if you were using petroleum based lube. Its great stuff. I was surprised to hear that you had a bad experience with it. Good luck if you try it again.
After all of the discussion about waxing chains, I’ve been thinking about giving Squirt a try. Just not up to buying all of the equipment/taking the time to start dip waxing my chains, second best option seems to be Squirt. I’m also a fan of just wiping my chain down and relubing after every 60-100mi’s.
FWIW, I have not loathed a lube more than Squirt in a long time.
Super disappointed after reading all the hype and positive reviews. Someone asked if maybe I had a counterfeit bottle, so I tried 3 bottles from different sources… no change. I was also asked if I cleaned my chains enough before the first application; the answer is yes. I used an ultrasonic cleaner with degreaser and did 3 heated baths/cycles on each chain, and then baked them after to completely dry them. They were as clean as clean can get.
My problem is two-fold, with the biggest issue being that this stuff is just incredibly messy. People are saying “no more greasy black hands after handling my chain”… what the ? All three of the chains/bikes I applied Squirt on ended up sticky, black, goo EVERYWHERE. I was figuring the wax in Squirt would dry harder than it does. It stays rather soft, like playdoh, and it’s very sticky. Despite what the Squirt marketing material says, the excess does NOT flake off during riding. Instead, it collects on your derailleur pulleys, cassette, and chainring. I went through a ton of shop towels trying to keep my drivetrain mildly clean with Squirt on there. I ended up putting new chains on and completely ditching Squirt after about 2 weeks, and I’m STILL finding black wax goo in random places, including making a mess of my shop and basement floor near the trainer… 6 months later.
The other issue is that it just didn’t seem to last all that long from a lubrication stand point either. My drivetrain would start developing noise within a couple hour MTB ride, where as the ProGold Xtreme I have used for years (and have went back to) works silently and cleanly for 4-5+ hour MTB rides. Been back on PGX now for 6 months on all my bikes, no complaints, no mess, no chain noise.
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The way you describe Squirt, it sounds very similar to Boeshield to me (in regards to the waxy messy buildup). I tried Boeshield and ended up switching for some of the same reasons you mention. I currently use ProLink Gold as well. Application is easy and I can go 100+mi before my chain even starts to think about squeaking. It also doesn’t collect a bunch of grime. Maybe I’ll just stick with that. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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Sorry to bring up an old thread.
Have been using Squirt for a few years now without any issues.
Did a 50km MTB race a few weeks back on a super dusty day.
I’m not sure if something else was at play but I had horribly sounding gears after 20km’s so bad I thought there was something mechanically wrong.
I just want to add that I hate Squirt for the reasons above @jmvcolorado. I do not understand the hype, I will never use again. I use White Lighting Clean Ride. I applied that once the night before and it performed perfect for 105 miles, 17.5 hours of riding and 3,361 shifts. That also included riding in muddy trails after a thunderstorm for the last 1-2 hours.
Performance also due to the use of AXS which has been absolutely flawless.
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When I was using Muc-Off the chain got black gunk on it, however, it was very easy to clean. I really liked how the drivetrain was super quiet for a few days after application.
Now, with Squirt, the chain is noticeably cleaner. However, it is also significantly louder.
I’m not Googling that at work.
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Synthetic motor oil for bicycle chains and synthetic gear oil for motorcycle chains. Apply with toothbrush and wipe with whatever is available. Clean with dish soap. Doesn’t get cheaper, and I don’t see what I’m missing in not using stupid expensive products.
I ride mainly fairly dry conditions. For day to day riding I use Rock N Roll Gold.
I’ll try and initially get the chain really clean with an ultrasonic cleaner. I then apply Rock N Roll Gold, which goes on wet and then dries. Immediately after applying you wipe off the excess and then let the chain dry and its good to go.
I tend to wipe my chain down with a microfiber after riding as part of my post-ride cleanup. After every 1 - 2 rides I apply some more Rock N Roll Gold. You just pour it on the chain and then wipe off. It helps keep things clean and running smooth.
For long endurance races, like Leadville, I’ll use a race day chain and wax it with Molten Speed Wax, but I’ve found Rock N Roll Gold is great for my normal everyday riding.
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For those that have not had good luck with Squirt, I wonder how you cleaned the chain. You have to get it clean the first time like you are going to hot wax it. Just a content user.