Thank you for your insight past me. Well since someone brought this back I used Rock n Roll Extreme this past spring/summer and I am a big fan. Followed the instructions except I do not apply it over the cassette rather I apply it just over the chain itself. Keeps the drivetrain quite clean. You'll still pick up some muck over time but it's easy enough to clean off. Btw they also make a couple other types that are for drier conditions. I should note I used this lube in New England where you never know when it might rain or really what the weather will be like.
A lot of riders like wax chain lubes like Squirt., Rock n Roll (3 types) or White Lightning etc etc many more.
Others like "oil" Chain L, Finish Line, Royal Purple the list is very long many more types. Some even use chain saw bar oil and really like it.
The common theme I see is to oil the chain (after cleaning if needed). Pedal the cranks to work the oil into the chain. Wait to let it dry, some lube has a solvent mixed in with it. Then take a clean rag and wipe as much of the oil off the outside of the chain as you can. This method time and time agin gets posted by happy chain owners. It is common to many regardless of the lube that they use.
I road race Superbikes as well as MTB and this is how I have always doen all my chains wether it's my 180 hp race bikes or my pedal bikes and have not ever had a chain oriented failure that I can recall in 20 years.
Wait, so never mind the wax vs oil debate, THE best chain lube in the world for all riding types and conditions is one almost none of us has ever heard of let alone seen? So obscure that Google only comes back with a few whispers of it's existence? One with no empirical or even anecdotal evidence of it's superiority? That's as amazing as the notion that no bike store that I've ever been to can be considered "top notch" because none of them carry this one obscure product.
Dude, how dare you even question it?! I could tell from the sarcasm that you think that it may not be the best.....but let me remind you of the product's name. I think I just put every other school of thought to rest. I know I, for one, am tossing out my squirt (which is what I previously preferred) and I will not allow another lube to even touch my chain until my quest for A.T.B. is over :incazzato:
... and even when the conditions are known, a bunch of cyclist can get a fist fight started over lubes ...
(When I lubed the chain for Saturdays big group ride, I used White Lightning Epic Ride. It seems to work pretty well: keeps the chain quiet and doesn't collect much dirt ... unless you first go through enough mud to get it all over the drivetrain and then hit some sand and gravel that sticks to the mud :eekster: )
Go with an Pedros all-purpose lube. Shouldn't really matter which brand you use. The only differance I can think of is the wax lubes. They go on wet and then harden like wax. When the wax gets worn off the chain the dirt goes with it. I use a wax lube on my motorcycle and it works well. The key to lubing your chain is to make sure the lube gets inside the links and that you wipe the excess off. Wiping off the excess makes sure that the lube doesn't collect dirt. The purpose of lube is to lube the pivots inside the links not the links themselves. Stay away from any vegetable oil based "lubes" like 3-in-1 oil. They will only attract dirt. Hope this helps.
Lots of threads and lots of hype with bogus theories and opinions. The most solid and best researched posts seem to agree that Squirt (dry wax-based lube) is one of the best dry lubes on the market. Lead mech at my LBS agrees. I use Squirt and have been very happy with it's performance.
X's and -'s for each lube, some are messy, some are clean, some are dry, some are wet, I wish it was as easy as a motorcycle, o ring, x ring, no lube chain, driveshaft, belt, they all have too much drag for bicycles.
My choice was decided by comparing the bad side of the lubes I've tried, wet left a mess, threw itself on my disc brakes and everything else, with wet I had to clean the bike with strong cleaners often, the cleaners contaminated what the wet lube didn't, waxes need to be applied after every ride, with wax I only have to squirt water on the bike when its dirty. Let it dry and rewax.
My choice is Finish Line Ceramic Wax, I use it after the chain is dry from washing, after every ride.
Opinions on lube are all over the map. All I can give is my own experience. I've tried teflon lubes. I've tried wax lubes. I'm currently liking oil-based lubes. They hold up well in weather. I don't need to reapply them every ride. They do not fail abruptly as wax lubes are prone to do. If I apply an oil-based lube such as Chain-L one drop per roller, then I actually end up having less mess than from the wax- and teflon-based lubes that you squirt on whilst spinning the chain. So these days I'm running mostly Chain-L, and also some Finish Line Ceramic Wet Lube.
A.T.B. is a great lube. It's not very well known but I have noticed a lot of higher end LBS' carry it. I use that or Rock n Roll Extreme depending on the climate outside. It is a very light oil based lube with some dry lube type additives in it. Some people a heavy weight oil (I've seen somebody run 10W50) and I would not recommend an oil this heavy as it will not do as good of a job penetrating the rollers or links as a lighter weight oil and the heavier the weight the more dirt/dust will stick to it. I especially like ATB because it is light enough so it won't attract dust so you can run it in a dry climate (though for extreme climates such as out here in afghan during the summer, I won't run it as much as rock n roll extreme) and the oil based won't come off in a wet climate. As far as the term "best" goes it is all dependent on what you think, very few chain lubes are absolutely horrible, and really applying it right on a clean chain matters more than the type of lube. I would rather run a perfectly clean chain dry than a dirty chain with oil on it. I would definetely give it a try or even any of the Rock n Roll lubes. Being out here during the winter last year and summer really mde it clear that there is no best lube for all conditions. A chain lube that worked well during the mucky horrific mess of winter would not have worked well during the 130 degree dust storm summers (especially riding 25-30 miles a day), but Rock N Roll and ATB both performed during those conditions (although I stick to RNR more during the summer and ATB in the winter). My recommendation is try a bunch of them, find one that you like and go with that.
I just started using a wax lube for it's supposed to shed dirt, but got caught in rain and we have a lot of sandy type dirt here and got home, after I cleaned up went to clean the bike. I found the chain crunchy, could feel the sand in the links.
I read wax needs to go a super clean chain so I used a carb cleaner spray to degreaser and force all the sand out, then cleaned with simple green to make sure solvent was gone, rinsed it well and I have air compressor and used air to force any water out of the chain, then let it air dye, then put wax lube back on.
Will let u know how well it sheds dirt next ride. I was not impressed the first time but maybe I didn't yhave the chain clean enough the first try
Am I on the right track guys or should I give up the wax?:madman:
I just started using a wax lube for it's supposed to shed dirt,...snip.... I was not impressed the first time but maybe I didn't have the chain clean enough the first try
Am I on the right track guys or should I give up the wax?:madman:
I have found that the chain needs do be completely degreased for the wax to "work". It also seems to take several applications/rides before I am happy with how the wax lube is working. At first I seem to add a lot of lube after a while i need to add a lot less with each application.
squirt for me. some of the other waxs I did not like
That sounds like a plenty good enough cleaning job. I would say see how it does on the next ride, if it does alright then you are good, if not then since you can't really get it much cleaner than that, scrap it.
It doesn't much matter which brand/type lube you use. The important thing is to use it every few rides to lube and clean your chain, which then will love you back with quiet, smooth shifting.
That being said, I use wet lube in the winter and dry lube the rest of the year. Conventional wisdom has it that dirt doesn't stick well to wax lubes, but the wax won't last in wet, messy conditions; whereas oil lubes hold up to the wetness but also hold onto dirt.
I used motorcycle o-ring chain lube - all I had. Goes on very thin and then evaporates to leave a thin film of tacky lube. I wiped my chain immediately after applying it so there was as little lube as possible on the outside of the chain. Does great at penetrating the chain and staying put but still pretty messy...so might try some of the above lubes.
I've tried tons of different type of lubes, and currently I'm really liking plain old chainsaw bar oil. Seems to last longer than anything else I've tried and it is cheap.
+1 for rock and roll, requires reapplication every couple of rides but keeps everything nice and clean. I get comments all the time at trail heads about how clean my drive train is. When in reality all I do is lube and wipe off the excess.
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