Chain lube…….Yes, that old chestnut.

White Lightning wet goes on nicely, your chain does get black but a quick wipe with a rag when you get back sorts it out. Excellent lubrication and excellent corrosion resistance - tested by me in the Peak District and on the beach!

Well, I started a thread on this very topic about a month ago...

I was pointed in the direction of Peaty's All Weather.

I have to say that initial impressions are very good. Minimal cack build-up so far, seems to stay put whilst needed. It's not been properly tested yet in real filth or snow etc. Although that looks set to change.

It seems about right to me in terms of stickiness. I've become convinced that Muc Off and Finishline Wet lubes are basically for people that leave chains muddy - too sticky for anyone who is vaguely conscientious.

You'll get lots of personal recommendations but I've long been a fan of Purple Extreme.

https://www.18bikes.co.uk/bike-medicine-purple-extreme-chain-lube-120ml.html

@fenderextender - I've been using Peatys All Weather on my gravel bike for about 18 months as a bit of an experiment. The bottle is almost empty now, after about 2,500km. Chain wear, cleanliness and longevity of application have all been fine/good.

I've been using this for years on and off road. I struggle to get all religious about it as it seems to just work. I just wish I'd paid more attention to the serving size before buying it 🙂

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What do you want from a chain lube? Does drivetrain wear rate factor into your consideration?

Zero Friction Cycling is a fantastic resource and the only place I can think of where you can see a multitude of lubes tested in a repeatable way and compared.

But it just washes off in winter filth.

News-flash: they all do to a greater or lesser extent, even the fundamentalists of the waxing brigade can't escape this truth. You just need to find a lube (and re-lubing regime) that you'll stick to, I generally do a 30-100km ride week, and I can get all I need from Juice Lubes Viking. I'm not promoting it,  needs me to make sure I'm not applying it just before I ride, as it will just wash off directly, so you need to stay on top of it, and for the size of the dropper, it's expensive (in comparison to other forms of lube) but it's convenient, it builds up over time, and it does everything I need it to.

Zero Friction Cycling is a fantastic resource

He lives in Aus, and thinks that a dirty ride is one that involves back-country roads. If he saw what most of us here in the UK have to deal with each winter (especially those of us who ride off-road) given what he thinks is a dirty ride, I honestly think he'd have a coronary.

Bottom line, riding a bike off road with a chain in winter in the UK involves re-lubing your chain after most rides, even if that just running it through a rag to decontaminate it, or keep it from going rusty. Choose a lube that you'll do that with, choose your own levels of embuggerance, cost,time, availability, and use it consistently. There are no rights or wrongs.

smoove is the only answer

but yes, if we are talking UK winter MTB then the chain is nothing but a muddy log after an outing, will require hosing and scrubbing most likely, and obviously a relube at this point

He lives in Aus, and thinks that a dirty ride is one that involves back-country roads. If he saw what most of us here in the UK have to deal with each winter (especially those of us who ride off-road) given what he thinks is a dirty ride, I honestly think he’d have a coronary.

Yes. But let's not throw the baby put with the bath water. No one else is doing anything faintly similar and if you spend time looking at his methodology, there is still learning that's relevant to UK usage.

the blue coloured peatys, not had a rusty chain and it appears cleaner than normal on the bikes i've used it on.

nice minty smell is a bonus.

Another vote for Purple Extreme here, it's really really good stuff.

18 bikes have started importing/distributing it

Smoove or Squirt.

I have been using Squirt on the MTBs for years and never had a problem. Used summer and winter. Properly clean and degrease chain before first application and then apply as needed or after a proper chain clean. No mucky build up and good corrosion resistance.

When I bought my gravel bike in 2019 I bought a bottle of Smoove to see how it compared to Squirt and it is equally as good so have been using it ever since on that bike.

(I know using two different lubes on different bikes is a bit daft but that's the regime I have got in to - OCD or what? 🙂 )

I’ve been impressed by Peatys all condition. Going to try the wet for winter on the mtb.

No one else is doing anything faintly similar

Oh sure, his technical analysis is pretty much the gold standard. But the inescapable truth of cycling through the winter in the UK is there is no single 'right' answer to this, as it involves too many variables, the terrain, your riding habits, your mechanical sympathy,  the quality and type of chain and gear system you use, your own tolerance for cleaning or faff, and your budget. Trying to nail all that down to "X product" is just like playing Top Trumps.

Usually squirt,or cold weather squirt. But if gets properly sustained manky/wet then squirt won't cut it so then peatys all weather is pretty good. Somewhere in-between is the fenwicks pro which works as an decent all-rounder.

Rock n Roll blue - clean but lasts well.

If you want one lube, its a great compromise.

Nothing will run properly clean in winter - my mate just uses cheap 3 in 1 - his view is that being able to get the lube off when cleaning is important.

Its a view, but I've committed to the chain OCD treadmill.

I might have to change brans, Ive always used Finish Line, because thats pretty much all you used to be able to get.

May try Peatys

IMO winter and lube is not so much a lottery but very dependant on how and where you ride. ie You might need to re lube after 1 ride or you might be lucky and get 1 month. Cleaning the chain in winter is just as important as the lube IMO

I might have to change brans

Probably. Good for some movements, just maybe not the chain's?

Rock n Roll blue has been my lube of choice for many years.

I agree it's very clean but don't agree that it lasts well! I apply it maybe once a week when it's dry, and after every ride when it's wet.

I used pro gold for years and liked how it can clean the chain as well, then tried Squirt, not really a fan so tried Peaty's dry and premium all weather, I'm sticking with Peaty's from now on.

putoline.  Despite what some non users say it lasts multiple rides even in filthy conditions tho peat soils will strip it quickest.

Simply dunk the chain in the molten wax for a few mins then wipe the outside when cool.

Thanks for the suggestions.

When I said Prolink Gold washes off, I mean it washes off during the first ride. I’m not expecting any miracles, I’d just like a lube that lasts a few hours. I don’t mind the maintenance aspect and I’m expecting to have to reapply following washing. I’d just like it to last longer than the first puddle.

I tried Peaty's All weather during the summer and thought it made a right mess of the chain due to the amount of dust (yes dust) it attracted.  Certainly significantly worse than my preferred White Lightning Epic.

Maybe I'll give it another go over the winter on the gravel bike.

We are indeed stocking Purple Extreme again, hoping we can get it back to where it was a good few years back - a shop fave and popular with lots of folks.  It's hard to describe but think of it as going on like a dry lube, but with staying power more like a wet lube.  I use it all seasons and love that you don't end up with the horrible goopy grinding paste of other wet/all season lubes.

It's worth getting into the habit of lubing the chain well before your ride though, that gives the carrier enough time to evaporate off, leaving the important lube behind.  Post ride or cleaning, rather than just before you head out.  If you can, anyhow!

We're after UK stockists too, so please mention to shops that you're matey with.  We should have some samples out later this month to a few mags, bloggers, video folks and the likes.

Another vote for Juice Lubes, Viking Juice or Wet lube depending on if it's wet-ish or wet wet.

Stihl Synthetic Sawchain Oil.

@18bikes - great news that you've taken it on. Availability was previously sporadic so I'd buy maybe 3 bottles when Wiggle actually had stock.

@scotroutes - we'd like to think so, yeah.  Spread the word eh?!

Another Viking Juice fan here. It needs regular re-application when it's wet but it doesn't seem to attract dirt.

i quite like the Muck-off wet lube for ebikes (but for all my bikes). its not thick and sticky - just a thin spray lube. seems to do the job

Prior to that i was on GT85!

evenything else was a bit sticky sludgy, made a right mess, crap. (i ride in ALL weathers)

Rock and roll blue for me. Applied after cleaning my chain, well before (at least a night) my next ride. Far less gunk build up than my previous favourite of ProGold Xtreme.

Recently changed to Silca Super Secret as it fits well with my habit of occasionally hot waxing. Penetrates really well into the chain and early indications are it lasts longer in the wet than Squirt or Smoove.

So following on from lots of useful suggestions, and trying some Peaty’s from one of my LBS, I did the STW thing and ignored everyone and jump into the rabbit hole of hot chain waxing.

I managed to pick up a barely used small slow cooker off Marketplace. I ordered some GLF Wax from @daz of this parish. I thoroughly cleaned the KMC gold chain off my gravel bike today, lots of aggressive degreaser, rinsed and dried with an air line. The clean chain spent an hour in the hot wax, left to dry and cool, I gently wiped the outside plates and refitted.

A quick spin around the block and the drive train is nicely quiet. I shall give it a proper test tomorrow around the FOD. Plus marks are that the chain is still nicely shiny.

* Did I mention I’m a Bike Ponce and looks matter as much ass functionality?

😉

You might struggle with the wax adhering to the KMC chain. The Zero Friction chap reckons KMC chains have a slippery coating on them that interferes with the wax adhesion.

Also - at the risk of  dampening your spirits further I found the GLF wax great until it got wet and then the chain became noisy very quickly. For background, I started with Putoline which was excellent in all weathers and lasted ages. However, on a road bike I prefer something cleaner (Putoline leaves a fair amount of gunk around which retains dust/minor debris) so I switched to Molten Speed Wax for a bit. I then tried GLF as I liked the idea of supporting a fellow forumite, but it didn’t seem to last more than a few rides. I’m back on the Molten Speed Wax now but it does need reapplying after any kind of wet ride. I’m tempted to try the Silca wax and then use their drip on lube as a top up after a wet ride - the Silca lube can be applied on top of any wax and does not require a full “reset” of the chain before immersive waxing again. Most (not all though - Tungsten for example) drip on lubes applied on top of the wax will require a full degrease before reapplying the wax. On an MTB I would probably only consider Putoline as an immersive wax solution. I get about 300km between waxings on the MSW - I run 2 chains so I just pop a fresh one on as soon as it needs redoing and then re-wax the spare when convenient.

^ I could have written pretty much exactly that. I've given up on waxing except for the Sunday Best road bike, and still have some ancient Putoline on the MTB and winter road bikes as I don't care about them having gunky black drivetrains.

Winter gravel/CX bike is on Synergetic which seems to perform amazingly, lightening fast shifts, quiet, actually feels noticeably faster, but I still have doubts about its ability to last e.g. a muddy wet 100km ride.

Summer gravel bike is on Fenwick's Pro which seems to run smooth and quiet and last a reasonable length of time, but I haven't really tested it yet in filthy wet conditions, and it can't be re-applied on the go like Synergetic.

I m a glf user and v happy.  Part of my daily ride is mud and it sticks to anything it comes into contact with, the chain is now running super smooth.  I m actually going to buy a few spare chains and rotate usage, it's 9 speed so more tolerance.  I just view chain waxing as part of bike cleaning routine.

Stihl Synthetic.

So...  What about recommendations for those of us that don't do any chain maintenance..., at all?

On my commuter my current regime is waiting for it to start squeaking, give it a dose of finish line green at the next opportunity, then wipe off the excess with. A wd40 soaked cloth...  It seems to enable the lube to penetrate chain better, thus giving longer between relubes.

Just been gifted some much off all seasons type stuff for Xmas. May try that as an alternative, though other muc off lube I tried was awful.

Weldtite TF2 that's all .

He lives in Aus, and thinks that a dirty ride is one that involves back-country roads. If he saw what most of us here in the UK have to deal with each winter (especially those of us who ride off-road) given what he thinks is a dirty ride, I honestly think he’d have a coronary.

Geology and weather conditions vary hugely. There are places like Western Tasmania or North Queensland that are as wet as anywhere in the British Isles. The classic Australian conditions are much more Mediterranean climates like Perth, Adelaide etc.

The soils where I am are horrible sandy clays. We get 2m+ rainfall each year. Together that makes short work of chains and things "made for British conditions" sometimes don't last long at all. I'm looking at you Hope.

Weldtite tf2, stays on chain well wet or dry with minimum faff and cleans off easily with degreaser unlike some lubes which just smear all over the place and need to be chiselled off. I realise this implies that the smeary stuff is better but there are times when it just all needs to come off.

Weldtite  TF2 won’t get in the rollers so while it may appear to be doing a good job I very much doubt that it is. Inside the rollers is where all the friction and wear occurs and if you want your drivetrain to last as long as possible then inside the rollers is where you want to be concentrating on getting the lube/wax.

I’m sure its great for bearings, axles, pedal threads etc but its a no from me as a chain lube.

I use Squirt wax lube. It's great for everything except long, very wet rides. Fine for winter roads and trails for a few hours though. If it was heavy rain it wouldn't last long.

I would be very surprised if any reasonable chain oil wouldn’t capillary into the rollers. To be honest I haven’t noticed any difference in drivetrain life with any lube I’ve used as long as it isn’t GT85

Weldtite TF2 won’t get in the rollers so while it may appear to be doing a good job I very much doubt that it is

I googled it and got TF2 grease too 😆

Am guessing the lube being referred to is the All Weather drip lube which seems to get good reviews (although yet more improbable sounding mileages, 400 miles in mixed conditions out of a light drip lube??)

Ah yes, there is more than one TF2 variant! ?. Presumably it’s the All Weather one as you say. I’ve just done 60km on wet roads with a freshly MSW waxed chain and it’s now got surface rust on it and needs rewaxing/decontaminating with a boiling water rinse. I’m tempted to try whacking a load of Silca Super Secret on it after rewaxing and seeing that improves things…

there are times when it just all needs to come off.

I've taken the approach that this is every time.

Peatys is great for this, because it's just tenacious enough that it persists reasonably in the wet, but can be driven out with a hydroshot and a few revolutions of the crank.