Squirt Application

do you wipe the outside of the rollers clean when the squirt is still liquid

I don't, its water which acts as a carrier to get the wax into the rollers, it dries by itself. Your black bits is the wax flaking off after it gets dirty / polluted, which is exactly what's supposed to happen. If you do wipe it you may get less.

I just remove my chain when I relube, it's pretty simple with quick links these days and keeps the excess off chainrings / cogs until it's dry. I wipe the chain with a rag before reapplying the lube.

I do a quick re-lube after most rides, I'm not particularly concerned about even application, I just make sure every link is covered and let it dry overnight.

The best way of applying Squirt is to remove the cap completely, dispense it into a plastic container, then throw the whole lot in the bin.

The best way of applying Squirt is to remove the cap completely, dispense it into a plastic container, then throw the whole lot in the bin.

Ha ha - it's not that bad, it's clean, it lubes, but not for long. It's more like XCO race lube, not round the world trekking / multi day bikepacking that's for sure.

You could try Smoove (sold here on STW) I've not used it indoors but I don't think it sheds like Squirt.

I apply it and leave it to dry, if I'm feeling considerate I run the chain through the gears so the whole cassette gets a bit of wax.

What @scotroutes said. It's terrible stuff. It made my chain black and gunky. I don't know why anyone would buy a 2nd bottle of the stuff.

Degrease your chain, clean it. Then use a different dry oil.

Thanks for the input, @scotroutes gets the award for making me laugh

I think it's because it has a slightly lower melting point that say a 'hot wax' which means your chain can get warm enough indoors for it to get soft again and shed, my turbo bike is exactly the same and I have a little accumulation of black blobs on the floor underneath the chain.

I guess you could apply it, leave it to dry overnight or until you use it next, then run chain through a rag with a squirt of GT85 or similar on it to take off any residual surface wax. That's what I do with my Putolined chain on the CX bike, gives the clean a superficial clean but leaves the wax where it needs to be.

As a low maintenance equivalent to hot waxing I still rate Squirt, my summer road bike drivetrain has lasted seemingly forever on approx 200-300km intervals relubing with Squirt.

Having said that, I'm going Molten Speed Wax as soon as I can be bothered ordering all the peripheral stuff that goes with it 🙄

The goal is obviously to get the lube in the rollers so my question is do you wipe the outside of the rollers clean when the squirt is still liquid?

Have you properly degreased the chain before starting to use Squirt? Certainly with Smoove, which is very similar, it only really works properly if the chain is fully degreased. At which point you might as well simply use an immersive hot wax anyway, but that's another story. Zero Friction found that applying pre-warmed Smoove lube to a properly clean and warm chain gave results comparable to immersive waxing.

Anyway, my experience using Smoove as a top-up on a waxed chain was that it didn't really shed much at all, though I've not used Squirt.

I've just recently tried using squirt after using normal chain lube.

So far it seems good and doesn't hold onto dirt, much better than the old stuff I was using. Chains are still clean after riding in the sloppy conditions round here.

As it's on the MTB I'm finding I have to apply it more than I thought I would say every two rides.

It definitely seems to have helped with gear changes, seems a lot smoother.

I'll probably move to full wax immersion thingy soon as the squirt was an experiment.

I've used Squirt for years and generally like it but find the I have to re-lube essentially every ride, and the sticky black floor dots after an indoor maintenance session are a hassle. Anyone switched from Squirt to Smoove and found an improvement on these factors?

Squirts good in the summer but it needs a clean chain for initial application & needs and redoing after a decent ride.
Smoove is better but again needs clean chain to start with.
I got a bottle of Ebike Squirt just to see, as it was on sale but not used it yet.

Cycling indoors is just weird, I have no sympathy if you have a waxy deposit on your carpet 🙂

Squirt is great on a mtb in sandy or general dryish conditions. It's rubbish on an indoor trainer as like most wax lubes it will shed bits that end up on the floor. I would go for a light non-wax dry lube instead. Or just accept the wax shedding and have an ipa spray bottle for a quick wipe up.

I’ve used Squirt for years and generally like it but find the I have to re-lube essentially every ride, and the sticky black floor dots after an indoor maintenance session are a hassle. Anyone switched from Squirt to Smoove and found an improvement on these factors?

Smoove considerably better. Squirt I found I needed to apply regularly. Smoove on the MTB lasts a good number of dry rides though I normally reapply if the chain has been immersed in mud or I've needed to wash the bike.

On the road bike and brompton I find it lasts ages (though again if you ride in really wet conditions YMMV) - I probably do about 100km each week on the road bike and relube only after a few months. However, on the mtb I find the chain stays pretty clean - I think the type of dust/dirt/sand you get off road works well with the 'gather the dirt and flake off'. On bikes used on road I think you get a lot of road 'gunk' from riding in damp conditions and the chain ends up with a sticky black layer on the outside (even if I've been careful not to get lube on the outside when applying it). It's worth using the Smoove cleaner (in one of those clip on chain cleaning contraptions) after a few months and reapplying lube to a clean chain.

Oily crap on the floor from using a bike on a trainer is definitely an issue. But I'm not sure trad wet lubes are a great deal better.

@timmy yes.

I was a loyal squirt user for many years but it never really could take Lancashire's best weather.

I switched to smoove a couple of years ago on a trusted mates recommendation and not looked back.

It lasts I'd say 5 good rides I'd say with all the benefits of a dry wax.

Highly recommended.

Smoove definitely an improvement on Squirt, although I’d say both keep your chain in better condition provided you look after it properly and in particular don’t leave it wet after washing, which is likely to make it rust pretty rapidly.

Thanks all - I presume as they are both dry wax there'd be not need to do a degrease to move from Squirt to Smoove?

No I certainly changed from one to the other without an issue. I do have Molten Speed Wax which I hot coat the chain with every now and then as well to give it a deep clean, it doesn’t last all that long though so I find I still need to use a wax lube again after 2 or 3 rides.

I would degrease, takes minutes, then let the chain dry and it'll suck the Smoove straight in. If you don't, Smoove will probably bead up and fall off.

I've dumped the chain cleaner and have been using the Pedro's sponge and foaming spray.