Wet lube in dry conditions?

In message <[email hidden]>, Paul <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

It seems to be a general rule of thumb that you use a wet lube in wintery conditions and a dry one
when the weather it hot and dry to avoid gunk adhering to the chain and forming a grinding paste
with the lube.

Is it?

And are we talking road riding, off road a mixture etc.?

Quoted message said:

Assuming that I use a rag to clean of the chain frequently (after any long ride) is am I going
to cause myself a problem using a wet lube all year round? The weather is pretty hot and dry at
the moment.

I've always used a 'wet lube' I don't have any problems with that. I have been known to take my
chain off and give it a proper clean, but not that often. Otherwise I usually just let it get on
with it (this road riding) Though fi the bike gets a wash the chain gets a clean as well.

Quoted message said:

Is Crosscountry a good all round lube or would people recommend anything else?

I haven't bought any expensive bike lubes for a long time. I usually just pop on a little bit of car
engine oil. If I have taken the chain off for a proper clean then I heat up a bit of high viscosity
oil and let the chain soak in that.
--
Chris French, Leeds

Well, certainly the sort of recommendations a relatively new cyclist like myself has received in
bike shops suggests that using a wet lube in wet weather conditions and a dry one is dry conditions
but this may well be more of an off-road thing.

I ride mostly on road with a little very light off-road but the road where I live in Somerset tend
to be pretty rough affairs with a fair amount of mud, grit and manure around so the chain can get a
tad grubby.

I tend just to rub the muck off with a rag if it's not too grubby or use a chain bath occassionally
if it's very unclean.

I was also wondering whether you should completely clean a chain before re-lubing or not? Sorry if
this is all pretty basic stuff but I guess it pays to get it right.

Thanks for the thoughts, Paul.

"Paul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It seems to be a general rule of thumb that you use a wet lube in wintery conditions and a dry one
when the weather it hot and dry to avoid gunk adhering to the chain and forming a grinding paste
with the lube.

I have used both Finishline Crosscountry (wet) and Teflon Plus (dry) lubes and much prefer the
sound (or lack of), feel and shifting of the

drivechain

Quoted message said:

when using the Crosscountry wet lube. Equally the Crosscountry seems to

last

Quoted message said:

for several long rides whilst I seem to need to re-lube after every 40-50 miles or so using a
dry lube.

I thought I'd try dry lube earlier this year, because I wanted a cleaner chain. However after about
a month of continual reapplication and it still sounding like my chain wasn't lubricated I gave up.

I used the Halfords dry wax stuff and at the rate I used it I figured it would be cheaper to just
buy a new Sram pc48 (or whatever its called) every couple of months and never lubricate.

In the end I poured motor engine oil over the chain, it sprayed everywhere for a day, but has been
fine since.

Paul said:

I have used both Finishline Crosscountry (wet) and Teflon Plus (dry) lubes and much prefer the
sound (or lack of), feel and shifting of the drivechain when using the Crosscountry wet lube.
Equally the Crosscountry seems to last for several long rides whilst I seem to need to re-lube
after every 40-50 miles or so using a dry lube.

Be it winter or summer, wet lube lubricates better but is dirtier than dry lube. You can't win.

Quoted message said:

Assuming that I use a rag to clean of the chain frequently (after any long ride) is am I going
to cause myself a problem using a wet lube all year round? The weather is pretty hot and dry at
the moment.

Wiping the outside hardly helps at all. The chain needs a proper soaking in solvent or degreaser to
clean the innards (but this doesn't have to be done very often in dry weather). The "grinding paste"
inside the chain will cause the pins to wear more rapidly, causing the chain to elongate, causing
sprocket wear. Friction between chain outside and sprockets is nothing like so important.

~PB

Paul said:

I was also wondering whether you should completely clean a chain before re-lubing or not? Sorry
if this is all pretty basic stuff but I guess it pays to get it right.

Ideally clean it, but personally in practice only on one of the good bikes. Even then, I relube
frequently and clean only every so often.

Have you come across teh jar method for chain cleaning? Take the chain off and put it in a jar or
bottle. Half-fill jar with something light that will act as solvent for oil (not critical, meths or
white spirit is fine, avoid petrol). Put on lid (don't forget this step). Shake. Remove lid and fish
out nice clean chain, allow to drip-dry. Meanwhile, pour out the nasty black liquid in teh jar into
a bottle and set aside. Next time you want to clean the chain, the gunge will have separated out,
and teh liquid will be discoloured but clean enough - some carefull decanting will keep the liquid
going for ages, just top up occasionally with something similar.

regards, Ian SMith
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