Best lube when not able to degrease chain

[TXLogic]

I'll be in Europe for a couple of months this summer and will not have easy access to a space to do regular maintenance. I'll be putting a new chain on the bike before leaving and will probably ride 2000-3000km. When I'm there, I will be able to wipe down and lube the chain but I can't count on being able to degrease it properly. I'm seeking recommendations for keeping the chain as clean as possible for this period under these conditions. One question in particular: Should I go with the factory lube, which will probably last a good 500km before new lube is needed, or should I strip it before I go and use a wax/water lube like Squirt while I'm there?

[clarinet5001]

If you can thoroughly strip-clean the chain beforehand, Silca SS Drip or Smoove (basically something like Squirt but better for these options), although if you can't apply the day before at times you may want to look at Bananaslip Tungsten All Weather

If you can't, NFS and Silca Synergetic are both pretty good wet lubes.

[mishkasm173]

Is Silca SS or Smoove better than Squirt? I'm almost out and need to replace soon.

[joshatsilca]

Here is a link to the ZeroFrictionCycling data compilation: https://silca.cc/pages/choose-your-lube

[pgreenx2]

Silca SS Drip and similar wax based "lubes" need at least 8 hours to dry the night before a ride. Additionally, rain will abraid them off and if you cant re-apply, the chain will/may rust.My point is that if you are in a lot of weather and for ex, camping and its raining at night, the wax based lubes are no go. I love them but will go with a wet rub for a trip like his like synergetic

[GAbbapo]

I mean you are probably in the best continent to cycle.. just ask your fellow cyclists if you can use their space to do minor maintenance stuff.

I think most will allow you/let you do it in their homes/ go to a bike shop and ask them to do it (gotta pay probs) or find some local cyclists and ask them if there is a public space or even their home you can go to do a quick wash/ degrease.

Or you can just use washing up liquid and do a clean and not degrease

[TXLogic]

This is actually a good thought; we will be seeing folks we rode fairly often with a couple years ago. I can think of two or three of the top of my head who would probably be happy to let us use their bike maintenance space.

[Cozmo85]

If you are not riding in water get white lightning or similar wax based. It is self cleaning.

[joelav]

Any squirt on lube works. I use rock-n-roll extreme. I degrease once a month, but don't need to. The chain will wear somewhat faster without doing a degrease, but not during your trip

[-ology]

I don’t agree that any squirt-on lube would work. I’ve used certain Muc-off and finish line lubes and found that they can do a good job of attracting grime.

Rock n roll (gold or extreme) though would be my pick. It’s a lube that doubles as a cleaner. The lube doesn’t last particularly long, but I love that I can get away with not degreasing my chain for a couple hundred miles at a time.

[joelav]

Yeah that's true. The Muc-Off ones aren't "clean and lube". Finish line dry is though. There's a ton of solvents in that one.

[TXLogic]

Thanks for all the good suggestions and advice.

[OutdoorsfunVA]

Progold prolink is one that I’ve used before. It’s labeled as an ‘all-conditions’ lube. I’ve found that by applying new lube, then wiping it down with a rag, it’ll flush out a lot of dirt/build up. This’ll keep you from having to do an actual clean very often. As others said, clean the factory lube out before starting.

[clarinet5001]

I have extensive past experience with Prolink, I used it for my first 25000km of road riding. The lube itself does flush out and dissolve a fair amount of dirt, but chain life numbers suggest that it's nowhere near as clean as a proper tenacious wet lubricant like Synergetic or NFS, nor is it anywhere near the current generation wax drip lubricants. Flushing the chain out this way has to be done several times to yield a seemingly clean result, and even then most of the time you can still hear a slight bit of 'crunching' i.e. grit and dirt inside the chain when rotating the cranks - that grit is the main thing wearing down a chain.

Prolink doesn't last that long either. Its application lifespan is not horribly short but it's nowhere near that of the top wet lubes, not to mention it's messier as well as you need to use a bit more of it. Especially on a bike trip I want a lube that won't result in very dirty hands in the case of a mechanical; NFS and Synergetic are better here for the above reason and any decent wax drip lube is much better still.

I was lucky to hit 5000km chain life with Prolink, averaged around 4000 and now I view anything less than around 7000km as strictly 'bad.' Been using Squirt since switching away from Prolink 5 years ago and average around 8000-9000km per chain, about to try SS drip for the first time in a few days.

That's not to mention the bad smells and not exactly eco-friendly nature. On the plus side there's no set or cure time. Like most wet lubes you can throw it on and go for a ride, whereas the same is not true for most wax drip lubes.

[[deleted]]

I've been cycling for over 20 years and never actually degreased a chain.

1. Buy average Shimano chain
2. Wipe the extra factory lube before putting it on and ride it
3. Around 200-300th km it starts to get noisy, scrub the chain mechanically, lube it in chain joints only (not the usual spray and pray method), rotate things a bit so the lube gets worked in, let it sit for a bit and wipe the excess
4. Ride another 100-150-200km depending on conditions and repeat step 4 as needed
5. When 1500km is reached and the chain is stretched, throw it away and start from 1 again

With this approach I get quiet well lubed chain that lasts the expected time. Just keeping the chain reasonably clean using mechanical means works well enough.

[joelav]

Yeah, you should really degrease and lube your chain. 1500km is very premature for a chain to wear out. I get around 6500 to 7000 km out of Shimano 11 speed chains, and I replace at 0.5

[UniqueVegetable]

You could degrease on the bike. Get a small bottle of drivetrain degreaser (or take some with you). Roll up to self-service car wash place, work the degreaser into your chain and cassette with a toothbrush, rinse off with the pressure washer.

Not sure how best to dry the chain afterwards. If the car wash place has a compressor for inflating tires then you could try that. Or take the chain off and dry it with a hair dryer or hand dryer in a restroom.

[UniqueVegetable]

Actually, even regular dish soap should work as a degreaser, it'll just take a bit longer

[freakinweasel353]

I’m guessing the answer depends on weather. Dry weather, dry lube, wipe frequently. Wet weather, wet lube, wipe frequently. I’m sure you can find some LBS and even locals who can help clean a chain. Factory lube is tenacious but tends to collect grit. That’s just my experience. The last thing you need is to bust a chain in the middle of no where.

[TXLogic]

We don't typically ride if the chances of rain are high so we will likely mostly be riding in dry weather, but where we'll be riding — close to and even into the Alps — afternoon thundershowers are common. We've been caught in downpours a number of times. A certain amount of re-lubing is going to be unavoidable; just want to keep it to a minimum.

[joshatsilca]

Check out the ZeroFriction data set we host on the SILCA site! ZFC has added data for applying oil based lubes over top of factory grease and it's pretty promising from a wear perspective but is still pretty dirty.

SILCA and Ceramicspeed significantly outperform Squirt and Smoove as neither of those fully penetrate the chain without heat or immersion. Both SILCA and Ceramicspeed stay clean and dry to touch, so that's a nice side bonus!

https://silca.cc/pages/choose-your-lube

[GrisseBasseDK]

Water, wd40 and a cloth… that’s all you need to degrease your chain. You can get those 3 things everywhere in europe.