How to use dry lube

[Mark1978]

I've finally got sick of my chain always been completely filthy and since the weather has improved (slightly) I'm trying dry lube for the first time. I got a bottle of Finish Line dry lube (red label)

Cleaned the chain with the park tool chain scrubber thing then put the lube on by the advised method of spraying it onto a moving chain then wipe off the excess.

Did a 50 mile ride but the chain did seem a bit dirty afterwards, not terrible, but still. To be fair the ride was drizzly and I did do some gravel riding.

So I'm after some general advice on how to go about things and how often I need to reapply?

[nicmarsh]

I bought a dry lube with PTFE yesterday to try for the first time too. (Muc-off)
It is for a new chain and the advice is to degrease the chain first, but is that really necessary given a new chain? I expect i will be told it is but would also welcome any comments re. this type of lube.

[Valbrona]

You have to let it dry before riding. After application I do not remove the excess as such, but run the chain through my fingers to disperse the drops.

And yeah, you have to clean a new chain because they can come with quite a lot of lubricant already. Suffice to run a new chain through a clean cloth.

[Mick F]

Putting your chain through a chain scrubber won't be enough. You need to take it off and clean it properly because a dry lube need to be on a CLEAN and DRY chain to work properly.

Dry lube naturally sheds itself and therefore the grit with it, so you need to add more to replenish. I find it depends on the weather - up to 100miles in nice weather, and down to 50miles in the wet. I've used White Lightning Clean Ride for many years.

When you add more, you need to give it a couple of hours to dry before riding. I tend to do it the night before, or as soon as I get up in the morning.

[MikeDee]

When I get a new chain, I soak it in mineral spirits, which removes the grease. Then I let it dry and lube with Squirt lube. If the chain is dirty, I use an old water bottle and put some Simple Green and a lot of water in it, then put it in the microwave and boil the water, then put the chain in and shake, leave for 20 minutes, flush it with water and dry in the hot sun or with compressed air, then relube.

[andrew_s]

Did a 50 mile ride but the chain did seem a bit dirty afterwards,

It's not just the chain you have to clean.
On most bikes there's plenty of muck on the sprockets, chainrings and jockey wheels to make a new chain look dirty quite quickly.

[trull]

Isopropyl alcohol can be used to clean the chain...and its the thinner used in the liquid wax products.

[trull]

I use a mixture of ceramic and PTFE dry waxes BTW.

[MikeDee]

I use a mixture of ceramic and PTFE dry waxes BTW.

Ceramic? What lube/wax is this?

[Mattyfez]

I bought a dry lube with PTFE yesterday to try for the first time too. (Muc-off)
It is for a new chain and the advice is to degrease the chain first, but is that really necessary given a new chain? I expect i will be told it is but would also welcome any comments re. this type of lube.

I have the same lube for my mtb, thinking of trying something else as it only takes a few dirty puddles and an hour or so of riding later once dried I get a bit of squeaking from the drive chain, easy cured by a wipe down and a bit more lube.

Not sure if it's the muc off lube that's at fault or if I should use a wet lube instead.

[nicmarsh]

I bought a dry lube with PTFE yesterday to try for the first time too. (Muc-off)
It is for a new chain and the advice is to degrease the chain first, but is that really necessary given a new chain? I expect i will be told it is but would also welcome any comments re. this type of lube.

I have the same lube for my mtb, thinking of trying something else as it only takes a few dirty puddles and an hour or so of riding later once dried I get a bit of squeaking from the drive chain, easy cured by a wipe down and a bit more lube.

Not sure if it's the muc off lube that's at fault or if I should use a wet lube instead.

If theres likely puddles I would go with a wet lube or perhaps try the ceramic lubes? I am trying this dry lube on a cherished 25 year old bike that I try not to get wet anymore!

[trull]

Ceramic lube is a mixture of a waxy emulsion suspended in isopropyl alcohol and boron nitride mainly. The nitride evens out microscopic cracks and scratches on your chains bearing surfaces.

[Valbrona]

Muc-Off do both a wet and dry lube with a ceramic additive. I have used both, but now only use wet lube on account of its self-healing.

[easyroller]

I use Muc-Off on my bikes too.
The C3 Ceramic Wet Lube on the hybrid and road bike, then C3 Ceramic Dry on the time trial bike.

Wet: https://muc-off.com/lube/33-c3-ceramic- ... 69002.html

Dry: https://muc-off.com/lube/179-c3-dry-ceramic-lube.html


How to apply:



Best done the night before to give it time to dry and settle into the chain links.