Alternative to wet lube

[Twilkes]

I've always used Finishline Wet but have come to the conclusion that it just gums up my drivetrain with grainy gunk.

What alternative should I look at? (not wax)

I've vaguely heard about lube with evaporating solvent, to break down the dirt and leave a lube behind, what might that have been?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Do you wipe down your chain after applying wet lube? The lube is meant to be inside the rollers, not on the outside of the chain. If you’re not wiping down , that’s the cause of your issue.

 

[Peter Salt]

What Ming says above. That said, wet lube is quite good at attracting dust/dirt in dry conditions so you're right, over time it will always gunk up - unless you clean after each ride.

What I do is always use ceramic dry lube - it's for dry conditions but washes off a lot harder in the wet then 'standard' dry lube. On top of that, I have one of these bad boys in my saddle bag full of proper wet lube - in case it really pours and the dry lube washes off.

[EDIT]
You don't mention what bike it is. If you're really not enjoying drivetrain maintenance, consider switching to a belt drive.

 

[Twilkes]

It's a 10 speed road bike, wipe after lubing but Scottish roads ain't clean at the best of times. Can you recommend a ceramic dry, would have no problems lubing more often if it meant cleaning less often.

 

[Peter Salt]

to be honest, my LBS stocks Muc-Off so I just buy that. It's called C3 ceramic lube for dry conditions.

Maybe someone has experience of using the hydrodynamic one? Never bought it as quite pricey.

 

[fossyant]

You need to wipe the chain more. I tend to lube after a wet ride, then wipe, and wipe in between rides.

Finish line Ceramic wet here, use it on all the bikes. even the cheap muc-off wet from Aldi is fine.

I don't like wax/dry as much as that collects dirt/sand but then forms a solid mass, that's harder to wipe off than wet lube.

Dry also attracts dust too - try trails in dusty conditions . Still easier to wipe the wet stuff off.

 

[Spiderweb]

Finish line ceramic wet lube here too. Wipe the chain clean with a cloth sprayed with a little WD40 or GT85 then dot each roller with lube.

 

[T4tomo]

particular in winter when the roads are grubbier, whatever you use will collect grubbiness on your drive-chain. Just be prepared to spend a bit more time with a rag cleaning it.

 

[bagpuss]

I find GT 85 works very well over winter . I also clean the chain after every ride . Look after your gears and they will last longer .

 

[Roseland triker]

I find GT 85 works very well over winter . I also clean the chain after every ride . Look after your gears and they will last longer .

I'm running basically the best part of 3 standard length chains
I use silicone spray and it's great. Very thin and water repellent but cleaning is very regular.
I also use a mix of xtr and Dura ace casette so buying both to make up the ratios I like is very expensive so having tried various lubricant the one that lasts is silicone.

500ml can or so is about £5 online

 

[Alex321]

Another vote for the Muc-Off ceramic C3 lube here. I have bottles of both the wet and the dry - using the wet at this time of year, and still need to re-lube after a particularly wet ride.

 

[Soltydog]

to be honest, my LBS stocks Muc-Off so I just buy that. It's called C3 ceramic lube for dry conditions.

Maybe someone has experience of using the hydrodynamic one? Never bought it as quite pricey.

I got a small sample of the hydrodynamic from my LBS & tbh I prefer the muc-off ceramic dry lube, much cleaner 👍
For all weather use I've switched to Peatey's lubes, really impressed with them

 

[rogerzilla]

3 in 1 has its merits. It washes off rather easily but it tends to go a bit gummy, which can make a noisy chain quieter.

 

[bagpuss]

3 in 1 has its merits. It washes off rather easily but it tends to go a bit gummy, which can make a noisy chain quieter.

I used 3 in 1 for many many years . I now some times use sewing machine oil {don't tell my missus} as it is very thin and gets into the rivets .
Not water proof but i find it works .Plus it is not to sticky so it does not attract the muck .

 

[nlmkiii]

I've always used Finishline Wet but have come to the conclusion that it just gums up my drivetrain with grainy gunk.

What alternative should I look at? (not wax)

I've vaguely heard about lube with evaporating solvent, to break down the dirt and leave a lube behind, what might that have been?

out of interest, why not wax?