Dry oil or wet oil

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boxer

Regular
So, in my quest to be more hands on with my bikes maintainence i was doing a little bit of reading on some of the essential jobs i should be doing.

One of which, was maintaining a good clean chain, but there seems to be 2 types of oil? Wet and Dry?
Can anyone shed some light on which type of oil i should be using?
 

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
personal preference.

I prefer the dry stuff. others prefer the wet
 

speedygoo

Active Member
dry unless commuting in the sleet or snow then change to wet. it is a case of having to re-apply after been in heavy rain but its usually worth it for the less grimey chain
 

compo

Veteran
Location
Harlow
I have been using dry but a few days ago switched to wet. In retrospect not a good idea. They have been filling in potholes round here and once filled topping off with a fine grit. I went for a ride yesterday and when I got home after going over some of these repairs my chain and cassette were covered in the tiny bits of grit stuck to the lube. I had to strip it all out this morning and have a thorough clean. Now I am back to dry.
 

Pauluk

Senior Member
Location
Leicester
I agree with compo, I use dry as my chain is always nice and clean and seems to run smoothly and its less messy if you have to handle the chain during a puncture repair. The jury's out a little bit as I'll wait and see if the chain/cassette wears prematurely but I feel that any advantages of wet lube are negated by the dirt and grit that sticks to it. Even if you mickle it I'm not confident that small particles don't get stuck.
 

AndyPeace

Guest
Location
Worcestershire
Dry lube keeps a cleaner drive train. For road use bikes I use dry lube, but if your tackling mud or extreme weather only wet lube will do, dry lube will just get washed away.

Wet lube will last longer as it doesn't need replacing as often, but when you do replace it its best to strip the drive train down to clean all parts. Dry lube needs regular changing but can be done by simply wiping the chain down and appling new lube, with the occasional full strip clean.

I use both depending on the use of the bike.
 
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