Chain lube

hippy uses wet lube.
hippy is always right.
conclusion: wet lube is best lube.

Factz.

*Citation? Teh internet. I think.

This test reported from Friction Facts might be relevant. Waxes seem to come out best in terms of minimising power loss.

The same guy recommends full-stripping, degreasing and waxing of the chain to get ultimate efficiency, which is hilariously reminiscent of Sheldon's daft take on this.

It's one thing going for stupidly optimised efficiency for the track or something versus riding to work in London's famous London.

See: all that white powder on the chains of the Olympic / WC track bikes.

Tour mag did a typical involved test and found R'n'R gold to be fastest. This is a dry lube.

I'm pretty sure in Perfect lab test conditions a dry lube will win every time.

But for riding outdoors in Northern europe you're far better off With a wet lube, and a better maintainance regime (says mr 'lube-wipe-lube-wipe-etc-till-shiney-fuck-cleaning').

Of the wet lubes the ceramics seem to be the better lasting. But if you buy a cheaper wet lube (prolink being a good example). You're more likely to be more generous, and thus flush more crap out.

This is the way I look at it at least. I have a massive bottle of the muc off which I picked up on offer though. So win win for me.

Friction Facts guy is a decent sort: morals over profit!

Whatever next?

That's all the citation I need.

... you're far better off With a wet lube, and a better maintainance regime (says mr 'lube-wipe-lube-wipe-etc-till-shiney-fuc­k-cleaning').

Quite. Although I'm more "wipe-lube-wipe".

Either way, "frequently cheap" is a better strategy than "occasionally expensive"; much like the buying and replacing of chains.

Has anyone tried using non-bike-specific chain lube? E.g., motorcycle, chainsaw lube

I suspect it matters rather less what you use but rather that you use something on a regular basis.
Winter time I use this https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-hp-146-chainsaw-oil-1ltr/27933?tc=BA4&ds_rl=1247848&ds_rl=1245250&gclid=CjwKCAiAj53SBRBcEiwAT-3A2LuAmCGkhVDfIkvxbDDWV1_Y15P7RyP00XdnkG_SBICOnz04Nrk3RBoCzzsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLiNsePtstgCFTQw0wodVSsNqQ
As opposed to bike chain specific lubes at £10 a drop.

Yes. When I was a kid I used my old man's motorbike chain lube.

Don't do it. It's much stickier to deal with faster chain and stains/sticks fuck out of everything.

Not sure about chainsaw lube but again faster chain speed so probably not best.

I've started using Squirt*, which is a dry wax based lube. It doesn't pick up crap, and crucially unlike other wax lubes actually lubes the chain, and also doesn't disappear at the sight of moisture.
Seems to work pretty well through the winter too.

*yeah, I know.

It's good gear, only just slower than the Friction Facts homebrew according to the last tests I saw and a lot more convenient.

For non-race chains, I now use Boeshield.

Do you have to degrease your chain before using this stuff?

I think the fastest stuff is CeramicSpeed UFO isn't it?

EDIT £55 for Boeshield. Out.

Some are stickier, some aren't. I use Rockoil motorcycle chainlube and it works really well.

I was probably 8. All I can remember was it was an aerosol can, sprayed red and was utterly fucking shit for my bike. I don't think my chain was ever the same again.

£55? It was about a tenner last time I bought some

Dunno what I looked at but the first thing in Amaz was a 4oz bottle for 55 quid.

£14.99, Planet X:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOBST9WL/boeshield-t-9-waterproof-lubrication

I lied, it was £50.55:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boeshield-Squeeze-Drip-Bottle-122183/dp/B01N7X2F0V/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1514993277&sr=8-3&keywords=boeshield

http://www.boeshield.co.uk/store/#!/Boeshield-T-9-Bicycle-2x118ml-plus-FREE-30ml/p/37694590/category=0

ffs, who falls for that?
I've had mine for while, about halfway through the bottle so it lasts well. (about a year) I never have to relube, I always manage to do it just before the chain needs it, and it's very clean.
I did properly degrease the chain first, and I've never had to clean it since, a run over with water from a tap when its gritty, leave it to dry and relube.

I don't know. Obviously if I was intending to buy it I would've done slightly more investigation but it was just a curiosity about what it was. Often there's way overpriced shit on one site, I presume because they're chancing a buy or it's old stuff they paid lots for and haven't adjusted their prices to current levels.

It sounds interesting but I have about three bottles of other stuff to get through first.

I think the fastest stuff is CeramicSpeed UFO isn't it?

It is, but Squirt is only about 0.75W behind and UFO costs about £65 for 180ml, which is only enough for 4,000km: the how-to on Youtube has the Ceramc Speed guy drenching the chain with the stuff.

You could buy a litre of Squirt for less than that and you don't have to leave it to dry overnight.

• Velonews.com test (conducted by Friction Facts).
  
• Ceramic Speed test (conducted by Friction Facts).