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What chain lube do you use for your emtb and how often do you clean and lube the chain?

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francois

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
And more importantly, how's it working out for you and are you happy with your routine?

Mention also if you are riding a lot in wet, muddy conditions.

I don't believe in ebike-specific lubes but I'm sure some work better than others for high loads. So just putting it out there. I use Prolink chain lube and metal-brush the drivetrain every ride. Used to be happy with it but not so much anymore.
 
#3 ·
Francis Cebedo said:
And more importantly, how's it working out for you and are you happy with your routine?

Mention also if you are riding a lot in wet, muddy conditions.
Click to expand...
E-specific chain lube is snake oil.

Just use a good lube ( wet, or dry ) according to your needs.
Proper regular maintenance ( clean, lube, wear check ), setting up the drivetrain correctly ( and shifting correctly )
and not being a all time Turbo bro is key to get lots of miles out of your drivetrain even with an ebike.

Another advice.
The longer your chain lasts, the more miles you get out of your whole drivetrain.
Most durable chains for 10-12 speed are Sram X01, or XX1 chains imho.
 
#5 ·
I use some stuff called Squirt though called E Bike chain lube I just like how the stuff works. I wash and clean my bike after every ride which includes my complete drive train. After washing and drying my bike I take WD 40 to my chain to throughly clean it along with a detailed clean of my rear derailure's guide wheels. After making sure the chain is dry, I lube it at least a day before going riding. I check my chain constantly with a wear indicator. Seems to all work for me. I do try and stay away from as much water as possible because mud and mechanical parts don't mix.
 
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#6 ·
Wipe down after every ride at a minimum. Squirt brand lube. I use the Muc-Off chain cleaner spray and a brush with a garden hose for deep cleaning on the bike. When things get nasty, kerosene in a glass jar and soak and shake most of the junk off.

Eventually you end up with two chains, a sonic cleaner and a crock pot for wax.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
LarryMagoo said:
I use some stuff called Squirt though called E Bike chain lube I just like how the stuff works. I wash and clean my bike after every ride which includes my complete drive train. After washing and drying my bike I take WD 40 to my chain to throughly clean it along with a detailed clean of my rear derailure's guide wheels. After making sure the chain is dry, I lube it at least a day before going riding. I check my chain constantly with a wear indicator. Seems to all work for me. I do try and stay away from as much water as possible because mud and mechanical parts don't mix.
Click to expand...

That is a great routine right there. I used Squirt for a while too. Pricey.

How often do you do this? Every 50 miles or so?
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
yzedf said:
Wipe down after every ride at a minimum. Squirt brand lube. I use the Muc-Off chain cleaner spray and a brush with a garden hose for deep cleaning on the bike. When things get nasty, kerosene in a glass jar and soak and shake most of the junk off.

Eventually you end up with two chains, a sonic cleaner and a crock pot for wax.
Click to expand...
I don't want to fall in the rabbit hole. Must resist. I used to 'lube when it squeaks' but ebikes are changing me.

Trying to read this manifesto: Lubricant Testing - Zero Friction Cycling
 
#10 ·
Francis Cebedo said:
That is a great routine right there. I used Squirt for a while too. Pricey.

How often do you do this? Every 50 miles or so?
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If you buy the large bottle at Amazon, it's not too bad for great quality lube. I also use Muc-Off to spray my whole transmission, then have a variety of different shaped brushes that can reach through my cassette guide pulleys to the grunge. I also like to keep my Crank Bros clipless pedals clean and well lubed because...well ya know...My rides are generally between 20 and 30 miles with about 3-4K ft of climbing....and like I mentioned cleaned after every ride....take of your bike and your bike will take of you!

Besides....when it's squeaking....it's too late....
 
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Discussion starter · #13 ·
LarryMagoo said:
If you buy the large bottle at Amazon, it's not too bad for great quality lube. I also use Muc-Off to spray my whole transmission, then have a variety of different shaped brushes that can reach through my cassette guide pulleys to the grunge. I also like to keep my Crank Bros clipless pedals clean and well lubed because...well ya know...My rides are generally between 20 and 30 miles with about 3-4K ft of climbing....and like I mentioned cleaned after every ride....take of your bike and your bike will take of you!

Besides....when it's squeaking....it's too late....
Click to expand...

Yessir... I discovered that lube... like most liquids is a crazy ripoff in small bottles. I purchase now in quarts or half gallons and put them in syringe bottles with a metal tip. So much cheaper and less waste. So I'm looking for my next half-gallon :)
Image
 
#14 ·
^^ Yes, the syringe applicators are GREAT if the lube is thin enough. I use Silca Synergetic on my road bike and the syringe tip allows me to get a tiny dab right where I need it. This means that less of it gets where you DON'T want it, which makes it much easier to dry the exterior of the chain off before you ride. So, less product is used, and chain stays cleaner for longer. Win/win.

I currently use Synergetic on my road bike (and gravel bike during wet season), CeramicSpeed UFO Drip for MTBs, and Silca Synerg-e for the ebike. I'm a fan of Synergetic for my road bike because it tests well in a lab, is easy to maintain, and keeps my drivetrain dead silent. UFO drip has worked well enough for dry MTB riding (but this is probably best for a different discussion). So far I've had good luck with Synerg-e. Back when I got my ebike I used DumondeTech (yellow bottle) during wet rides, but it would always attract so much crap on the drivetrain. Then I'd clean the drivetrain off between rides and need to reapply. It just seemed to wash out super easy during water crossings. More recently, I switched to Synerg-e and noticed that it does have a bit more staying power. I lube once every 50 miles...maybe? I should keep track. But it does seem to run cleaner than the DumondeTech stuff on the same trails and that's a big win IMO.

Having said all that, I'm not going to sit here and tell everyone they should spend this much money on lube, especially not on an ebike where you can (theoretically) blow up the chain with one lazy shift. But, generally, I've had good luck with using a more expensive lubes less often (vs using a cheap lube all the time) because it means the drivetrain stays happier and there's less cleaning for me. I'm lazy and I don't love cleaning.
 
#15 ·
Wolf Tooth WT-1. Kinda the new kid on the block but I really like the stuff. I wipe/brush down the chain then apply. Depends on conditions but usually at east every 3-4 rides - and I try to never let things dry out lube-wise. I check chain stretch on the ebikes more often than on my other bikes.

Ride year round (eFS summer, eFat winter); conditions here in summer are usually not too wet and muddy, winter use (except the Spring break-up) rarely requires chain cleaning and lube.
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
And the other question is... how do you know the chain needs lube? The 'when it creaks' method is too late and much worse for ebike because of the torque loads.

I can visually inspect... but i can't really see the lube, just the dirt stuck to it. Usually means there's lube still.

And spinning the chain backward to see if it still spins freely doesn't really work on e. (cause chain don't move) :)
 
#17 ·
My thought is that you really can't over lube a chain - it needs lube all the time. That is why I just do it every couple rides - and more if needed. PITA for sure - but more than regular maintenance sort of got drummed in to me at an early age. And yeah, I check my tire pressures every ride too (here comes the flame job!)

One of the things I like about the WT-1 is it doesn't fling off easily and seems to seal and stay put well.
 
#18 ·
In 1999 I bought a 4ltr of Castrol chain bar (chainsaw) lube for $20. I've been using it ever since. I have about 2.5 ltrs of it left 24 years later. That means I have another 40 years of lube in stock.

At 51 my son is likely to inherit the remaining lube when I die!

Ps. It works perfectly fine. Just drizzle a little bit on every other ride. Job done. Or in the winter when its wet and muddy. Drizzle eat ride after cleaning the bike.
 
#20 ·
I live in CO so a pretty dry climate usually, but I've been using the Finish Line Wet lube in the green bottle on all my bike for years. Ebikes I lube every ride, and non ebile every couple rides. I've got about 3500 miles on my emtb drivetrain and still going.
 
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