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Chain lube for sand/moon dust

11K views 70 replies 27 participants last post by  speedygz 
#1 ·
Been having a problem recently riding in the very dry and dusty conditions at Montaña de Oro state park, where 5-10 miles into my ride, the drivetrain gets very noisy from excessive fine dust.

I'm running Rock n' Roll Gold chain lube, and trying my best to let it properly dry in advance, wiping the chain clean etc. to no avail. It seems like my chain-guide might be the catalyst/source of noise, but I'm curios if any forum members with similar conditions could recommend a better lube or any other tricks to keep things running smoothly?
 
#3 ·
There are non-wax alternatives that are not heavy oils, Boeshield, Dumonde Tech, etc. R&R is wax. Wax lubes work ok in some conditions, but I find those conditions are much more limited than the other types of lubes.
 
#4 ·
It gets very dry and dusty here in Oklahoma during this time of the year. Based on what I read about DuMond Tech on Guitar Ted's blog, I decided to give it a try. Only got about 4 rides on it, but so far it seems to be working as advertised and my chain is staying nice and clean.
 
#6 ·
I know this isn’t the easy answer but hot wax. I tried it a couple years ago and will never do anything else. My riding is 95% dust. Some trails are talcum-like dust over everything.

It’s not bad if you get a crock pot and do a few chains at a time. One of the best things I’ve ever done to my bikes. I have used just about every “dry” chain lube on the market.
 
#7 ·
My 2 preferences are Squirt and Dumonde Tech light.
Just about finished a bottle of the Dumonde but have purchased a 2nd bottle. Before that I've used about 4 bottles of Squirt. I maintain 2 bikes. I used to have a road bike and it also saw Squirt.

I have fine dust here all summer and there are times I ride in moon dust. I expect it to require additional maintenance and I generally start with a clean drivetrain before riding the moon dust situations. But with my dry conditions here I generally brush off the chain for the next ride, regardless.
There might be something out there that fends it off better but I am okay with the slight amount of maintenance due to the conditions in which I live.

I will lube the chain the evening before and cycle the cranks 4-rotations through the next few hours, alternating between back pedal and forward pedal. I wipe the chain down if it has been many hours since application. Otherwise it is wiped in the morning. I generally wipe it again in the morning though just to ensure all is dry, making it less of a dirt magnet.
 
#8 ·
I'm with Organ above, I ride in Arizona so pretty much all dry and dusty and switched to wax last year to try and I'm never going back to a regular lube, I love how clean my drivetrain is on all my bikes. I have 2 chains for all my bikes so I can just swap when it's time then do both chains at once, way easier that way.
For a regular tools lube I had good luck with Smoove before I started waxing my chains
 
#20 ·
Wax bath or Smoove. Or wax bath with a Smoove top-off.

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This^ Smoove last longer than other "drip on dry lubes" I have tried and doesn't collect much dirt. It is supposed to deal with occasional stream crossings, but I haven't had much opportunity to test that out.

I had also tried Squirt (didn't even last a whole ride for me) after running wet lubes like rock&roll gold in months long dust conditions, and started looking for something else since the wet lubes would collect a bunch of gunk on the chain etc.
 
#14 ·
I layer in those conditions.

After ride clean and put on a wax lube. Let it dry. Before your ride put on a layer of a wet lube.


You should get 30 to 40km before needing to relube
 
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#21 ·
I managed to snag a couple extra shimano 12 speed chains, so I think I’m either going to give the dumond or hot wax a try. Really appreciate the input everyone! It’s been super annoying cutting my rides short because I was worried about shredding my drivetrain.
 
#23 ·
I managed to snag a couple extra shimano 12 speed chains, so I think I'm either going to give the dumond or hot wax a try. Really appreciate the input everyone! It's been super annoying cutting my rides short because I was worried about shredding my drivetrain.
Make sure you clean them properly before using wax on them.

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#50 ·
Haven't tried a direct switch.

I find Smoove to last a few rides at least, while Squirt didn't last through a 2 hour ride at one point (dry conditions). It's possible I wasn't using enough Squirt, or that my chain cleaning before applying weren't good enough with Squirt. When I switched to Smoove, I also changed my chain precleaning technique, to be more thorough, so it may not be a fair comparison. But, I thought I gave Squirt a solid try, and had done my best cleaning the chain beforehand (just not with a dedicated chain cleaning machine like I use now, and I think before my first coats of Smoove I actually did a full degrease -> water -> rubbing alcohol to displace the water -> dry -> 1 or two coats).
 
#26 ·
Im in colorado, its dusty and we have decomposed granite in our dust, which is HARD and very abrasive. I have had very good luck with R&R as well as Dumonde Tech. They have different methods of application and the directions should be followed closely. I prefer the R&R, the downside is that it needs time to dry and the chain needs to be wiped completely free of any excess. I usually clean and lube after rides and make sure to leave several hours or over night for the solvent part of the lubricant to evaporate. I usually get about 100 miles between applications and the chain stays much cleaner in between. I like the dumonde tech stuff for my mtb, again, it takes some time to dry and should be wiped completely free of the chain. It does not seem to last quite as long as the R&R but gets the job done very well. Boeshield t9 is also a good alternative. I think most of the previous posters have had much along the same lines to say as I have.

That being said.

Waxing, if you have the time is absolutely the way to go. I just dont want to take that much time off of riding to do it and im kinda lazy.

-Paul
 
#29 ·
Wax is a PITA. Removing & swapping chains, cleaning, boiling, hanging yadda yadda yadda. I'm running an industrial grade Solid film Graphite lube. It's brilliant. I've never cleaned the chain, nothing sticks to the Graphite film, it's clean as clean to touch, & there's very negligible wear even after 3,000+ kms usage. It's quite rocky & sandy where I do most of my riding, so similar conditions by the sound of it. Give it a squirt every few rides & forget.
 
#30 ·
I live in very dry, dusty Southern California and still prefer Rock n' Roll gold. Sure the chain gets a bit noisy towards the end of a 2-3 hour ride, but it has been absolutely the cleanest lube for my conditions. Any other lube I've tried just results in a gritty paste that definitely increases chain wear. The majority of the mtb oriented shops in my area sell and recommend this lube as well.
 
#34 ·
So... I went big and just ordered a 6L ultrasonic cleaner. Also have some wax on the way. Might still decide to try some lubes if the wax thing is too much of a pita over time, but I think being able to throw my cogs and chain in the cleaner every so often will be nice.
 
#39 ·
I'm in Utah. I wash the drive train - chain, derailleur, cassette - when it looks like it needs it with a little diluted Dawn detergent sprayed on. Rinse it off and use Finish Line dry lube as a water displacement lube. Let it dry in the sun. Ride it the next day. I haven't had any issues other than normal wear here doing that.
 
#47 ·
Just as a point of reference, this is my chain and cassette after just over 3000kms, and I've never cleaned it. Simply squirt a bit of Graphite solid film in between the rollers & side plates, & keep on trucking. It's still well within tolerance -I measure pin center to pin center over 20 or 24 pitches, which gives you a very accurate reading of pin wear. The dust/sand & grit only sticks to the derailleur because I give the linkage pins a squirt of WD40 or the like every so often, & never clean it. You can see the graphite buildup on the chain side plates from repeat applications, but it does not matter, as nothing sticks to it. Well, other than mud, and a quick hit with the pressure washer while I'm cleaning -very very rarely, the rest of the bike sees to that.

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