There are dozens of different lube companies all competing to keep your chain for your mountain and road bike all lubed up and shifting correctly. With all of the different models, formulas and bases, it can get confusing when choosing a lube that will be right for you, your riding and your conditions.
As we continue to seek out new products that are going to make your mountain biking life easier, we are going to use as many lubes as we can (for bicycle performance purposes only) to try to get a grasp on what is performing the best on the market today. There are a ton of options for today’s mountain bikers, so we might as well get our hands dirty and try out some of the best that the industry has to offer.
The first chain lube for bikes we are reviewing is the Squirt Long Lasting Dry Lube for Mountain and Road Bikes. According to SquirtLube.com:
This is the ideal MTB chain lubricant. It has the right viscosity, various selected waxes, extreme pressure additives and dry lubricants; it gives long lasting lubrication while keeping the chain clean. Of all wax chain lubricants it lasts longest on a wet ride.
Nothing beats it in dry and dusty conditions. No degreasing required; if needed clean with dry brush and toothpick!
We have been using this chain lube on several different rides the past couple of months and the chains have seen everything from extreme dust to wet and soggy, so lets dive in.
Review: Squirt Long Lasting Chain Lube
The Squirt Long Lasting Chain Lube is a wax based lube for your chain. There are pros and cons to this setup, but I have found that wax based chain lubes tend to keep the chain cleaner and less gunk filled during normal use. Wax based lubricants, when applied correctly, tend to let dust, mud and other contaminants flake off the chain during riding instead of accumulating on the chain itself. In dry conditions, this equals a chain lube that lasts a pretty long time before reapplication is needed. In wet conditions, there is now getting around it…you are going to have to reapply lube more often, but at least it is cleaner than typical wet lubes in my experience.
The Squirt Lube, like other dry, wax based lubes, performs its best when applied and then given time to dry. During the testing period, I did ride with the Squirt Lube in dusty conditions directly after application and the chain did attract more goo that needed to be cleaned off. During the testing cycles where I gave the lube enough time to dry and embed into the chain links, the amount of accumulation was kept at a minimum.
In comparison with other dry, wax based lubes on the market, the Squirt Long Lasting Chain Lube applies a little bit thicker when lubing the chain. According to Squirt, it is best to leave it gobbed on the chain (like you see in the pictures) and let it soak into the links. After it has been rotated through the drivetrain, the Squirt Lube soaks in and lubricates all metal to metal contact points (also seen in the pictures). The thicker application actually ended up being a plus as the lube stayed on the chain and off my garage floor. This made for a cleaner application. The chain in the pictures below was not cleaned before application. This will give you an idea how clean the mountain bike chains have been staying during the testing process with Squirt Lube.
The shifting performance during the testing period was unnoticeable – and that is a good thing. There were no issues with un-lubed or stiff links that would cause mis-shifts and there were no mid-ride mishaps due to an un-lubed chain. Everything just seemed to work.
One area that Squirt Lube needs to drastically improve in is distribution of their product. They have a great lube for mountain and road bikes, but getting your hands on a bottle or two for your ride can prove to be a little bit difficult. A simple search on all of the major online retailer sites revealed nothing, but you can buy directly from SquirtLube.com. If they really want to get their product out there…Squirt Lube needs to get onboard with a JensonUSA and the major bike component distributors to get their lube in the hands of cyclists. At $10.00, Squirt Lube is a great deal and that little bottle goes a long way (I haven’t even used half of 1 of the 2 bottles they sent over for review yet).
What I Liked About Squirt Lube
- Thicker application makes for less mess
- One bottle will last a long time
- Great value at $10.00 a bottle
- Performs like a lube should with minimal mess and build up
Suggestions for Squirt Lube
- Work on distribution with distributors to make lube more easily accessible
- Found a little build up when riding directly after application
