The Chain Lube Dilemma

Update: Finish Line Wet for the MTB all the time. It's super durable and yeah it picks up dirt but it doesn't wear off like on a ride like some weaker lubes. Wipe it clean with a rag after every ride and reapply. Finish Line Dry for the road bike.

I've starting to revaluate my chain lube options. I've been using white lightening for the past several years, but being a waxed based lube, it needs to be reapplied per ride, and sometimes it doesn't even last a single ride. It also needs some time to dry, which can be inconvenient. The best thing about wax lubes is they keep your chain relatively clean, and being in a high desert climate, I don't need to worry much about water and mud.

The reason I'm looking at ditching wax lubes is drivetrain protection and endurance rides. The wax simply can't protect the drivetrain against wear as well as an oil. This is the result of about 1000 miles of mountain riding on an XT crank [note to self post photo]. And these chainrings are expensive to replace. The cassette faired better, but adding up the cost of chainrings, cassette and chain, reducing wear is going to save some bucks. Some people seem to swear by Phil Wood Tenacious Oil. The consensus from these reviews are, yeah it's protects drivetrain but picks up dirt and requires periodic cleanings.

The white lightening I use (clean ride), doesn't last an entire ride. I usually ride 2.5 hours and the drivetrain starts to hiss around 2 hours. There's no chance I'm going to stop and reapply more during a ride. Besides, it requires dry time, so this is just not practical. White lightening makes a a heavier wax lube called "epic", so I may try that. I have a 50 mile race later this year and I want to make sure I find good lube for this race.

There seems to be basically 2 types of lube: wax/Teflon and oil. In general, the trade off is self-cleaning with frequent application (wax/Teflon), vs long lasting/drivetrain protection, but requires cleaning (oil). I'd guess Teflon is similar to wax, but I couldn't find much on Teflon. The highly revered Sheldon Brown has a lot of good things to say about this subject here. Interestingly, he points out that oil, which attracts dirt and grit, can actually accelerate drivetrain wear. I guess the key with oil is frequent cleanings, ugh.

As for the different types of lubes available, here's what I'm finding:

Wax: White Lightening Clean Ride, Pedros Ice Wax (1 hour dry time, what?)

Teflon: Finish Line DRY Teflon

Oil: Pedros Syn Lube,  Finish Line Wet, and many others. Chain-L looks interesting. They have a free offer, however there are about 25 bike shops and Boulder and none carry it. RockNRoll lube sounds the most like an infomerical. I read their web page and learned nothing about their product, except that it's the best on the planet, which makes a lot of sense.

Finish line has a nice chart of different lube types and the tradeoffs

Pinbike talks about the different lube types here, but doesn't mention and brands.

Interestingly, according to Finish Line, you can't mix wax and oil based lubes.

After all this reading I'm still unsure of what to use. I'm torn between drivetrain wear and low maintenance. I will probably continue using clean ride with my road bike.

Giving up on GXP Bottom Brackets and Truvativ Cranks

Update: I don't like anything SRAM, except maybe the SID Fork. The XT line is just superior in my opinion.

In general I prefer SRAM over Shimano. I think SRAM offers superior quality for the price point, especially with X9, although I opted for a XO rear derailleur. Of course SRAM is not completely homegrown; they're an amalgamation of Truvativ, Avid and RockShox. The one component that lets me down consistently is the GXP bottom bracket. I've gone through 3 so far. The bearings get scratchy after a few hundred miles. BTW, this is the standard BB, not the ceramic. I'm now using Shimano XT BB and cranks and they have been excellent so far (~1000 miles). Additionally I think the Hollowtech design is superior. The other Shimano component I prefer over SRAM is the XT brakes, although I made the mistake of buying Avid CRs.