I was recently asked about the best chain lube for road bikes. “Best” of course depends on the person. Anyone care to offer their preferences for chain lube.
Cheers
I’m a fan of dry lube, teflon works well.
I use a spray on volatile solvent-oil mix they usually sell for motorcycles and other chain drive systems.
It’s incredibly cheap compared to dedicated bike stuff and I find the solvent allows better penetration into the pins and whatnot before it evaporates. But it’s ugly and messy and tends to get all over the rims if you aren’t careful.
The only stuff you shouldn’t use are oils that contain detergents, oils that don’t handle pressure well, and stuff like WD-40.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter so much what you use, so much as how often you clean the chain. Frequently cleaning trumps everything.
I use dry lube on the road bike, wet lube on the mountain bike, and ultra viscous stuff on the commuter in the winter.
The light wax lubes (I use Finish Line wax or White lightning clean ride) stay quite clean, but you need to apply them very regularly, and it doesn’t last at all in rain.