loimpact

I really thought Squirt was going to be the lubricant of my dreams. My #1 criteria was "clean". Squirt is anything but. In fact......dare I say, in its own way, it is possibly the dirtiest chain lube I have ever used.

They say not to clean & simply use a dry brush. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt! You will smear black parafin all over your drivetrain if you try to do that.

I will say it lubes well. It keeps drivetrain quiet and even dampens shifts (due to its wax nature) and I can appreciate those aspects...BUT....it is a dirrrrrrrty dirrrrty beast!!

I started with a drivetrain so clean you could use any of it in surgical practice. The sticky/pasty tar-like guck that it creates is not fun to try to brush/wipe/dust away. It just ain't happening.

My apologies to Rock 'n Roll Gold who I left temporarily. I will continue to use on bike #2 and I will be returning post haste!!!

spdntrxi

you used too much

loimpact

Unfortunately, not. I apply 1 drop to each link, sparingly and individually (unlike some of their videos which show guys using far too much, imho). I back pedal a couple minutes and leave overnight to set. Everything done to the letter of their law. But alas..........She's just a dirty girl!

Cyclist0108

Squirt is just paraffin, slack-wax (a paraffin precursor) and water. It shouldn't get nasty like you describe. I have noticed that it kind of balls up into slightly adhesive snot-like globules, so I switched over to using just paraffin alone, melted in a small crock-pot. I start with a new chain, and strip all the packing grease off with white gas, dry it, wipe it clean, and then immerse it. When I need to re-lube, I only wipe it with a dry paper towel before putting it in the melted wax. Stays nice and clean, and if you have 2 or three chains, it isn't that much more work.

My guess is either you didn't start with a clean, grease-stripped new chain, or somehow contaminated the Squirt.

tankist

I'm with the OP. I tried to use Squirt and stopped after a few times because the chain immediately became really dirty. I followed instructions closely - thoroughly cleaned the chain, applied not too much. I also agree that shifting was good and chain was quiet. These days I'm on Rock'n'Roll Absolutely Dry and the chain is much cleaner.

illdrag0n

Squirt actually advises to wipe the chain off for road use. I apply, spin once, allow to penetrate for 5 mins then wipe away excess. Clean and quiet.

NOTES FOR MOUNTAIN BIKE:
Apply Squirt Chain Lube liberally to the chain. Don't wipe it off, and let it dry completely
before your ride.
NOTES FOR ROAD BIKE:
After applying Squirt Chain Lube wipe the outside of the chain with a rag, taking most of
the remaining chain lube off. In the event of the chain on a road bike going a bit black
(soft rubber residue on some tar roads), still don't degrease.

jnesss

i dab squirt on each roller, run through all gears, wait 5 mins, and repeat. wipe off the excess and it feels buttery smooth for a couple rides.

to clean, I just wipe with paper towels. pro tip, faster to clean using wet / moist rag.

with regards to rock and roll gold, it's kept my chain so much cleaner, but it doesn't feel as smooth as squirt. oh and it's quite noisey compared to squirt. imo.

rubiksoval

I won't use anything but Squirt. I also wipe my chain off after every ride or two, though, so don't have any issues with gunk.

noodle soup

znomit

Why is that?

Sy Reene

As I understand, Squirt is a wax-in-water formula, and hence why the overnight requirement to evaporate the water out of the chain. I think Pedro's Ice Wax is similar idea. What would the theoretical advantage be to this versus the wax-in-alcohol formulas which have at least the obvious benefit of being ready to ride in 15 minutes?

canklecat

I've used White Lightning Easy Lube with paraffin and it created big gobs of debris boogers between the chain links and cogs.

Boeshield T9 supposedly is paraffin in some unspecified non-volatile/non-flammable solvent. No waxy snot boogers, but it wasn't particularly clean running.

I had a similar issue when I modified my Gulf wax in the crock pot to soften it. Yeah, maybe it flowed better. But it was also gunkier. Trying to make it into a sort of slack wax didn't really improve anything, just made it different. And the additives smoked a bit in the crock pot even on the lowest setting.

The only relatively clean running wet lube I've tried is Rock 'n' Roll Absolute Dry. But it needs to be reapplied often -- every ride or every 50 miles or so, if you're picky about chain noise. It didn't squeak if I went a couple hundred miles without relubing, but the drivetrain sounded clinky and pingy. It still attracts some black smudges that wipe off easily. No gunky snot wads between the cogs or chain links.

Can't say the same of R&R Gold. It appears to add a little oil to the naphtha and PTFE powder. So it lasts longer per application and runs quieter. But it gets just as gunky as any wet lube I've tried -- Park CL-1, Tri-Flow, other oils. It's not the best lube, but maybe the least bad wet lube.

I'll probably go back to wax in the crock pot soon. Hard to beat that for a clean running drivetrain. I got a packet of dry PTFE powder to add but haven't done that yet.

yamsyamsyams

I’ve similarly used squirt in the past and longevity has been poor. I get about 100-200 dry, clean road miles out of it before the ultra quiet, ultra smooth operation starts to sound raspy again.

Sy Reene

I'm currently trying out Pedro's Slick Wax. Runs very clean, but as expected only good for a couple rides at most. May try their X-Dry next or the RnR Red. For higher volume consumers, it's nice that RnR has 16oz and Pedro's 32 oz containers. Either option makes the cost equivalent to $5 per typical 4oz container.

phrantic09

Squirt seems okay for me- I’m about 10 applications in and agree with the comment about the gun/junk.

I’m 40 miles of a fresh application and the chain looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in weeks.

But, it is nice and quiet

DrIsotope

Are the people with blackened Squirt just applying it to a dirty chain? I run 2 chains per bike in rotation, where hot dip once a month and touch-up as needed during the month, with either Squirt or Smoove.

Pictured below is the "gunk" of a drivetrain with about 3,000 miles of use on it.

Sy Reene

Looks good.. and that's without wiping down or anything over those 3k miles?

DrIsotope

Yep. That's why I run wax. Takes a bit more effort in the application, but drivetrain cleaning is virtually eliminated. The hot wax on this bike is Hot Tub, which is dark gray in the pot. Everything is much more "silvery" on my SSCX, which is currently on homebrew wax + Smoove.

illdrag0n

Here was mine after 600kms, after witch i removed the chain and cassette to strip and reapplied.

I followed the previous mentioned guide of applying to each pin, spinning 1 rotation, allowing to penetrate for 5 mins and wiping off excess by running through a rag.

Once a week ill brush down, run through a rag and reapply as above.

Sy Reene

Hmm ok. I was skimming the MoltenSpeed Wax instructions of what it evidently says to do before every re-application, which is usually ~300 miles? This sounds like a lot of work each time you need to rewax.

Steps To Clean A New Or Previously Waxed Chain

Safety first: keep flame or spark away from solvents

Cut bicycle chain to length, place in container, pour mineral spirits to cover chain, shake for two minutes (anticipate a small amount of solvent may leak from lid area during shaking)
Remove chain from container, wipe firmly with clean rag (note dark residue), pour used mineral spirits into gallon jug using funnel
Clean inside of container and lid with paper towels to remove oil residue and metal filings (new chains contain metal filings that remain after manufacturing process)
Place chain in clean container, cover with new mineral spirits (bath #2 ), shake for one minute, leave overnight, chain should be completely submerged
In morning shake additional minute, remove chain, wipe all sides aggressively with rag, empty mineral spirits, clean container and lid with paper towels
Place chain in clean container, cover with new mineral spirits and shake for one minute (3rd and final bath). Note: if mineral spirits not clear after 3rd bath, repeat bathing process with new mineral spirits until clear. Also note amount of dark residue on rag after wiping chain; repeat bathing process until residue is slight (or eliminated entirely for fastest chain).
Remove and wipe chain after final mineral spirits bath, empty used mineral spirits, wipe container and lid clean with paper towels
Place chain in container, cover with denatured alcohol, shake for one minute, remove chain and wipe clean (use new rag so chain isn't contaminated by mineral spirits from wiping chain in previous steps)
Clean container and lid. Note: turn container upside down during final cleaning with paper towels to facilitate removing any remaining filings or debris from bottom of container
Repeat alcohol bath (alcohol bath #2 ), shaking for one minute
Remove chain, wipe aggressively with rag, hang to dry for a minimum of 15 minutes before waxing. Note: for fastest chain repeat denatured alcohol step until no filings or debris remain in bottom of container and rag shows no residue from wiping chain
Clean cassette, chainrings and derailleur pulleys with mineral spirits and denatured alcohol before installing chain.

DrIsotope

I dabbled with cleaning between wax dips, and found it to be counter-productive. I experienced shortened chain life. I think MSW's recommendations are for pure performance-- people who are re-dipping the chain weekly, or even more frequently.

As I mentioned, I have a two-chain rotation: one is on the bike, one is suspended in a solid puck of wax in the pot. When chain swap day comes around, I plug in the pot. When it reaches temperature, the chain comes out of the hot wax, the other chain comes off the bike and goes straight into the pot. No cleaning, no prep, nothing. I have a mesh "dipper" in each pot, like what you'd use for french fries. This keeps the chain off of the bottom of the pot. Every few months I pull the solid puck out, and scrape off the bottom couple of millimeters of contaminated wax. That's the extent of "cleaning."

Another non-affiliated plug: if you're considering hot wax, Hot Tub > MSW. It might not save that fraction of a watt (maybe it does, I dunno,) but it lasts a good bit longer, and it's a little cheaper ($18 for 1.25lbs of Hot Tub, $20 for 1lb of MSW.)

rubiksoval

Easy to apply and makes my drivetrain speedy.

Cyclist0108

The only time I have used Squirt it to refresh a conventionally-waxed chain. I am going to try it again just to see what happens. (I wonder if conventionally waxing it first makes it behave better?)

jnesss

if you've ridden for 3000 miles with 1 application of squirt, I'm not surprised your drive train looks clean. it's probably cause all the squirts fallen off.

I clean my drive train once a week, so I guess it's not enough time for the squirt to naturally fall off on its own, hence black chunks.

surak

Zero Friction Cycling's review of Squirt confirms that it easily gunks up with contamination and is also weak to moisture. I wanted to like it but decided that it's not worth the hassle, especially since it takes a really long time to actually penetrate and protect the chain.