fooferdoggie 

does the Dumonde Tech Lite stay as clean as the rock and roll? I get about 100 miles from rock and roll before I need to reapply it. but I never have to clean the chain to cassette. just a little on the jockey wheels and chainring.

GBK233

Melted wax for me. Couldn’t stand dealing with cleaning and degreasing.

rekmeyata

Do NOT use melted or drip on wax lubes for a chain being exposed to salt, that junk will not prevent your chain from rusting. The Dumonde does have a trick to the application of it that I learned from a person on another forum. You apply it according to the directions, and clean chain, ride the bike one time, wipe the chain down really well then apply more Dumonde, ride the bike for a week wiping it down after every ride, ride it for about 2 weeks wiping the chain down after every ride, and apply the Dumonde. After that all you will have to do is wipe the chain down really well after every ride, and you shouldn't have to relube for at least 500 miles even exposed to rain...salt water is another story, I no longer live near an ocean but I had to rinse off my bike and chain after every ride when I was riding close enough to the ocean to catch ocean spray, but I wasn't using Dumonde back then. I would probably use the regular Dumonde Tech for your circumstances, and not the Lite version, the regular version is thicker. I cannot tell you how well it will work in a salty environment, but you can always try it and report back to us if you liked it or not.

LeeG

3in1 or 30 weight from my dads oil can. WD40 for awhile. TriFlow for thirty years, WhiteLightning dry and wet for ten, FinishLine Wet for fifteen, Boshield T9 for two years and a few others. They all work but prefer the thick lubes like FinishLine Wet for rainy conditions.and wiping the chain down well after lubing.

PeteHski

There was an entire thread on this a couple of weeks ago.

Garfield Cat

One thing I disregard is the intervals in which to re-lube.

Some make claims that it's "so many miles" before re-lubing, as if there is a right or wrong to this.

I have been to the TdF and watched the bike mechanics clean the bikes after each and every stage race. Yeah, complete cleaning and re-lubing. But then again, this is a professional race on the single most watched road race.

Saving money: this is not the time to claim that you save money by getting a lube that "saves you money" by somehow working better than brand "x".

Years ago I met the guy who is the distributor of Boeshield. It was at the InterBike trade show in Las Vegas. As far as formula, nothing had changed, it works. Just keep re-lubing and cleaning.

rekmeyata

But we're not pro riders, if you want to clean and relube your chain after every ride then go ahead and do it, but eventually it's going to get really old. So, I look for lube that I don't have to relube the bike a lot, and DumondeTech Lite so far works the way I want it to, it lasts for at least 500 miles which is important why you're out touring

drlogik 

+1 for I'm a wax guy. I've been using Squirt Lube for a few years now with good success. It's basically a wax-based lubricant that runs pretty clean and is one of the best for a friction test by an independent lab. I am testing Silca's "Nixfriction" oil lube though, and so far it's pretty clean if you don't flood your chain with oil...which you aren't supposed to do anyway.

Garfield Cat

Hey George, Just curious: what do you do after 500 miles or so? Re-lube or clean and re-lube?

rekmeyata

I clean and relube.

The only thing about Dumonde that I'm not personally sure of is chain life, I was on Adventure Cycling forum and a lot of touring people use Dumonde, in fact that is why I tried it was because of their recommendation, they claim they get a lot of miles out of chain. But those guys were telling me that the stuff would last over 500 miles, all they do is wipe it down after every ride after they set up camp. Touring shortens the life of chains, but they were claiming they could get 10,000 miles out of chain using that stuff vs 3,000 miles on another lube. People that tour used to carry a spare chain, but the ones that used Dumonde do not. PLEASE NOTE: that information came from their experience and not mine, other than I know the lube lasts a lot longer than other lubes I've tried, I'm just not sure yet about the chain life, I have about 1,200 on my new touring bike and the chain, and so far no indication of wear which I wouldn't expect after just 1,200 miles from any lube.

rekmeyata

Engine oil on a bike chain can work, but it also attracts dirt and grit like a magnet, whereas dry lubes don't do that, of course if you're using in rain and mud well then you have to clean and reapply the lube anyways after a ride, so instead of using a bike specific wet lube then yes, engine oil would work.

Today's cars are a lot different than they used to be years ago, manufacture engineer engines to their specifications and in that process the engineers determine which oil will work best in their cars, this is especially true with higher performance vehicles when they leave the factory. For example, Corvette uses Mobil 1 as does Porsche, BMW uses Castrol Edge, Ferrari uses Pennzoil, and the list goes on, but it is recommended to get the durability, performance and MPG that the factory designed the engine to do is to use the brand of oil they packed it with from the factory. Years ago, you could switch to whatever brand you felt loyal to for your car, that is no longer the case.