Serious question about chain lube: wet vs dry in the real world

I've been wrenching for about 4 years now, and I keep seeing people swear by wet lube for everything even when it's bone dry out. On paper dry lube picks up less grit, but every time I use it on a customer's commuter bike they're back in 2 weeks complaining about squeaking. Meanwhile wet lube is messy but seems to last way longer on actual roads around here. I tested both on my own bike over 200 miles each last month, same route, same weather. Wet lube held up for 180 miles before needing a wipe down, dry lube was gone by 80 miles. Am I missing something or do we just need to admit wet lube is better for most people's riding conditions?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendysanchez15d ago

Yeah, I totally feel you on that, it's frustrating when something sounds good on paper but just doesn't hold up where you actually ride.

grace8915d ago

That's a really good point about the "cleaner" part of dry lube being its main draw. I think the real downside to wet lube year-round isn't just the extra wiping, it's how much more grime it attracts in dry conditions. If you're already committed to a weekly chain wipe anyway, the longer life of wet lube probably saves you more time in the long run, right?

janarivera15d ago

You said "wet lube held up for 180 miles" and "dry lube was gone by 80 miles" which lines up with what I've seen on my own rides around here. On my gravel bike I ran wet lube through a dry summer and it still held up fine, just had to wipe the chain more often. But isn't the whole point of dry lube that it's supposed to be "cleaner" not "longer lasting"? So if you're already wiping down your chain every weekend anyway, what's the actual downside of just sticking with wet lube year round?