Chain Lube Comparison: Customer Review

Have you ever wondered why your chain is collecting so much dirt out on the trail? Some chain lubes perform better than others, especially considering the terrain and trail conditions. In this review, our customer Ryan Weiss breaks down some popular chain lubes - Dumond Tech Original, White Lightning, Rock-n-Roll Gold, and Squirt. Let's see how they compare.

Overview

While a lot of chain lube that I have tried has worked well, for one reason or another I just can’t help looking for something better, I guess it is similar to why I can’t stop upgrading parts on the bike. I have tried too many lubes to go into but the ones I liked the best so far are; Dumonde Tech Original, White Lighting, and Rock-n-Roll Gold, all did a good job of resisting dirt and keeping the chain relatively clean. I think personal preferences, maintenance habits, and of course riding conditions, have a lot to do with how one view a lube, the following is just my take on them.

Performance

Dumonde Tech worked very well, you only need a small amount and it seems to last a decent amount of time. The downside to me was the smell of it, I had to apply it outdoors or I felt like I was shortening my life, I tried the green version, but it didn’t perform as well.

I heard so many great things about White Lighting, so I gave it a try, the application was easy, but I just felt like it didn’t last long enough, maybe I didn’t give it enough time.

Rock-n-Roll Gold became my go to. I like how it cleaned my chain upon application and it keeps the chain relatively clean on a ride. It did take a good bit of time to clean the ring, sprocket and chain after application, and I ended up using a lot of product. I felt that it didn’t last long enough for the effort.

Now for Squirt. I kept hearing about it over the years, then I heard about it from someone that used to be an R-n-R Gold user and since they had similar observations on the R-n-R Gold, I figured it was time to try it.

For the first application, you start with a clean degreased chain and then apply two coats of Squirt to the inside of the chain waiting 5 minutes in between coats for it to dry and another 5 before riding. They say no matter how excessive it looks, don’t wipe it off. On the next application you just wipe the chain, reapply and let dry, it is much faster for me to apply than the R-n-R Gold or Dumonde.

Performance and Final Thoughts

I now have ridden about 300 miles with a lot of steep climbs. It does a good job of keeping dirt off the chain and does last longer than the R-n-R Gold and on par with the Dumonde. I can go about 50 miles in-between applications it seems.

While I have many more miles with Dumonde and the R-n-R Gold, I do feel like I have found my new go-to lube!