This question comes up more than you’d expect. There’s many different theories and opinions out there but what we find works best is the “Less is more” approach. Firstly you want to start with a dry lubricant, this is key as wet lubes attracts much more dirt and grit to your chain when riding and aren't necessary for our dusty conditions. Taking this a step further the lube of choice here is the 'Squirt' as it has a wax base making for a dry but smooth coating on your chain giving you a cleaner drive train for much longer. But how you apply this lube is also important.
With this process you want to make sure you're applying the lube directly to the chain, and you should do this sparingly. It’s better to have a slightly dry chain rather than a soaking wet chain. What you're looking for in terms of coverage is a light film on the chain itself (Not the Cassette) with no excess lubricant dropping from the chain to your chainstay / wheels / floor. If you do notice some excess lube, don't panic. Simply grab a rag and remove the excess from the chain and bike. In an ideal world what you want achieve is enough coverage to get you by for your ride with minimal excess once you’ve finished. In theory, using up all the lube on that ride, keeping build up to an absolute minimal. If you adopt this approach you’ll lube every ride, but your chain will remain cleaner for longer and you won’t need to degrease you drive train nearly as frequently.
Bonus Tip: Lube 30 mins before you ride to allow the lube to dry to the chain, this will help the lube last longer.
Note: Wet lubes do have their place, designed to be thicker and stick to the chain more they're great for muddy sloppy conditions. The kind which we don't see a whole lot of!
You can check out our range of lubricants and other bike care products here.
