Winter Cycling - what chain lube works for you in snow/slush/cold/wet/etc?

this season is my first attempt at 'winter' riding, and while northern new mexico is not nearly as severe a winter as many of the posters here, i need some help dealing with these conditions!?!?

it started snowing here in the last few weeks and that has meant ice, snow, snow-melt, slush, mud...all those things that come with a climate that has rapidly-periodic snow/melt cycles. i've been riding my road bike when the roads aren't icy, my cross bike when there's ice and snow, and my track bike for commuting in most all conditions. i typically give whatever bike i'm riding a quick wipe-down with a damp rag after every ride (before i bring it inside my too-small apartment), and even though i don't wipe the chain, i find after riding in these wet, snowy conditions for even a few hours, i need to lube my chain before the next ride!?

i've been using prolink, which was great when i was living in phoenix (dry and warm all year), and was great through the fall here (including rainy rides), but something about the cold/wet combo makes my standard chain lube worthless.

what do you all use as a winter weather chain lube? ideally i'd like to find one product to use on all my bikes all winter, and then when the weather clears, go back to my 'standard' chain lube for the spring/summer.

Finishline XC and don't look back.

I tried Finishline XC, Finishline Dry, and Prolink Gold for winter riding. Dry sucked. XC and Gold were OK. The problem with both is the insane cost for the amount of lube you go through. I filled up my Finishline XC bottle with some Mobile 1 automobile synthetic oil that I had left over (car takes 3.5 litres, always buy 4) and find it works better than the "wet" bike lubes I've tried! It is also a fraction of the cost (one litre for 8 bucks vs a couple of hundred ml for the same price). The only downside is that it doesn't look nice, my chain is brown rather than a nice gray.

Phil's Tenacious

I normally use Dumonde Tech or Dumonde Tech Lite but neither lasts very long during those three months every year when cold and wet is the norm. I rarely use a lube as thick as Phil's, but I get about 6 weeks and maybe as much as 400 miles out of each application when it's perpetually sloppy. It was tough to get half that out of the Dumonde lubes. I should also state that Phil's only gets used on my old, full fendered, platform pedaled, estate auction hybrid with the basic $10 chains. The bike is rarely ridden in anything besides total crap and its chains don't generally last more than one winter or 1000 miles.

The problem with both is the insane cost for the amount of lube you go through.

This is the second time this week I've read someone complaining about the cost of chain lube. (There's a thread on "favorite chain lube" in the Road Bike forum.)

I lube my chain every 2 weeks on average. One drop per link. A 4 oz. bottle of ProLink costs $8 and lasts me at least six months. I'm sorry, that's cheap in my book.

Especially compared to everything else cyclists seem willing to drop their coin on. Hell, I go through a pair or two of tires every season (at least), a new chain once a season, I fully expect to replace my cassette sometime in the next 3-5 years, and I fully expect to get a new bike in the next 5-10 years, even though my current ride is less than a year old!

In contrast, $16 a year to ensure my bike's long life & continued smooth operation sounds like a bargain to me.

+1 for the Phils.

This is the second time this week I've read someone complaining about the cost of chain lube. (There's a thread on "favorite chain lube" in the Road Bike forum.)

I lube my chain every 2 weeks on average. One drop per link. A 4 oz. bottle of ProLink costs $8 and lasts me at least six months. I'm sorry, that's cheap in my book.


This is my routine in the summer on my XC race bike and 'cross bike when the lube actually lasts. I use Finishline Dry in the summer and love it.

When we are talking slushy snow mixed with the corrosive potash mix they use on the roads here I lube my chain almost daily. What I've tried just doesn't last any better than the cheaper motor oil.

here, riding in snow means also riding in highly corrosive de-icing chemicals. I want that garbage off my drivetrain ASAP. So I just use WD-40 and hose the drivetrain every day I ride.

Any of the Wet lubes. Look for wet in the title. They are thicker and last a bit longer than a standard lube. They are also messy as hell but they are good for these conditions.

Speaking of lube...

...love the new avatar.:D

+1 for the Phils.
+2 for Phil's Tenacious

Phil's Tenacious

I normally use Dumonde Tech or Dumonde Tech Lite but neither lasts very long during those three months every year when cold and wet is the norm. I rarely use a lube as thick as Phil's, but I get about 6 weeks and maybe as much as 400 miles out of each application when it's perpetually sloppy. It was tough to get half that out of the Dumonde lubes. I should also state that Phil's only gets used on my old, full fendered, platform pedaled, estate auction hybrid with the basic $10 chains. The bike is rarely ridden in anything besides total crap and its chains don't generally last more than one winter or 1000 miles.


what do you think of the dumonde, I was a skeptic, tried everything and settled on progold this last year. I tried dumonde last fall before cold weather here, and I will never go back..really great stuff but I agree, not so hot for the winter...I just ordered a bottle of phil's and will see what happens...you guys are usually right

5w synthetic oil sometimes mixed with Pedro's ice wax

I wipe it down with WD and put on marvel mystery oil, it works for me and I always have some in the shop.

what do you think of the dumonde

I haven't tried more than a few lubes but I really like using Dumonde Lite, the yellow stuff, for my road race bike and my pure XC hardtail. It just doesn't seem to attract much dirt, can be used to clean the chain to a degree, but I'll admit it doesn't last long in wet conditions. I use the regular Dumonde, the blue stuff, on my cross bike, the FS rig, and the old bomber hardtail. It does better in wet conditions but seems a little too thick to wash out dirt and grime.

I had trouble getting the Dumonde Lite to last very long until I started applying just the right amount with a needle dispenser and I now get about 500 miles between lubes. Once I was riding mostly wet, sandy pavement, I couldn't get more than 100 miles out of the Lite and maybe 200 out of the regular Dumonde. Phil's Tenacious is a gooey dust magnet in dry conditions but stays put in the slop. It's nice having a bike and a lube for every condition but not everybody has the room or the $$$ for six of them.

When I ride in the wet crap I lube my chain when I get to work using either a mixture of motor oil and trans fluid, or motor oil with air tool fluid, or just air tool fluid, once it starts to dry up outside I put on some Boeshield T9.
This seems to work for me. One of my bikes has a chain on it with almost 4000 miles and my current commuter is still lubed with the factory stuff (only 100 miles or so)