I have tried all the chain lubes made for bicycles, what a scam. I do not like any of them.
Tungsten Disulfide and Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) may be the best dry lubricants. But on chains it may still need a highly viscous oil. Thew price of Molybdenum is going up because they have found that it improves batteries.
Long Chain Fluorocarbon – Teflon PTFE is a saturated aliphatic fluorocarbon, and maybe the most slippery substance known, but I would not want to use it even if it were affordable.
Only when a dirty chain is oiled, or has excessive oil on it, can this grit move inside to cause damage. motorcycle chain and chainsaw lubricants are better yet, because they have volatile solvents that allow good penetration for their relatively viscous lubricant....
Pins inside full bushings of (six element) chains are well protected against lubricant depletion because both ends were covered by closely fitting side plates. Some motorcycle chains have O-ring seals at each end. In the swagged bushing design there is no continuous tube because the side plates are formed to support the roller and pin on a collar with a substantial central gap. In the wet, lubricant is quickly washed out of pin and roller and the smaller bearing area of the swagged bushing for the pin and roller easily gall and bind when lubrication fails. Jobst Brandt
Maybe I didn't mention that this viscous lube lasts several months!!!
Viscous oil verses Dry Wax lubes:
Viscous lube will stay in your chain much much longer than anything else, but there is a chance that it will absorb dust and grit into the chain links.
But only when a dirty chain is oiled, or has excessive oil on it, can this grit move inside to cause damage.
To make oil viscous enough you need a soupy like substance such as aluminum oxide, STP uses zinc oxide. Thin it with Naphtha to flow it into the links from an eyedropper. Be sure to let the distillate evaporate before riding. Aluminum oxide or stearate can be acquired from artist paint maker suppliers.
This viscous lube lasts several months in dry conditions!!!
Motorcycles used to use viscous lubricant, but are now using dry wax lubes that are diluted by solvent so you can spray it on the chain. I believe that the wax pushes out of the chain too fast, but maybe floor wax is hard enough to stay put, but it would need to be hard as nails to keep it in the links for more than a few days. Maybe if floor-wax was mixed with a little bit of Molybdenum Disulfide and thinned out enough to penetrate?
Teflon PTFE is a saturated aliphatic fluorocarbon polymer, please don't add more Teflon to the environment!
I think the best solution could be Tungsten Disulfide or Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2); dry lubes that can be mixed with an evaporation solution so it would flow into the chain links. But I do not know what would keep it there, other than a tiny bit of 'not-too-viscous' oil (STP is too viscous by itself, add a little light oil before adding solvent).
All other chain oils are variations on sewing machine oil. Bike shops tell you that the thin stuff washes out the road dirt from your chain. And it may actually do that to some degree if you lube your chain often enough. But I hate having to lube my chain or do any work at all on my bicycle in the winter. And the thicker the oil is, the less likely that dirt will get into your chain.