Originally Posted by arebee
I use to use something in the 80's called dryslide. It was a liquid that would evaporate and leave a graphite coating on the cable. I also used it on my motorcycle. Seemed to work ok but I can't find it any more. The LBS use to carry it.
I know that graphite in a liquid gunks up locks. I've experienced the problem and our local locksmith says the only thing to use on locks is dry graphite.
I've gone to bare SS cables (no teflon coating) with uncoated/no-teflon/no-sleeve housings with no lube. Based on experience of some racers in my area, the teflon shreds which adds friction and anything other than bare cables just clogs with dirt faster. Bare cables are a lot cheaper, so they can be replaced far more often if necessary.
For my ATB, I put new cables/housings on roughly every year. That's about 800 to 900 miles in the dirt and sand. We have sand covering our hardpack. I ride in N. Florida, the Southeast mountains (5 to 6 weeks a yr) and Utah once in a while.
Al