My experience, having used both but no longer use either is that the Squirt Lube lasted longer on the chain and was easier to apply without half of it dripping off the chain than WL. Others will have the opposite experience. My ADVICE is to use up your Squirt and then try the WL or whatever you want to try and find out what works best for you. You will always get "passionate" (I'm being kind) and conflicting opinions about which lube is best or better on this or any forum.

I know what you mean by "passionate"!!

Several years ago, when I got back into biking, I went to the r/cycling on ****** and began a thread about lubricating one's chain: lubricant, frequency, etc.

The arguments between waxers and non-waxers was fierce and rude; like Sunni and Shia arguing the differences between their faiths.

If I may be so bold: with what did you replace Squirt?

Whoops! Did I do something wrong mentioning the "parent" site under which r/cycling falls?

It was replaced by *****. Asking because I don't to break forum rules.

nope.

You did nothing wrong. The software for the forum does edit some words automatically. I'm not certain that any moderator or admin today knows why that particular site seems verboten to speak about here. Perhaps many years ago it was just at one time considered a competition the owners of this site didn't want. Or perhaps that site threatened some legal action for it being quoted here. After all, any of our conversation here and there is legally owned by the respective site.

Squirt works but it does cost more. I use White Lightning because a cyclist I ran into on the rail trails I ride used it. He said you will thank me as the grit from the trail will not turn into gritty paste on the chain. Also, he said the price of White Lightning is cheaper than most. I had been keeping track of my chain mileage for the various lubes I used over time. Here is what I found. Again, I ride on gravel trails a lot so this was a factor. I did not use a steady stream when applying it, I do a slow drip and turn the crank at least 8 times to cover the chain. You can look at the chain and see that it is saturated. I have used the 2oz bottle from Walmart, the 4oz, and now the 8 oz. The two oz goes at least 10 rides.

On 5/21 I started recording my chain replacement based on mileage. It looked like this: 4012(5/21), 3381(6/22), 1582(3/23), 2812(5/23), and 2507(11/23). I ran through ProGold ProLink, RocknRoll Gold, Mobil 1, Bar&Chain lube diluted, and Dumonde Tech Classic. With White Lightning started last year I am at 8K+ and the Pedro checker is showing good. The ruler measurement is good also.

about 6 months ago... " the tape is broke.. it won't go back!"
what?
"it's broke! I'm sorry!"
i walked over and released the tape lock.

I spent 4 years in the church of wax in the mid-90's. Loved having a fairly clean chain but only lasted about 120 miles at best before needing to be applied again even after trying all kinds of hot waxing, drip wax, cleaning and melting techniques, homemade wax concoctions as well as "special formulated bike waxe$$" etc, etc. and usually a PITA. I was doing a lot of 50+ mile rides at the time so if my chain had 80 miles on it since the last waxing, I would have to re-wax for my next 50-mile ride or risk having a squeaking chain for the last 10 miles which just creates much more wear on the chain and drivetrain. In my long search for lube nirvana, I finally settled on Chain-L as I could go 500+ miles between lubing and my chain lasted twice as long. To clean, just remove the chain, drop in a jar of odorless mineral spirits, swish around and re-lube. Yes, it's a dirty lube but I save enough time every year in chain care over waxing that I could do a couple 100-mile rides with the time I saved. NOW, this is just MY experience, not trying to start any debates or prove my choice is for everyone or anyone for that matter, just not worth investing so much time, $$ and energy to find something better for me.

This is a good point. I am OCD on keeping my bicycle clean, so every three rides or so I have to use White Lightning again. But, I enjoy doing it. I am retired so have the time also.

Point!

We are the same in this regard. Even though I was not in the military for a career, I joined right out of high school, at age 17, and so some of the things drilled into me over three years in the USMC - such as take care of your gear -have stuck with me throughout life. After long grueling exercises, you were taught slways to first clean your gear (rifle, vehicle, etc.) and only then hit the showers.

Chain-L---it's very hard to find online. It's not available on Amazon and when I did a Google search, It was out of stock everywhere I checked. Do you buy it online and it so, might I trouble you for a link?

I dropped the new chain in a half full bottle of Park Tool bike degreaser yesterday afternoon, agitated it for a full three minutes (like shaking a cocktail), left it to soak, agitated it again before bed and will take it out and dry it today for a few days. That may seem excessive but I read on Zero Friction https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/ that it was absolutely vital to have the chain 100% dry after you degrease it or you are wasitng your time.

Do hope you have a source for Chain-L!

Well bummer, it looks like it's no longer being produced. Longtime member here FBinNY, made and sold it on his website as well as shops. He hasn't been here in awhile so I hope he is still with us. Gave tons of great info over the years. Anyways many, many other lubes to try to find your favorite. Any lube works well as long as it gets used. Many people love ZERO FRICTION recommendations but I'm not impressed. Just sayin'.

Agree 100% on your observation that we rarely use the small/small combo. For safety's sake I stick to the macadamed bike path I mentioned and during the climb from the river bed back to my home I am usually on the smaller chainring and in the middle of the cassette deck.

New chain has been degreased overnight, wiped dry, agitated in a bottle half full of muck-off then in a bottle of hot water, dried, and is now hanging in the sun in 46° F weather to totally dry before sizing, installing, and lubing.

Bummer indeed! Since the Holy Cow Rock n Roll has worked out so well on my folding Brompton, I looked at their site and found they now offer this one which appears to be a good choice for the Trek.

https://www.amazon.com/ROCK-ROLL-IT-...WC/ref=sr_1_7?

I wonder why my results are so different from those shown on the Park Tool videos.

Here is a still showing the sizing of a new chain. The chain is over the largest cassette and largest chainring, but does not go through the derailleur.

Below it my old chain strung exactly the same. Look at the difference in sag between the two. If I followed the PT instructions, my chain would be, I think, far too short. But, PT knows what they are talking about so I must be wrong and would welcome pointing out where I went wrong/what I don't understand.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ed4d365501.png


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b1bf6e3540.jpg

I can't see from that photo whether the chain is sagging - ideally you want the derailleur cage to have just a little movement left, drop the chain off the inside at the front to check. But a little slack isn't really more than an aesthetic problem as long as the chain doesn't drop and it shifts cleanly, you wouldn't normally use that sprocket or the one next to it on a 2× or 3× system. More important is big-big, because that will go crunch and possibly break things if it's too short. Also you might occasionally want to use that gear, if you left it too late to shift down at the front and you're about to stall on a hill. The absolute chain length limit I use for big-big is that the chain changes direction on both jockey wheels, rather than being so tight that it's straight - it might crunch slightly, and go clang when you shift up (avoid by shifting down on the front first) but it doesn't stop dead. Here's a study in how not to do it (because I had a short arm derailleur handy, which I used for a 2× setup and wanted to see how bad it could be 3× - the jury is still out).

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e706439188.jpg
Big-big, definitely a bit too short, but it hasn't exploded yet.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6bbcf804b2.jpg
Small-small, this is too slack.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7a2b913b2a.jpg
See how both chain runs sag. I could maybe remove the slack by cranking the B pivot screw, but that would make big-big even more stressed.

You’d have to include those extra links and compare the sag to be sure it’s different

The original was ChainL No5 until Chanel made him stop using the No5. Not sure what happened to Francis, but he was a very knowledgeable member of BF. I still have a bottle or two and just lubed a chain with it yesterday.

The Park Tool video is sizing the chain as Shimano says to size the chain. If your old chain has more links than what you get with the new chain sizing to the big big combo, then the person that installed that old chain didn't size it by that method. But since apparently it was working well enough for you not to complain about how it shifted or that it was often dropping the chain while you rode, then it's was a adequate length.

In the life of the bike, if there was ever a change in the gearing, then someone may not have bothered shortening the chain. Since it seems to have been working adequately. What's the link count come to between your old and what the new chain sizing shows? It'd only take a extra link or two to get a lot of slack.

If you have to have it a exact and proper length for your head to believe it's perfect, then why wouldn't that just be what the manufacturer, Shimano says it should be. Which is the way the Park video shows to size it for your particular 2x bike with a 28tooth or larger rear sprocket.

However this thread has run a long time. After 4 days, I'd be itching to ride and install the chain by any method and go ride.

Few additional photos. My conclusion: I believe I ought to remove one link in order to improve the small/small "setting", and to move the arm of the derailleur closer to a 4 o'clock position

Hung from a nail: left is new chain.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1ad1cd371f.jpg

Without trimming any links, I put the new chain on the bike. Large/Large first.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...489d9af9e2.jpg

And here is small/small...and it doesn't look good.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...551ab1fcec.jpg

Close up of small/small as is.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c27b24fcb8.jpg

Small/small as I suspect it ought to be.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d8e6e3a53.jpg

Leading me to conclude that I ought to remove one 1 link to pull derailleur arm down a tad in the photo immediately above and to move that same arm closer to the 4 o'clock position in the large/large settings. I haven't oiled the chain yet but on the stand I gently pedaled it through every possible change of gears and it was fine.

leave it as shown in pics 2,3,4.
go ride your bike, and quit obsessing over this simple task.

Not really.

But you have to keep in mind that... well... due to the general nature of that parent site the r-word that designates that parent site is considered by the public a synonym, a minced oath for another problematic r-word that designates people with severe developmental anomalies. People have differing opinions on whether that latter word should be avoided (since it is also used as a perfectly neutral technical term), but I hope you'll understand why many communities opt to ban that latter word. And those communities that want to play it extra-safe usually ban the minced oaths as well. Apparently, this is the case here.

And you did a very brave thing when you admitted that you visited that "parent site". I mean, we all visit it from time to time, if only by accident, since links to it pop up quite often in the search results. But openly admitting it, i.e. risking such a devastating impact to your reputation... well, it takes courage.

You've missed the next step in the Park Tool method, of adding (ISTR) two or four links (1 or 2 inches). Some people add more, depends on the bike as well as personal preference, you'll have more latitude with a long arm derailleur, less on a classic road bike etc.

There is automatic blocking of some terms, don't try to circumvent that and you'll be fine. To avoid confusion preview your posts, censorbot activity shows in the preview.

Not all the time. But most of the time it does. I have had a few things show in the preview that were covered with splats in the actual post.

I'm not sure if that is tied to whether or not I'm in the advanced editor, the reply to or quick reply box.