My bike first started squeaking after I cleaned the chain with a solvent and brush and then applied semi-dry lube (White Lightning brand). Any experiences with semi-dry lubes?

When I went to the bike shop they doused the chain with their wet lube. That stuff was wet. It flowed like water. Squeaks mostly went away. But then I heard odd grinding sounds. It might just have been the dirt and mud from the recent rain showers.

So at home I decided to squirt some semi-dry lube on the chain and the front derailler. Now the grinding sound is mostly gone. And the squeak is back.

Does using semi-dry lube really cause chain squeak? And what could the grinding sound have been? My bike shifts fine and the LBS said my bike was fine too. It's just that all these freaking sounds are disconcerting.

No lube should cause a squeak... It could be that there is too much crud in your chain, and the symptoms are different depending on lube type.

Perhaps the grinding was just masking the squeak???

Have you lubed the jockey wheels on the rear derailleur? That is where I have had to deal with squeaks, not the chain, at least in my personal experience.

Dry lubes do not 'cause' squeaking, having no lube does. However, dry lubes are more likely than wet lubes to be washed away by water if you get caught in the rain or ride through too many puddles, and then there could be squeaking.

Another thing that could be squeaking is the bushings in the derailleur pulleys. Put a drop or two of oil into the pulley bushing and see if that doesn't help.