Chain lube like music seems to be tremendously influenced by personal taste and popular opinion. If you ask 10 people what lube is the best you can easily get 10 different answers. In the next few paragraphs, I'll try to break through some of the emotional stigmas attached to lube and help you find the right lube for your conditions.

Dry/Dusty Conditions

For dry dusty conditions I strongly suggest you use a dry lube. As the name suggests, dry lubes are dry after being applied to the chain. All dry lubes involve some sort of wax.

Many riders used to literally use wax to lube their chains. This provided the advantage of a very clean chain in dusty conditions, but in reality provided very poor lubrication. Some people still use wax and swear by it, but unless you are one of these people, I don't suggest it.

The modern day dry lube typically use PTFE, teflon and other agents suspended in an evaporating solvent. When the lube is applied it is wet, but after a few minutes it dries leaving a waxy protective coating on your chain.

These lubes hold up fairly well in wet conditions as well, but you may need to reapply the lube more often in these conditions.

Recommended Lubes: Pedro's Ice Wax, Pedro's Extra Dry, White Lightning

Wet/Muddy Conditions

If you're riding in wet and muddy conditions then a wet lube will serve you better. Wet lubes simply resist the abuse of mud much better than dry lubes.

Wet lubes are the more traditional of the chain lubes. They go on wet and they stay wet. Wet lubes provide excellent lubrication and chain protection in clean conditions and also protect against moisture extremely well. However, where wet lubes begin to fail is in dry dusty conditions. The lube acts as a magnet to dust and can quickly clog your drivetrain with thick oily mud.

The most basic wet lube is oil. Many people just use basic motor oil with excellent results.

The more high-tech versions of wet lubes use synthetic oils, teflon, and other ingredients.

If you find yourself riding on a dusty trail, you will likely have to clean your chain often.

Recommended Lubes: Pedro's Syn Lube ATB

Dry/Dust-Free Conditions

If you're one of the people who are lucky enough to ride in dry and relatively dust free environments then you can really choose either lube type. Though I would suggest a dry lube as they do a great job keeping your drivetrain clean and running like new.

Recommended Lubes: Pedro's Ice Wax, Pedro's Extra Dry, White Lightning

Pavement

If you do the majority of your riding on the road then you have the luxury of using virtually any chain lube. Wet lubes will likely offer the best performance on the pavement as they will work great on that rainy day.

Recommended Lubes: Pedro's Syn Lube ATB

Final Bit of Advice

The bottom line is, unless you ride in the same conditions every time, there is no single lube that is perfect for you. So your best bet is to use a lube that is designed for the trail condition you typically ride in.

Warning! Do not use WD-40 to lube your chain. WD-40 is a protectant, but not a sufficient lube for bicycles. It will protect your chain from rust, but will not protect it from wear.