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ultimate home-brew chain lube (lab verified)
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walter
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 4391
Location: metro-motown-area

2/16/13 2:51 PM

ultimate home-brew chain lube (lab verified)

rigorous cleaning + paraffin/Teflon/molybdenum-disulphide

~5 watts of "free" power!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tech-news-friction-facts-releases-ultrafast-chain-lube-formula

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/16/13 4:44 PM

Could be also the super cleaning that gives the advantage.

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walter
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 4391
Location: metro-motown-area

2/16/13 4:48 PM

he compares against

new in box OEM chains, which presumably are similarly clean from manufacture eh?

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/16/13 5:18 PM

Well, unless he was biased.

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Dave B
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 4511
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

2/16/13 5:49 PM

Velo Magazine (formerly VeloNews) published a chain lube efficiency test in the current issue and plain paraffin came out on top for minimal power loss. It also finished last in durability so if you use it, plan on redoing it often.

Also, ProLink and, by analogy "Forum Lube" (Mobile 1 in OMS) came out pretty poorly.

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/16/13 6:24 PM

I just get white lightning from Walmart these days.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5094
Location: Nashua, NH

2/17/13 2:58 PM

Paraffin was FIRST in their "longevity" test...

...not last. Paraffin and Park CL-1 were actually better when the chain was dirty than when it was clean. Go figure.

One major flaw in their testing is that they didn't run the chains for 10-12 hours or more to determine the actual durability of the lube. Their "longevity" test was really more of a torture test, such as one might expect in 'cross or MTB race. That's probably not all that relevant to most riders.

Although they claim that they can get up to 650 miles on a waxed chain, as I recall when I tried it back in the '70's, I was lucky to get more than 200 miles from an application. I quickly ditched waxing as being too much bother, plus back then, you had to push pins out of chains to remove them (modern-style connecting links didn't exist), which weakened the chain and made it more prone to failure. That was important at the time, since I was actually capable of generating a reasonable amount of power back then (though there was no way to measure it) and did occasionally break a chain.

FWIW, Rock-n-Roll Gold lube was the best overall of the conventional lubes in their testing.

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Dave B
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 4511
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

2/17/13 4:00 PM

Yep. I had to go back and look again. Paraffin did indeed maintain it's lowest friction quality even when contaminated so, by their definition of "longevity", it was indeed the winner.

I also used melted paraffin back when chains were easy to break and rejoin using the same pin and before master links. It was super clean but a PITA to do right and, I also recall, having the chain get noisy in only a couple of hunderd miles and nearly immediately after getting caught in the rain.

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Matthew Currie
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 800
Location: Vermont

2/17/13 5:51 PM

I must confess that I have continued to use hot paraffin, usually mixed in with a bit of lubricant to make it a little softer, and always found it worked quite nicely, giving long quiet chain life in environments where there's a lot of junk that can contaminate a chain. If I ever manage to get on a bike again, I'll probably use it again. (grumble grumble, who needs to stay vertical anyway!)

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daddy-o
Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 3307
Location: Springfield

2/17/13 7:17 PM

Anyone ever try naphtha and wax?

I haven't tried to lube with it, but I've used it to dissolve wax buildup and drips.

If I thought it would be easy to make a lube with it I would have.

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Dave B
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 4511
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

2/17/13 9:45 PM


quote:
Anyone ever try naphtha and wax?

Isn't that pretty much what White Lightening is?

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/18/13 2:34 AM

WL has PTFE floating in it along with wax.

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walter
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 4391
Location: metro-motown-area

2/18/13 9:07 AM

is WL still that gloppy concoction?

i tried it like 15 years ago and didnt like how it'd gum up a cogset and everything else in the drivetrain.

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/18/13 3:28 PM

There are two formulas. I scrub the gunk off if I use the wax/PTFE version. It is far from self cleaning.

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dddd
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3345
Location: NorCal

2/20/13 2:01 PM

WL now has 3 versions, only the original is "waxy".
The "wax" in the original is stearate, and is dissolved in hexane solvent.
There may be other additives, and my most recent "Generation 4" bottle claims it "sheds" dirt and water. Previous versions definitely didn't hold up to water.

In a previous post I mentioned the fling-off problem with the Nashbar Pro Style Chain Lube. I have since progressively added nearly 50% OMS as a dilutant, and it now is both clean and long-lasting.
I can now get away with a single, very thorough wipe-down after a generous application, and then have the chain run clean and quiet for well over 200 dry miles of riding, which makes it a very good lube for the conditions I ride in here.
The other secret is having the chain move across the terry shop rag for many crank revolutions so that the rollers get pushed around as it moves across the balled-up rag. This seems to prevent the remaining oil from oozing out later and attracting dirt while riding.

I do no chain cleaning other than this lube-and-wipe. The PC970 chain shows an almost negligible increase in wear over the last 2 mos (1170 miles), and was already used over 1000 miles when I installed it on the old Steyr-Puch 10 speed.
It is still at less than 1/4 of 1% stretch.
Heh, that old bike has the steel 52/36t chainset, what theyr'e suddenly now calling a "Pro-Compact".

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BobB
Joined: 13 Jan 2004
Posts: 171
Location: Columbus, OH

2/24/13 1:27 AM

Lennard Zinn’s reaction; also Chain-L?

Saw this on the Velonews site:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/02/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/technical-faq-wax-chain-lube-really-what-now_274534

Did they happen to also test Chain-L lube? I have been thinking about trying another Forum Lube version using Amsoil synthetic chain lube to mimic the "stringyness" of Chain-L. First thought about it after RoadBikeRider had good results when they tested Chain-L long ago, but I have so much Forum Lube made up from Amsoil marine lower unit lube I never get around to it.

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Dave B
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 4511
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

2/24/13 8:21 AM

Chain-L

Yers, they did test Chain-L and it finished mid-pack for efficiency. Unfortunately it wasn't included in the "durability" testing which should be it's strongest feature, particularly for water resistance.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5094
Location: Nashua, NH

2/24/13 9:37 AM

Add some Teflon and moly' disulfide powder...

...and who knows, you may have the ultimate lube that doesn't require a double-boiler for application!

I wonder if Friction Facts will test lubes that are sent to them? If so, perhaps we could have a Forum contest to see who comes up with the best formula.

After sharing the formula here, perhaps we could mix and sell it to help support the Forum. I'm sure there are lots of people who would rather not mix it at home.

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/24/13 12:41 PM

Brilliant idea.

Keep the MSDS and such in mind folks. No MEK and road kill slime.

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Dave B
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 4511
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

2/24/13 4:53 PM

Sure


quote:
I wonder if Friction Facts will test lubes that are sent to them?

Of course they will. They just won't do it for nothing. :)

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/24/13 5:43 PM

How about our own testing.

Wheels has got us covered from the engineering standpoint.

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dddd
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3345
Location: NorCal

2/25/13 9:04 PM

Given the emphasis on gram-counting, I'm surprised that a Weight Weenies style website doesn't yet exist for itemized drivetrain friction variables.

A bit more than 1% of a rider's power can supposedly be lost to the wrong choice of chain lube.
Think about that, the equivalent of more than 2 pounds climbing weight as a fraction of combined bike/rider weight.

I'm sticking with the light-viscosity Nashbar chain oil for now, but am really more or less in the dark here. I use ball-bearing pullies which can be felt when turning cranks by hand while applying lube.

Finish Line Cross Country Wet Lube is the most durable I've tried, so is much like Chain-L in terms of long-lastingness.

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Nick Payne
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 2625
Location: Canberra, Australia

2/25/13 10:00 PM

I figure that unless I have someone else doing all my bike maintenance at no cost to me, then durability of the lube should be the main consideration.

And if I can't ride a bike fast enough for someone to want to pay me to ride it and someone else to maintain it, then I don't see that any minimal efficiency gains from using one product versus another are worth bothering about.

FWIW, I've always used chainsaw cutter bar oil as chain lube, and I haven't yet finished the one litre bottle of the stuff that I bought for a couple of dollars about 20 years ago.

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daddy-o
Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 3307
Location: Springfield

2/26/13 1:18 PM

Chainsaw bar lube

Do you cut it with anything? It seems like it wouldn't penetrate.

(Then again, it is CHAINsaw bar lube isn't it?)

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Nick Payne
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 2625
Location: Canberra, Australia

2/26/13 4:13 PM


quote:
Do you cut it with anything?

No. It's heavier than motor oil, to help prevent fling-off, but it doesn't have any problem penetrating the chain. The label on the bottle specifically mentions use on cycle chains as well as chainsaws. I clean the chains with kero using one of the Park Tool units that clamps on the lower run of the chain, get the excess kero off with some paper towel, then put a drop of oil on each roller from an old Triflow bottle that I've decanted some of the oil into.

Seems to work pretty well - I replace chains when 24 links measure 12-1/16", and the synchronising chain on one of our tandems is at a bit over 30,000km and not yet at that point. By comparison the final drive chain on the tandem, subject to twice the stress and getting run at various angles between the chainrings and cassette, is lucky to last a quarter of that distance. Drive chains on single bikes ridden mostly on bitumen seem to last 10,000-15,000km depending on conditions and use.

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