1/8/17 3:27 PM

I've pretty much had it with oil based lubes. I've been using the Mobil 1/oms blend for a really long time, but it seems like every time I work on the bike or chain or it drops without a wheel in putting it in the trunk (haven't had an over the road drop since di2) I get mucked up.

Ultrasonic cleaners are cheap now-60 bucks. Going to use the routine on the Molten Speed wax website but use my own wax, paraffin and ptfe (powder from amazon). Keep two chains in rotation.

Will let y'all know how it works out.

1/8/17 3:54 PM

IME wax only works in dry weather. If you're having "blackening" problems with oil lubes you might try wiping the chain more thoroughly. This might include not just wiping after application but for the next day or two.

IME if you flood the chain with a solvent based lube and then wipe, wipe, wipe, the chain stays "pretty clean." I am not aware of any lube system or process that results in a clean chain and good lubrication.

1/8/17 3:55 PM

Sticky? I mean should we make a sticky of the thread?

====
My usual stint is a WD40 in place flood wipe, flood wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe. New day Wipe. wipe, and put on some...

[had to go look], Dumonde Tech for x-mas 2015. Been getting 3-400 miles between treatments. So I plan to get more if that which I'd not had existed if not for the gift. Rain does not change the interval best I can tell.

But certainly interested in how this process fares. ;)

1/8/17 6:06 PM

Maybe add a little more solvent to the mix.
You can't wipe too much oil off your chain, I use a terrycloth rag for that.

1/8/17 6:53 PM

Wipe? Now we're getting personal.

Walmart terry washcloths are cheaper than shoprags. Wipe, wipe, wipe. Yes, not just the day of lube...

I agree that if you ride "lots" in the rain wax is a hassle. I don't. But I'll have two chains in rotation, an ultrasonic cleaner and a crockpot. Using kmc links, it'll be as quick as oil.

1/8/17 6:58 PM

Whait! Whutt, Whipe??

1/8/17 7:22 PM

...I've been really happy with the performance of the lube I've been experimenting with. I've gotten as much as 850 miles on an application (in dry weather) and the chain stays clean, as long as it's wiped well after application, again after the first ride, then occasionally thereafter. We've been using in on our MTB's, fat and 'cross bikes and it works well in wet conditions, though we typically clean and lube these bikes after every ride, so I can't comment on it's wet weather durability. I have some local riders testing it under a variety of conditions (one of whom is a Molten Speed Wax user currently) and if their feedback is positive, I'll do a larger test run before deciding whether to market it.

Waxing is a PITA and you typically end up with a flaky mess instead of an oily one. In hot weather, paraffin can melt and pick up dirt, which creates a nasty, black, abrasive mess on the chain. Between that and the hassles of cleaning the chain and applying the wax (been there, done that), I'm not interested, especially when I can get great performance and far more convenience from a liquid lube.

1/9/17 2:03 AM

" I'll do a larger test run before deciding whether to market it. "
As I recall, a forum member, Wheels, also for a few years marketed both a wet and dry lube, but eventually pulled the plug, as the endeavor just wasn`t worth the effort. I purchased a bottle, and was pleased with the results, but it seems a very difficult field to try to make a niche in. Good luck Brian

1/9/17 6:09 AM

...of getting rich in the chain lube business. I've spoken with Wheels and he filled me in on some of the trials and tribulations of his experience. I'm going to be making the stuff for myself anyway and I've been looking for another business opportunity, so we'll see what happens. Who knows, perhaps there's a market for "artisanal" chain lube, hand-brewed in small batches, using only the finest ingredients". ;-)

1/9/17 6:54 AM

Hand crafted chain lube.

And if you brew and store it at low temperatures, that will ensure that it is effective in cold weather.

Brian I think your ship may be coming in.....

1/9/17 7:56 AM

It's nice to see this discussion has remained civil so far.

I'm a regular on the BikeForums.net Bike Mechanics forum and absolutely no topic generates a longer, more heated and more acrimonious debate then the simple question of "What's the Best Chain Lube?" It seems everyone has their favorite type and will defend their choice at great length. "What's the Best Bike Grease ?" runs it a close second for contentiousness but I consider it a related topic.

The old Shimano vs Campy (and now SRAM) debate is quiet and refined by comparison.

1/9/17 8:52 AM

The proverbial IPA of Micro-Brew-Chain-Lube??

Get the marketing machine rolling...

1/9/17 12:03 PM

Brian, that all sounds great, but if you are going to go that rote, please don't get forget to grow a long beard and get at least one (two would be ideal) full sleeve tattoos

1/9/17 2:16 PM

Maybe the marketing folks can just Photoshop the sleeves into their advert literature?

The beard should also go over well with the seasonal cyclocross mania.

There are a few main schools of thought on chain lube, each with happy adherents.

There is the "heavy lube applied infrequently" school, which is pretty darn good if/when the lube isn't over-applied or is at least wiped down until it ceases to exude from the crevices. High mileages are possible, and "Finish Line Cross Country" lube comes readily to mind.

There is the bottled-wax school of more-solid lube that is applied in a diluted state, but which then thickens/hardens so as to not attract dirt. White Lightning made a big spash with such a product around 1994 iir.

And there is the "home-brew" school of heavily-diluted oil being used as a cleaner/lubricant that it is generally applied more frequently. This has been my approach since I fashioned an applicator-tube squeeze bottle that applied the lube at just such a rate as to allow lubing the moving chain in one continuous 10-second crank-turning frenzy, with an almost-as-quick terrycloth wipe-down to follow.
This last method being perhaps a longer-lasting variant of the very old approach of lubing/cleaning one's chain (almost daily) using WD40, but there are now several bike-specific lubes within the same niche.

All three above methods are entirely valid, though the wax lubes can present issues with built-up or flaking-off solids, depending on the formulation and on the application routine.

The grumpy ones out there just grab what's in front of them, usually TriFlow, and enjoy only a very brief period of all-is-well before their chain becomes a fabric-soiling, leg-tattooing trail of black sludge. Very short-sighted. If only they would at least embrace the mantra that "you can't wipe too much lube off of your chain", and actually perform some sort of pre- or post-ride routine toward the basic maintenance of their bike, there would be no cleaning fee added to the normal service fees that their shop charges, and their drivetrain would be spared the uncontrolled recirculation of grit across it's wear surfaces.

1/9/17 3:24 PM

I do home brew and do a very quick follow-up wipe down after the first, and maybe second ride. No issues with packing/unpacking the bike from the car nor do I ever recall getting a (temporary) chain ring tattoo. I've also used it on commuter bike, where a grease stain would be a big deal - again no issue.

1/10/17 6:11 AM

I remember when it first hit the market, back when I was in the bike biz. As dddd indicated, it turned into a black, gloppy mess pretty quickly. Back then, we weren't as fastidious about wiping chains down, which was probably a large part of the problem.

Boeshield will do the same thing if you don't wipe the chain sufficiently, but if you wipe carefully, it stays pretty clean.

I've tried quite a few lubes over the years. Some really sucked (WD40, White Lightning, Krytech), but most did a decent job. Pretty much any lube will do the job if you apply it properly and frequently enough.

Anyway, I've got a beard to grow and an appointment at the local tattoo parlor. Do I have to get skinny jeans too? ;-)

1/10/17 8:53 AM

quote:

---

As I recall, a forum member, Wheels, also for a few years marketed both a wet and dry lube, but eventually pulled the plug, as the endeavor just wasn`t worth the effort. I purchased a bottle, and was pleased with the results, but it seems a very difficult field to try to make a niche in.

---

1/10/17 9:38 AM

Skinny jeans are so obvious and crucial that I didn't think it was worth mentioning ;)

1/10/17 9:47 AM

I just got a shirt that says "Brooklyn NYC" with a bicycle on the front. That would also help your cred, but I'm afraid I cannot part with it as it is central to my aging hipster persona.

1/10/17 10:25 AM

Several years ago, I thought Brooklyn had jumped the shark when I saw that the newest, greatest, planned community in Istanbul was named "Brooklyn Park," but I think the thought of Dan in that shirt seals the deal!

1/10/17 12:28 PM

No cred with the skinny jeans! A real cyclist's legs will not fit in them, though if one can figure out how to successfully target "clean lube" to urban hipsters the business may slowly take hold.
Do those guys ever really lube their chains though? And won't it be easier to market belt drive to that crowd?

1/10/17 1:10 PM

quote:

---

I just got a shirt that says "Brooklyn NYC" with a bicycle on the front.

---

1/10/17 5:25 PM

I believe it's a double entendre, Dave. It's a bicycle phrase, but on the shirt of course also refers to Pittsburgh's industrial heritage. When I did a ride with Jens Voigt recently, he looked at my Sachs, and after inquiring whether Sachs was a German, said "Steel is real, eh?"

I enjoyed the steel heritage stuff in Pittsburgh when I visited a few years ago. My niece lived right by the "Hot Metal Bridge" as I recall, and I have a mug from the Carnegie with '30s photos from the foundry of a mill, and bought some postcards with photos of a lidflipper on the coke ovens. I had the same job one summer at the Bethlehem mill in Lackawanna, NY (the Steel City, whose High School teams also were the Steelers). One Steeler I played against (in basketball, not football) was Ron "Jaws" Jaworski, future NFL MVP.

1/11/17 7:44 AM

Yeah Dan, I knew it was a double entendre but I expect the majority of the people who see it won't get the bike connection in the phrase.

If you ever get back to Pittsburgh, try to get to the Heinz History Center in "The Strip District". Obviously it covers history of the steel industry but it includes everything from colonial times to the present with a rather heavy emphasis on sports, Steelers, Pirates and Penguins, as we are the "City of Champions". 😊

1/11/17 4:14 PM

I just stumbled on this thread and will make a few comments as I put my PhD Materials Engineering hat on.

Wax is not really a efficient/effective lube in the solid state.
Wax can/could actually be a damaging "lube" if dirt and abrasive particles are (not if) get entrapped.