Velo News-Chain Lube

[pbarry]

Originally Posted by VA-Scooter

Very little has been said about the VELO article that seemed unbiased & scientific. It had numbers to back up that paraffin wax made your drivetrain more efficient. "The only real argument against paraffin wax is its more intensive application process. It's obviously the fastest in ideal conditions, & even in nasty conditions it is still an exceptional single-day lube." I found this surprising but have not used paraffin wax on a chain since I was a child. {a long time ago}

That should have been the lead phrase. Impractical for normal use. Bicycling magazine had a DIY article on paraffin 30+ years ago and I fell for it. Maybe 150 miles till my chain started squeaking. Unless you're going for the hour record, stick with your favorite lube.

[VA-Scooter]

Originally Posted by pbarry

That should have been the lead phrase. Impractical for normal use. Bicycling magazine had a DIY article on paraffin 30+ years ago and I fell for it. Maybe 150 miles till my chain started squeaking. Unless you're going for the hour record, stick with your favorite lube.

That is what I suspected. I wondered how this stuff could be so great but nobody is using it.

[Unpredictable]

If its not flamable....its not lube. Thats our moto at the shop. Prolink Extreme has been a favorite as of late. I like it even more than the original.

[Doug Fattic]

I used paraffin wax for several years back maybe 20 or so years ago. I liked it better than anything else I've used before or since. What I liked was that it was very clean and I never got chain tattoos when my leg brushed up against it. Much cleaner than anything else. What I didn't like about it was the complication of applying it. I had a double boiler in which the lower pan filled with water over the stove melted the wax in the top pan. One of the secrets to application was to leave the chain in the melted wax long enough so the chain itself came up to the wax temperature. That way when I lifted it out the hot wax would run off the chain instead of clumping to it. A few paper towel wipes and the excess was gone and ready to install.

I typically got 800 to 1000 miles before I needed to reapply wax. I knew when it would start to get noisy. This would be greatly cut short if I got caught in pouring rain. I seldom rode my good bike in the rain anyway. Of course I always used a chain link that allowed easy chain removal and reinstallation. The problem I found was that sometimes at the end of the wax's milage I didn't have time to rewax it before a ride so I would apply some traditional lubricant. Then if I wanted to apply wax again I had to clean the chain of the new lubricant and I didn't want to be bothered so I just left it.

I should add that some other lubricants require some complicated application techniques too. Primarily the chain has to be really clean and I'd have to put it in my ultra sonic cleaner several times with new cleaner.

[pbarry]

Originally Posted by Doug Fattic

I used paraffin wax for several years back maybe 20 or so years ago. I liked it better than anything else I've used before or since. What I liked was that it was very clean and I never got chain tattoos when my leg brushed up against it. Much cleaner than anything else. What I didn't like about it was the complication of applying it. I had a double boiler in which the lower pan filled with water over the stove melted the wax in the top pan. One of the secrets to application was to leave the chain in the melted wax long enough so the chain itself came up to the wax temperature. That way when I lifted it out the hot wax would run off the chain instead of clumping to it. A few paper towel wipes and the excess was gone and ready to install.

I typically got 800 to 1000 miles before I needed to reapply wax. I knew when it would start to get noisy. This would be greatly cut short if I got caught in pouring rain. I seldom rode my good bike in the rain anyway. Of course I always used a chain link that allowed easy chain removal and reinstallation. The problem I found was that sometimes at the end of the wax's milage I didn't have time to rewax it before a ride so I would apply some traditional lubricant. Then if I wanted to apply wax again I had to clean the chain of the new lubricant and I didn't want to be bothered so I just left it.

I should add that some other lubricants require some complicated application techniques too. Primarily the chain has to be really clean and I'd have to put it in my ultra sonic cleaner several times with new cleaner.

If anyone else posted the above, I would question their veracity. IMO, you are more trusted than Frank Bruno! Will try it once more, using your technique.

[LegendRider]

My guess is VeloNews will be publishing a rebuttal from the folks at ProGold! Even if the "metal conditioner" claim is marketing nonsense, I'll still use ProLink - it works fine as far I can tell.

I used to try every new lube available in search of the holy grail of a perfectly clean, quiet and long-lasting drivetrain. I've given up for the most part..

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/...progold_282854

[Seramount]

used to do the whole silly paraffin ritual...

take the chain off, clean in solvent, wash with hot, soapy water, dry in oven, melt wax, dip in wax, wipe off excess wax...repeat every 100 miles.

bunch of BS, imo.

after years of using Triflow (smells great, doesn't last for crap) and a few name brand lubes that were nothing special, I tried Chain-L.

the stuff is great. have been tracking my lube intervals...best is 785 miles, averaging ~650 miles.

produces the quietest drive-train ever...buttery smooth, too.