Silca Super Secret Lube 3000km review

[Dave]

There's nothing magical about 0.5% elongation. It's just a number that might let one more chain be used before you get new-chain skip. I much prefer to pick the number of chains I think is adequate for a cassette's life and alternate their use, so I never get new-chain skip. That could be 4,5,6 - you pick. Each chain can then be used longer since you're not tossing chains prematurely in an attempt to avoid new-chain skip.

[ripvanrando]

The go/no go gauges measure both pin and rollers and overestimate wear.

I hang all 54-55 inches of the chain off a nail on the garage door frame and measure the whole length and/or compare to a new one. 0.5% is just over 1/4 of an inch and is very easy to accurately and precisely measure over the whole length, plus this method avoids the roller.

The "problem" with go no go drop in measurements is the nonlinearity of wear and all you really know is a chain isn't yet at 0.5 but given the roller is included, it is easy to replace the chain in time or actually too early.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by ripvanrando

The go/no go gauges measure both pin and rollers and overestimate wear.

I hang all 54-55 inches of the chain off a nail on the garage door frame and measure the whole length and/or compare to a new one. 0.5% is just over 1/4 of an inch and is very easy to accurately and precisely measure over the whole length, plus this method avoids the roller.

The "problem" with go no go drop in measurements is the nonlinearity of wear and all you really know is a chain isn't yet at 0.5 but given the roller is included, it is easy to replace the chain in time or actually too early.

Is that nonlinerity because of the rollers or at the pin and sleeve or both? Seems to me worrying about nonlinerity is trying to be too precise in the measurement, especially considering that 0.5% wear is an arbitrary number.

Those gages that push the rollers in the same direction (e.g., Shimano or Park CC-4) are more accurate than those that push rollers apart. I like my Park CC-4 gage; quick and easy and the chain doesn't have to be removed from the bike to take a measurement.

[ripvanrando]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Is that nonlinerity because of the rollers or at the pin and sleeve or both? Seems to me worrying about nonlinerity is trying to be too precise in the measurement, especially considering that 0.5% wear is an arbitrary number.

Those gages that push the rollers in the same direction (e.g., Shimano or Park CC-4) are more accurate than those that push rollers apart. I like my Park CC-4 gage; quick and easy and the chain doesn't have to be removed from the bike to take a measurement.

My guess is after the surface coatings start to wear, the wear rate increases. I am also guessing that measuring the way I do (hanging the whole chain and measuring pin to pin) gives about half the "stretch" as a gage the rollers, but just a SWAG. I really do not measure often, especially with a fresh chain because I am familiar with the wear rate. Now that I am transitioning to 12 speed and using a YBN chain, for which I have no experience with, I will measure that one more frequently. (it was the only 12 speed I could find at the time, hope it is good one)

[NHAero]

One in-process observation:

The Firefly and the Strong both have 11s KMC chains that were used and cleaned the same way. They both have HG800 11-34 cassettes and DA 9100 mech RDs. I lubed the Strong with Squirt because I wanted to get that bike going again before the Silca arrived. The Firefly chain is lubed with Silca.

Both drivetrains started out silent, but the one with the Squirt lubed chain stayed that way past 100 miles, and I began to hear the one with the Silca-lubed chain on the second ride (1st ride 20 miles, 2nd ride 33 miles).

The Squirt is more viscous, so I'm opining that the teeth of the cassette cogs, jockey pulleys, and chainrings get more of a coating than they do with the Silca. What's going on inside, where the wear is occurring, is likely unrelated to this.

And of course I could be wrong entirely, this is just what I hear riding along.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by NHAero

One in-process observation:

The Firefly and the Strong both have 11s KMC chains that were used and cleaned the same way. They both have HG800 11-34 cassettes and DA 9100 mech RDs. I lubed the Strong with Squirt because I wanted to get that bike going again before the Silca arrived. The Firefly chain is lubed with Silca.

Both drivetrains started out silent, but the one with the Squirt lubed chain stayed that way past 100 miles, and I began to hear the one with the Silca-lubed chain on the second ride (1st ride 20 miles, 2nd ride 33 miles).

The Squirt is more viscous, so I'm opining that the teeth of the cassette cogs, jockey pulleys, and chainrings get more of a coating than they do with the Silca. What's going on inside, where the wear is occurring, is likely unrelated to this.

And of course I could be wrong entirely, this is just what I hear riding along.

Maybe you didn't use enough Silca lube.

[NHAero]

Good point, but I think I did, and followed their instructions, and did two rounds of lube because it was a freshly cleaned chain. In any case, the amount of lube is as close to equal as I can make it with the two lubes, because overdoing it means it just drips onto the floor!

Originally Posted by charliedid

Maybe you didn't use enough Silca lube.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Good point, but I think I did, and followed their instructions, and did two rounds of lube because it was a freshly cleaned chain. In any case, the amount of lube is as close to equal as I can make it with the two lubes, because overdoing it means it just drips onto the floor!

Fair enough....I find that for my use the instruction on Synergetic and NFS is not enough.

I also do a second round after a ride when starting with a freshly cleaned chain.

I no like the chatter.

[MikeD]

I apply Smoove, Squirt, Silca, and True-tension to the chain and heat the chain with a heat gun. It thins the wax and allows better penetration into the chain, then wipe the outside with a rag to remove extra wax. Not sure I need to do this with TT or Silca though, but Zero Friction Cycling recommends heat with Smoove and Squirt.

[NHAero]

Thanks, good idea!

Originally Posted by MikeD

I apply Smoove, Squirt, Silca, and True-tension to the chain and heat the chain with a heat gun. It thins the wax and allows better penetration into the chain, then wipe the outside with a rag to remove extra wax. Not sure I need to do this with TT or Silca though, but Zero Friction Cycling recommends heat with Smoove and Squirt.

[joshatsilca]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Fair enough....I find that for my use the instruction on Synergetic and NFS is not enough.

I also do a second round after a ride when starting with a freshly cleaned chain.

I no like the chatter.

Charlie is right, you really need to 'layer up' these lubes from a new clean chain.. with SuperSecret we see that 2 rounds of application from a clean chain make a big difference in terms of noise as the first drip wicks into the inside of the chain, and then the second application stays in between the side plates. I've started doing 1 drop on each side of the roller so it can work down from both directions and fill the side plate gaps. A truly clean chain has a lot of empty space inside that needs to be filled up with lube to really get it quiet.

[9tubes]

I use a solder flux brush to spread it around for the same reason. It's not as fast as the drip+fingers method but seems to be better at getting the SS in the right places.

[thegunner]

okay, hear me out -- i'm lazy and don't have time to get my chains squeaky clean (i'm lazy and use the aerosol degreaser), but i tried the silca lube on a whim because of black friday and the results are still quite good

i used to have a problem of a white dog turning into a white dog with chain grease streaks, but this seems to have solved that problem (and anecdotally the chain runs as smooth / quietly as when i was using NFS).

so if you're someone who was put off by the intense instructions, and you're curious how this stands up if you cut corners and use it as a regular lube, i'd say it's still excellent.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by joshatsilca

Charlie is right, you really need to 'layer up' these lubes from a new clean chain.. with SuperSecret we see that 2 rounds of application from a clean chain make a big difference in terms of noise as the first drip wicks into the inside of the chain, and then the second application stays in between the side plates. I've started doing 1 drop on each side of the roller so it can work down from both directions and fill the side plate gaps. A truly clean chain has a lot of empty space inside that needs to be filled up with lube to really get it quiet.

This was my experience with super secret. I complained about it after first use here then added a second a week or so later and it was significantly quieter.

[Dave]

It doesn't seem like these pricey lubes offer any advantage over a pennies-per-ounce home made paraffin based lube. I easily get 150 miles between applications and never get any noise. My chains are cleaned with one solvent and when dry, they get an initial application before the chain is hung up to wait it's turn in a rotation. When the chain is reinstalled it gets a second application before riding.

A heat gun is used to warm the chain before lubing to ensure that the lube, which has water like viscosity, doesn't freeze up and sit on the rollers instead of penetrating. The lube leaves little residue, so little drivetrain cleaning is required.