Wax vs "oil based" lubricants and use applications

[stackie]

What is the hive consensus as to which lubes are best for which conditions.

I would think as follows, for a simplistic approach:

Wax for MTB (mostly dry and sandy conditions).

Wet lubes such as NFS for road (mostly dry).

Is this correct? Or am I mistaken.

Thx,

Jon

[Krenovian]

Here's a link to a site with lots of information that may be helpful. https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/

[clarendon]

I've been down a lockdown rabbit hole into this subject in idle moments. This is a good starting point on the subject at least as far as road bikes go, as is Dave's article on waxing chains.
https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/fast...ves-you-money/

Bottom line:
- Silca Super Secret Lube or Squirt is probably going to be the best compromise for low friction, low chainset wear over time, keeping the drivetrain clean, and ease of application. Both need you to strip the chain down to bare metal first with white spirit & denatured alcohol/meths but it's a one time investment of effort.
- Oil based like Silca's new Synergetic might be better if you can't be bothered to start with a deep clean, or ride in wetter conditions.
- Waxing the chain with a paraffin based wax like Molten Speed Wax or Silca Super Secret Blend (or just paraffin wax) will give you the absolute cleanest and lowest friction ride, but it's a more involved process. You don't need to buy a separate crock pot for this if you heat the wax in a bag.

I've settled on waxing for the best bike which only goes out in dry conditions. And Super Secret Lube for general use. Very happy with both. If you care about these things Silca's product outperformed all of the others in Zero Friction's latest tests (although I doubt anyone would notice a difference in real world use). I also use Squirt sometimes which is good but in my experience leaves a tackier finish on the chain and attracts more dirt on a ride. All of these are way cleaner and easier to maintain than the multitude of oil based lubes I used before. I hope they will save some $ in the long term in not having to replace expensive drivetrain parts.

[jimoots]

After listening to Adam Kerin on the Marginal Gains podcast and then doing a bunch of reading - I don’t think there is any use case for not using a wax based lube if you are prioritising wear and wattage savings (not the same thing but basically the same thing).

Lot of dogma around lube so I’m sure people will be upset about the above statement!

[superbowlpats]

I use the Silca SS on my road bike. Its super quiet and much cleaner than using more typical lubes. That being said I'm not the best at keeping my bike clean after rides and have on one occasion neglected my chain after some wet rides and found rust had formed. I think with any waxed chain you need 2 or 3 chains in the rotation so you can just swap when its time and not have to think about cleaning/re-waxing till another day. I'm just not sure I will stay with it.

For my CX and MTB bikes i use either NFS or the new Silca Synergetic lube since both bikes will see wet conditions.

[Mattbotak]

Seeing those results my White Lightening is heading to the trash.

[joosttx]

I wax my chains but use squirt to supplement.

[MikeD]

I'm using Smoove. Its wax-like and lasts longer than any other lube I've used. I use a heat gun on the chain to make it penetrate better.

[Ralph]

I only ride on pavement...so don't have much of a chain issue. And don't spend much time thinking about it. I just put 2-3 drops of whatever oil I have available (usually bar oil) around the chain about every other ride (making sure I don't over oil...bar oil can be messy)....run chain thru a WD 40 wet rag every once in a while, and if chain gets real dirty, replace it. Once a year clean and lube pulleys. Probably get about 2000 miles per chain that way, and cassettes hardly ever wear out. Chains run smooth and quiet also. Used wax years ago...never again...too much hassle for me. And I don't think wax lubes as well as oil....no matter what some say.

[El Chaba]

Originally Posted by Ralph

I only ride on pavement...so don't have much of a chain issue. And don't spend much time thinking about it. I just put 2-3 drops of whatever oil I have available (usually bar oil) around the chain about every other ride (making sure I don't over oil...bar oil can be messy)....run chain thru a WD 40 wet rag every once in a while, and if chain gets real dirty, replace it. Once a year clean and lube pulleys. Probably get about 2000 miles per chain that way, and cassettes hardly ever wear out. Chains run smooth and quiet also. Used wax years ago...never again...too much hassle for me. And I don't think wax lubes as well as oil....no matter what some say.

I agree and use a very similar strategy. Additionally, when the bike gets washed, I use simple green to clean the whole drivetrain and the chain is included and scrubbed with a scrounge....and then re-oiled a little more heavily. I think bar oil is underestimated as is Mobil1.

[dmurphey]

I was just going through the review of chain lubes yesterday, even in TX we are frozen, no riding. Molten Speed Wax is probably the best for longevity and performance out there, but for me it won't work. Probably equivalent to MSW is the home brew paraffin wax in an old crockpot. These sounded cool, but I would need to remove my chain every 2 weeks to rewax, and I don't want to buy a new SRAM red 12 sp quick link every 2 weeks at $5 a pop. SRAM and experts don't rec reusing these. So I will continue to use dry lube and apply frequently, every 1 week or so. I am not interested in spending more for exotic crap. I bought a big bottle of Rock and Roll Extreme and refill my little bottle. I ride mostly road and some gravel, wet and dry. I still have a little black on the chain after a ride. I reviewed the testing of chain lubes and all the R&R dry lubes do very well.

[El Chaba]

I don’t really care what the “tests” say, for bicycle chains “ dry lube” is an oxymoron....

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by dmurphey

I was just going through the review of chain lubes yesterday, even in TX we are frozen, no rifding. Molten Speed Wax is probably the best for longevity and performance out there, but for me it won't work. Probably equivalent to MSW is the home brew paraffin wax in an old crockpot. These sounded cool, but I would need to remove my chain every 2 weeks to rewax, and I don't want to buy a new SRAM red 12 sp quick link every 2 weeks at $5 a pop. SRAM and experts don't rec reusing these. So I will continue to use dry lube and apply frequently, every 1 week or so. I am not interested in spending more for exotic crap. I bought a big bottle of Rock and Roll Extreme and refill my little bottle. I ride mostly road and some gravel, wet and dry. I still have a little black one the chain after a ride. I reviewed the testing of chain lubes and all the R&R dry lubes do very well.

Be careful with home brew stuff, if you are just sticking paraffin wax in a croc pot I understand that to be safe but many of the additives people say to throw in aren't really safe to heat up and be standing around the vapours. Straight paraffin definitely won't net the same result as MSW though.

Also re: the quick link, you can reuse them 2-3 times but there are re-usable quick links by KMC and others that are made to be reused a dozen or so times.

[charliedid]

Who uses the Silca Synergetic snake oil?

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by dmurphey

I was just going through the review of chain lubes yesterday, even in TX we are frozen, no riding. Molten Speed Wax is probably the best for longevity and performance out there, but for me it won't work. Probably equivalent to MSW is the home brew paraffin wax in an old crockpot. These sounded cool, but I would need to remove my chain every 2 weeks to rewax, and I don't want to buy a new SRAM red 12 sp quick link every 2 weeks at $5 a pop. SRAM and experts don't rec reusing these. So I will continue to use dry lube and apply frequently, every 1 week or so. I am not interested in spending more for exotic crap. I bought a big bottle of Rock and Roll Extreme and refill my little bottle. I ride mostly road and some gravel, wet and dry. I still have a little black on the chain after a ride. I reviewed the testing of chain lubes and all the R&R dry lubes do very well.

My unscientific experiments suggest you get about two uses out of those 12 speed quick links before they become potentially a problem. So what it is worth? About $5 a month. I am a little obsessed with this issue.