Life of a waxed chain

[John H.]

I was riding in the rain today- On my bike with a chain waxed with Molten Speed wax.
1.) I was amazed at how quiet it was.
2.) Double amazed at how quickly and easily it washed up-

[makoti]

Originally Posted by Rusty Luggs

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/fast...ves-you-money/

Good to know that if I'm not going to wax, I'm using the preferred lube, NFS. Didn't know there was a difference between the Silca version & the original.

[BdaGhisallo]

Originally Posted by John H.

I was riding in the rain today- On my bike with a chain waxed with Molten Speed wax.
1.) I was amazed at how quiet it was.
2.) Double amazed at how quickly and easily it washed up-

That's been my experience too. Pleasantly surprising after hearing for years that rain will wash away wax in a heartbeat. I have done multiple wet rides back to back and have not noticed any increase in chain noise nor a (presumably) associated loss of lubrication.

[JStonebarger]

Originally Posted by Rusty Luggs

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/fast...ves-you-money/

"Best-in-class for both durability and friction, regardless of conditions" sounds about right.

"The application process is more involved than most people would like" is true as well, but doesn't tell the whole story. Think it out and waxing doesn't take too long. Factor in drivetrain cleaning time and waxing is a time saver. Besides, it's a luxury to handle bikes without the mess of a drip lube. For cross races or vacation we might have two bikes inside our car--a huge PIA before we started waxing.

[Krenovian]

The results of the testing reported on the http://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/ website convinced me to switch to MSW and Smoove. I swap chains out every 180 miles or so rather than waiting until the chain gets noisy. If a chain does start to sound noisy before 180 miles I swap it out sooner. I rarely ride in wet conditions. Riding is 50/50 pavement and dirt.

Three chains are used in rotation with MSW. Once the 3rd chain in the rotation comes off the bike I clean all three by dipping in boiling water followed by an alcohol bath. Then into the Crock Pot with MSW.

I have one chain treated with Smoove which is reserved for events that may be wet and or muddy or 200 miles or longer.

Previous 15 years I used T9 as a lube. I would get between 100-200 mi before chains would become noisy depending on conditions. Biggest draw backs were having to wait 3-4 hours after an application before riding and the accumulation of lube on the chain and cassette after multiple applicatons.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[clarendon]

I found this thread informative - thanks to all for sharing your experiences. At the risk of resurrecting the discussion, have any of you experience with Squirt as compared to MSW, Silca Super Secret, NFS and the other solutions mentioned here?

Am currently using Squirt but Kerin's site seems to suggest that this causes a lot of drivetrain wear (~20%?) in the first few hundred km after a proper clean. It also accumulates dark waxy smudges on the cassette - nothing major and better than a wet lube but still pretty difficult to shift. Am considering MSW for the promise of reduced wear on a SR12 drivetrain and general cleanliness, although somewhat put off by the workload involved!

[NHAero]

Using Squirt on multiple bikes for 14 months, 5,000 miles, wipe down and lube roughly every three rides on each, and no measurable wear on any of the chains using the Pedro's chain checker with the three hooks. Chain and cogs are acceptably clean. I have 30% of the first 4 oz. bottle left even after fairly liberal usage. Bought two more bottles recently seeing a deal on eBay.

Not saying this is the best lube of all time, but it's working for me as far as I can tell.

[weaponsgrade]

I just rewaxed the chain on my gravel bike last week. I was at 282 miles. No creaking, but shifting across cogs didn't seem as smooth as it used to be. Everything's nice and smooth now.

[IJWS]

A friend that used to work at CeramicSpeed told me that Squirt was their in-house lube...complete hearsay. I'm using the expensive Silca stuff and I'm sold. Anything that I can use without a crockpot!

Originally Posted by NHAero

Using Squirt on multiple bikes for 14 months, 5,000 miles, wipe down and lube roughly every three rides on each, and no measurable wear on any of the chains using the Pedro's chain checker with the three hooks. Chain and cogs are acceptably clean. I have 30% of the first 4 oz. bottle left even after fairly liberal usage. Bought two more bottles recently seeing a deal on eBay.

Not saying this is the best lube of all time, but it's working for me as far as I can tell.