Chain lubricants

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goixiz
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by goixiz

mrlobber wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 3:55 pm
joshatsilca wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 2:52 pm
Lastly, you can filter mineral spirits and acetone through coffee filters to remove the oils and particulates left behind. Doing so, you can get pretty remarkable life out of these chemicals, for home use, you should be able to get years of use from a single gallon of mineral spirits and acetone.
Good idea, how didn't I think about this before :thumbup:
Coffee filters will clog fairly quickly if your cleaner is contaminated with grease and maybe even wax
A prefilter of fine steel mesh is needed
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Nooga
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by Nooga

How long are people finding it takes for the wax lubes to break in/loosen for lack of a better term? I have a red axs chain installed and it still feels a bit stiff between the links after a 5hr ride (sub freezing though). I've also read anecdotes and postulations that the AXS chains might have too narrow or tolerances for waxing? But I haven't found any data or official statements with regards to that.

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MikeD
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by MikeD

Nooga wrote:How long are people finding it takes for the wax lubes to break in/loosen for lack of a better term? I have a red axs chain installed and it still feels a bit stiff between the links after a 5hr ride (sub freezing though). I've also read anecdotes and postulations that the AXS chains might have too narrow or tolerances for waxing? But I haven't found any data or official statements with regards to that.
In my experience with Smoove and Squirt, the chain will always be somewhat stiff, which makes it hard to believe that it is lower friction than oily lubes, where the chain is not stiff at all.

Nooga
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by Nooga

MikeD wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:40 pm
Nooga wrote:How long are people finding it takes for the wax lubes to break in/loosen for lack of a better term? I have a red axs chain installed and it still feels a bit stiff between the links after a 5hr ride (sub freezing though). I've also read anecdotes and postulations that the AXS chains might have too narrow or tolerances for waxing? But I haven't found any data or official statements with regards to that.
In my experience with Smoove and Squirt, the chain will always be somewhat stiff, which makes it hard to believe that it is lower friction than oily lubes, where the chain is not stiff at all.
I have a waxed chain on my trainer bike that is incredibly smooth/loose feeling (I get 3 full crank revolutions on a backwards push). But it is an 11s DA chain and it's been used only inside.

TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

Nooga wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 5:20 pm
How long are people finding it takes for the wax lubes to break in/loosen for lack of a better term? I have a red axs chain installed and it still feels a bit stiff between the links after a 5hr ride (sub freezing though). I've also read anecdotes and postulations that the AXS chains might have too narrow or tolerances for waxing? But I haven't found any data or official statements with regards to that.

When it’s around freezing temperatures, I’d say it can take 30+ minutes for my chain to reach expected noise levels. On a typical spring day it would take 10-15 minutes. My waxed chains definitely have smooth movement after a 5 hour ride, but it does get even smoother by the time hit 15 hours on the chain. Not that it means anything because manipulating a chain with your hands is like performing a spin test in a crankset…the difference in actual drag/friction under load is minimal.

Roadbiker10
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by Roadbiker10

Thanks for the detailed answer Josh.

I'm in the process of mounting the cleaned chain right now. There's one thing I didn't think of though. Do the new powerlocks also have grease on them and do they need to be cleaned as well even if they're new?

Could it possibly be a problem if I just mount it as it is?
Last edited by Roadbiker10 on Wed Jan 26, 2022 7:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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yinya
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by yinya

Image

There must be a supersecret application method to the silca bottle Image more ends on floor than chain, if cap more closed, almost no flow and the squirts a lot or cap open and it’s tap wide open Image


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JaeOne3345
Posts: 142
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:27 am

by JaeOne3345

I just converted to waxing chains a few weeks back. I will never go back to wet lube.

Next time I wax all 5 chains I am just gonna use straight up paraffin. I'm not convinced that the miniscule gain from the extras in MSW are worth all the dark flakes.

Roadbiker10
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Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:22 am

by Roadbiker10

I just got mine done as well. I didn't open mine all the way, just maybe half, and I was able to get what I thought was a two drops each. I think it went well.

I got alot of it on the cassette but I suppose that's normal.
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Jackofallgrades
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by Jackofallgrades

yinya wrote:
Wed Jan 26, 2022 6:47 pm
Image

There must be a supersecret application method to the silca bottle Image more ends on floor than chain, if cap more closed, almost no flow and the squirts a lot or cap open and it’s tap wide open Image

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Try dripping on the links passing directly over the cassette, as this will give the lube a much better chance to adhere as it articulates down the jockey wheels. I do this and only lose a couple of drops per application.
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Roadbiker10
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by Roadbiker10

Jackofallgrades wrote:
Wed Jan 26, 2022 7:20 pm
yinya wrote:
Wed Jan 26, 2022 6:47 pm
Image

There must be a supersecret application method to the silca bottle Image more ends on floor than chain, if cap more closed, almost no flow and the squirts a lot or cap open and it’s tap wide open Image

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Try dripping on the links passing directly over the cassette, as this will give the lube a much better chance to adhere as it articulates down the jockey wheels. I do this and only lose a couple of drops per application.
I saw that that Silca showed in their video to put it on top of the cassette. But I tried and I had truoble holding my hand steady in that position, and it was not going where it was supposed to. So I put it on from the middle while chain was on the top side, but I didn't get that much on the floor. Maybe my drops were too small, but to me it seems like quite a lot went on there.
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BdaGhisallo
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by BdaGhisallo

JaeOne3345 wrote:
Wed Jan 26, 2022 7:16 pm
I just converted to waxing chains a few weeks back. I will never go back to wet lube.

Next time I wax all 5 chains I am just gonna use straight up paraffin. I'm not convinced that the miniscule gain from the extras in MSW are worth all the dark flakes.
After waxing with MSW for a few months I gave Gulf Wax a try and it just wasn't as good. I reverted to the MSW for another year and I have recently converted to Silca's wax which I find is even better than MSW.

Hexsense
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Location: USA

by Hexsense

That's like 4x the amount I usually apply.
I just use small drop on each roller. Maybe I use too little.

JaeOne3345
Posts: 142
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:27 am

by JaeOne3345

BdaGhisallo wrote:
Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:15 pm
JaeOne3345 wrote:
Wed Jan 26, 2022 7:16 pm
I just converted to waxing chains a few weeks back. I will never go back to wet lube.

Next time I wax all 5 chains I am just gonna use straight up paraffin. I'm not convinced that the miniscule gain from the extras in MSW are worth all the dark flakes.
After waxing with MSW for a few months I gave Gulf Wax a try and it just wasn't as good. I reverted to the MSW for another year and I have recently converted to Silca's wax which I find is even better than MSW.
Good to know. Didnt last as long or what? Why do you find the Silca even better?

I purchased what was labeled as food grade/refined Paraffin, so I will keep that in mind. I don't mind the price of MSW but I am sick of the dark flakes. First world bitching problems. I know.

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MikeD
Posts: 1000
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:55 pm

by MikeD

JaeOne3345 wrote:I just converted to waxing chains a few weeks back. I will never go back to wet lube.

Next time I wax all 5 chains I am just gonna use straight up paraffin. I'm not convinced that the miniscule gain from the extras in MSW are worth all the dark flakes.
MSW now uses WS2 instead of MoS2.

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