Chain lubricants

[C36]

Does anyone have any recommendations for an off the shelf lube or wax product to use on a chain? My available time that I can designate to the bike is relatively limited and I'd prefer to spend that on it riding rather than faffing over it if possible.

For all those that wax their chain, do you replace the quick link and use a new one everytime you wax, or do you re-use the link a few times? The links seem very expensive to replace everytime you rewax your chain every 250km (which is what every week or two for a serious rider?)

If you are able to invest in 3 or 4 chains you rotate and then wax them together, then wax is WAY less time consuming than decontaminating a chain lubricated with any product that keeps dirt on and inside the chain.
For the reusable links, you have the Connex ones.. but I admit I always reuse the shimano ones for years without a problems and would replace them if they would unlock by hand (that yet never happened to me) I don’t get what the problem is, the chain tension keep them in locked position.

[justRideIt]

When waxing your chain, I have a question to the temperature you use in the slow cooker.

My slow cooker comes with two heating settings and I've checked the temperatures of the Molten Speed Wax with a food thermometer.

Setting 1 (low): wax temperature maxes out at 58°C (136°F)
Setting 2 (high): wax temperature maxes out at 93°C (200°F).

In the video tutorial by Molten Speed Wax, they recommend heating to 93°C (200°F) (see screenshot from the YouTube video).



So I went acc. to manufacturer recommendation with the high setting.
However, I was not satisfied with the mileage I got out of the chain.

When researching about low mileage of waxed chains, I found the following information in the FAQ of speedmasterwax.com:

There are 2 possibilities for short mileage. [...] during the last step of the wax bath, the chain was taken out when the wax was extremely HOT.
Since hot wax has a much lower viscosity (too watery), that leaves very little wax inside the chain's roller when its taken out from the wax bath.
To remedy this problem, turn off all heat sources during the last stage of the wax bath. Leave the chain inside the wax can until it's cool but not yet solidified. Then, take out the chain and lay it flat until the chain is safe for installation.

Does anyone actually do this? Let the chain cool down in the molten wax before taking it out?
Can't I just use the low setting with wax temperature at 58°C (136°F)?
What are your experiences regarding temperatures? Do you use low / high setting on your slow cooker?

Would be great to hear from some experienced waxers. Thanks.

[goixiz]

Does anyone actually do this? Let the chain cool down in the molten wax before taking it out?
Can't I just use the low setting with wax temperature at 58°C (136°F)?
What are your experiences regarding temperatures? Do you use low / high setting on your slow cooker?

Would be great to hear from some experienced waxers. Thanks.

no need and the thinner the wax the better performance as it adheres to the metal better......

If you anal like me - i use a sealed double wall boiler so it does not go much higher than than 190F and i pull a vacuum for about 30s when chain is inside the chamber with melted wax

[Maddie]

I use the high setting. I heat the wax to around 90°C, put the chain inside, shut off power and wait until it's somewhere around 60-70 degrees. Then take the chain out of the cooker. I then remove residual wax.

[BdaGhisallo]

I'll often let my slow cooker get the wax (MSW and Silca) up to 220F. It makes it nice and thin and I can get the chain well lubricated without leaving too much on the outside of the links to flake off. It works.

[goixiz]

I'll often let my slow cooker get the wax (MSW and Silca) up to 220F. It makes it nice and thin and I can get the chain well lubricated without leaving too much on the outside of the links to flake off. It works.

Im not the expert on all waxes but i know that wax looses its long chain structure when its too hot. Depends on the composition im not sure what brand has a max temp..... May need to do some research.... I dont go past 205F usually 190 +/- 5F

[TobinHatesYou]

I let my wax get into the 210-215F range with no issues or discoloration. I'm using plain paraffin though.

I let it cool to 140F before removal.

[MikeD]

I think Silca says 170°F.

[WorkonSunday]

Hi all, im about to go onto a 1500km /15,000m elv journey.i will be looking to cover about 250km each day. from what i can gather in this thread, there isnt a product that can cover the whole journey, right? if so, then im looking for a product that does not require complete deep clean but can be applied over a dirty chain. is Silca SS lube a good choice? i will most likely to take a small bottle with me to top up each day or every two days, so easy application is also quite important. thanks in advance

[MagicShite]

Hi all, im about to go onto a 1500km /15,000m elv journey.i will be looking to cover about 250km each day. from what i can gather in this thread, there isnt a product that can cover the whole journey, right? if so, then im looking for a product that does not require complete deep clean but can be applied over a dirty chain. is Silca SS lube a good choice? i will most likely to take a small bottle with me to top up each day or every two days, so easy application is also quite important. thanks in advance

UFO is much better. Silca SS seems to have QC issues at the moment.

[WorkonSunday]

Hi all, im about to go onto a 1500km /15,000m elv journey.i will be looking to cover about 250km each day. from what i can gather in this thread, there isnt a product that can cover the whole journey, right? if so, then im looking for a product that does not require complete deep clean but can be applied over a dirty chain. is Silca SS lube a good choice? i will most likely to take a small bottle with me to top up each day or every two days, so easy application is also quite important. thanks in advance

UFO is much better. Silca SS seems to have QC issues at the moment.

ok, thanks. is UFO ok to just keep adding/topping up while im on the road? i wont have facility to clean the bike once set off. thanks.

[MagicShite]

Hi all, im about to go onto a 1500km /15,000m elv journey.i will be looking to cover about 250km each day. from what i can gather in this thread, there isnt a product that can cover the whole journey, right? if so, then im looking for a product that does not require complete deep clean but can be applied over a dirty chain. is Silca SS lube a good choice? i will most likely to take a small bottle with me to top up each day or every two days, so easy application is also quite important. thanks in advance

UFO is much better. Silca SS seems to have QC issues at the moment.

ok, thanks. is UFO ok to just keep adding/topping up while im on the road? i wont have facility to clean the bike once set off. thanks.

get some decent kitchen wipes with you and u can wipe your drive train clean then top up again.

[Knightyboy27]

Hi all, im about to go onto a 1500km /15,000m elv journey.i will be looking to cover about 250km each day. from what i can gather in this thread, there isnt a product that can cover the whole journey, right? if so, then im looking for a product that does not require complete deep clean but can be applied over a dirty chain. is Silca SS lube a good choice? i will most likely to take a small bottle with me to top up each day or every two days, so easy application is also quite important. thanks in advance

UFO is much better. Silca SS seems to have QC issues at the moment.

ok, thanks. is UFO ok to just keep adding/topping up while im on the road? i wont have facility to clean the bike once set off. thanks.

Note that you should "allow UFO Drip to dry a minimum of 8 hours for best results and clean performance", so depending on your type of ride, you will need to have the time to let it dry overnight.

I'm guessing this is one of the downfalls of using wax, that on any long distance multi day event, you may be a bit stuck with applying additional wax...

[MikeD]

UFO is much better. Silca SS seems to have QC issues at the moment.

This may be due to people not shaking the bottle enough before applying.

[C36]

UFO is much better. Silca SS seems to have QC issues at the moment.

This may be due to people not shaking the bottle enough before applying.

It seems to be a bit more complicated. If you read the wax post there are interesting differences between people using the same Silca SS. Some have no issues in putting a droplet on the roller, others have it dropping on the floor, the colour also seems different even after intense shaking sessions.

I am of those that has no problems, others seem to face a different experience.