Chain lubricants

[Lakal]

Muc-Off just launched a new lube. Unsurprisingly, they claim it's the world's fastest.
Name: Ludicrous AF
Price: 65 dollars for 50ml

[Torbjorn]

Lol, yet another one!

[aeroisnteverything]

Muc-Off just launched a new lube. Unsurprisingly, they claim it's the world's fastest.
Name: Ludicrous AF
Price: 65 dollars for 50ml

Yeah, it's interesting too. Seems very similar to Silca Synergetic, according to their own claims- the difference they claim is really very marginal. Synergetic is a great lube according to ZFC, but does suffer vs waxes in certain conditions. Cycllingtips speculates to the same effect. Need to see more independent testing to be tempted to switch, especially at this price.

[bobones]

Quick question - has anyone come across a recipe for DIY drip wax lube they think works well for topup? I know oz dissolves paraffin in IPA or something - any joy with this?

Separately I have a bottle of White Lightning Clean Ride from years ago, which claims it is wax based - I wonder if this would be compatible with my waxed chains...

Oz's DIY drip lube seems fairly decent. I used his method with a little clear plastic bottle and 99% isopropanol and some shavings from my crockpot wax and ptfe mix. Once shaken the wax stays "dissolved" in the bottle and can be applied with a nozzle cap to the chain fairly easily. My only criticism so far is that the wax seems to solidify pretty quickly after contacting the chain, so it's not clear how much is getting to the chain internals where it matters. However, it's definitely worth trying as a cheap DIY top up wax that has no oils to attract dirt.

[deejayen]

Has anyone tried the Wippermann Connex CKS lube, and is it the stuff they coat their new chains in?

I've just installed a Connex chain, and it seemed pretty slippery when working with the chain while wearing latex gloves!

I'm wondering if I should give it a go. I've been using Squirt for a few years, but it's not as clean as I'd hoped, so perhaps returning to a more traditional lube wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Roadbiker10]

I have been using Mucc off dry lube since I started road cycling, about 3 years ago. Though I have never been "into" lubes so to say. I see now that I might have been missing out in this area. Especially considering all the good things said about wax. I'm not confident in doing that myself though.

I have always been having issues with very dirty drivetrains, on both my road bikes, but I never really thought that it could be any different. I usually put the lube on after cleaning with degreaser, and then wipe of after every or every other ride, and then reapply. I wash it maybe once every two weeks approximately. Maybe 200km a week.

I am happy to try something new, like Squirt or Silca supersecret for example. Although, right now I see Sigmasports have Mucc off dry lube, C3 dry ceramic and hydrodynamic lube cheap. Are the latter two any good?

Oh yeah, I just read the ZFC terrible review of the hydrodynamic lube. Anyone tried it?

I only ride in dry conditions pretty much, in Sweden.

[Roadbiker10]

They also have the Silca supersecret on sale. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to move to wax. I have never managed to completely strip a chain of lube or for that matter get it clean like new. That is also a reason why I'm holding of on moving to waxbased lubes. I have removed the chains and left them in degreaser overnight a few times. That is the cleanest I have been able to get them.

By the way. I submerged a cassette in degreaser and forgot about it. As I have three cassettes which I use on the trainer. This is how it looked after a month, the degreaser had almost completely evaporated and left a gross sight, including mold.

[dialtone]

They also have the Silca supersecret on sale. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to move to wax. I have never managed to completely strip a chain of lube or for that matter get it clean like new. That is also a reason why I'm holding of on moving to waxbased lubes. I have removed the chains and left them in degreaser overnight a few times. That is the cleanest I have been able to get them.

By the way. I submerged a cassette in degreaser and forgot about it. As I have three cassettes which I use on the trainer. This is how it looked after a month, the degreaser had almost completely evaporated and left a gross sight, including mold.

AA57D95A-87C8-44B5-9964-8F126BBA380C.jpeg

You don't need to leave the thing in for a month. Agitate it regularly for a few days and repeat the bath until it's not dirty when you dry it up. And then dunk in denaturated alcohol for a day and rehash the same with alcohol until it's clear.

But get yourself an ultrasonic cleaner and simple green extreme and cut the process by a LOT.

[Roadbiker10]

They also have the Silca supersecret on sale. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to move to wax. I have never managed to completely strip a chain of lube or for that matter get it clean like new. That is also a reason why I'm holding of on moving to waxbased lubes. I have removed the chains and left them in degreaser overnight a few times. That is the cleanest I have been able to get them.

By the way. I submerged a cassette in degreaser and forgot about it. As I have three cassettes which I use on the trainer. This is how it looked after a month, the degreaser had almost completely evaporated and left a gross sight, including mold.

AA57D95A-87C8-44B5-9964-8F126BBA380C.jpeg

You don't need to leave the thing in for a month. Agitate it regularly for a few days and repeat the bath until it's not dirty when you dry it up. And then dunk in denaturated alcohol for a day and rehash the same with alcohol until it's clear.

But get yourself an ultrasonic cleaner and simple green extreme and cut the process by a LOT.

Thanks, yeah I've heard about the ultrasonic clenaer. I should probably invest in that. By the way, maybe it didn't come across but I forgot that I put the cassette in there. I put it in my basement where I ride all the time but it was under a table so I completely forgot about it.
I intended to leave it only overnight.

So you're saying I should have it in degreaser for a few days then, but only to remove it daily to agitate with something. I just use a regular bike cleaning brush for that. Maybe I should use something with steel bristles?

[dialtone]

They also have the Silca supersecret on sale. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to move to wax. I have never managed to completely strip a chain of lube or for that matter get it clean like new. That is also a reason why I'm holding of on moving to waxbased lubes. I have removed the chains and left them in degreaser overnight a few times. That is the cleanest I have been able to get them.

By the way. I submerged a cassette in degreaser and forgot about it. As I have three cassettes which I use on the trainer. This is how it looked after a month, the degreaser had almost completely evaporated and left a gross sight, including mold.

AA57D95A-87C8-44B5-9964-8F126BBA380C.jpeg

You don't need to leave the thing in for a month. Agitate it regularly for a few days and repeat the bath until it's not dirty when you dry it up. And then dunk in denaturated alcohol for a day and rehash the same with alcohol until it's clear.

But get yourself an ultrasonic cleaner and simple green extreme and cut the process by a LOT.

Thanks, yeah I've heard about the ultrasonic clenaer. I should probably invest in that. By the way, maybe it didn't come across but I forgot that I put the cassette in there. I put it in my basement where I ride all the time but it was under a table so I completely forgot about it.
I intended to leave it only overnight.

So you're saying I should have it in degreaser for a few days then, but only to remove it daily to agitate with something. I just use a regular bike cleaning brush for that. Maybe I should use something with steel bristles?

Nah, if it's in degreaser you can leave it in for a day and agitate it a bit every 4-5 hours. if the degreaser is really dirty you can replace it right away and maybe use a microfiber cloth that you don't care about to clean off whatever flakes off. Then put it back in clean degreaser for another day and follow the same process until the degreaser remains practically clear. Then you should repeat a similar process with denatured alcohol.

The chain is really the primary component that requires a bunch of work, the rest of the groupset doesn't really need much work if any when new. So if you plan on doing it I suggest cleaning 4-5 chains at once since it will save you time to rotate among them when riding.

An ultra sonic cleaner will cut the degreaser time away basically since a bath may take 20-30 minutes per time, and should get rid of a ton of grease and dirt even with just 2-3 baths, and you'll need it with wax as well when you need to re-apply (especially if you do the bath at 60-65C). You may still want to start with degreaser even with the ultrasounds but you can have it take just a day before going for the bath, just to avoid wasting ultra sound detergent.

[Torbjorn]

I feel like both of you are exaggerating the cleaning a lot. It's really not that complicated, nor does it take that long (no need to leave anything for days!). Just follow what he describes here and your chain should really get super clean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4c7MwEmMs

[dialtone]

Well, I've been using the ultrasonic cleaner anyway but good to know it doesn't need days.

[TobinHatesYou]

New chains = I use dilute 5:1 water:zep-citrus in a jar, which is then placed in a pure water filled ultrasonic cleaner. I change out the dilute degreaser several times until it is mostly clear. This can more than 5x with something like a SRAM 12spd chain which has a combination of thick factory grease and very tight tolerances.

Cassettes only need one fill of dilute degreaser. Chainrings I just scrub really hard with a brush dipped in dilute degreaser.

Using very hot water hastens the process.

[warthog101]

New chain- swish in a bath of mineral turpentine- swish in a bath of methylated spirits.
Hang to dry.

[TobinHatesYou]

New chain- swish in a bath of mineral turpentine- swish in a bath of methylated spirits.
Hang to dry.

Viable if you’re swishing for a long-ass time.