How dirty does your chain get?

[evan326]

I've had good results with pro link gold. As long as you wipe the chain very well after applying, it stays clean for me.

[oldturd]

I use Molten Speed wax....

Chain and cogs are always clean to the touch. It is a little bit more work in the beginning to strip your chain (if it's used, of the old lube... or if it's new, of the factory grease) and cogs (if they're used), but after that, I'd say its a pretty even in terms of time invested to re-wax. I use 2 chains, so one is already waxed, ready to swap on and then I can re-wax the one that comes off at my leisure. I'm getting about 600-650 miles between re-applications. I could stretch it more if I really wanted to.

i'm likely doing it wrong so looking for your feedback since your bike looks immaculate.. i get a lot of excess wax build up and wax debris all over the frame and chain. any tips?

[bilwit]

Gold and Extreme are almost exactly the same for me. Neither pick up dirt, but they don’t last me more than about 200mi either.

Same, I usually end up just using Extreme. It might pick up more dirt than Gold but I clean it frequently enough to not really notice the difference. When it rains, I use it the night before, clean it when I get back and then dry, re-apply. Between dry days I'll do the same except every other ride or two.

[Boshk]

thanks for all the recommendations. I'll see if I can get my hands on some R&R Gold lube and then just clean/degrease the whole drive train and start again with R&R lube.

[CrankAddictsRich]

I use Molten Speed wax....

Chain and cogs are always clean to the touch. It is a little bit more work in the beginning to strip your chain (if it's used, of the old lube... or if it's new, of the factory grease) and cogs (if they're used), but after that, I'd say its a pretty even in terms of time invested to re-wax. I use 2 chains, so one is already waxed, ready to swap on and then I can re-wax the one that comes off at my leisure. I'm getting about 600-650 miles between re-applications. I could stretch it more if I really wanted to.

i'm likely doing it wrong so looking for your feedback since your bike looks immaculate.. i get a lot of excess wax build up and wax debris all over the frame and chain. any tips?

uhhh... wipe it off. What you're describing is just the excess wax on the outer areas of the chain flaking off as the chain flexes. You can simply wipe it off. My bike normally has it too, but since I was taking some professional level pics of my bike, I wiped it off. The was that's important, is the wax inside the rollers of the chain.

[Lelandjt]

I wonder why Finishline Krytech isn't more popular. My chains don't get dirty and last longer than other people's.

[TheKaiser]

uhhh... wipe it off. What you're describing is just the excess wax on the outer areas of the chain flaking off as the chain flexes. You can simply wipe it off. My bike normally has it too, but since I was taking some professional level pics of my bike, I wiped it off. The was that's important, is the wax inside the rollers of the chain.

Two questions:

1. When you say "wipe it off" are you saying wipe the excess over time, as it comes off on various parts of the bike, or are you saying to wipe it off when you remove the chain from the wax bath, in order to prevent the excess being there in the first place?

2. Doesn't the temp of the wax when you remove it from the bath also make a difference in the amount of excess on the outside? I recall seeing talk of some people removing the chain from the wax bath and letting it drip off when the wax was still at peak temps, whereas other people were letting the wax get gooey before removing the chain. The consensus was that the first method was much cleaner in terms of excess wax, but that some of the wax inside the rollers may also drip out, as it is so fluid at that point, so the application may not last as long.

[kode54]

I use Molten Speed wax....

Chain and cogs are always clean to the touch. It is a little bit more work in the beginning to strip your chain (if it's used, of the old lube... or if it's new, of the factory grease) and cogs (if they're used), but after that, I'd say its a pretty even in terms of time invested to re-wax. I use 2 chains, so one is already waxed, ready to swap on and then I can re-wax the one that comes off at my leisure. I'm getting about 600-650 miles between re-applications. I could stretch it more if I really wanted to.

ditto. not sure if i can get 600 miles...but definitely can get about 400. less work for me to maintain the clean drive train.

[TobinHatesYou]

That really is the key with any dry lube, whether it’s Teflon/PTFE lubes or wax-based. Give it a a few hours to fully dry after wiping all of the excess from the outer links and outer surface of the rollers. Don’t forget to clean off any gunk previously deposited on the rest of the drivetrain.

Doesn’t matter if it’s Dumonde, MSW, RnR, Muc-Off C3, or whatever. They’re all going to be very clean if treated like this.

[Allen254]

I have a friend who some hows manages to never get his chain all dirty like mine dose. I think its cause I'm to lazy to clean regularly.

[CrankAddictsRich]

uhhh... wipe it off. What you're describing is just the excess wax on the outer areas of the chain flaking off as the chain flexes. You can simply wipe it off. My bike normally has it too, but since I was taking some professional level pics of my bike, I wiped it off. The was that's important, is the wax inside the rollers of the chain.

Two questions:

1. When you say "wipe it off" are you saying wipe the excess over time, as it comes off on various parts of the bike, or are you saying to wipe it off when you remove the chain from the wax bath, in order to prevent the excess being there in the first place?

2. Doesn't the temp of the wax when you remove it from the bath also make a difference in the amount of excess on the outside? I recall seeing talk of some people removing the chain from the wax bath and letting it drip off when the wax was still at peak temps, whereas other people were letting the wax get gooey before removing the chain. The consensus was that the first method was much cleaner in terms of excess wax, but that some of the wax inside the rollers may also drip out, as it is so fluid at that point, so the application may not last as long.

1. I mean wipe off the excess that has flaked off the chain.

2. I follow the instructions on the molten speed wax website... I get the wax to 195* F, unplug the slow-cooker and then dunk the chain in and agitate it for 45 second to a minute. When I pull the chain out, the wax is wet, but usually begins to dry harden within a few seconds. I hang the chain in my basement, so its ready to go on when I need it.

[slake21]

For my C60 with Campy SR that I ride only when the weather is100% dry I clean with a cloth my Record chain every 250 km I would say. The chain has sometimes already some visible black spots. I then apply some Rock n Roll absolute Dry and leave it for a few hours. I clean then the excess of lube with a cloth and that's it. It looks clean and works well.
http://www.rocklube.com/about-us.html
http://road.cc/content/review/186320-ro ... -lubricant

holy shit! worst lube I have ever used! it's like riding a completely dry chain. I guess that's why it's called 'Absolute Dry'

...and something nobody talks about, it makes your drivetrain red! it's hideous.

so it goes straight into the bin after two rides. big disappointment for me. going back to finish line or muc off

[1415chris]

Absolute Dry isn't a wet lube that is for sure, but is not bad at all.
Copmared to wet lubes, it needs to be applied more frequently and the bottle goes very quickly.
Chain treated with AD is not as quiet as in the case of wet lubes, but the chain and the whole drivetrain remain clean, much cleaner than when the wet lube is applied.
In the search of clean chain, I find R&N Gold to be a better choice (especially for the gold chains )
And no, my chains were not effected by its red colour

[sungod]

i had a couple of weeks cycling in lanzarote, first time since deciding to try r&r gold

usually chains go black in a few days due to the fine volcanic dust, it sticks to everything

+ve: chain and drive train stayed remarkably clean, no build up of oily sludge on jockey wheels etc., just a wipe down after re-applying and letting it dry overnight

-ve: i had to reapply after c. 150km otherwise things got too noisy

[Rick]

This is a recurring subject.

I will have to admit that I really like the Dumond Tech Lube, and consider it "the best" I have tried.
But who's got time to worry about these subtle differences ? Clean is more important than the specific lube. And I also like cheap and convenient. So I just spray down my chain with WD-40 ever couple days while rotating it and wiping with a clean paper towel. Works good enough for me.