Squirt Wax Lube drivetrain gunk

[MikeD]

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Re Speed Wax - interesting approach. Do you get the 400 miles out of it that they advertise? Seems like a bit of a hassle to have to open the chain and close it again. What way do you go? New pin each time or a new Powerlock?

Thanks for tips, maybe I'll try it out one day.

I swap in a freshly waxed chain around the 300mi mark, but that typically includes 30000ft of climbing. The chains start getting raspy at 120-140mi or so, but you can keep going a long distance after that.

As for replacing the chains. I reuse quicklinks many times without issue. I wax 4 chains in batches, use them up over a couple months, then wax them again.

Lilly Lube works way longer than that.

[TobinHatesYou]

Lilly Lube works way longer than that.

So do other petroleum based drip lubes. LillyLube needs to be wiped down after application and leaves it black/oily. I wanted something even cleaner than dry lubes like RnR Gold and Dumonde Tech Pro X Lite.

[MikeD]

Lilly Lube works way longer than that.

So do other petroleum based drip lubes. LillyLube needs to be wiped down after application and leaves it black/oily. I wanted something even cleaner than dry lubes like RnR Gold and Dumonde Tech Pro X Lite.

My chain is pretty clean with Lilly Lube, as it dries. Anyway, MoS2 is black.

[TobinHatesYou]

My chain is pretty clean with Lilly Lube, as it dries. Anyway, MoSO2 is black.

It's black, but it's also quite lubricious and in a solid wax carrier so it doesn't stick to your components or hands when doing road/trail-side maintenance. Paraffin alone is also quite effective, so the molybdenum disulfide is just for the min-max crowd.

[PinaF8]

My little trick to applying squirt lube.

-Thoroughly clean chainrings, cassettes, and pulley wheels.
-Clean chain with muc-off green degreaser solution then dry.
-Lay chain on table over wax paper or just let it hang.
-Using a heat gun, heat chain until it is hot to the touch but be careful not to burn yourself.
-Get your squirt lube and starting from one end of the chain, apply generous amount of lube over the chain. The heater chain will allow the wax to liquify and work itself inside the rollers.
-Let chain cool off and apply it back to your ride.

Quiet and clean ride.

[TobinHatesYou]

My little trick to applying squirt lube.

-Thoroughly clean chainrings, cassettes, and pulley wheels.
-Clean chain with muc-off green degreaser solution then dry.
-Lay chain on table over wax paper or just let it hang.
-Using a heat gun, heat chain until it is hot to the touch but be careful not to burn yourself.
-Get your squirt lube and starting from one end of the chain, apply generous amount of lube over the chain. The heater chain will allow the wax to liquify and work itself inside the rollers.
-Let chain cool off and apply it back to your ride.

Quiet and clean ride.

If you go through all this trouble, you may as well go all the way and dip your chains in molten wax.

It's far easier to just heat the Squirt bottle up in boiling water or a microwave to make flow better. Also why a "generous amount?" One drop per roller is more than enough.

[Wookski]

Moulten wax is the ultimate solution. For those in Australia you can buy ultrasonic cleaned, run in and waxed chains from these guys: http://zerofrictioncycling.com.au

[zefs]

I've heard of some people microwaving their Squirt bottles for 10-15 seconds just to make it a bit thinner temporarily

It actually makes it thicker, which is worse.

[1415chris]

Tried it for a good half of the season and in the end of the day didn't like it.
It doesn't last as long as the good wet lubes and the chain is a bit noiser. But I was ok with lubricating more often, so it wasn't something which put me off of using Squirt. The most ennoying thing was the small black wax particles messing my bright floors in my house (I do keep my bike and train on it in my leaving room.. ) The amount of applied lube didn't matter, there was always something falling off the chain.
I was spending more time cleaning my floors than cleaning the chain when it was treated with other lubes

[MikeD]

I've heard of some people microwaving their Squirt bottles for 10-15 seconds just to make it a bit thinner temporarily

It actually makes it thicker, which is worse.

Thinned it for me, so I don't believe you.

[kode54]

i use molten speed wax. probably a bit more expensive, but since they are pellet like, its easy to split up the bag in half and use it in the cooker.
i add paraffin oil to this mixture so its not too 'flakey' like wax tends to be.

I've switched to paraffin+teflon+molybdenum disfulfide recently and that lasts roughly twice as long...and also doesn't ever get "gunky."

What would that be?

I bought the paraffin at a craft store, PTFE powder from an online piano supply/repair shop and molydenum-disulfide from Amazon. I use an old slow cooker to melt the wax and submerse the chain (which is hooked onto a "swisher tool" made out of wire clothes hanger.)

https://moltenspeedwax.com/pages/waxing-your-chain

^ It's a DIY recipe of this.

[zefs]

I've heard of some people microwaving their Squirt bottles for 10-15 seconds just to make it a bit thinner temporarily

It actually makes it thicker, which is worse.

Thinned it for me, so I don't believe you.

Well it didn't for me, the wax was dry after I applied it so it couldn't move inside the links.
How does heating a wax make it thinner anyway, it doesn't make sense because when it gets cold afterwards it thickens. I did 15 seconds and applied immediately.

[TobinHatesYou]

Well it didn't for me, the wax was dry after I applied it so it couldn't move inside the links.
How does heating a wax make it thinner anyway, it doesn't make sense because when it gets cold afterwards it thickens. I did 15 seconds and applied immediately.

Heating Squirt or Smoove temporarily lowers its viscosity so it can flow between the pins/rollers where it's needed. After you apply it, of course it will cool fairly quickly. Either way, if you think microwaving with the cap open will somehow dry it out, then put a cup of water in the microwave to keep the moisture content up. Or just stick the Squirt bottle under hot water for a minute.

Or just do what I do and massage the Squirt into the the rollers/pins with your fingers.

[zefs]

Yes this seems to be working better as I tried it today. But having to do that as well as applying it carefully on each link every few rides seems a bit of a hassle to keep the drivetrain clean.

[TobinHatesYou]

Yes this seems to be working better as I tried it today. But having to do that as well as applying it carefully on each link every few rides seems a bit of a hassle to keep the drivetrain clean.

There’s basically no single best lube, otherwise we’d all be using it.

Squirt is very good at encapsulating grit/grease and shedding most of it. It can look a little dirty because of the random chunks that end up on the plates. In order for a dry lube to be as clean, you have to wipe the chain down with a rag afterward and also occasionally after rides.

Also be aware that Squirt runs quietly for about 60-70 miles, then it becomes a bit noisier. You can still ride for maybe another 80-100mi before relubing is absolutely necessary.