What do you think of the chain wax?

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

I really hate a noisy chain, be it from being dry, “sounding” dry, or god forbid squeaking. The only time I want to hear any harsh metal on metal sound is during initial setup, where I’ll sometimes strip all the packing grease from a chain then tune the bike with a completely dry, unlubed chain. It allows you to hear every little nuance and allows you to really dial in the tuning whereas a quiet lubed chain can easily mask some imperfect adjustments. But once it’s dialed, I want silence, dead silence. For that I use Duomonde Tech Lite. It is very resistant to washing away with water, and we get a lot of water in the PNW. Your chain won’t look silver like new but it will perform and be a whole lot quieter than say, if you were to use some ultralight product which washes away like... water. I never completely strip it afterwards, just hose it down, run it through a park chain cleaner tool with water and few drops of Dawn Dishwashing liquid, maybe take a stiff brush to it as well, let it dry then apply a light drop of Duomonde Tech to each roller. Wipe off the excess and good to go for a good while. Silence is golden.
Waxing is weird.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



wilwil
Posts: 694
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:47 pm

by wilwil

Not available in the UK.

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

. oops double post
Last edited by Calnago on Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

Not to worry @wilwil, your bike will still run just fine no matter what chainlube you use :) . But being in the UK, I presume you'd want something a little resistant to moisture. Duomonde Tech is just what I prefer. There's many other totally fine lubes as noted in this thread. I recall (vaguely) actually experimenting with waxing a chain once many years ago as a kid, cuz I thought it might be kinda cool. It wasn't. An arduous process, that flakes away. Tried White Lightning once as an adult, as it was all the rage at the time, but in the PNW your chain would be rusting before you finished one ride in the rain. Your local riders, wherever that is, probably have figured out what works just fine in your area. I'd use that and keep the grit out of the chain. I think that's the most important thing, not necessarily how clean it "looks", but that there's no heavy grit etc present, to grind away at your drive train. Back in the day, Campy used to recommend cleaning your chain with Kerosene. The reason was that Kerosene never really stripped your chain of all it's lubrication, as kerosene had some lubrication properties in it's own right. Chain lube is just one of those things many things in cycling we obsess over, but in the end doesn't matter a whole lot. A clean chain, on the other hand, that matters.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

If I had to ride in the wet, maybe NixFrixShun or the Silca badged version? It’s expensive by volume, but a little really goes a long way. Morgan Blue as well.

Definitely wouldn’t bother with wax in rainy weather...the emulsified wax drip lubes just dissolve in water and MSW or paraffin dipped chains will likely rust.

Dumonde Tech Pro X is probably decent as a middle ground between dry/wet. That and the older version never fully dry, but last many miles.

brackc
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:07 am

by brackc

pdlpsher1 wrote:
Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:57 pm
A long-time RnR Gold user here. What I like about it is that it's both a cleaner and a lube. One drop per link and I give the chain a few spins. Then I wipe the chain down with a paper towel. All the gunk that has accumulated inside the chain is washed out by the lubricant. Once the chain is wiped down the outside is super clean and shiny, and the inside is protected by the lubricant. You just can't get better than that. Other lubricant like Squirt are probably too thick, hence the complaints about attracting dirt. My chains last close to 3,000 miles, at which time it's showing 0.75% wear on the Park chain tool.
3000 miles to 0.75 wear is hardly ground breaking numbers, however is right in line with the testing for re-application without cleaning for RnR Gold of 3,400 km / 2100 miles to 0.5 wear.

technically you'll only wash out SOME of the gunk that has accumulated, especially with only a singular drop of solvent per link, so unless you perform a full solvent clean, you're kidding yourself that it's properly clean! This involves first washing with mineral spirits (use aprox 1-2L overall), then if you have one progressing to mineral spirits in an ultrasonic cleaner. Mineral spirits will leave a residue on the chain, so wash that off with a couple of rinses with Methylated Spirits, which once evaporated will leave a perfectly clean chain. If you don't believe me, clean it your way, take the chain off the bike and pop it in a mineral spirit bath and watch it turn black from contamination!

You almost never use a singular solvent as a cleaner in a laboratory setting btw, most often it will be a scrub with washing detergent and a brush, acetone and methylated spirits just to clean barely-contaminated glass wear! So why do it on your bike and not only that combine the solvent with a lubricant!?

FYI mineral spirits are sold under names such as turpentine.

Oh and lastly you're better off going to 0.5 rather than 0.75% wear in terms of drive train wear, but that's another argument completely and a whole lot of not-my-problem.

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

Tobin Tobin Tobin... more googling I see. The Pro X versions of Duomonde Tech are simply lower VOC content versions of the “Original” (Blue, and heavier) and “Lite” (Yellow, and lighter). Even in super wet conditions, for someone who has a nice bike and maintains it, the Lite version is likely most appropriate, at least for me. Mountain bikers etc are the typical users of the Original (Blue) version. Not to say you can’t use either for either application, but I’ve found the Lite version to be perfect for road bikes. Lasts plenty long and unless you never clean your bike all winter, it’s the way to go. I’ll only use the blue version on a bike where I know the owner isn’t going to think about lubing their chain very often, like until someone tells them to because it’s so obvious they need it.
The Pro X versions of both, have been formulated with lower VOC content for air shipment to countries where they couldn’t ship before. That’s it. Whether it is as good or not as the original versions remains to be seen, I suspect pretty much the same but if they still offer the VOC saturated versions locally, I’ll probably stick with those. VOC’s are faster and more aero :) . They are a local company based not far from me.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Calnago wrote:
Tue Nov 27, 2018 3:49 am
Tobin Tobin Tobin... more googling I see. The Pro X versions of Duomonde Tech are simply lower VOC content versions of the “Original” (Blue, and heavier) and “Lite” (Yellow, and lighter). Even in super wet conditions, for someone who has a nice bike and maintains it, the Lite version is likely most appropriate, at least for me. Mountain bikers etc are the typical users of the Original (Blue) version. Not to say you can’t use either for either application, but I’ve found the Lite version to be perfect for road bikes. Lasts plenty long and unless you never clean your bike all winter, it’s the way to go. I’ll only use the blue version on a bike where I know the owner isn’t going to think about lubing their chain very often, like until someone tells them to because it’s so obvious they need it.
The Pro X versions of both, have been formulated with lower VOC content for air shipment to countries where they couldn’t ship before. That’s it. Whether it is as good or not as the original versions remains to be seen, I suspect pretty much the same but if they still offer the VOC saturated versions locally, I’ll probably stick with those. VOC’s are faster and more aero :) . They are a local company based not far from me.

I'm really tired of this "Google" shtick. What does it even mean? People shouldn't search for answers? BTW, I didn't need to Google the information to make that post...I remembered seeing the shipping restrictions on eCommerce product pages when I tried to order some. I remember seeing an Interbike interview from 2015 or 2016 about the Pro X line.

But most importantly...
I used Dumonde Tech Pro X Lite for a couple years. I still use the remainder to lube some moving parts on my bikes, just not the drivetrain. Yes, it was reformulated because the older versions cannot be shipped via air in the US...that's a big deal and one of the reasons why nobody really stocks the old version domestically or internationally anymore. I didn't even say they were vastly different or different at all, so what is your deal? (They probably are slightly different because apparently Pro X couldn't be sold in the US outside of California for a while, so there were different restrictions on both products.)
Attachments
IMG_7006.jpg

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

The Lite and Original are not “older” versions, they are still current. I’m not sure, but I think that the Pro X versions may have been the only versions able to have been sold in California for a while due to the restrictions on VOC’s. Can you get the Lite (non Pro X version) there now? Doesn’t really make sense that the lower VOC versions would not be allowed to be sold elsewhere. After all, that’s why they developed it, so they could ship it to places where the restrictions prevented the regular stuff from being shipped.
You know what I mean about your Googling. It’s very apparent. Nothing wrong with googling for information at all, but when you pawn that off for experience or make it sound like you’ve actually owned, used or worked with a component when you haven’t, yet give advice on, that’s just a cry for attention. Perhaps you should preface many of your posts with “I haven’t used this but I’ve done a lot of research on the Internet about it and here’s what I found out...”. That would be fine. Just try to distinguish your actual experiences from what you’ve found out in your first two hits that Google gives you.
Last edited by Calnago on Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

I didn't touch Google at any point of my participation in this thread UNTIL you mentioned it (found MSDS, not helpful.) In fact, probably every single time you've accused me of it has been a baseless troll.

I even posted a photo of my bottle for you. I USE the product. Do you think I ran to the LBS to buy it, then flung some MSW flakes on it to dirty it up?

The old version IS an old version. I didn't say it was obsolete or not sold anymore. What the hell is even going on?

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

Not saying you haven’t used this specific product, you said you did and I believed you. I know google is your friend, just sad he’s your best friend.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

I don't rely on Google for any of the information on any products I recommend/don't recommend. I actually use or have used them. Stop with the baseless accusations. I wasn't even disagreeing with you or picking a fight, but you have some personal vendetta so everything is a contest.
Last edited by TobinHatesYou on Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Nevermind, Calnago's right. I just pretend to have experience with RnR, Dumonde Tech, NFS, Squirt, Smoove, MSW, etc. among other products/components. You caught me.
Attachments
IMG_7007.jpg

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

Wow, impressive :) . Now let’s see all your pedals, powermeters (both pedal based and crank based please). Line ‘em up. How about your Campy equipped bikes? Just for starters of course. And really, is that your entire collection of lubes etc?
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Calnago wrote:
Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:00 am
Wow, impressive :) . Now let’s see all your pedals, powermeters (both pedal based and crank based please). Line ‘em up. How about your Campy equipped bikes? Just for starters of course. And really, is that your entire collection of lubes etc?

Taking this to PMs, and no, I forgot to whip out a few other bottles in my haste.

Post Reply