Dry, Wet or Wax Lube for chain and cluster
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Dry, Wet or Wax Lube for chain and cluster
Postby crog » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:21 pm
I have 3 types of Lubricant
Finish Line Dry Lubricant
Finish Line Wet Lubricant
Finish Line Wax Lubricant
For predominately a road bike what do people use. In order of price the wax lube goes about $27 for 120ml, the Dry and wet about $18 for the same amount.
Does this necessarily make the Wax the best.
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Postby Kalgrm » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:35 pm
You may as well shout "Creationism has it all over the Theory of Evolution". Lubes and frame materials are religious debates.
Best bet is to try them all and see which you prefer.
Cheers,
Graeme
(Rock 'n' Roll gold ROCKS! )
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Postby crog » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:21 pm
So of the three what should I use, should I use wet after a degrease and then in a few days finish with wax. Or use dry only.
I know what the advantages of wet and dry are but wax??
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Postby Kalgrm » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:45 pm
Since I'm biased (and an atheist) I'd say use the wax lube after you've degreased your chain.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby Mulger bill » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:03 pm
Stick with the wax Che, best all round performer. Go the wet if you know it's gonna come down hard... Oh yeah, Sydney, get two chains, one for wax and one for wet
Shaun
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Re: Dry, Wet or Wax Lube for chain and cluster
Postby Bnej » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:33 pm
If you avoid the rain and like a clean chain, use wax. Use dry if you want to save some money and don't mind it looking a bit dirtier.crog wrote:The Sydney bike whilst in good nick will get a bit of a basic service, degresse and oil as well as new brake pads
I have 3 types of Lubricant
Finish Line Dry Lubricant
Finish Line Wet Lubricant
Finish Line Wax Lubricant
If you only ride on the road, don't mind a dirty, greasy chain, and want something that works in the rain, use wet and wipe off the excess completely.
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Postby Kid_Carbine » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:31 pm
The most successfull would be something like WD40. It gets in there, but the lubricating qualities & longevity are less than ideal.
As the viscosity rating of the lubricant gets higher, so does it's ability to stay there & do it's job, but the likleyhood of it finding it's way into the pins & rollers, conversely, diminishes.
Anything with teflon or molybdnum that goes on wet but dries to a waxy or heavy viscosity would seem to offer some decided advantages.
Whatever is used, if it can't get right into the rollers & pins, ... it aint worth squat.
Now that's AUSTRALIAN to the core.
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Postby Kalgrm » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:08 am
That's why the wax ones seem to be okay. Wax is disolved in solvent which carries the lube into the pins. The solvent evaporates away, leaving the waxy coating.Kid_Carbine wrote:The part that bears the load, & therefore needs the lube is the pins & rollers. Unfortunately this is the most difficult part to get lube into. <snip>
As the viscosity rating of the lubricant gets higher, so does it's ability to stay there & do it's job, but the likleyhood of it finding it's way into the pins & rollers, conversely, diminishes.
<snip>
Whatever is used, if it can't get right into the rollers & pins, ... it aint worth squat.
Well, that's what the marketing blurb says, anyway. Works for me, but one day I'll try lubing with molybdenum chain lube.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby tallywhacker » Tue Feb 26, 2008 10:21 am
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Postby nimm » Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:34 am
Choosing between the different lubes seems to be more a case of how often you want to clean the thing (wet = more, dry/wax = less), suitability (wet = better in wet conditions, dry/wax = drier conditions), and cost (wet = cheaper, dry/wax = more expensive).
I'm not a fan of cleaning the chain all the time so I think I may change to a dry/wax lube in the future ATM I'm using a wet lube and it's like a magnet to grit. When I get my park tools super duper chain cleaner it might make things easier but for here in Perth, and the fact I avoid riding in the rain, it makes sense to go for the dry/wax...
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Postby sogood » Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:38 pm
OMGosh, I don't have the references or data to argue against that.nimm wrote:hah Sogood you may like this one.
In the comments for the Pedros IceWax lube on Chain Reaction Cycles someone claims "Can easily go an extra 5mph if just applied." This stuff sounds awesome
It might be true!
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Postby tallywhacker » Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:33 pm
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Postby Kalgrm » Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:47 pm
It seems we have a lot of options available to us. I wonder what the motorbike riders use these days?
Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby HappyHumber » Sun Mar 02, 2008 4:06 pm
Sounds interesting, Tally. I might have to give this a go at some point myself - especially knowing the evaporation types are better for the dry, dusty conditions.tallywhacker wrote:White spirit (kero should work the same) mixed with some bearing grease into a treacle consistency. Clean chain first then drop in the mixture, shake and leave sitting for a while. Remove, wipe and let the white spirit evaporate. Install and lightly oil.
I was a big fan of the White Lightening stuff for a while, but then I couldn't get any from any nearby LBS stores and then begrudgingly got forced into using a more wet lubg for a while.
It came down to me getting annoyed with 1) the price you pay for such small quantities of a such a product 2) inconsistencies of availablity... but after a little research I tried similar DIY method with cheaper ingredients.
A litre of chainsaw bar oil = $4. Lightly thinned with a small portion of lighter machine oil in a 150mL oil can has been doing me OK over the last 6 months.
My general technique is clean chain in degreaser or kero; shaking it around in a sealed container. Remove and rinse under water. Dry it by flinging it around, or hang it over something out in the breeze for a little while. Then lightly oil a rag in the above mixture and pul the chain through for a light coating. Reattach to bike (I use master links) and then apply a single drop of to each linkage whilst slowly rotating the crank. Spin things then a bit being careful to clean up excess.
I think the whole process is really personal, though. Some may think I'm being a bit laborious. But after spending various amounts of money on different doo-dads, specialist lubes & cleaners I found the job was just as messy without really being convinced I was doing a better job. My kit these days consists of an traditional little oil can, a sealable container to clean the chain in (an old 1kgHoney bucket) a couple of funnels for recycling degreaser and plenty of rags
Hit me up via the BNA dm; I'll get an alert. If y'know, you know.
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Postby tallywhacker » Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:22 pm
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Postby HappyHumber » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:04 am
Ok, I'm intrigued. Sounds like the finished product - or the chain ready to be remounted - is lubed very much like a brand new, out of the box chain. I recall Sheldons page stating the best lube is that on a new chain.tallywhacker wrote:A good wipe of the outside leaves the chain clean where you want it clean and lubed where you want it lubed.
I guess the downside to this, is that you probably need to mix up the goods each time - unless you can keep a quantity in a sealed container?
Hit me up via the BNA dm; I'll get an alert. If y'know, you know.
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Postby crog » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:29 pm
It worked great on the cecil until it got dusty, dust sticks like sh*t to a blanket on the lube I got on the Durace chain I put on the cecil.I recall Sheldons page stating the best lube is that on a new chain
A de grease and soak in transmission fluid then let dry and a wash with wax lube worked great.
Che
Postby Hawkeye » Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:42 pm
Exactly the problem with those lubes. If you're running on a dust-free velodrome then I suppose it would be practical to leave it there, but I found my chain was pretty disgusting and had attracted heaps of grit after just three rides. Not great for chain life.crog wrote:It worked great on the cecil until it got dusty, dust sticks like sh*t to a blanket on the lube I got on the Durace chain I put on the cecil. <snipped>I recall Sheldons page stating the best lube is that on a new chain
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Postby Mr888 » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:50 pm
Wax however is best suited for MTB/dirt riding applications. Any dirt/mud/grit that gets on the chain drops off, but in the process the wax wears out quite quickly. The wax needs reapplication quite regularly (i.e. after every ride). It also dries and flakes off quickly too and I wouldn't recommend it for a road bike especially over long distances (unless you like cleaning and lubung your chain often)
...and that's me 2 cents worth for the moment...
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