When I recently got a new bike, I decided to use a “premium” lubricant from Muc-Off hoping that it will keep my new drivetrain fresh for longer. Fortunately, I just found out that there are independent lubricant testers – see [https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/](https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/)
It seems like a general trend is that immersion wax is best, followed by drip wax, followed by chain oils (with a lot of premium chain oils scraping the bottom of the list). I do not understand why Hydrodynamic has such a high consumer rating! Irrespective of tested conditions, it just seems to accelerate your drivetrain wear if exposed to contaminants. Hope this will reach other people like me, and save us a lot of money long-term!
There is other interesting data on the website, and I recommend you check it out if just like me, you didn’t realize how bad some of the chain lube marketing is!
https://preview.redd.it/kyrlpajjalic1.png?width=1963&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f8ab9b227f6e80db36e770eae59e95f7614cb1e
by SnakePlisskien
10 Comments
Yeah, this research was illuminating for me. Even just switching from a poor performing oil lube to a better one of the list got me noticeably longer chain life.
Hey don’t feel bad, at least you’re figuring it out.
I was seriously into cycling up until about 15 years ago, then spent about 10 years riding an old road bike and a single speed with regular old oil chain lube and getting my pants dirty from time to time and having filthy rags and a pain in the ass cleaning chains and and and.
Now I’m way back into cycling, mountain bikes look nothing like they used to and are 10x more capable, group sets and hydro brakes are stupendous, and new wax based lubes (immersion or drip) keep everything so much cleaner and make things last so much longer it’s not even funny!
I use immersion wax on my road bike. On the rest of the bikes I’m splitting it, with half using Squirt and half Silca Super Secret drip wax. Silca seems to penetrate / work its way in better, particularly in the cold. Squirt flakes off less and with white flakes instead of black flakes, which is a minor benefit I guess. Both are easy to maintain (pour hot water over the chain when it’s filthy, dry well, re-apply).
Whether immersion waxing or drip waxing, it’s so so so much better than it used to be. Just make sure you get your chains incredibly clean before switching to wax (zero friction has all the deets there too, I do baths of turpentine until clean (can re-use the turpentine) than methylated spirits to rinse the turpentine off).
Just do the wax. Seriously people, it’s so much easier in the long run. I used to do the wipe the chain, add some lube, repeat thing several times a week. Total mess, waste of shop towels, whole drivetrain constantly dirty, etc… I got an appetizer sized crockpot and an old jewelry cleaner at ARC and it’s soooo much better. In the summer I don’t even think about my chain for weeks. It’s always clean as is the whole drivetrain. It’s amazing.
Some people have known this for the better part of at least the past 2 years. I started waxing my chain less than a year ago, and nowadays I only use typical chain oil or WD-40 when I’m 2 days into a bikepacking race and there’s no way to wax my chain on the go.
Despite the faff of having to take your chain off, clean it and immerse it in hot wax every couple hundred kilometers, it’s still easier than to deal with chain oil.
Is it bad if my chain lube isn’t even on the list?
I’ve been using ProLink ProGold for years.
Wax is the best thing that happened to my bikes in a long time. No more chains full of a mix of oil and dirt, no more legs marked with oil, no more messy rooms. Just remove the chain, boil it, dry it and submerge it in wax. It’s amazing.
Thanks, this is great info! And timely since I was just thinking I need to clean and lube my chain. I’m not at all familiar with wax but I’m about to find out.
I hear all the bad stuff about mucoff lubes all over the internet, but mine has been working fine for years. Dry lube for summer, wet for winter
I’ve tried a few of these including the Mucoff offerings on my MTB and gravel bike. I live and ride in a part of the UK that has temperate rainforest so I’m always either getting my bike dirty or cleaning it off. The Mucoff dry lube wasn’t too bad but the oil based one was basically just rebadged finish line all weather as far as I can tell. It attracted dirt like shit attracts flies.
I’m currently using Tru Tension Tungsten All Weather and so far pretty happy with it. It’s not covered in grey goop and the drive train is quiet and clean. It wasn’t that expensive either. Some of these waxes and drip waxes are insanely expensive.
Before I spend a bunch of money on an expensive bag of Silca wax or equivalent, is getting some plain paraffin wax good enough to try out the process and see if I’m willing to stick with it full time? Will the paraffin wax be efficient enough to give me a good feel of the benefits of waxing? Or do I need to just buy the good stuff off the bat.