winter chain lube

This is pretty much what I have been doing all summer. Now that the weather is truly shit, I am blow drying my chain with compressed air and then applying squirt after each ride. I think the longer you let the wax sit after application the better it wears in the wet. If it's still wet, it will just wash away so the 24 hr drying time may be important. 

The silica stuff looks impressive and now that I know that the bag of wax can work as it's own crock pot in my ultrasonic bath, the whole melting thing got a whole lot less troublesome. 

I think when I burn through my current squirt supply, I'll give the silica solid wax + liquid top up a go.

Posted by: RAHrider

This is pretty much what I have been doing all summer. Now that the weather is truly shit, I am blow drying my chain with compressed air and then applying squirt after each ride. I think the longer you let the wax sit after application the better it wears in the wet. If it's still wet, it will just wash away so the 24 hr drying time may be important. 

The silica stuff looks impressive and now that I know that the bag of wax can work as it's own crock pot in my ultrasonic bath, the whole melting thing got a whole lot less troublesome. 

I think when I burn through my current squirt supply, I'll give the silica solid wax + liquid top up a go.

If you sign up for Silca spam, they sometimes send out package deals for the bag of wax plus liquid top off plus some cleaner rag or stuffs to help save a buck or two.  

What ultrasonic device are you using?  The Mrs provided me an old crock pot to throw on my work bench when we got an Instant Pot.

Cheers,

Mike

Reading this thread makes me feel like such a chain lube slacker. I used to care/maintain my drivetrain so carefully. When I moved to the island I somehow lost that motivation. These days I just wipe down my chain before each ride and squirt some random oily lube on before each winter ride and wipe the chain again. In the summer I wipe after each ride and lube every few rides.

I was surprised that my drivetrains didn't wear out any faster than when I cleaned them carefully and paid attention to what lube I was using and how it was applied. I had my summer lube and winter lube and tried wax lubes in that previous phase of my MTB career. I expected a significant change in wear rates since the level of attention/effort decreased so much, but nothing happened.

The only kindness I show my drivetrain these days is that I don't try and maximize the life of my chains and when in doubt a new chain goes on. For my mid-grade drivetrains that's not an expensive proposition and since it keeps the rest of the parts running longer it probably ends up not costing extra anyways.

Posted by: RAHrider

This is pretty much what I have been doing all summer. Now that the weather is truly shit, I am blow drying my chain with compressed air and then applying squirt after each ride. I think the longer you let the wax sit after application the better it wears in the wet. If it's still wet, it will just wash away so the 24 hr drying time may be important.

I dripped some on a piece of paper just for the yucks and within 3 hrs the water had evaped and the Squirt was as solid as it ever gets. Keep in mind this was 21C room temperature so if its colder I would guess it will take longer so temperature might determine how fast the water evaporates.

The bottle does say to degrease the chain & double apply the first time, do not let the bottle freeze

For regular use allow Squirt to dry before riding especialy in wet conditions, use a dry brush to clean, do not wipe, do not degrease, basicly amounts to apply after riding for your next ride

Posted by: Vikb

Reading this thread makes me feel like such a chain lube slacker. I used to care/maintain my drivetrain so carefully. When I moved to the island I somehow lost that motivation. These days I just wipe down my chain before each ride and squirt some random oily lube on before each winter ride and wipe the chain again. In the summer I wipe after each ride and lube every few rides.

I was surprised that my drivetrains didn't wear out any faster than when I cleaned them carefully and paid attention to what lube I was using and how it was applied. I had my summer lube and winter lube and tried wax lubes in that previous phase of my MTB career. I expected a significant change in wear rates since the level of attention/effort decreased so much, but nothing happened.

The only kindness I show my drivetrain these days is that I don't try and maximize the life of my chains and when in doubt a new chain goes on. For my mid-grade drivetrains that's not an expensive proposition and since it keeps the rest of the parts running longer it probably ends up not costing extra anyways.

This, but I stick to Tri-Flow all year. Wipe and lube before I ride (night before if possible), scrub down the drivetrain with simple green occasionally. 

Blows my mind how much work some are putting into it, maybe I’m leaving some free watts on the table🤷🏼‍♂️

Posted by: tashi

Blows my mind how much work some are putting into it, maybe I’m leaving some free watts on the table🤷🏼‍♂️

At least 3! Maybe 5.

Posted by: Vikb

Reading this thread makes me feel like such a chain lube slacker. I used to care/maintain my drivetrain so carefully. When I moved to the island I somehow lost that motivation. These days I just wipe down my chain before each ride and squirt some random oily lube on before each winter ride and wipe the chain again. In the summer I wipe after each ride and lube every few rides.

I was surprised that my drivetrains didn't wear out any faster than when I cleaned them carefully and paid attention to what lube I was using and how it was applied. I had my summer lube and winter lube and tried wax lubes in that previous phase of my MTB career. I expected a significant change in wear rates since the level of attention/effort decreased so much, but nothing happened.

The only kindness I show my drivetrain these days is that I don't try and maximize the life of my chains and when in doubt a new chain goes on. For my mid-grade drivetrains that's not an expensive proposition and since it keeps the rest of the parts running longer it probably ends up not costing extra anyways.

Same here, with the only difference that I sprung for some supposedly high quality motorex lube. I’d rather spend more time riding than caring for drivetrains. 

Plus, as I get older, I’m caring less and less about cost efficiency, because the balance between time and money to spare has shifted dramatically.

Posted by: tashi

This, but I stick to Tri-Flow all year. Wipe and lube before I ride (night before if possible), scrub down the drivetrain with simple green occasionally. 

Blows my mind how much work some are putting into it, maybe I’m leaving some free watts on the table🤷🏼‍♂️

That's always been my system, but honestly, I'm getting really tired of every trace of Triflow disappearing as soon as there's a hint  of precip or wet terrain. I'm on to exploring other options, but I don't think I've entering "wax commitment" territory yet. Currently trying WT-1 from Wolf Tooth on my ride (lasts quite a few rides), and a parallel experiment with some Muc-Off ceramic stuff on the wife's bike.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: tashi

Blows my mind how much work some are putting into it, maybe I’m leaving some free watts on the table🤷🏼‍♂️

At least 3! Maybe 5.

For me, a perpetual maintenance slacker, it came down to a 48hr period of wax application now and again and then never cleaning my drivetrain ever again. No gunk, no applications of lubes, just a little wipe down. And no more cleaning that compacted crap out of jockey wheels with a screwdriver blade which used to drive me crazy

Posted by: tashi
This, but I stick to Tri-Flow all year. Wipe and lube before I ride (night before if possible), scrub down the drivetrain with simple green occasionally. 

Blows my mind how much work some are putting into it, maybe I’m leaving some free watts on the table🤷🏼‍♂️

Be careful with Simple Green (original formula). That stuff makes steel brittle if you let it sit.

Yep I don’t let it soak.

Recently I’ve been using TSP solution ‘cause I couldn’t find my bottle of SG and it’s cheap cheap- it works great as a bike degreaser.

Posted by: JVP

Posted by: tashi
This, but I stick to Tri-Flow all year. Wipe and lube before I ride (night before if possible), scrub down the drivetrain with simple green occasionally. 

Blows my mind how much work some are putting into it, maybe I’m leaving some free watts on the table🤷🏼‍♂️

Be careful with Simple Green (original formula). That stuff makes steel brittle if you let it sit.

Is there a better simple green for soaking or ultrasonic cleaning?

Muc-Off "E-bike" Wet Weather Ceramic lube

A quick update, since I've been trying different stuff over the past few months. I started using WT-1 for a couple of weeks, but I also picked up some of this Muc-Off stuff when I was doing an order from FortNine moto store (it was cheap, what the hell). I'm not riding an e-bike, but I figured maybe it's aimed at high-torque applications or neglectful maintenance? Who knows.

The stuff seems to work really well. I used the same application process as the WT-1, very clean chain, a tiny bit on EACH roller, run the chain around a million times, and let it sit for 12hrs before wiping. The stuff doesn't attract dirt/grit much at all, the chain wipes clean with one pass after a ride, and the first application is still going strong after 3 fairly wet rides (lots of puddles and mud, etc). Very impressed so far!

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: JVP

Posted by: tashi
This, but I stick to Tri-Flow all year. Wipe and lube before I ride (night before if possible), scrub down the drivetrain with simple green occasionally. 

Blows my mind how much work some are putting into it, maybe I’m leaving some free watts on the table🤷🏼‍♂️

Be careful with Simple Green (original formula). That stuff makes steel brittle if you let it sit.

Is there a better simple green for soaking or ultrasonic cleaning?

Sorry for the late reply on this one. Simple Green Pro HD (which is not green at all, but purple)

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/simple-green-pro-heavy-duty-cleaner-4l-0532460p.0532460.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAqIKNBhAIEiwAu_ZLDkNwd5j5_WHZhxkczkH_hj9gMdUOb_vO_pJkpMREGMjjIhW6FdZxgxoC8IUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#store=389