79pmooney

Huh? I just use a Triflo squeeze bottle, drip two drops per link onto the plates at the roller, spin the crank a few times and a few minutes later, run the chain through a rag. Not perfectly neat but works rather well. Yes, it takes a few minutes to do all the links but it is not difficult, does not require solvents, removing the chain, pots, cooking or create much smell. And it's cheap. Applied that way, one bottle last probably a couple of years. A rag or two a year. And no spray onto the rest of the bike.

MooneyBloke

One of the drawbacks of wax, chainstay dandruff. From what I've read, additives such as tungsten disulfide buy you at most 0.14% of a watt. Even if I were the type of rider who obsesses about that sort of thing, that seems a vanishingly tiny gain for the expense.

squirtdad

i really can't be bothered with wax.

I have tried many lubes over the years and have 2 favs and one experiment that I think will end up being the go to

Favorites: Rock and Roll Gold and Chain-L Both work great, Rock and Roll has been my go to for years, Chain-L seems superior for when it is wet outside

experimental: Silca Super Secret Lube... which according to marketing is a liquid wax, but so far it has been really good

MooneyBloke

Even as a wax convert, I still use that tiny bottle of TriFlo for my jockey pulley bearings. A couple of drops makes 'em real spinny. I suspect that bottle will outlast me at the rate I use it.

MooneyBloke

My understanding is the Silca wax (both the immersion and drip-on) has a tungsten disulfide amendment that will buy you a very marginal power savings, but Gulf wax has the advantage of being far cheaper and widely available; as an added bonus, you can see well when it's too grubby to use anymore.

Classtime 

Ok. Those of us without a crock pot on our workbench know what our once spic and span drivetrains look like after 1000 miles and 8-10 applications of our favorite lube. Can we have some pictures of yours after 8-10 chain swaps?

Bad Lag

What's the "Huh?" about?

I understand how to oil a chain but am about to give up on Phil Oil. I started carrying a piece of rag in my pocket to clean the rim after every oiling.

smd4

If you had used regular oil correctly, you wouldn't have had to worry about this.

That said, I'm ready to give waxing a try.

cyccommute 

People keep saying this but I’ve never found the way to “oil correctly” nor do I believe that there is any way to “oil correctly” to keep the oil on the inside of the chain. Oil is a fluid by definition and, as a fluid, it flows under gravity. It will flow off of anything you put it on and end up on the outside of the chain. You can wipe it off all you want but until the oil is completely gone, it will end up on the outside of the chain where it makes a mess.

Wax is a solid so it doesn’t flow and it doesn’t need to be wiped off all the time.

smd4

You seem to forget that while rotating, half the time, the chain is "upside down," allowing oil to flow back into the chain.

You may be right about fluid dynamics. But you seem utterly unable to explain how I can have an absolutely clean chain, using oil. And yet...I do.

But of course, that's your conundrum to figure out--not mine--so I please excuse me if I don't concern myself with it.

Polaris OBark

I've been waxing all of my bike's chains for years, but because of the proliferation of such threads, I have decided to switch over to chainsaw bar oil with sand mixed in it.

Polaris OBark

When you say "on paraffin," you make it sound like an illicit drug.

Polaris OBark

It is where you ride it, and whether the "oil" is volatile enough to dry off and leave a Teflon (or whatever) residue.

smd4

Probably. Until I try the Silca liquid wax I just got, my mainstay has been Tri Flo. I only ride in dry conditions.

easyupbug 

So with oil you can brush your leg against the chain ring and not get marked, a noob tag, a Cat 4/5 Tattoo after a ride?

smd4

Of course. I've pulled the chain through my hand with no marks. I haven't had a mark on my leg since I was a kid and had no idea what I was doing.

The simple fact is folks here use WAY too much oil on their chain. I've read here of people whose chain stays get splattered with oil. This is very obviously not the way to lube a chain, and a sure sign that someone has no idea what they're doing when it comes to lubricating their chain. You can see it in pic after pic of disgusting over-lubed drive trains posted here. It's almost endemic.

Of course, I also don't ride in a manner that would allow the chainring to come into contact with my leg, or my leg to come into contact with the chainring. But that's another discussion.

cyccommute 

The chain is only upside down half the time while pedaling. The chain spends the majority of time not being moved and allowing the oil to flow to the bottom of the chain.

You are just special. The rest of the world knows all about oily, grungy, greasy, grimy chains that leave chain tattoos on legs. I’ve handled enough chains to be very familiar with the filth that results from oil. It usually takes me about a week to work the grim out of the cracks in my fingers after a day at the co-op…just enough time to reapply the next week.

The whole reason that people do constant cleaning…weekly to daily… on their bikes is because of oil.

Aw, come on. The rest of the world is dying to know how you can run oil and not end up looking like a Gulf coast beach after the Deep Horizon oil spill.

Go on. Pull the other one.

That just describes any oiled chain.

​​​​​​​
Maybe the rest of us are just too much like the Old Cowhand.

Bad Lag

This is an interesting thread. It is refining and redefining my concepts of BikeForums.com and all because of chain lubrication.

More on oil - it is also subject to centrifugal forces as it wraps around the derailleur wheels and then the freewheel. During that transit, it is subjected to multiple, rapid changes in direction which exacerbate the issues.

More on waxes - wax does not flow and creep like oil. Once squeezed out of the interface, wax is unlikely to return unless reheated into a liquid.

Bad Lag

Well, it's about time to add a few drops of oil to my chain and freewheel and go for a ride down at the beach. I'll pick up a little more sand on my chain while I am there, of that I am sure, as the breeze blows across the bike path.

smd4

Listen, Thomas, don’t blame me because you might be one of the people I described who doesn’t know how to properly oil a chain.

Next time you’re in NC look me up. I will show you my bike and judging by your comments, you will likely be amazed.

mackgoo

Food grade paraffin and 10% PTFE. I'm addicted. I'm using it on all my bikes. From 50's to 2K.

MooneyBloke

Sand's so passé. Splurge on the 300 grit carborundum for real results.

Bad Lag

Oil, the original and still most C&V lubricant.

It's good for your bicycle chain,... and other things that move.

Sand is available by special request only.

79pmooney

The amount of Triflo I use doesn't splatter at all. Now I have never used the Phil Oil but I cannot imagine the amounts I put on making much of a mess. (Does the Phil have a good drip applicator?) I haven't sprayed on a chain lube with an aerosol can in about a million years.

Polaris OBark

Try it without PTFE. It will work just as well, and the planet will thank you.