wax chain lube

ilaboo said:

useless in the winter especially for locks!!--screwed up my kryptonite

nothing other than a tornadoe stops me from riding my bike--will from now on
make my own lube ( 4oz paint thinner --one teaspoonful of candle wax--not
gobs like the one i bought

take care

peter

You put wax in a lock? Dude! What were you thinking?!
Never put oil or grease or (shudder) wax in locks; use graphite.

Hmmmmmm....Candle wax????? Only thing that I have seen happen to wax
in the winter is that it gets brittle in the cold. Perhaps you live
someplace that has extremely mild winters. I certainly would NOT be
using that mixture here in Nebraska. MUCH too cold here. And, yes, I
do ride on a daily basis too. Stick to graphite or simply go to the
trouble of cleaning your chain every two to three days if the sand and
salt get to be too much.

Michael said:

ilaboo said:

useless in the winter especially for locks!!--screwed up my kryptonite

nothing other than a tornadoe stops me from riding my bike--will from now on
make my own lube ( 4oz paint thinner --one teaspoonful of candle wax--not
gobs like the one i bought

take care

peter

You put wax in a lock? Dude! What were you thinking?!
Never put oil or grease or (shudder) wax in locks; use graphite.

harry

yes candle wac
what i go for is a very thinn coating--lasts maybe 2 or 3 hundred miles--i
bike in every kind of weather except tornadoes

take care
peter
"Harry (Lincoln, Nebraska)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hmmmmmm....Candle wax????? Only thing that I have seen happen to wax
in the winter is that it gets brittle in the cold. Perhaps you live
someplace that has extremely mild winters. I certainly would NOT be
using that mixture here in Nebraska. MUCH too cold here. And, yes, I
do ride on a daily basis too. Stick to graphite or simply go to the
trouble of cleaning your chain every two to three days if the sand and
salt get to be too much.

Michael said:

ilaboo said:

useless in the winter especially for locks!!--screwed up my kryptonite

nothing other than a tornadoe stops me from riding my bike--will from
now on
make my own lube ( 4oz paint thinner --one teaspoonful of candle
wax--not
gobs like the one i bought

take care

peter

You put wax in a lock? Dude! What were you thinking?!
Never put oil or grease or (shudder) wax in locks; use graphite.

ilaboo said:

harry

yes candle wac

You might find canning parafin preferable to candle wax, which has
stearic acid added. Google might be willing to help ya, if ya ask
nice.

Quoted message said:

what i go for is a very thinn coating--lasts maybe 2 or 3 hundred miles--i
bike in every kind of weather except tornadoes

take care
peter
"Harry (Lincoln, Nebraska)" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hmmmmmm....Candle wax????? Only thing that I have seen happen to wax
in the winter is that it gets brittle in the cold. Perhaps you live
someplace that has extremely mild winters. I certainly would NOT be
using that mixture here in Nebraska. MUCH too cold here. And, yes, I
do ride on a daily basis too. Stick to graphite or simply go to the
trouble of cleaning your chain every two to three days if the sand and
salt get to be too much.

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:47:57 GMT, Michael <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ilaboo wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> useless in the winter especially for locks!!--screwed up my kryptonite

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> nothing other than a tornadoe stops me from riding my bike--will from
> now on
> make my own lube ( 4oz paint thinner --one teaspoonful of candle
> wax--not
> gobs like the one i bought

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> take care

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> peter

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You put wax in a lock? Dude! What were you thinking?!
Never put oil or grease or (shudder) wax in locks; use graphite.

Hmmmm.......Parafin....now THAT'S an idea. I think I'll be looking
into that one. With all the sand and salt on the roads around here
right now I have found myself cleaning my chain and gears every other
day to keep the grit out.

Don't know if the parafin would help that or make it worse but it's
certainly worth checking into.

Ozark Bicycle said:

ilaboo said:

harry

yes candle wac

You might find canning parafin preferable to candle wax, which has
stearic acid added. Google might be willing to help ya, if ya ask
nice.

Quoted message said:

what i go for is a very thinn coating--lasts maybe 2 or 3 hundred miles--i
bike in every kind of weather except tornadoes

take care
peter
"Harry (Lincoln, Nebraska)" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hmmmmmm....Candle wax????? Only thing that I have seen happen to wax
in the winter is that it gets brittle in the cold. Perhaps you live
someplace that has extremely mild winters. I certainly would NOT be
using that mixture here in Nebraska. MUCH too cold here. And, yes, I
do ride on a daily basis too. Stick to graphite or simply go to the
trouble of cleaning your chain every two to three days if the sand and
salt get to be too much.

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:47:57 GMT, Michael <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

>ilaboo wrote:

Quoted message said:

>> useless in the winter especially for locks!!--screwed up my kryptonite

Quoted message said:

>> nothing other than a tornadoe stops me from riding my bike--will from
>> now on
>> make my own lube ( 4oz paint thinner --one teaspoonful of candle
>> wax--not
>> gobs like the one i bought

Quoted message said:

>> take care

Quoted message said:

>> peter

Quoted message said:

>You put wax in a lock? Dude! What were you thinking?!
>Never put oil or grease or (shudder) wax in locks; use graphite.

Nebraska) said:

Hmmmm.......Parafin....now THAT'S an idea. I think I'll be looking
into that one. With all the sand and salt on the roads around here
right now I have found myself cleaning my chain and gears every other
day to keep the grit out.

Don't know if the parafin would help that or make it worse but it's
certainly worth checking into.

It's been a LONG time since I lived in a place with winters, but ....
I'm curious whether my usual routine wouldn't serve you just as well:

I use a 50/50 mixture of odorless mineral spirits and Mobil1 synthetic
oil.

For cleaning, I use a wadded up rag and a can of WD-40 with the straw
(you get the idea). Clean first. Let dry. Apply the 50/50 mix (I
use a toothbrush to minimize waste). Do this AFTER the ride to allow
evaporation of the mineral spirits.

For me, I go a couple hundred miles between chain maintenance, but ...
you may want to do it more regularly. I get a LOT of miles out of my
drivetrain. Lots of other factors come into play, to be sure, but....

For me, the whole concept of waxing the chain is a dramatically messed
up cost/benefit equation.

Of course, YMMV.

Ride safely,
Neil

Why after the ride???? Here in Lincoln, Nebraska I need all the
protection I can get. Not only do they sand and salt the streets but
they also put it on most of the marked bike routes. This is a good
thing to keep them clear but it can wreak havoc with chains and gears.

I actually came home one day and noticed that, after the snow had
melted off, my chain already ahd that "rust" color to it. That's why
I clean it about every other day. Depending on how much I ride of
course.

Would there be a problem with using the synthetic alone I wonder? Or
is there a reason for the mineral spirits?

Quoted message said:

Nebraska) said:

Hmmmm.......Parafin....now THAT'S an idea. I think I'll be looking
into that one. With all the sand and salt on the roads around here
right now I have found myself cleaning my chain and gears every other
day to keep the grit out.

Don't know if the parafin would help that or make it worse but it's
certainly worth checking into.

It's been a LONG time since I lived in a place with winters, but ....
I'm curious whether my usual routine wouldn't serve you just as well:

I use a 50/50 mixture of odorless mineral spirits and Mobil1 synthetic
oil.

For cleaning, I use a wadded up rag and a can of WD-40 with the straw
(you get the idea). Clean first. Let dry. Apply the 50/50 mix (I
use a toothbrush to minimize waste). Do this AFTER the ride to allow
evaporation of the mineral spirits.

For me, I go a couple hundred miles between chain maintenance, but ...
you may want to do it more regularly. I get a LOT of miles out of my
drivetrain. Lots of other factors come into play, to be sure, but....

For me, the whole concept of waxing the chain is a dramatically messed
up cost/benefit equation.

Of course, YMMV.

Ride safely,
Neil

Nebraska) said:

Why after the ride????

The mineral spirits are a thinner, allowing the Mobil1 to get into the
pivots, rollers, and ... well ... whatever those other bits and pieces
are that you actually /need/ the lubrication ;-)

The goal, though, is to leave the lubricant behind, so you want to
leave ample time for the (very volatile) mineral spirits to
evaporate. Overnight is probably more than enough, and it's pretty
convenient.

Quoted message said:

Here in Lincoln, Nebraska I need all the
protection I can get. Not only do they sand and salt the streets but
they also put it on most of the marked bike routes. This is a good
thing to keep them clear but it can wreak havoc with chains and gears.

I actually came home one day and noticed that, after the snow had
melted off, my chain already ahd that "rust" color to it. That's why
I clean it about every other day. Depending on how much I ride of
course.

Would there be a problem with using the synthetic alone I wonder? Or
is there a reason for the mineral spirits?

See above. People have their opinions about the proportions of the
mix. I probably use too much mineral spirits (others talk about 3
parts Mobil1 to 1 part spirits), but ... it seem to work fairly well
for me.

WD-40 -- aside from displacing water quite well (WD = "Water
Displacement"😉, helps to free rusty parts. It's a pretty good
corrosion inhibitor, but, then, so is the Mobil1 that the mix leaves
behind.

you could also sue 100% acetone--buy it in beauty supply--i push a safety
pin thru the bottle close to the neck--that way it becomes a squeeze
bottle--leave the pin in after use--remember it is extremely flammable--
other thing to use is spray carburator cleaner--some leave a very thing film
of lubricant. im not sure that bike chains need a thick oil film--gets
grimey especially when taking wheels off

hth

peter
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nebraska) said:

Why after the ride????

The mineral spirits are a thinner, allowing the Mobil1 to get into the
pivots, rollers, and ... well ... whatever those other bits and pieces
are that you actually /need/ the lubrication ;-)

The goal, though, is to leave the lubricant behind, so you want to
leave ample time for the (very volatile) mineral spirits to
evaporate. Overnight is probably more than enough, and it's pretty
convenient.

Quoted message said:

Here in Lincoln, Nebraska I need all the
protection I can get. Not only do they sand and salt the streets but
they also put it on most of the marked bike routes. This is a good
thing to keep them clear but it can wreak havoc with chains and gears.

I actually came home one day and noticed that, after the snow had
melted off, my chain already ahd that "rust" color to it. That's why
I clean it about every other day. Depending on how much I ride of
course.

Would there be a problem with using the synthetic alone I wonder? Or
is there a reason for the mineral spirits?

See above. People have their opinions about the proportions of the
mix. I probably use too much mineral spirits (others talk about 3
parts Mobil1 to 1 part spirits), but ... it seem to work fairly well
for me.

WD-40 -- aside from displacing water quite well (WD = "Water
Displacement"😉, helps to free rusty parts. It's a pretty good
corrosion inhibitor, but, then, so is the Mobil1 that the mix leaves
behind.