wax Vs "wet" lubrication for my chain.



B

Bruce

Guest
wax Vs "wet" lubrication for my chain. I have been using
wet but am getting a bit tired of cleaning the chain etc
after almost every ride. I have environmental concerns
about wax -that it is made to fall off, therefore sitting
around for x years refusing to breakdown into something
friendly to the environment or finding it's way into storm
drains and eventually into our rivers or oceans. I know
that wet lube is not any better for the environment but at
least I can control where I clean the bike down and
therefore control run-off of the lube. Am I doomed
to clean everything down after each ride or are my
concerns about wax unfounded?

I guess the other option is to buy another chain and
keep one in cleaning fluid while I use the other and
then swap when necessary.
 
I use Singer sewing machine oil :)

2 bucks from Coles!!

Is thinner, and not at all tacky
 
Bruce said:
wax Vs "wet" lubrication for my chain. I have been using
wet but am getting a bit tired of cleaning the chain etc
after almost every ride. I have environmental concerns
about wax -that it is made to fall off, therefore sitting
around for x years refusing to breakdown into something
friendly to the environment or finding it's way into storm
drains and eventually into our rivers or oceans. I know
that wet lube is not any better for the environment but at
least I can control where I clean the bike down and
therefore control run-off of the lube. Am I doomed
to clean everything down after each ride or are my
concerns about wax unfounded?

I guess the other option is to buy another chain and
keep one in cleaning fluid while I use the other and
then swap when necessary.
Im currently using wax, but am probably going to go back to wax, I generally find I can go about a week or at a max 2 weeks, with wet lube, before it is at the time to clean stage, are you maybe putting on tooo much wet lube ? It only needs a very small application, something it took me a long time to work out.

the other option is using both.

a very small application of wet lube and then an application or maybe 2 of wax, which kind of coats over the wet lube, Ive done that a few times as well, to good effect.

Wax, is definately great for the cleaning of the running gear, cut my cleaning time in HALF!
 
"Bruce" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> wax Vs "wet" lubrication for my chain. I have been using
> wet but am getting a bit tired of cleaning the chain etc
> after almost every ride. I have environmental concerns
> about wax -that it is made to fall off, therefore sitting
> around for x years refusing to breakdown into something
> friendly to the environment or finding it's way into storm
> drains and eventually into our rivers or oceans. I know
> that wet lube is not any better for the environment but at
> least I can control where I clean the bike down and
> therefore control run-off of the lube. Am I doomed
> to clean everything down after each ride or are my
> concerns about wax unfounded?
>
> I guess the other option is to buy another chain and
> keep one in cleaning fluid while I use the other and
> then swap when necessary.
>


Beeswax? Gives you the tidy dry lube experience in a biodegradable form. Mix
in a little graphite (hey, it's pure carbon, how ecologically nasty can it
be?) and Bob's yer auntie's living lover.
 
On Mon, 5 Sep 2005 15:05:17 +1000, 531Aussie
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>I use Singer sewing machine oil :)
>
>2 bucks from Coles!!
>
>Is thinner, and not at all tacky


Too thin to lubricate a chain properly.
Fine for cables, pivots etc. though.

dewatf.
 
On 4 Sep 2005 18:32:22 -0700, "Bruce" <[email protected]> wrote:

>wax Vs "wet" lubrication for my chain. I have been using
>wet but am getting a bit tired of cleaning the chain etc
>after almost every ride. I have environmental concerns
>about wax -that it is made to fall off, therefore sitting
>around for x years refusing to breakdown into something
>friendly to the environment or finding it's way into storm
>drains and eventually into our rivers or oceans.


It's a very, very tiny amount of petrolium wax.
Compared the amount of oil that drips out of cars and trucks
irrelevant.

dewatf.
 
531Aussie <[email protected]> writes:

> I use Singer sewing machine oil :)


So do I! It works fine for me. I oil about once a week when commuting
regularly. I also usually wipe and oil after riding in rain. One small
bottle lasts ages.

David


--

David Trudgett
http://www.zeta.org.au/~wpower/

For in a Republic, who is "the country?" Is it the Government which is
for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant
- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to
determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot
and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.

-- Mark Twain
 
Bruce wrote:

> wax Vs "wet" lubrication for my chain. I have been using
> wet but am getting a bit tired of cleaning the chain etc
> after almost every ride. I have environmental concerns
> about wax -that it is made to fall off, therefore sitting
> around for x years refusing to breakdown into something
> friendly to the environment or finding it's way into storm
> drains and eventually into our rivers or oceans. I know
> that wet lube is not any better for the environment but at
> least I can control where I clean the bike down and
> therefore control run-off of the lube. Am I doomed
> to clean everything down after each ride or are my
> concerns about wax unfounded?
>
> I guess the other option is to buy another chain and
> keep one in cleaning fluid while I use the other and
> then swap when necessary.
>


I can remember reading in some bike book many years ago
that you should lubricate your chain with paraffin wax.
The idea is that you melt the wax in a tin and chuck your
chain in and leave it to allow good penetration. Remove and
allow to cool. If you're really keen, don't remove it before
the wax solidifies.

I never did this by the way so no idea how effective it is or
how long the lubricant lasts.

DeF

--
e-mail: [email protected]
To reply, you'll have to remove finger.
 
On Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:44:31 +0800, DeF
<[email protected]> wrote in aus.bicycle:

>
>I can remember reading in some bike book many years ago
>that you should lubricate your chain with paraffin wax.
>The idea is that you melt the wax in a tin and chuck your
>chain in and leave it to allow good penetration. Remove and
>allow to cool. If you're really keen, don't remove it before
>the wax solidifies.


That's what I have been doing for years (apart from the last sentence)
the only fly in the ointment (wax?) is that the modern chains are so
much more expensive to break and rejoin.

Originally it was a choice between that or a dry chain and replacing
it more often. MY commuting means that a sticky chain will pick up
coal dust and iron ore which I am sure form a fine grinding paste for
wearing out a chaim much quicker than if it was dry. Not to mention
what it does to your clothes and hands if they come into contact with
it.


Regards
Prickles
 
"531Aussie" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
>
> I use Singer sewing machine oil :)


Dirt-magnet. Washes off well in the rain!

> 2 bucks from Coles!!


The only advantage. Does this really matter to you?

Cheers
Peter
 
531Aussie said:
I use Singer sewing machine oil :)

2 bucks from Coles!!

Is thinner, and not at all tacky


But please, don't do this,

Courtesy of the Darwin Awards newsletter
http://darwinawards.com/personal/personal2004-04.html
(Summer 2001, USA) I am a keen mountain-biker, and was the proud owner of a fairly expensive mountain bike. My bike was fitted with 'V' brakes, which are extremely effective, though prone to squealing.

My dear brother decided to have a ride on my bike one day, while I was out. He noticed the squealing as he cycled down the hill we live on, towards the invariably busy crossroads at the bottom. Being a helpful sort, he headed back home and proceeded to pour a generous amount of 3-in-1 oil onto the brakes, before once more setting off down the hill.

The oil worked! The only reported squealing came from my brother, as he slammed into the side of a moving VW Beetle. To this day he sports an impressive scar running from his eye socket to just past his ear.

And yes, the bike was totaled.