@u1v1w1 the wax itself is sticky, kind of like soft bootpolish if that makes sense. When I did my first chain I just hung it up to drip off the excess. It left the chain with a visible thin brown layer of the wax and if you touched it you would still get sticky brown wax on your fingers and you could see it sticking to the cassette teeth.
When I did the second chain I imediately wiped it down well with a paper towel so it looked clean on the outsides. This has left the chain looking clean but with a slightly dull waxy silver looking shine and when you touch it it feels like the surface of a wax crayon and your hands remain clean. So, there is obviously still a very thin layer of wax on the surface which will hopefully prevent rusting but more importantly you know the wax will be where it needs to be inside the chain rollers.
Just bought a tub of Putoline, going to experiment a little when the wife and kids are out of the house...
I was just wondering, where I live, it sometimes gets cold in the winter. I have had squirt lube freeze on the chain, making it totally stiff and inflexible. Anyone had that happen using Putoline?
I am well and truly tired of the mess that Finish Line Wet or Muc Off Ceramic leaves.
I was just wondering, where I live, it sometimes gets cold in the winter. I have had squirt lube freeze on the chain, making it totally stiff and inflexible. Anyone had that happen using Putoline?
Well its melting point is so much higher than ambient I wouldn't expect anything to happen to it in cold weather but I have no direct experience of that. It's a solid, so I'd expect it to remain solid. However it's been around for yonks (decades?) so I'm sure Google has a view.
I'm sure someone up a few pages up there ^ talked of it being a bit stiff at first when it's really cold, but it's alright once it's got moving. Ooh-er vicar, etc etc
I have used it a few degrees below zero with no issues
I'm about to give it a go next week. a little concerned about the apparent stickiness of it. I was planning to let it drip dry but sounds like I'll need to wipe it.
to be honest if squirt lasted longer it would be perfect.
You leave the excess to drip off while its all hot. When cool a wipe over gets the rest off the outside. Not needed but makes it less messy
I wipe it when hot. Seems to come cleaner.
I just hang it up hot and leave it and not bother wiping off the remains.
Just trawled through 9 pages of lots of interesting points on either side of the debate! I'm now one of the many about to try Putoline and hoping for a good result. Chain lube is a constant annoyance for me - I'm forever worrying about having the wrong type on and either dry being washed off within a mile or wet attracting lots of crud!
I've done 2500km+ on my roadbike since lockdown, on the same chain with the same putoline treatment.
I was a bit concerned after getting caught in proper heavy rain and wet roads earlier this week, but the muck on the chain was just road grime and it wiped off easily with a workshop blue paper towel, and the inside of the chain still seems good. Another 75km done this am with no complaints from the drivetrain. I might redo it anyway but it doesn't really need it.
I think I'll leave mine as it is since wiping it down can push the road crud into the rollers. Shame they have been resurfacing roads with chipseal during the lock down, creates a lot of dust.
I am still riding my Salsa with the chain I Putolined before lockdown. The bike got a little muddy in some wet riding and I hosed it down; the hose cleaned all the outer crud from the chain and left it gleaming, however it was still well lubed and I did an 80km off road ride on it without re-lubing!
Thanks for all the advice - spent a surprisingly small amount of time de-greasing two chains, putting putoline into the cheap argos DFF and cooking the chain/wiping/cooling fitting. Dry first ride last night and all good. Pleased that the chain / jockey wheels still seem quite clean after.
I have a new chain to go on the road bike and a bit torn if I should run it on the factory grease first then degrease/putoline or give it a good rinse in petrol initially and add the wax back in.
After reading all nine pages I feel like i just have to comment. Thanks for all the advice everyone, when you google putoline and mountain bike this is the only thing that comes up.
No one else has been this nerdy with it all but I;m glad you all are. Works a treat!
I dont have a hose or garden so cleaning the bike is a pain but i allways had to try and clean the drivetrain so it isnt grinding and annoying but now i just wipe down the forks and chuck it in the spare room and just give it an overall clean about once a month now and everyhting runs smooth
Just Putolined my first brace of chains.
I had expected a fiery death, or at the very least hideous disfigurement due to burning hot wax. Actually it was quite a lot easier than I thought, and I didn't even get chain wax on anything but the chain. Even the smell was almost nonexistent!
If this works as you lot says it does, then I shal be Putolining from now on!
Gonna do the tandem chains today. Off on a 2 week tour so its nice to know they are freshly done and will need nothing for the few hundred miles we are riding.
What worries me is: Is the church of putoline the only mark I will leave on this world?
Only time will tell if its a mark- or a scar 🙂
I've got stains on the garage floor from hot wax that will now not be removed, so thats one mark for sure 🙂
Shall I erect a wee plaque upon your demise?
🙂
Another side benefit. I did my chain just before lockdown - admittedly it's been mostly (but not exclusively) dry riding. Week before last it got a little noisy, so I added a dash of Shimano wet and that appears to have re-flowed the original Putoline so it's been great for several more rides!
How good are the Cat4 tatoos from Putoline, or are they non existent?
Is front ring gear changing affected by stickiness/hardness of the wax? My Spa cycles tripple prefers something like Wickens.
I have no issues with front ring changing.
Reasonably clean for putting in car?
Ok, I'll admit it, I'm putoline curious as I'm fed up of reapplying squirt every 50km on the commuter and road bike.
Before I take the £50 plunge, can I just confirm that the sheer amount of wax in a putolined chain doesn't affect shifting on a 11-speed set up?
And sorry if this has already been asked - this thread is long!
Doesn't affect shifting
Doesn't affect efficiency despite feeling stiff at first
May need a decent wipe with WD40 on a rag after the first ride to get the excess off, also might have to pick some excess off the jockey wheels. De-grease the cassette and the whole drivetrain will stay mint for months without you having to touch it, even between bike cleanings.
Is much less messy than normal lube when putting in cars provided you've wiped off the excess. And it stays that way until you re-lube it too.
Thanks Molgrips, that's answered my two doubts about it!
Doesn't affect shifting on either my 11-spd road or 9-spd MTB setup; if anything they're smoother than ever. But as molgrips says, once it's cooled it's worth wiping down to take off the external excess (which doesn't remove the wax from inside the rollers where it's really working its magic)
New to it and about 5 rides in on the two bikes I've done via DFF. There has been a small amount of wax build up on the jockey wheels, hardly any on the chainring. Easy to flick off with a tool. General running and shifting (12spd) is v nice smooth and quiet.
V pleased with how clean the drivetrain is staying - not quite as spangly as a highly cleaned + dry lube one - but pretty clean looking.
I need to do mine again. Last done end of March 🙂
When I did the second chain I imediately wiped it down well with a paper towel so it looked clean on the outsides. This has left the chain looking clean but with a slightly dull waxy silver looking shine and when you touch it it feels like the surface of a wax crayon and your hands remain clean. So, there is obviously still a very thin layer of wax on the surface which will hopefully prevent rusting but more importantly you know the wax will be where it needs to be inside the chain rollers.
Good advice. I shall try that next time
Need to get on top of this for a wee mini-tour on the gravel bike.
Good for 700km with river crossings?
Yes
Sorry more questions.
So I've done 5 mtb rides since applied, about 100km - (some very very wet) and after I washed the bike down when you twisted the chain it felt gritty. Is this a good sign that you need to reapply
I've been washing the bike including drivetrain with muc off maybe this would be washing it out?
Still happy with it as thats way more than any other lube would have lasted but would be keen to get it to last longer if possible
Another question for all those on putoline...
My good bike only really gets used during the summertime. This summer in Glasgow has been pretty wet so I've been using wet lube. The bike is white with white cables. The frame is slowly turning black, the cables near the drive train are pretty much black already. This is driving me crazy!
Will putoline do anything to help this or does it leave black gunk smeared everywhere that under washing turns everything black as per wet lube?
I've not had that problem since changing to Putoline. The frames are about as spotless as you could hope for and anything that does appear cleans off easily enough. Even my cassette looks pretty good.
after I washed the bike down when you twisted the chain it felt gritty. Is this a good sign that you need to reapply
I live in a wet gritty place and I've not had that. When it's bad, what I do is direct the hose straight at the drive train and spin it, to wash the grit out. Because Putoline is so sticky, water alone does not wash it out, but it washes the grit out nicely. I do use cleaner on the rest of the bike - I don't put it on the drivetrain but I am not super careful.
does it leave black gunk smeared everywhere that under washing turns everything black as per wet lube?
No - that black gunk happens when wet lube sprays about. Wax lubes don't do this as they are waxy of course.
Here's my drivetrain about four months and ooh, 30-40 hours of riding. Largely in the dry but not exclusively as you can see. It is still silent and smooth at this point. It didn't really have any cleaning just a couple of hose-downs.
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At this point you can just hose the dirt off it and ride again, it still remains clean.
Cheers,I think I will take it off and redo. will also be able to tell better when off the bike if there's actually wax still in it.
I'm probably going too heavy on the washing as I have been using soap and giving it a scrub along with the rest of the bike which it probably doesn't need
"
Huh, so to compare with Molly's images, this is my drivetrain, with about the same useage, (3/4 months mostly dry with some recent rain) I use Juice Lubes Viking
I’m probably going too heavy on the washing as I have been using soap and giving it a scrub along with the rest of the bike which it probably doesn’t need
No, it doesn't. Just hosepipe on the chain.
Huh, so to compare with Molly’s images, this is my drivetrain, with about the same useage, (3/4 months mostly dry with some recent rain) I use Juice Lubes Viking
That was one single application without cleaning or reapplying, and it's still silent?
and it’s still silent?
yes, one application (although if you follow the instructions, that’s a couple of passes over the chain) and still silent, should be though, it is the “summer” after all
But did you wash the bike?
Yep hosed down a few times. The mud on there is from yesterday
Putoline has changed my life.
No more getting down the road and the chain starts squeeking because you forgot to lube. Then it annoying the hell out of you for 50 miles.
No more pre ride faff quickly cleaning then lubing the MTB chain, never really cleaning it well enough.
No more hours spent picking gloopy crap out from between cassette cogs and trying to get them clean ish.
No more degreaser on cassette killing freehub bearings
No more black hands from doing all this faffing about with chains
Seriously EVERYONE needs to use this stuff. I just used a camping stove in the garage and an old pan, laser temp probe to 160 degrees.
chain after 850 miles of Surrey Mountains. Had a steel front sprox for most of the time. Just added the blue bling one to the new frame.. About 6 weeks on Puto & then the rest using candle wax home brew,
Yep hosed down a few times.
You must be lucky with your mud. It is inconceivable to me that a light lube could do those things in my neighbourhood (or you are deaf to the complaints of your chain). There's a review of the Viking stuff where the reviewer also does not get the longevity you describe.
Yeah guess so, I don't get anything like the longevity in the winter, but it seems to last pretty well this time of year. It's not uncommon for the chain to not need reapplication for a good long spell.
Just popped my putoline cherry- surprisingly painless!
Melted the wax in the tin with a Trangia burner, then poured into the standard Argos Cookworks DFF at 160 for 15mins, hang up and wipe the excess off whilst hot
So easy in fact I’m tempted to try it with a few bearings....Obviously would need to let the wax set somewhat before taking the bearings out.
I used a hot air gun to get mine out of the tin.
Where is everyone getting the wax from?
"anywhere" - Amazon lists it but a lot of motorbikey shops do too
PSA....the cheap Argos DFF are in scarce supply. Just now, it said they weren't available for home delivery so I think they may only have store stock. Managed to get one and looking forward to joining the putoline elite....
The only thing stopping my applying my Putoline is how well my Fenwick's Stealth is currently working, seems daft to abandon it when I still have 1.5 bottles left...
Need to remember 24hr cure time, can't do that in a hostel! 🙄
Going to give Putoline a go myself, but have question - do you get many fumes from the wax once it's melted? Planning to do it in the garage which is underground and doesn't have great ventilation, just wondering if this is a bad idea... Not intending to overheat/boil it, just go to the 140-160 deg that people seem to be heating to!
I do it in an unventilated garage, it smells but not particularly unpleasant, and it doesn't really fume as such, you're well below boiling point as far as i can work out (boiling is when vapour pressure = atmospheric pressure) You don't get much steam off water at 5C, after all.
Good to hear, thanks!
Smells a bit like a Victorian steam engine shed.
Had a bit of surface rust on a couple of links on the hardtail when I came to use it the other day so will try and remember to wipe with an oily rag after wet rides in the future.
First attempt - wax seems quite runny, didn't appear to be much left on chain after cursory wipe down!
I presume that's the whole point, liquid enough to penetrate the rollers etc.
Yup!
Just back from two weeks touring round Kintyre on the tandem - no need to relube the chains all trip. Still plenty of lube in them and thats after several rainy days
no need to relube the chains all trip. Still plenty of lube in them and thats after several rainy days
Same here, haven't had to re-lube for months now.
Second chain in, definitely a bit more snap, crackle and pop this, obviously hadn't completely dried after washing bike!
First impressions on the gravel bike are positive though, looks like a nice clean chain, slick shifting.
TJ, I'll prob get 30-50km on a freshly waxed chain before embarking on a 500km off road tour, worth a top up before I go (on the purely speculative basis that first application might not have been completely thorough?).
Did all my bike chains (MTB, commuter and fat) earlier this week, so far so good! Used a cheap electric hob designed for caravanning, just plonked the Putoline tin on top and gradually increased the heat until it was nice and runny. Quite a satisfiying experience, dunking the chains in and seeing the patterns in the wax flowing about. Much more pleasant than dripping lube onto chains like I've been doing since forever. The chain on the commuter still looked pretty dirty when it came out but seems to be running nice and silent, when the time comes to re-apply I think I'll give it a proper degrease first. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up, here in Norway the weather is pretty harsh in the winter so anything that reduces wear and tear on the drivetrain is a winner in my book!
I would say probably not 13th but it couldn't do any harm
Ordered the standard Argos DFF and Putolone from Amazon last night. Both arrived today and both commuter chains done already. Seems painless enough.
I gave both chains a run through my cheap Amazon ultrasonic bath (filled with white spirit) first, so they were pretty clean. The rest of the drive chains are a bit mucky (not too bad as it’s summer), so wondering how this will affect things with the waxed chains? Will ride them this week and then look at doing the nice road bikes next weekend, followed by the MTBs (which need various other work hence being last).
I’m hoping with two of us riding in the house this will save a lot of washing and lubing time over 6 bikes year round.
I'm certainly impressed so far! Drivetrain felt great on a wee spin this morning, slick shifting, *felt* smooth. A tiny bit tacky to touch, but fingers still came away cleaner than they would e.g. with Squirt.
All going well I might even start using it on my summer road bike... A winter of commuting and CX riding to get through first.
Well, I cracked this week, bought some wax and had a go. OHs chain was the only one that needed doing on Friday, so that’s first impressions. She’s done two days riding this weekend and reckoned it was running dry. I’m not sure I got the chain hot enough to get the wax in properly so I’ve redone it along with my MTB and cross bike. Left the chains in a lot longer to get them hot.
This had better last a decent amount of time to be worth the faff... if I get a few winter rides out of a treatment I’ll probably consider it worth it.
Depends on what conditions you ride in; I'm happy that I get a whole ride out of mine in the Forest of Dean in deepest, soggiest winter. Never had a wet lube that managed that.
Jury's still out for me, think I got about 100km before chain was dry and squeeling which is frankly pretty poor compared to any other lube I've used in those conditions!
Limped into Aberfeldy and found some 3-in-one in the hardware store which has been awedome, sort if cleans and lubes chain in same application. Seems to be out-lasting the Putoline as well...
Wonder if applying Putoline to a Shimano sil-tec chain could have been the issue?
curious. We just did 350 miles in a tour including several wet days and the chains are still not in need of being lubed. I have no explanation
Wet isn’t the same as sloppy.
Must admit, I don't usually ride in slop but I haven't had to relube mine for a couple of months.
I tend do mine whenever I give the bike a proper wash, even if it doesn't need it. Chain gets hosed off and removed before I start washing the bike and is in the DFF for 10-15 minutes before being removed to cool off.
I used it in very wet gritty conditions earlier in the year. My trails are a mix of sandstone and limestone, the mud is usually reddish and gritty. It lasted about 10-12 hours of riding in heavy rain and mud. And by 'last' I mean it stayed quiet and non gritty, and all I had to do to clean the bike and chain, to the point where it didn't feel gritty when twisted in my fingers, was hose it down. That's 10 hours as compared with about 30 minutes with normal lube.
Two rides suggest it wasn't soaked into the rollers well enough.
So I've been using Putoline for about 2 years now (just checked, actually I bought my tin in Nov. 2017 so nearly 3!) and I'm a fan, but I have to say I've had mixed results.
On the commuter it's an absolute no-brainer.
In theory, it's ideal for multi-day bikepacking and road touring as well, and I've had trips where it's lasted a few days, but also where it doesn't seem to have lasted any longer than normal lube, even in dry conditions, and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or expecting too much.
I took the 11 speed chain off my gravel bike after doing Scotduro (Badger Divide) and it was worn beyond 0.75. It was new in January. For each bike I use two chains and swap them back and forth so I don't have to wax it immediately and always have a fresh one to go on. The other one was new last July and got binned a couple of months ago. In that time that bike's done about 2600 miles, probably half road, half off. 1300 miles for a chain isn't much in my book.
My process has settled on: heat tin on camping stove* til liquid, cook gently for 10 mins or so, with occasional agitation, fish out, letting the wax drip back into the tin, wipe as much as possible off without burning myself.
Where am I going wrong? Wonder if I'm not getting the temperature/time right? It's not very repeatable on a stove, but other people seem to manage. Any clues?
*I'm reluctant to go down the deep fat fryer route as buying a new cheap appliance just to lube bike chains in seems a bit wasteful (no judgement on anyone else who's done it though). If one appears on Freecycle I might be tempted.
I put mine on the stove. I wonder if getting the chain too hot means too much runs out?
there does seem to be some factor in application that means sometimes it does not work well but I do not know what
NOt noticed any problems after 3 rides but I wondered about the chain being v hot when you lift it out means the majority between the rollers runs out? Maybe keep it flat in the DFF cage and wait until it cools and solidifies before wiping the sides down?
That chimes with my experiences actually, so far I'm not blown away but absolutely determined to keep trying, the drivetrain did feel lovely after application!
The wax was extremely liquid when I took chains out and hung them up, so perhaps leaving it to cool for a while before removing from wax is the way forward.
Shall be an interesting experiment, I can see myself having to chip the chain out of a solid block of wax! 😀
Sadly for Putoline, my experience on my last multi-day just taught my how simple and easy it was to carry a small bottle of lube and relube on a daily basis, which feels like how I'll do it in future, nothing worse than being stuck with a dry chain in the middle of nowhere!
Also - straw poll - anyone else using a Shimano Sil-tec chain e.g. Ultegra level? I've seen some comments on other hot melt wax articles that suggested this affects wax adhesion.