Forum menu
I thought I was on to a winner with Synergetic, especially over the winter when it seemed to deliver the holy trinity of good durability in horrible conditions, smooth running and clean chain.
However twice now on a recently stripped and cleaned chain, it's gone suddenly and shockingly wet, black and gritty. What's weird is that in between wet/black/gritty episodes I had one application which stayed dry and clean until eventually wearing off and needing reapplied. The fresh application did the whole black and gritty thing again.
The obvious suggestion is that I've been over applying, but I'm using the needle tip applicator and applying as sparingly as I can, plus running it through a rag to clean off excess etc.
I wondered if the carrier oil was sitting in amongst the rollers and it took the pressure of proper riding to 'squeeze' it out? Does it need a five minute ride every application to remove any excess? 🙄
I'd email Silca but they've clearly got an AI bot doing their replies now...
I've had the same. I then decided to give the chain a full flush out with degreasers etc until it was back to that rattly stage which means it's completely dry inside. Worked better after that. I do find it needs the chain wiped after your first few cycles on a new application because the excess gets forced out onto the links.
I wax the nice weather (fair weather cyclist that i am) bikes and find it can be hit and miss aswell, sometimes smooth for ages, other times dry and noisy really quickly.
I find none of the methods are particularly fit and forget if you want the claimed chain longevity etc. They need careful attention and cleaning to get the best out of them.
I find none of the methods are particularly fit and forget if you want the claimed chain longevity etc. They need careful attention and cleaning to get the best out of them.
Agreed! I sometimes look back fondly on the days of using Finish Line green for everything but I've got hooked on the smoothness and cleanliness of good lubes (when they're working as claimed at least).
I do find it needs the chain wiped after your first few cycles on a new application because the excess gets forced out onto the links.
I guess that's it, maybe I've just noticed it more recently because it's been dry and there's actually dust to accumulate, in the winter the mud and water probably rinsed the muck off the surface pretty quick!
I have taken to wiping the chain down with a damp microfibre cloth after each ride and also before each new application to top up and that seems to have sorted it
Just moved from MucOff wet lube to Synergetic.
Chain fully cleaned/degreased. Applied the lube, ran the chain backwards with my fingers on the rollers.... then wiped off with a microfibre cloth.
This is what it looks like now. I'll post another pic after my 15 miler today:
...and after 15 miles on hardback at FOD today. The rollers are very clean. 👌
It's the outer links that have dust stuck to them.
The question is whether it's because I used GT85 to drive the water out of the chain (it had been degreased, then washed) because I didn't have my air compressor handy.
I'll post up another pic in a few days after riding the same route with the same lube, but using my air compressor to blow the water out of my chain after cleaning. May as well have a go for science.
Just an update (forgot to take pics):
I started again, degreasing, blow drying, applying as instructed; then riding the bike.
I wiped off the excess that oozes out after each ride with a microfibre cloth (12-15 mile dry rides), also paying attention to the chain ring and jockey wheels.
After the second ride and wipe-down, not much came out at all. The chain (and drivetrain) looked suspiciously clean and shiny after rides 3 and 4. I almost re-applied the lube because I'm not used to seeing that, but I resisted.
5th ride (12 miles) was very wet - a ridiculous amount of standing water that completely soaked me, the bike, filled my shoes etc... Zero squeak/noise/grinding from the chain.
Obviously after such a wet ride, it was given a thorough clean and re-lube.
It certainly does seem to last - wiping off the excess in-between rides definitely helps. 👍