Best chain lube (which doesn’t gunk up?)

molgrips

Subscriber
I’ve been thinking of Plutoline but I’m not sure how it will handle the local trails which whilst well drained are ‘very acid, very stony sandy soils with a bleached subsurface horizon, over conglomerate.’

Aren’t you South Wales or am I confusing you with someone else

Not me boyo.

Anyway, brand new un-degreased KMC X11 chain surface rusting and nasty sticky noisy gritty after 25 miles of commuting, so plutoline will either be a waste of time or great or maybe both.

I use bent spoke to pull it out. Instructions are on the tin. Heat it until the wax is nice and runny. Drop the chain in. Do not put degreaser on it in contaminates the wax and there is no need just wipe it cleanish ( maybe the first time if it is really filthy but rinse it to get ALL the degreaser off.)

Take the tin off the hob ( carefully – nasty hot wax in it) take it to somewhere where you can hang the chain over the tin, fish the chain out and hang it over the tin until all the excess drips off. when cool run the chain thru a rag a few times to take the remaining excess off it, refit to bike.

On my commuter i only had to do it every few months at 50 miles a week

Factory grease is often fish oils
Remove and replace imo
Those 7000 zwift miles must really wear the chain set out being in the warm dry garage
My 2p worth, white lightening clean ride, yes you need to use it every ride but it’s cheap,, works well easy on and off application
I remove chain and degrease in an old water bottle
2 hot flushes, first one with a tiny amount of detergent
Refit and apply liberally

Does it make your chips taste of chain lube? If so, I’m out.

What are your criteria for ‘working well’ ? They are clearly different to mine.

I turn the pedals and the bike moves forward with a minimum of fuss or noise 🙂

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/is-there-a-winter-lube-that-doesnt-turn-to-black-gunk/page/2/

best all – year chain oil ?

The Plutoline tin arrived. It’s massive! That should last for ages

my first one lasted nearly ten years

I have just went down the putoline lubing method after reading various threads on here. Only on my first attempt just now but it seems to be lasting  in the recent slop better than previous lubes i have used

where are you now TINAS?

Moved to 3 mile cross.

I heat my tin on the gas hob. I think the melting point and the flash point are very far apart. this is how its intended to be done

There’s slightly more to it than just flash point, flash point increases with molecular weight, but auto ignition temp decreases. Hence why diesel is a bugger to set alight, but will burn without a spark in an engine if you vaporize it. So creating an explosive mixture is difficult, but getting it to it’s smoke point is quite easy , especially as it’a a great insulator when solid, my fryer smokes horribly if I set it to 200C before it’s melted. Best way is to leave it to solidify without the basket in (so that you don’t end up with a solid lump stuck to the basket which cant be stirred) then when melting it, set the fryer to the lowest temp and leave it a while (take the chains off the bikes, wash the bikes, have a post ride shower).

I wouldn’t worry about the naked flame aspect (except the usual stuff like never leave it alone). That’s an issue with the flash point not auto ignition.

That’s getting into it a bit. You wouldn’t worry about smoking around a bike with liquid chain lube on it would you.

I just had to re-do my road bike chain for the first time after 20 hours ish of riding since mid December – much of which was in shitty rain and most of which on wet dirty roads. I had not touched the chain in that time, and until the last ride it was silent. In fact, when using this stuff the chain is much quieter than normal lube, you cannot hear a thing.

I cleaned off the cassette and chainset (not really necessary but just looks nice) and I scraped a small amount of excess wax off the jockey wheels. I didn’t de-grease, I just dunked it straight in the hot wax and jiggled it about a lot. Since this chain has only had Putoline from new, the crud on the outside of the inner plates which is normally hard to remove whilst cleaning was wax-based and it just melted off. I hung it up on the garage door cross-members so it could drip on the floor, then I gave it a good wipe down.

I always seek to spend as little time as possible on maintenance and cleaning, but I’m very picky about how my bike works so jobs are always done – just efficiently.

The only situation where it might not be ideal is if you are say time-trialling. It makes the chain quite stiff, you might lose a watt or two.

My 2p worth, white lightening clean ride, yes you need to use it every ride but it’s cheap,, works well easy on and off application
I remove chain and degrease in an old water bottle
2 hot flushes, first one with a tiny amount of detergent
Refit and apply liberally

That sounds like more work than Putoline.

Thanks guys, will take a look at getting some putoline. I could do all the bike chains together at the same time

Is Putoline black and gross versus Molten Speed Wax which is clear and not (but twice the price)? Anyone tried both?

putoline is black and stains clothes. Stinks when hot as well

My guess is that any molten wax lube will work in a similar way.

Quote from Molten Speed Wax blurb:

Wax is the cleanest lube available. Go ahead, we dare you to drop your chain on your white 70’s shag carpet. Why is wax so clean? It’s not a liquid, greasy or oily so it doesn’t attract dirt, sand or other debris from the road or trail.

So maybe not…

diesel… will burn without a spark in an engine if you vaporize it

And compress the mixture from between 15 and 23 times atmospheric pressure, much higher than a typical petrol engine.

Fellas,whats the concensus about re-using quick links after splitting chains for a wax bath? My recently fitted Shimano 12s link was mega tight and i’m a bit concerned about re-using it and it loosening up.Replacements are around a tenner,not a huge amount but i’ve just abused the plastic buying XT transmission.

I only have 9 and 10 spd – reusing links multiple times seems fine.

Putoline ordered. Just need to get a cheap DFF now.

I’ve always re-used links. Seems fine.

I might be tempted by Molten Speedwax if it’s clear – Putoline being black does blacken the cassette a bit during the course of an application. I honestly do not mind the smell at all. Just smells oily to me, like an old machine shed.

EDIT Just read their blurb though, it appears to be paraffin wax with additives. That feels like it matches whoever it was said it was not as durable as Putoline, which is waxy but also somehow sticky as hell. It almost glues itself to the chain somehow.

That molten speed wax stuff has PTFE in it. I’m doing enough bad things to the environment without dumping that stuff into it as well.

I’ve used Putoline, it’s pretty black and sticky, but my SS went into the shed sometime last year with that and a thick layer of mud, and came out with the chain still fine.

Blacken the cassette? Are you dipping the cassette in it too??

Putoline being black does blacken the cassette a bit during the course of an application.

The high priest of Leith will excommunicate you for such blasphemy against the holy wax.

A small amount of the lube works it’s way out of the chain to the outside and it rubs onto the cassette..nowhere near as messy as if I’d used normal lube though. The black gunge nightmare doesn’t happen.

No beer – you can see the small amount of wax that is transferred to the cassette in the pic I put up a page or two ago

which is waxy but also somehow sticky as hell. It almost glues itself to the chain somehow.

Add about 20-30% beeswax to your paraffin wax for the same effect.

Add some molybdenum disulphide powder to make it black, and 2-3% EP gear oil to make it smell.

That’s what I use on my commuter, anyway.

MTBs get Muc-Off Ceramic dry lube. Hose off after a ride and re-apply (a drop per link) – even works on a wet chain.

Have got 3/4 bottle of Squirt if anyone wants it – I thought it was pish.

So is a paraffin wax an option then? I am thinking for the inside turbo bike as it will be a lot less messy than putoline?

Yes I use mostly paraffin wax although I’ve added more gear oil to my mixture on the latest application.

I am thinking for the inside turbo bike

I’d use plain old lube for an indoor bike, as I have on my track bike. Shimano wet lube is a nice clean light oil that resists gunking.

Just to add
I only remove and de grease when switching from oil to wax based lubes. Once de greased then it stays on the bike . I get better results be wiping and re applying after a dirty ride , then letting it dry on the chain than using it straight before riding

What are people using to clean the chain prior to dunking in Putoline?

Got a tin and time on my hands.

Generally nothing – just brush off any lose mud.

I do have a plastic jar with citrus degreaser in it that I shake chains in but it seldom gets used.

One of the advantages of Putoline is that it gets right into the rollers as it sits and stews and any grit falls to the bottom of the tin.

What he said, if anything cleaning the chain makes putoline worse as putting a wet chain in a bath of hot putoline just results in an overflowing mess of foamy putoline.

Just chuck the chain in the fryer basket, close the lid and give the basket a bit of a shake assuming the fryer lets you do that.

I give mine a shake in a Tupperware with some white spirit in to remove the worst. Dry it off with paper towel (or give it a quick burn off with a bunsen 👍) and into the Putoline. I just use a £16 gas camping stove to heat mine until it bubbles, then leave chain in until it cools (occasionally too much and have to reheat 😂)

I think if the chain is really manky with wet lube then a clean might help but as its decades since I used anything else I am not sure. so if its covered in gunk clean it, if its just a bit dirty don’t bother

So I shouldn’t bother with removing the old chain lube residue?

Was going to give each chain brush down with some brake cleaner.

Was going to give each chain brush down with some brake cleaner.

Well, you can (and it might make a tiny difference if by “brush down” you mean proper flush out) but you need to be sure you’ve let it dry pretty well or it’ll spit a bit when it goes in. Leave it in long enough and agitate it a few times while it’s in and I reckon you’ll pretty much flush out any old lube anyway. If there’s loads of gritty crap in there I think I might be more likey to clean it first

As an alternative to Putoline, I’ve been using Weldtite from a recommendation on another what wet lube thread and it is definitely the cleanest lube I’ve used that keeps on working through slop. One of the cheapest out there too, especially if you buy it in 1L or 5L bulk.

Homebrew wax guru on Youtube.

Candle wax brew is great through summer etc, but not ad durable as Putoline for Winter slop. However it does give you a really clean looking chain!