I use putoline melting wax on a number of bikes at home with deep fat fryer and v happy with results, longevity and economy.

With a 5 day, full-on trip coming up, depending on conditions that may or may not be getting to the limit of the chain needing a re-lube and obviously I’m not going to take all the waxing paraphernalia with me.

Can you use a solvent of any sort to make a little dropper top up bottle of liquid putoline?

Might be easier to take a spare pre-waxed chain.

I must admit I would never consider the need for reapplication over a very short time. In my experience of the worst Dorset winters an application lasts weeks not days. Also, I would have thought a solvent capable of dissolving Putoline in a bottle would also dissolve out any currently applied wax(to a greater or lesser extent) To give yourself peace of mind could you not reapply at home just before your trip?

5 days? I’d be just leaving it alone, maybe that’s just me

I find it relatively ‘fit and forget’

What sort of trip?

5 days in the Alps I’d not worry unless you’re doing all day epics every day. 5 days doing the HT550 I’d take something.

For the former I’d just take any old dry lube or wet lube depending on conditions and apply at he end of the day if it starts to feel dry just like you normally would. You could probably DIY it if you really wanted, just mix something like paint thinners, petrol or hexane, with putoline at about 4:1? Just don’t let it get on anything painted or plastic just in case.

For a bikepacking trip I’d take wet lube because you can apply it on the go without waiting for it to dry. I take a little dropper bottle of chainsaw oil* with me on camping trips for this reason. I’ve never really worried about applying stuff over putoline, it makes a greasy mess if you add too much wet lube, but you can scrape the excess off your jockey wheels when you get home and just chuck the chain back in the fryer.

*it’s like those old-fashioned wet lubes, except practically free if you have a chainsaw.

5 day alps uplift – yes agree will probably be fine, if conditions are extreme and it’s needed I’ll just add a few drops of wet lube to see me through and sort when home. Spare chain pre-putoline’d is a good call too!

Get a bottle of a wax-based lube such as Squirt and wang a bit of that on.

I am a Putoline convert but not really for the longevity, I reckon 200 – 300km max, although in Putoline’s defence I’ve always been pretty slack at tracking mileage, so could be more.

I got caught short with a Putoline application on a longish trip, picked up a tiny plastic bottle of 3-in-1 which was actually really good, seemed more tenacious than a dry lube but didn’t seem to gum up as badly as a wet lube. Just dribble on, run chain through a rag to remove excess, and away you go.

I wouldn’t trust any wax lubes on a long trip as I find they really need time to set, Squirt is useless if you just dribble on and ride!

Take the chip pan fryer in some Panniers ?

A light oil re-flows the wax and makes it last ages all over again. I use Shimano wet lube for this but 3 in 1 also works. An application of this gets you another many hundred miles, far more than the light oil alone would.

I’ve applied muc off wet (blue top) and the ceramic wet (pink top) on top of Putoline before without any real ill effect.

They can get gunky if not allowed to soak in and wipe off first but to polish off a 5day trip with a clean at home reckon you’re ok.