“Chain still sounded and felt OK at the end of the ride but hose was obviously. too much for it as inner links were turning orange the next morning so have redone it.”

I’ve just given it a quick wipe with some light oil whenever any rust appears – the Putoline is still doing its job on the actual lubrication.

. too much for it as inner links were turning orange the next morning so have redone it. Will see how that goes, might try letting it cool a bit as above next go. Had hoped it would last longer but it is smooth and easy to reapply so not too distraught. Must put overalls on though, got a spot on a new hoody which Vanish isn’t shifting.

Try running it thru an oily rag. the rollers might still be full of lube

OK, will try that next time

Chain still sounded and felt OK at the end of the ride but

I think that if it sounds ok then it’s lubed – as said, the outer plates can get dry whilst the inner bits are still lubed. I just spray WD40 on a rag and wipe it down after a wash.

But you’re missing the point that when cooking rice you end up with no water remaining.

I doesn’t really matter enough to pick this up again, but here I go anyway!

You were saying that rice cooker is perfect because it’s doesn’t heat water any higher than 100 degrees.

I was saying that water doesn’t get any hotter than 100 degrees in any sort of anything unless it’s under pressure, so you can’t tell how hot oil or wax would get in a rice cooker just because it takes water to 100 degrees.

As a newbie to the Putoline game I’m curious if anyone else notices(d) a change in how noisy (or not so) their drivedrain is since the wax treatment?

My experience so far is that when running on the extremes of the cassette that there’s much more chainring noise compared to previous regular lubes – so much so that on my first ride I stopped twice to check I hadn’t mistakenly mismatched narrow / wide teeth with the chain!

All on bog standard XO eagle bits

Putolined all 5 bike chains last night. Was not that much hassle with a camping stove, some giant paperclips and a coat hanger.

Noticed this morning on my commute that my chain/drive train was almost completely silent!

As a newbie to the Putoline game I’m curious if anyone else notices(d) a change in how noisy (or not so) their drivedrain is since the wax treatment?

My experience so far is that when running on the extremes of the cassette that there’s much more chainring noise compared to previous regular lubes – so much so that on my first ride I stopped twice to check I hadn’t mistakenly mismatched narrow / wide teeth with the chain!

I usually find the opposite, it’s quiet and seems to take the first couple of hours to ‘bed in’ until it sounds normal again, the shifting also loosens up a bit, starts off ‘smooth’ and then goes back to “dunk-click”. Figured it was something to do with the rollers/links being packed with solid wax that the chain cant bend/twist as much as normal.

Having said that, I’ve not gotten around to doing my eagle drivechain yet, and the chainline is a bit mental and there’s a lot of noise from the chain especially compared to the road bike anyway so you might be right.

@doomanic – lucky to have a kind of antechamber where ‘the big workbench’ sits before the cellar. Cellar itself is complete disaster zone, of course. The big screwdriver/molgrip effort is related to a stuck bolt issue mentioned on a previous thread. Still not solved.

I’m not surprised that putoline stays in the chain after a mucky ride, as mentioned, it seems to ‘become one’ with bloody everything it touches in the prep phase.

A side note, chatting to my FiL, who sponsors a speedway rider, and he said that it is the chain lube of choice for speedway. Good to know, those boys put some strain through their kit.

A side note, chatting to my FiL, who sponsors a speedway rider, and he said that it is the chain lube of choice for speedway. Good to know, those boys put some strain through their kit.

I read somewhere on a motorbike forum that the reason it’s marketed at off road bikes and road bikes don’t just get a non-o-ring chain to make use of it is mostly down to the power absorbed by the chain (fractions of a percent add upto several hundred watts I guess when you’re talking 100hp+), a superbike chain get’s warm which would soften the wax and fling it off. An off road bike gets naturally cooled by all the dirt / water / mud being flung at it!

Probably bollocks, but does give a reason why it’s not universally adopted. Although I suspect big-bike chains being a PITA to split, and the increased likelihood of them doing long distances probably plays a part as well.

I’ve been tempted on waxing for a while now, for environmental reasons. Want to reduce use of chemicals I use when cleaning the chainset. This thread is inspiring me again to make the change.

Question though. Those waxing – what do you need to do to maintain it in between rewaxes?

Thanks…

Between waxing? Run it through an oily cloth occasionally

I sometimes top up with an aerosol motorcycle chain wax just to get me thru to the weekend when I can do it properly.

Question though. Those waxing – what do you need to do to maintain it in between rewaxes?

I think the proper dedicated answer to this is to fit the second or third chain that you waxed along with the first. Added benefit of prolonged chain life, less faff with melting the wax.

So, I’ve tried this Putoline out for a while now, on my absolutely filthy “cycle track” commute I was getting a week out of it before it needed a re-lube, commuting on the road is 3+ weeks, a recent absolute mud session on the CX bike of 50 miles = that even when the drive chain was clearly coated in copious amounts of mud the chain remained silent.

I’m sticking with it, I’d like to invest in a deep fat fryer and a second chain.

Why does having two chains make them last longer?

Because each chain is only being used 50% of the time?

😉

Recently started using this. Did a really muddy ride on the gravel bike couple of weeks ago.

Hosed all the mud off the chain, but when I went and have a look today, the drive train is still smooth and quiet but the exterior of the chain has gone all rusty. (should have wiped it dry)

I know people mentioned wiping it with an oily rag but think gt85 might be more effective as it would displace the water? Only worry is the gt85 might wash the putoline off? Anyone tried?

Wiping with an oily rag works very well. Or you could squirt GT85 on a rag and do the same.

gt85 on a rag works fine – don’t spray directly on the chain as it washes the wax out

Putoline do a spray on wax which might be a good bet.

The big benefit of multiple chains is it takes the guesswork out of changing worn chains. You know a cassette will last three chains, so you swap between 3 chains every few rides and run it untill it stops shifting cleanly.

Slightly novel use for it, I soaked my new gear cables in putoline. Cant really tell if it makes a difference but figured that it should draw less gunk into the housing than the usual few drops of chain lube.

so we are now lubing our perfectly lubed chain ?

I just did the same yesterday.

I have been waxing my cables for years, using a cigarette lighter to heat the cable and then running a block of paraffin wax along the length of the cable, but I used up all my wax a couple of months ago so thought I’d try Putoline.

trail rat I’ll do you chains for next years puffer if you like?

Might be a daft question but why don’t we use wax in bearings rather than grease?

The grease in my jockey wheels doesn’t seem to last very long.

I’m a good few mucky rides in, haven’t even washed the bike (just knocked the dry mud off, cleaned the dropper and fork stations), and it is still a well lubed chain. no rusting (but then also no cleaning…)

Today was really amazing – horrible mud, not too runny, just starting to dry, you know the stuff that collects and turns your tyres into 22kg rotating pieces of crap, and sticks to everything. However – totally silent Chain. Really, amazing!

Usually in that kind of stuff when I shift into bigger cogs there is some horrible crunching and grinding… but not a peep.

I am totes amazeballs sold on this stuff. Hurrah!

Hosanna! another convert to the church of putoline! Spread the good word! Free entry to nirvana! Extra karma!

Yeah well, one minging ride last night on a freshly waxed chain. Had no choice other than to hose the bike off afterwards and some orange inner links this evening, right in where wiping an oily rag won’t reach. Bit annoying but it was utter filth (again). I still won’t go back though, the drivetrain was silent and felt so smooth the whole way round whereas every other lube I’ve tried (many) would have resulted in a horrible sounding and feeling drivetrain. So will live with the orange and see how long the smoothness lasts.

Apologies if this has already been answered but where do folks buy this online? I’m failing to find it at any of the usual suspects and trying to avoid Amazon

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Putoline-boil-Chain-Wax-Lube-1Kg-/253457714407?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10

Ive got to say im another convert. Since I did my chain ive been up to the axles in snow mud and water and its still smooth and quiet.

thanks for that lightman – I keep forgetting about ebay.  Seems like a nice price

@davosaurusrex I’m finding the same; nice and silent in even the shittiest conditions, but the inner links start to turn trump in the time it takes to drive home.

You could try spraying on silicone lube if you don’t like orange outer plates. Shouldn’t mix with the putoline..? I use it when wiping down.

I’m surprised those using wax  aren’t using fully zinc plated chains , ( at least it doesnt sound like they are ) thus completely avoiding any surface corrosion after use in the wet.

i know i would if i was using putoline…..

Can you get zinc plated 12 speed chains?

Takes about a nanosecond for the zinc to wear off the internal surfaces of the chain and the bearing faces of the rollers and the rust is generally seen between the sides of the inner and outer links. Nice idea in theory but not that helpful in practice. The outer surfaces which retain the zinc coating also tend to keep a coating of wax for quite some time, for the same reasons.

A stainless chain on the other hand would be very nice.

SRAM PC-X01 Eagle is chromed so doesn’t rust

Takes about a nanosecond for the zinc to wear off the internal surfaces of the chain

I dont buy that for a minute considering i’ve got a 5 year old shimano cassette with little to no wear on its zinc plating even on the teeth…..

I did wonder if those hideously expensive (but apparently longer lasting) titanium wipperman chains might almost be a worthwhile investment.

Let us know when you’ve tried a zinc coated chain then boss 🙂

From my experience the coating wears very quickly on those surfaces and although the exterior stays protected the other surfaces don’t.

Zinc is soft. Chrome is much harder. All platings wear away through abrasion.