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Dry lube?



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 24th 18, 10:02 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Tanguy Ortolo
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Posts: 71
Default Dry lube?

Dear cyclists,

After years using wet lubes in all conditions (currently, a specific
chain oil with PTFE from 3in1
http://www.3-en-un.fr/produit/lubrifiant-chaines-et-cables-250ml/),
and being used to seing my chain getting very dirty, I have just learnt
that I may avoid this by using dry lube instead.

Actually, I have heard of one specific product, the Squirt dry lube
http://www.squirtlube.com/our-products/. It is about twice more
expensive than the lubricant I am currently using, but it is supposed to
reduce cleaning work, and if it does make the chain cleaner, it may as
well reduce its wear and extend its life.

So, have any of you tried that lubricant, or any other dry one? Would
you recommend it rather than wet lubes?

--
**__o Tanguy
*__\,_
(_)|'(_)
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  #2  
Old April 24th 18, 01:11 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 824
Default Dry lube?

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 11:02:30 AM UTC+2, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:
Dear cyclists,

After years using wet lubes in all conditions (currently, a specific
chain oil with PTFE from 3in1
http://www.3-en-un.fr/produit/lubrifiant-chaines-et-cables-250ml/),
and being used to seing my chain getting very dirty, I have just learnt
that I may avoid this by using dry lube instead.

Actually, I have heard of one specific product, the Squirt dry lube
http://www.squirtlube.com/our-products/. It is about twice more
expensive than the lubricant I am currently using, but it is supposed to
reduce cleaning work, and if it does make the chain cleaner, it may as
well reduce its wear and extend its life.

So, have any of you tried that lubricant, or any other dry one? Would
you recommend it rather than wet lubes?

--
**__o Tanguy
*__\,_
(_)|'(_)


Squirt is one of the better dry lubes I know. I am using it now. The issue that I have with wet lubes is that it attracks dirt and it leaves a mess at your cassette which is difficult to clean. This is solved by dry lube and as I said Squirt is one of the better ones. During a wet ride it stays on very well but I recommend to lube your chain again afterwards. Another issue with Squirt is that it penetrates very slowly. Lube your chain one night before your next ride. Lube intervals in general once every 250 km.

Lou
  #3  
Old April 24th 18, 03:22 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Tanguy Ortolo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 71
Default Dry lube?

, 2018-04-24 14:11+0200:
Squirt is one of the better dry lubes I know. I am using it now. The
issue that I have with wet lubes is that it attracks dirt and it
leaves a mess at your cassette which is difficult to clean. This is
solved by dry lube and as I said Squirt is one of the better ones.


Excellent, since I really dislike cleaning my chain and derailleur, and
I tend not to do it often enough.

During a wet ride it stays on very well but I recommend to lube your
chain again afterwards. Another issue with Squirt is that it
penetrates very slowly. Lube your chain one night before your next
ride. Lube intervals in general once every 250 km.


This is about twice more than what I currently do with wet lube. With
Squirt costing twice as much, and assuming I use the same volume each
time, it would make this about four times more expensive. Even if it
causes the chain to last longer, this would still be a comfort switch,
not an economic one, right?

Now, one other thing, if I do switch to dry lube, I think I need to
perfectly clean my chain, cassette and derailleur. How would you suggest
I do that, by removing them from my bike and washing them in some
petroleum spirit? (I currently use something that is called « pétrole
désaromatisé » in French, and I have no idea of what name it has in
English)

--
Tanguy
  #4  
Old April 24th 18, 03:40 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 7,511
Default Dry lube?

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 5:02:30 AM UTC-4, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:
Dear cyclists,

After years using wet lubes in all conditions (currently, a specific
chain oil with PTFE from 3in1
http://www.3-en-un.fr/produit/lubrifiant-chaines-et-cables-250ml/),
and being used to seing my chain getting very dirty, I have just learnt
that I may avoid this by using dry lube instead.

Actually, I have heard of one specific product, the Squirt dry lube
http://www.squirtlube.com/our-products/. It is about twice more
expensive than the lubricant I am currently using, but it is supposed to
reduce cleaning work, and if it does make the chain cleaner, it may as
well reduce its wear and extend its life.

So, have any of you tried that lubricant, or any other dry one? Would
you recommend it rather than wet lubes?


Please realize that any discussion of chain lubrication is likely to become
much like a debate on religion.

Having said that: I lubricate my chains using a mixture of roughly 95%
paraffin (that is, solid wax) that has about 5% oil blended into it.

I warm the chain while it's on the bike using a propane torch with a low flame,
working about 10" at a time, and being careful to protect the tire, wheel, etc.
I then crayon the solid wax mix onto the chain, reheat until the wax flows
into the chain's innards, then back pedal and repeat for the next 10". When
the entire chain has been done, I wipe off the excess using paper towels.
The result is a dry lube.

Some lube their chains with pure paraffin wax, but that causes squeaks after
any riding in the rain.

This gives me clean chains, a much cleaner bike, and it seems to last at least
as long as any other chain lubricant. Until I started using this method, I
tried many other products and procedures. I like this best. YMMV.

A couple different comparison tests have shown that lubricating with heated
paraffin gives greater chain life and less friction than all other tested
methods. But again, YMMV.

- Frank Krygowski
  #5  
Old April 25th 18, 07:08 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 824
Default Dry lube?

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 4:22:06 PM UTC+2, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:
, 2018-04-24 14:11+0200:
Squirt is one of the better dry lubes I know. I am using it now. The
issue that I have with wet lubes is that it attracks dirt and it
leaves a mess at your cassette which is difficult to clean. This is
solved by dry lube and as I said Squirt is one of the better ones.


Excellent, since I really dislike cleaning my chain and derailleur, and
I tend not to do it often enough.

During a wet ride it stays on very well but I recommend to lube your
chain again afterwards. Another issue with Squirt is that it
penetrates very slowly. Lube your chain one night before your next
ride. Lube intervals in general once every 250 km.


This is about twice more than what I currently do with wet lube. With
Squirt costing twice as much, and assuming I use the same volume each
time, it would make this about four times more expensive. Even if it
causes the chain to last longer, this would still be a comfort switch,
not an economic one, right?


Right.


Now, one other thing, if I do switch to dry lube, I think I need to
perfectly clean my chain, cassette and derailleur. How would you suggest
I do that, by removing them from my bike and washing them in some
petroleum spirit? (I currently use something that is called « pétrole
désaromatisé » in French, and I have no idea of what name it has in
English)


Yes you have to degrease your chain first since wax and oil don't go together. I use Dutch 'wasbenzine'.

Lou
  #7  
Old April 26th 18, 01:53 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Andre Jute[_2_]
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Posts: 10,422
Default Dry lube?

You can enhance chain life without any chain cleaning at all. The method is as follows:

1. Fit a hub gearbox like a Shimano Nexus or Alfine.
2. Fit steel gears or, if you want to be fancy, stainless. You can use an aluminium chainring and sprocket but they won't last as well.
3. Fit KMC X8 chain. This is a derailleur chain but is usually cheaper than the Y8 single-speed chain, which works slightly better. KMC has the best factory lube.
4. Fit Hebie Chainglider. This is a close-fitting enclosure for the entire transmission chain.
5. Run the chain inside the Chainglider on the factory lube, without any other service or even oil, until the chain shows 0.75mm elongation.

I improved chain wear between 200-300% over using White Lightning liquid wax inside a Dutch chaincase, so the improvement over an open chain should be even greater.

Andre Jute
Remember, grinding paste is a mixture of oil and earth -- Jobst Brandt

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 10:02:30 AM UTC+1, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:
Dear cyclists,

After years using wet lubes in all conditions (currently, a specific
chain oil with PTFE from 3in1
http://www.3-en-un.fr/produit/lubrifiant-chaines-et-cables-250ml/),
and being used to seing my chain getting very dirty, I have just learnt
that I may avoid this by using dry lube instead.

Actually, I have heard of one specific product, the Squirt dry lube
http://www.squirtlube.com/our-products/. It is about twice more
expensive than the lubricant I am currently using, but it is supposed to
reduce cleaning work, and if it does make the chain cleaner, it may as
well reduce its wear and extend its life.

So, have any of you tried that lubricant, or any other dry one? Would
you recommend it rather than wet lubes?

--
**__o Tanguy
*__\,_
(_)|'(_)

  #8  
Old April 26th 18, 09:50 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Tanguy Ortolo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 71
Default Dry lube?

Andre Jute, 2018-04-26 02:53+0200:
You can enhance chain life without any chain cleaning at all. The method is as follows:

1. Fit a hub gearbox like a Shimano Nexus or Alfine.


Thank you, but I am afraid this is not part of my plans. It would be fun
if I had the money and time to invest in this though.

--
Tanguy
  #9  
Old April 26th 18, 02:32 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Andre Jute[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10,422
Default Dry lube?

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 9:50:02 AM UTC+1, Tanguy Ortolo wrote:
Andre Jute, 2018-04-26 02:53+0200:
You can enhance chain life without any chain cleaning at all. The method is as follows:

1. Fit a hub gearbox like a Shimano Nexus or Alfine.


Thank you, but I am afraid this is not part of my plans. It would be fun
if I had the money and time to invest in this though.

--
Tanguy


To each his own. Brand new Shimano gearboxes installed to good quality rims on industry-standard spokes are cheap on German Ebay from around November through January when the manufacturers clear the shelves of parts bought for unassembled bikes to make space for the new year's parts long since ordered.

Can't help you with a shortage of time.

AJ
  #10  
Old April 28th 18, 10:10 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Ian Field
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 250
Default Dry lube?



"Tanguy Ortolo" wrote in message
news
Dear cyclists,

After years using wet lubes in all conditions (currently, a specific
chain oil with PTFE from 3in1
http://www.3-en-un.fr/produit/lubrifiant-chaines-et-cables-250ml/),
and being used to seing my chain getting very dirty, I have just learnt
that I may avoid this by using dry lube instead.

Actually, I have heard of one specific product, the Squirt dry lube
http://www.squirtlube.com/our-products/. It is about twice more
expensive than the lubricant I am currently using, but it is supposed to
reduce cleaning work, and if it does make the chain cleaner, it may as
well reduce its wear and extend its life.

So, have any of you tried that lubricant, or any other dry one? Would
you recommend it rather than wet lubes?


There was an aerosol version with mostly solvent that evaporated
immediately - it probably disappeared about when they banned CFCs to protect
the ozone layer.

 




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