Table of Contents

• Note
• Consumerism and Knowledge
• Knowledge about Bicycles
  • Opinions, Science and Facts
    • Memory, common sense, consensus, evidence
    • “Wise Crowds”
    • Experts
  • Published Information
  • The Internet
    • Origins and Limitations
    • Search Engines
    • Wikipedia
    • Large Platforms
    • Web Sites
      • Introduction
      • Sheldon Brown/BTI
    • Jobst Brandt
      • Favorites
• Free Lunch

Note

This post is a preliminary companion to the series of posts on bicycle chain wear and maintenance, and posts about bicycles, cycling, bicycle maintenance.

Woody Allen is widely credited on the Web with a comment about directing opera. I saw it in post ¹by John Naughton as the quote of the day² in his Memex 1.1 blog on February 26, 2025:

I don’t know what I’m doing, but my incompetence has never stopped my enthusiasm.

Consumerism and Knowledge

I have wondered about:

• What is “quality” in a bicycle?
• How much knowledge does a user need about cleaning and maintenance?
• What amount of time and effort should go into bike maintenance?

Knowledge about Bicycles

Opinions, Science and Facts

Memory, common sense, consensus, evidence

I have tried to learn about materials, lubricants, bicycle manufacturing and maintenance. I am skeptical of “common sense” and “well-known” ideas. I have tried to avoid following any particular cultural consensus reality or other belief based in part on observation and other sensory experience as recalled in memory, and based on stories about the causes of things and events.

Many people are aware that some kinds of facts are based on evidence of things that few or no human beings have experienced or perceived without tools. The British Royal Society’s motto, adopted in the 17th century, Nullius in verba, is Latin for “Take nobody’s word for it”.³ It comes from the Roman historian Horace’s Epistles where he compares himself to a gladiator who, having retired, is free from control. reflecting the view of 17th century pioneers in science that common sense, common knowledge, religious belief and other ways of evaluating evidence were inferior to reliable physical evidence.

There has been an ongoing discussion in philosophy about what science can prove or disprove. According to Karl Popper (1934) a theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, meaning that it can (and should) be scrutinized with decisive experiments. Popper was opposed to the classical account of knowledge, which he replaced with critical rationalism. According to Thomas Kuhn (1962) scientific fields undergo periodic “paradigm shifts” rather than solely progressing in a linear and continuous way, and that these paradigm shifts open up new approaches to understanding what scientists would never have considered valid before; and that the notion of scientific truth, at any given moment, cannot be established solely by objective criteria but is defined by a consensus of a scientific community.

There has been tension between the ideas of science and knowledge and political and social ideas about freedom and democracy in the 20th and 21st centuries. This has played out in real conflicts about decisions about science – the 21st century attacks by populists on “elitists” over vaccinations and other measures to control the transmission of the Covid-19 viruses are an example. In 2024 the effects of the internet were discussed in a public-facing article by Brian Leiter, “Free Speech on the Internet: The Crisis of Epistemic Authority” in the journal Daedelus.

Some expressions about industry and commerce became popular with American workers and journalists including “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” (“TANSTAFL”) and kludge.

“Wise Crowds”

Professional and competitive riders, working people who use bikes, commuters, people who ride for physical exercise, recreational riders, mechanics, business people, engineers, chemists and physicists have different ideas about what is good or useful.

The concept of a “wise crowd” is a statistical fact, but it does not mean that the opinions of a majority of people with opinions can be condensed to a crowd view of the facts about a technical idea. Is there a scientific consensus about bicycle chains? People who sell, fix, buy or ride bicycles do not assess facts the same way. Can a consensus be found using internet searching? Published material on the internet on the subject disagrees about a lot.

Experts

In commenting on material on the Internet, Tom Nichols, in his book, The Death of Expertise ⁴witty and quotable, but limited. It is not a book about cycling.). Tom Nichols refers to SF writer Ted Sturgeon’s 1956 Law, “ninety percent of everything is crap” to make a point about search services:

The sheer size and volume of the Internet, and the inability to separate meaningful knowledge from random noise, means that good information will always be swamped by lousy data and weird detours. Worse, there’s no way of keeping up with it all …

….

… finding [good] information means plowing through a blizzard of useless or misleading information posted by everyone from …

Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise, Oxford University Press, New York, 2017, at pp. 107-108

Nichols complained that the internet undermines the epistemic authority of persons who have expertise, but did discuss why the internet has facilitated the publication of falsehoods and unfounded beliefs. Nichols was complaining about the “death” of deference to expertise in his field of expertise – international relations – a specialized and unruly area, and to populist resistance to the opinions of experts and other “elites”.

Published Information

The bicycle was marketed and maintained in cultures with established methods of publishing information in print on paper. Information about materials, designs, mass production and marketing was not necessarily written down, or published. The knowledge, skills and resources to write or create content and to publish and distribute newspapers, magazines, books, web pages and videos were governed by technical and economic factors. Some papers and books about the history and uses of bicycles have been written by historians, social scientist and engineers. These can be found in the archives of academic journals and in academic libraries, with effort

Some books about bicycle repair and maintenance were published and available from book stores and libraries. Some were written by mechanics or journalists who had established themselves in cycling magazines. Many books went out of print; few were added to library collections and many were removed from library collections. Few were digitized and published online.

Only a fraction of the knowledge of designers, makers, mechanics, professional riders, cycling fans and non-professional riders was published. Much that was published was published by journalists in periodicals. Much was transient information, of little use even within days. Journalism recorded some knowledge about building and maintaining bicycles.

Jan Heine, the proprietor of René Herse Cycles (formerly Compass Cycles) and Bicycle Quarterly has studied written about French bikes made 1935-1970. He regarded such French bikes, including René Herse, bikes as good examples of all-road bicycles. He has published several books on 20th century bike building in France and Japan, most recently, The All-Road Bicycle Revolution (2021) which discusses, according to its blurb:

“how all-road bikes work and what is important when choosing one. A must-read for cyclists interested in the technology of their bikes, and for every cyclist contemplating his or her next bike purchase.”

It discussed elements of 20th century bike building techniques, and ideas about bikes. It notes that mid-20th century French randonneuse bikes demonstrate that the most recent technology is not necessary to make an efficient bicycle. Jan Heine also writes about modern bikes and gear. His company produces and sells modern tires and repair parts.

Some journalists and writers have produced books about cycling that may circulate in public library collections. For instance, in 2019 Evan Friss’s On Bicycles, A 200 Year History of Cycling in New York City was published by the Columbia University Press.

Some printed books and e-books about maintenance are available. In some instances, the book accompanies or summarizes advice delivered in other media. Examples:

• Lennard Zinn, an experienced mechanic and journalist wrote successful books that are reasonably current, summarizing advice delivered in magazine columns:
  • Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance (VeloPress, 4th edition), was published in 2013. The 5th edition was published October 2023 (distributed by Simon and Schuster). The 6th edition is expected to be published in June 2024;
  • The 6th edition, (2018) of Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance is the most recent edition of that book;
• Park Tools, the manufacturer of bike tools, publishes The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair. The 4th edition was published in 2019. It is available (2024) as a print book from on line bookstores and bicycle supply stores, and as an ebook for the Amazon Kindle device;
• The producers of the Global Cycling Network web products published GCN’s Essential Road Bike Maintenance in 2024 (sold by direct Web sales from GCN sites).

The Internet

Origins and Limitations

The internet (including the Web) came into being near the end of the 20th century, a century after mass production of safety bicycles and components began. The information about bicycle drive trains published on the internet reflects the knowledge and interests of cyclists and mechanics from 1980 to the early 2020s.

In the early days of the Internet, text had to be typed in to be published online. How much information was ever digitized? What publications were scanned or subjected to OCR with good character recognition? Were copyright issues negotiated? Much scientific and engineering material on internet and the web on materials like steel and lubricants has been copyrighted or is protected by some form of Intellectual Property laws; on the internet it may be gated or pay-walled.

The internet does not “know” about things that no one has tried to publish on the internet. The Internet shares some of the limitations of the publishing industry. Tom Nichols, in his 2017 book, The Death of Expertise, applied Sturgeon’s Law ⁵SF writer Ted Sturgeon, 1956 “90% of everything is crap” to journalism in 2017:

… many people do not seeks information as much as confirmation, and when they receive information they do not like, they will gravitate to sources they prefer … Today, hundreds of media outlets cater to even the narrowest agendas and biases.

This mindset and the market that services it, creates … a combination of groundless confidence and deep cynicism …

Americans increasingly don’t trust anyone anymore. They view all institutions, including the media, with disdain.

Nichols, The Death of Expertise, cited, pp. 157-158

In terms of communication theory:

….

The early, idealistic view of the Internet proved an illusion. The system went out of balance almost immediately, its spatial reach subverting its temporal depth. Far from alleviating our present-mindedness, the net magnified it.

Innis would not have been surprised. Information in digital form is weightless, its immateriality perfectly suited to instantaneous long-distance communication. It makes newsprint seem like concrete. The infrastructure built for its transmission, from massive data centers to fiber-optic cables to cell towers and Wi-Fi routers, is designed to deliver vast quantities of information as “dynamically” as possible, to use a term favored by network engineers and programmers. The object is always to increase the throughput of data.

The net was a communication system of unprecedented scope: a world wide web that could transmit huge amounts of information across the planet. But unlike traditional broadcast networks, it was also a storage medium of unprecedented depth. It promised to contain, and provide easy access to, the entirety of cultural history …

….

The medium’s technical characteristics have been shaped by commercial interests. The evolution of the Google search engine, for the last quarter century humankind’s most valued epistemic tool, tells the tale. For several years after it was founded in 1998, Google, inspired by the rigor of what its two grad-student founders called “the academic realm,” pursued a simple goal: to find the highest-quality sources of information on any given topic.

….

… In 2010, Google rolled out a revamped search system … that placed enormous new emphasis on the recency, or “freshness,” of the results it delivered. …

The company had come to realize that information, when served up as a commodity for instant consumption, loses value quickly. It gets stale; it rots. The past is far less engaging, and hence monetizable, than the present. To use Google today is to enter not an archive but a bazaar.

The social media companies that began to emerge around the same time as Google were aggressively space-biased from the start. Bringing Innis’s worst fears to pass, they sought to capitalize on “network effects” to build empires of information and establish monopolies of communication.

Nicholas Carr, “The Tyranny of Now”, The New Atlantis (magazine), Winter 2025 issue.

Search Engines

A web search engine sifts content looking for text strings. Searches depend on searchable lines of text, an item title, or the organization of the resource (the identity of an author or publisher, channels, tags, indices etc.). Searches generate lists of links. Some search engine hits are still (in 2024) predominantly text or text with static images. Many pages and videos:

• are direct advertisements for products, or endorsements;
• are low value “reviews”.

Search engines can, with luck or careful queries, find articles that illustrate or explain the history of a technical idea, or adoption of technology by designers, manufacturers, investors, journalists and people who can afford to buy bicycles (and high speed internet), but cannot construct the history.

Search engines may show hits for videos, including YouTube videos but usually not podcasts. For podcasts, a user needs to search for podcast in an podcast index. After getting a good hit, a user needs luck and time to find the moments when a subject will be explained. Searches often miss recorded audio and video material (podcasts, YouTube) .

Reviews can be useful in finding products, but have limited value in evaluating products. It is not possible to find out how the author or publisher has influenced, or has preconceptions. Many reviews reflect personal experience in conditions that are not clearly explained, or quick reactions. The comparisons are between the products which the author or publisher mentions i.e. are limited to as to what is available or known to the writer. The testing, if any, is not scientific and does not assess the actual conditions of use. Many reviews or overviews are catalogues of methods, sometimes narrow, sometimes overly broad. Many make improbable claims about products.

When an internet source or a published book or magazine mentions a person, a company, a product or an idea, internet search can lead to material that can be read and followed up on. This can be an effective way of researching.

Wikipedia

There are criticisms about whether and when Wikipedia provides accurate information on all topics. Wikipedia, notwithstanding many valid criticisms, has an editorial and review process. Wikipedia Articles on bicycles may miss or overlook some details, or lack context, but are basically sound. Wikipedia is reasonably fulsome on several relevant topics.

The Wikipedia page for bicycle chain notes that chain cleaning and lubrication are complicated and controversial:

How best to lubricate a bicycle chain is a commonly debated question among cyclists. Liquid lubricants penetrate to the inside of the links and are not easily displaced, but quickly attract dirt. “Dry” lubricants, often containing wax or Teflon, are transported by an evaporating solvent, and stay cleaner in use. The cardinal rule for long chain life is never to lubricate a dirty chain, as this washes abrasive particles into the rollers. Chains should be cleaned before lubrication. The chain should be wiped dry after the lubricant has had enough time to penetrate the links. An alternative approach is to change the (relatively cheap) chain very frequently; then proper care is less important. Some utility bicycles have fully enclosing chain guards, which virtually eliminate chain wear and maintenance. On recumbent bicycles the chain is often run through tubes to prevent it from picking up dirt, and to keep the cyclist’s leg free from oil and dirt.

Wikipedia (October 2021) on Bicycle Chain

There are many resources reflecting many opinions. Comments in forums often reflect experience, but the amount of experience with the products is not clear. Some comments reflect frustration that the bike industry keeps selling more expensive new bikes and components while bikes are harder to maintain without tools, supplies and knowledge.

Large Platforms

Cory Doctorow writes some SF, and some non-fiction about the internet, information technology and business. He has written about the business practices of the large tech companies including The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation (2023) and Chokepoint Capitalism (2022). He identifies Google search as a leading example of a business strategy, which he names in an unflattering way:

… let’s examine how enshittification works. It’s a three-stage process: first, platforms are good to their users. Then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers. Finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, there is a fourth stage: they die

Cory Doctorow, ‘Enshittification’ is coming for absolutely everything, Financial Times, February 7, 2024

Google Search was once the best Web search service. Once upon a time users believed the Google company when it said it was against evil. The modern Google search tool is full of advertising. Google Search returns now promote “sponsored” content (and recent content). Cory Doctorow on Google search:

Google’s search results are terrible. The top of the page is dominated by spam, scams, and ads. A surprising number of those ads are scams. Sometimes, these are high-stakes scams played out by well-resourced adversaries who stand to make a fortune by tricking Google …

But often these scams are perpetrated by petty grifters who are making a couple bucks at this. These aren’t hyper-resourced, sophisticated attackers. They’re the SEO [search engine optimization] equivalent of script kiddies, and they’re running circles around Google …

Google search is empirically worsening. The SEO industry spends every hour that god sends trying to figure out how to sleaze their way to the top of the search results, and even if Google defeats 99% of these attempts, the 1% that squeak through end up dominating the results page for any consequential query …

….

… Google’s algorithmic failures, which send the worst sites to the top of the heap, have made it impossible for high-quality review sites to compete …

You’ve doubtless encountered these bad review sites. Search for “Best ______ 2024” and the results are a series of near-identical lists, strewn with Amazon affiliate links. Google has endlessly tinkered with its guidelines and algorithmic weights for review sites, and none of it has made a difference. For example, when Google instituted a policy that reviewers should “discuss the benefits and drawbacks of something, based on your own original research,” sites that had previously regurgitated the same lists of the same top ten Amazon bestsellers “peppered their pages with references to a ‘rigorous testing process,’ their ‘lab team,’ subject matter experts ‘they collaborated with,’ and complicated methodologies that seem impressive at a cursory look.”

But … grandiose claims … result in zero in-depth reviews and no published data. Moreover, these claims to rigorous testing materialized within a few days of Google changing its search ranking and said that high rankings would be reserved for sites that did testing.

Cory Doctorow, Pluralisic Blog, February 21,2024

Bruce Schneier and Judith Donath made a similiar point discussing search using “AI” tools built with Large-Language Model (“LLM”) technology:

… [publishing’s] core task is to connect writers to an audience. Publishers work as gatekeepers, filtering candidates and then amplifying the chosen ones. Hoping to be selected, writers shape their work in various ways. This article might be written very differently in an academic publication, for example, and publishing it here entailed pitching an editor, revising multiple drafts for style and focus, and so on.

The internet initially promised to change this process. Anyone could publish anything! But so much was published that finding anything useful grew challenging. It quickly became apparent that the deluge of media made many of the functions that traditional publishers supplied even more necessary.

Technology companies developed automated models to take on this massive task of filtering content, ushering in the era of the algorithmic publisher. The most familiar, and powerful, of these publishers is Google. Its search algorithm is now the web’s omnipotent filter and its most influential amplifier, able to bring millions of eyes to pages it ranks highly, and dooming to obscurity those it ranks low.

In response, a multibillion-dollar industry—search-engine optimization, or SEO—has emerged to cater to Google’s shifting preferences, strategizing new ways for websites to rank higher on search-results pages and thus attain more traffic and lucrative ad impressions.

Unlike human publishers, Google cannot read. It uses proxies, such as incoming links or relevant keywords, to assess the meaning and quality of the billions of pages it indexes. Ideally, Google’s interests align with those of human creators and audiences: People want to find high-quality, relevant material, and the tech giant wants its search engine to be the go-to destination for finding such material. Yet SEO is also used by bad actors who manipulate the system to place undeserving material—often spammy or deceptive—high in search-result rankings. Early search engines relied on keywords; soon, scammers figured out how to invisibly stuff deceptive ones into content, causing their undesirable sites to surface in seemingly unrelated searches. Then Google developed PageRank, which assesses websites based on the number and quality of other sites that link to it. In response, scammers built link farms and spammed comment sections, falsely presenting their trashy pages as authoritative.

Google’s ever-evolving solutions to filter out these deceptions have sometimes warped the style and substance of even legitimate writing. When it was rumored that time spent on a page was a factor in the algorithm’s assessment, writers responded by padding their material, forcing readers to click multiple times to reach the information they wanted. This may be one reason every online recipe seems to feature pages of meandering reminiscences before arriving at the ingredient list.

The arrival of generative-AI tools has introduced a voracious new consumer of writing. Large language models, or LLMs, are trained on massive troves of material—nearly the entire internet in some cases. They digest these data into an immeasurably complex network of probabilities, which enables them to synthesize seemingly new and intelligently created material; to write code, summarize documents, and answer direct questions in ways that can appear human.

These LLMs have begun to disrupt the traditional relationship between writer and reader. Type how to fix broken headlight into a search engine, and it returns a list of links to websites and videos that explain the process. Ask an LLM the same thing and it will just tell you how to do it. Some consumers may see this as an improvement: Why wade through the process of following multiple links to find the answer you seek, when an LLM will neatly summarize the various relevant answers to your query? Tech companies have proposed that these conversational, personalized answers are the future of information-seeking. But this supposed convenience will ultimately come at a huge cost for all of us web users.

Bruce Schneier, Judith Donath, The Rise of Large-Language Model Optimization, April 25, 2024, Schneier on Security

Another factor has been a change in Google’s vision of the scope of its mission in response to the use of AI generated content. An SEO consultant complained in 2024:

You’re facing a future where AI can generate infinite amounts of human-like content. What do you do?

Google’s response was twofold:

1. Promote the vague concept of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). In practice, this translates to favoring well-known brands and established websites.
2. Abandon the mission of indexing everything. Instead, become selective. Very selective.

… Google is no longer trying to index the entire web. … it’s become extremely selective, refusing to index most content. This isn’t about content creators failing to meet some arbitrary standard of quality. … it’s a fundamental change in how Google approaches its role as a search engine.

… Google now seems to operate on a “default to not index” basis. It only includes content in its index when it perceives a genuine need. This decision appears to be based on various factors:

• Extreme content uniqueness: It’s not enough to write about something that isn’t extensively covered. Google seems to require content to be genuinely novel or fill a significant gap in its index.
• Perceived authority: Sites that Google considers highly authoritative in their niche may have more content indexed, but even then, it’s not guaranteed.
• Brand recognition: Well-known brands often see most of their content indexed, while small or unknown bloggers face much stricter selectivity.
• Temporary indexing and de-indexing: In practice, Google often indexes new content quite quickly, likely to avoid missing out on breaking news or important updates. Soon after, Google may de-index the content, and it remains de-indexed thereafter. So getting initially indexed isn’t necessarily a sign that Google considers your content valuable.

Vincent Schmalbach, July 15, 2024 Google Now Defaults to Not Indexing Your Content

This was noted by other commentators:

If this is indeed what Google is up to, then you have to wonder what its leaders have been smoking. Among other things, they’re proposing to build machines that can sensibly assess qualities such as expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness in an online world where just about anything goes. Could someone please take them aside and remind them that a tech company tried something like this way back in 1995 and came unstuck. It was called Yahoo! Remember it?

John Naughton, The Guardian (Observer magazine), Joly 20, 2024, Google’s wrong answer to the threat of AI – stop indexing content

Other Google “services” e.g. YouTube, and most other commercial search platforms share the problems.

Web Sites

Introduction

Web sites discuss aspects of cycling, bicycle maintenance etc. Many have articles or pages on maintaining drive chains. For instance: BikeRadar, June 26, 2022 , Bicycle chains explained.

Sheldon Brown/BTI

Sheldon Brown, a bike mechanic in Boston, and a modern polymath, started writing on the Web by the early 1990s. He had contacts among local riders and shops, and participated in Usenet news groups and other online forums on cycling. Sheldon Brown and his original contributors wrote extensively and collected internet material. The Bicycle Technical Information pages (“BTI”) were a leading online source of information about bicycle repair and bicycles. The pages captured parts of the histories of bicycles and components, manufacturing, repair, touring and riding.

The BTI pages on cycling were hosted by his employer, Harris Cyclery, until it closed in 2021. The BTI pages have been updated since his death in 2008, and continued to be published after Harris Cyclery closed in June 2021 by a community of friends and fans; some topics have been updated or added.

Sheldon Brown admired and promoted Sutherlands Handbook for Bicycle Mechanics by Howard Sutherland, (the 6th and 7th editions are available as of 2022-2024 from Sutherland’s Bicycle Shop Aids in California), and published articles by several authors on technical bicycle repair and maintenance matters.

The BTI pages that mention chains, lubrication and maintenance include:

• an entry on chain in the bicycle glossary;
• a major article on chain maintenance;
• other articles on gears & chains, including the 2002 article Chain Care, Wear and Skipping by the late Jobst Brandt.

Some of the contributors to the BTI pages were engineers and mechanics. Some read speculative (science) fiction, and used folk sayings that had been used in SF (e.g. TANSTAFL, kludge) to describe the experience the realities of riding and fixing bicycles and the results of the financial, organizational and decision making processes of bicycle manufacturers, politicians and traffic engineers.

The BTI pages reflect a perspective on innovations in the bicycle building and selling industries in the 1990s. Some comments on maintaining and lubricating chains on the BTI pages do not hold up (for instance, that riders should not try to remove factory grease from a chain). The BTI pages do not address many maintenance issues arising from innovations, since then, although some pages have been updated. Some scientific research and publications are summarized in Bike Chains, Part 3 in this series, under the headings and subheadings Lubricants: Scientists, Lubricants: Paraffin, and Lubricating a Chain: Academic Research.

Sheldon Brown participated in Usenet Newsgroups including rec.bicycles.tech. He linked to the Frequently Asked Question (“FAQ”) paged.

The BTI site has maintained a link to the Bicycles FAQ page(s) at FAQ.org. (FAQ.org has not migrated to HTTPS, which may affect your attempt to follow the link in the preceding sentence.)

The BTI site has maintained a link to Bicycles, the index page of an archive of Usenet cycling newsgroup posts privately collected,indexed and maintained by Norman Yarvin on his archive.net pages.

Jobst Brandt

Jobst Brandt wrote about cycling and technology in Usenet groups. That kind of writing is not being read because it was written in a medium that was largely ephemeral. His Wikipedia entry does not mention:

• Jobst Brandt Ride Bike! by Max Leonard et al. published by Isola Press in 2015, a biography and history of the origins of mountain bike riding in Marin County in northern California;
• The routes and trails out of Redwood City near Palo Alto where Brandt rode bikes and taught mountain bike technique shown in Andy Quant’s video of his visit in early 2025 “Palo Alto | Alpine Dirt | Jobst Ride | La Honda | Bicycle Adventures | Flat Tires | Redwoods |“.

The BTI page Frequently Asked Questions about Bicycles and Bicycling collected and republished information by Jobst Brandt published on BTI .

Favorites

CyclingTips was an online cycling magazine with strong technical coverage. It covered chain maintenance, cleaning, lubrication, chain wear and interviews with modern pioneers of testing lubricants and chains in text articles and audio media. Most CyclingTips text material was removed from the Internet – when the new publisher (the hedge fund that controlled the “Outside” family of magazines and online content) made changes in 2022 .

CyclingTips published some “endless FAQ” articles (detailed articles, periodically revised) on some components and issues of maintaining modern bicycle, but these are not online after the new publisher deleted content:

Title, or Component or issue	Date	Endless, Revised
Seeking the holy grail: A fast chain lube that saves you money	March 2018
Disc Brakes	May 2018	August 2019
Tubeless Tires	2019	October 2021
Finding the best bicycle chain: What over 3,000 hours of testing revealed	December 2019
Waxing Chains	August 2020	March 2021

CyclingTips NerdAlert podcast discussed technical and repair issues. The panelists often mentioned the cycling industry’s history of selling products that have drawbacks and flaws. Most of this content, also, was unpublished under the new management; or move behind the “Outside” app paywall. Discussions of chain maintenance:

• The podcast in Nerd Alert series in August 2021 on chain lube testing, Updated; March 16, 2022, “Finding the best chain lube for your needs”.

Escape Collective began to produce content in March 2023. Many CyclingTipswriters and podcast panelists joined Escape Collective.

Discussions of chain wear on the internet often address readers and viewers interested in other issues:

• speed in races
  • on different kinds of bicycles
  • under different conditions, and
• durability and value of bicycles and components.

Free Lunch

There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch (“TANSTAFL”) was ⁶adopted by the economist Milton Friedman as a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist slogan implying “you get what you pay for” as discussed at the Quote Investigator’s site’s page 2016/08/27. To a degree, Friedman used the term in a way that said it was unrealistic for consumers to expect capitalists to make products that were durable or easy to repair.

The term was used by working people about bars that offer a free lunch to patrons who buy alcohol (as remembered by the Speculative Fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, and cyclists who read mid-20th century SF). It is useful to understand TANSTAFL to mean “it is what it is. In that sense, it warns consumers that manufactured products, including bicycles and components and accessories have limitations and may require repairs and maintenance.

It is not possible to ignore return on investment, shareholder value, corporate governance, planned obsolescence, marketing, consumerism and other aspects of asset management and financial management practices by the managers of bicycle manufacturing firms. It not useful to use moral words like “avarice”. Things that are not manufactured cannot be bought or used. Bikes, parts, components, accessories and other products are consumer products, built to standards of functionality, durability, cost and other economic factors. Bikes require attention of mechanics and maintenance that most bike owners do not have the knowledge or experience to provide.

But consumers are not taking advantage of capitalists when they enjoy functional, durable products or repair or update the things they have purchased.

My spreadsheet for 2024 will be published as a Google Sheet on my Google Drive account. There will be a link on my cycling page. I rode my Cannondale Topstone. I rode 7,581,67 Km.

I continued to make notes of maintenance. I continued to lubricate the drive train with paraffin, which protects YBN SLC11 chains from elongation wear.

I had a shop rebuild the wheels with new rims and hubs. I installed new pulley wheels in the drive train, with Shimano Ultegra pulley wheels with sealed bearings. Those pulleys are compatible with Shimano 105 drive train components. I installed a new stem to raise the handlebars a couple of cm. (which seems to be only way with a carbon fork and steerer in an alloy frame, as I could not install an extender compatible with Cannondale components on the steerer tube). My tires stood up well but I will replace them.

The weather in November and December restricted rides.

Table of Contents

• Preliminary
  • Endless Article
  • Scope
• 7. Lubricating Fluids
  • Motor Oil
  • Drip lubes
    • Examples and History
    • Prices
    • Efficiencies and Wear
    • Manufacturing and Marketing
    • Additives
• 8. People and Projects
  • Introduction
  • Testing Materials
  • BTI Site and Writers
  • Journalists, Cycling Publications
  • Jason Smith, Friction Facts, Ceramic Speed
  • John Thompson & Molten Speed Wax
  • Adam Kerin, Zero Friction Cycling
  • Josh Poertner, Silca Velo
  • Lennard Zinn
• 9. Efficiency Tests (Friction Facts)
• 10. Chain Wear testing (ZFC)
  • ZFC Method
  • Adam’s Analysis
  • Factory Grease; Cleaning; Waxing
  • Chain Durability
  • Chain strength
• 11. Innovation
  • MSW, Ceramic Speed UFO
  • Silca
    • Immersive Wax, and Chain Coating Fluid
    • Synergetic drip lube
    • Marketing
  • More Innovation
  • Prepared chains
• 12. Choices

Preliminary

Endless Article

This is part 4 of 8 posts organized as a single article, individually published as posts on this blog. In March 2024 I began to reorganize and revise the long article. The sections are numbered for reference here and in the table of contents for each post.

Part/Post & Link	S.	Topics
1. Chain Wear		My discovery of wear Issues
	1	Safety Bicycles — History — Variety — Manufactured Industrially — Bike Brands — Shops or Stores — Mechanics
	2	Bike knowledge sources, Internet
	3	Bike Chains
2. Roller Chain	4	Chain Drive
3. Lubrication	5	Lubrication Theory
	6	Petroleum
4. Lubricants
	7	Fluid Lubricants — Motor Oil — Drip Lubes — Engineered — Wet and Dry marketing — Additives
	8	People and Projects
	9	Lubricant Efficiency Tests
	10	Wear tests – chains & lubricants
	11	Innovation 2022-24
	12	Consumers’ options
5. Cleaning	13	Cleaning
	14	Deep Cleaning with Solvents
	15	New Products
6. Durability	16	Modern Chains
	17	Durable Chain
7. Paraffin	18	Paraffin Wax
	19	Method
	20	Wax-compatible Drip Lubes
8. Learnings for Make Benefit		Assortment of Notes

Scope

This part discusses:

• fluid lubricants, including motor oil:
• bicycle “drip lube” lubricants, with notes on pricing;
• in sections:
  • people and projects,
  • testing chains and lubricants for efficiency and wear, and
  • innovations in lubricants.

This part mentions products that will be discussed in Part 7:

• paraffin wax applied by immersion of a chain in melted paraffin wax, and
• wax based chain coating fluid products applied to a chain wet, that dry to wax-like states.

Some sections of this part refer to subjects and persons discussed in Part 2 in this series, on Roller Chain, and Part 6 on durability.

7. Lubricating Fluids

Motor Oil

Motor oil, the lubricating oil refined/processed and sold for use in 4 stroke internal combustion engines, was sold in quart containers for most of the 20th century. For decades the containers were cardboard cylinders with metal end caps. Automotive service centers (garages) issued workers spouts that could both puncture a metal end cap, and pour oil into the filler tube of an automobile engine. By the end of 1990s

• motor oil was sold in plastic bottles by the quart or gallon;
• most motor oil is formulated with “detergent” additives to chemically affect the productions of combustion left in the cylinders of internal combustion engines.

Some motor oils made for automobiles have been tested for efficiency (power lost to friction; see below) as bicycle chain lubricants, and have done reasonably well. Motor oil has tradeoffs:

1. Viscous friction – it takes slightly more energy to move a chain lubricated with a viscous oil than a “thinner” oil
2. Additives – modern additives have changed the lubrication properties of motor oil. There are
3. Adhesion – dirt sticks to motor oil, and oil sticks to clothing and skin when the rider contacts the chain or the chain flings lube. Motor oil can only be removed from a chain with detergents or mineral spirits. Cleaning an oily chain can involve removing the chain from the bike frame.

Additives in motor oil can be avoided by purchasing additive-free oils if available; some bike lube manufacturers use high quality motor oil as a base stock for bike lube. For instance Silca Velo uses a synthetic motor oil, without “detergent”. Other disadvantages of purchasing from the automotive section of the market:

• having to buy a whole quart (or litre, if that is the standard container), and store it for years,
• disposing of waste material in an environmentally sound and legal way.

A quart (946 ml.) of high quality Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil cost about $15 (Canadian) at Canadian Tire and other retail outlets in British Columbia in February 2022. Half a cup, valued at about 50 cents per ounce, would be worth $2. Canadian Tire sells other automotive motor oils in 5 liter (one gallon) sizes. It sells its house brand MotoMaster (distilled by Shell) non detergent engine oil in a 1 quart size for about $6. It sells MotoMaster motorcycle 4 stroke engine oil at $11 per quart. Conversions:

US size	US conversion	Liters	Milliliters
1 gallon	4 quarts	3.79	3785
1 quart	4 cups/32 oz.	.946	946
1 cup	8 oz.		236.6
1/2 cup	4 oz.		118.3
1/4 cup	2 oz.		59.1
1 fluid ounce	2 tablespoons		29.6

I have not checked the prices of gear oils.

Drip lubes

Examples and History

Lubricant manufacturers and bike shops began to sell bicycle chain lubrication fluids, often labeled “wet” or “dry”, in small applicator bottles in the 1970s and 80s. Other lubrication products are sold in applicator bottles.

The online magazine Road Bike Rider made a list of manufacturers or brands of drip lubes in 2019, updated in 2021. It includes:

• Dupont, a brand mow held by the successor of Dupont DeMours and Dow, both chemical manufacturers,
• the automotive lubricant brand Dumonde Tech,
• the solvent and household lubricant brand WD-40 (which owns the venerable brand and intellectual propery (“IP”) of 3-in-One), and
• several bike drip chain lubes sold in bicycle shops and online including:
  • Ceramic Speed,
  • Finish Line,
  • MSpeedwax (Molten Speed Wax),
  • Muc-Off,
  • Park Tool,
  • Pro-Gold,
  • Pedros,
  • Rock and Roll,
  • Squirt, and
  • Tri-Flow.

The list does not include manufacturers new to bike lubricant market since 2019, including Silca Velo, Tru-Tension, Rex. None of the drip lubes in the list above did well in Friction Facts efficiency testing or Zero Friction testing for chain durability.

The article, like most printed and online magazine articles, does not discuss the ingredients, the manufacturing processes or the way the lubricants are supposed to work – are they oils, or delivery vehicles for polymers believed to reduce friction in the moving parts of the chain? No manufacturers or vendors disclose it, and few journalists, mechanics and riders know.

Prices

None of the independent bike shops in Victoria post lube prices online (as of early 2022). Chain stores in Victoria BC with web sites include:

• Trek store;
• Mountain Equipment Coop (a Canadian retail chain selling “outdoor” products);
• Canadian Tire (a Canadian retail chain selling “outdoor” products);
• Walmart (retail chain selling “outdoor” products) has a confusing and overheated online market.

Prices in 2022 ($ Canadian except $US in US stores noted) for a 118 or 120 ml. (4 oz.) bottle of common bike lubes. I have not updated prices after inflation in the period 2022-24:

	Trek Store	MEC	Cdn. Tire
ProGold Prolink		14.95
ProGold Extreme		18.95
Muc-Off Wet or Dry		14.95
Muc-Off C3 Ceramic Wet or Dry		23.95
Squirt Long Lasting Dry		19.95
Squirt Low Temperature		23.95
Bontrager (Trek store house brand)	11.99 9.50 (US)
Park Tool CL-1	13.99
White Lightning Clean Ride Dry	8.99 (US)
White Lightning Wet Ride	8.99 (US)
White Lightning Epic Ride	9.99 (US)
Finish Line, Wet or Dry	9.99 (US)
WD-40 Bike Chain Lubricant Wet or Dry	12.99 (US)		9.99

Silca Velo’s oil based wet lubes: Synergetic and Synerg-e (e-bike lube) are available from Silca by mail order. The price of Synergetic, as of April 2022, was $33.95 ($US) for a 59 ml. (2 oz.) drip bottle. Shipping is free on orders over $99 ($US). Synergetic is available in some bike shops in Victoria – e.g. Fort Street – I have not checked prices.

Drip lubes are more expensive than motor oil. Drip lube prices do not seems to be based on the cost of base stocks. The cost of making, filling and handling dozens of bottles for each quart of product may be a factor. Prices are set by manufacturers and vendors based on supply and demand, and the perceived marginal utility of the product. Cycling lube is often a small product line for chemical processing enterprises or conglomerate enterprises, although a profitable revenue stream.

Efficiencies and Wear

Among the drip lubes tested for chain wear by Zero Friction Cycling (“ZFC”), there were bad results for

• several Muc-Off products,
• White Lightning products,
• some Finish Line products and
• several other wet and dry drip lubes.

Finish Line Dry with Teflon, a favourite with online reviewers, was assessed by ZFC in 2023 as “not terrible”.

ZFC found that Silca Velo’s Synergetic, a wet oil-based lube, was reasonably good when applied while the chain was run under low contamination conditions, and under moderate contamination for a reasonable time.

Manufacturing and Marketing

The cycling lubricant field is influenced by the engineering and manufacturing practices of the automotive lubricant industry. Drip lubes are made with base fluids, carrier fluids and additives. Manufacturers acquire fluids distilled from petroleum – solvents or oils (respectively, mineral spirits or mineral oils), mix them with additives, package the product in small plastic drip/squeeze bottles or aerosol or spray vessels, sell to bike shops and department stores, and market. The bottles do not have:

• detailed ingredient lists,
• use instructions, or
• warnings about the product’s durability.

“Dry” drip lubes made of volatile carrier fluids are popular. One selling point of dry drip lubes is avoiding entanglement of clothing in or contact with the dirty, oily chain, and avoiding the fling or spray of oil droplets from the chain without using devices (e.g. pant clips) to restrain clothing, metal or plastic chain covers or chain guards.

Pedro’s Ice Wax, marketed as an “advanced natural dry lube” was a drip lubricant. Pedro’s describes its history as a lubricant maker:

In 1989, roommates Bruce Fina and Andrew Herrick founded the Pedro’s brand around a revolutionary chain lube called Syn Lube developed by Bruce’s tribologist brother. Friends of Bruce and Andrew were living and racing mountain bikes in the Pacific Northwest and couldn’t find a lube that would last an entire race in the muddy conditions. The other Teflon-based chain lubes couldn’t handle the mud. Formulated with extreme pressure additives, corrosion inhibitors, and tackifiers to provide incredible wear protection, lubrication, and staying power in extreme wet and muddy conditions, Syn Lube quickly became the lube of choice. Once mountain bikers tried Syn Lube and experienced its performance, word spread, demand skyrocketed, and the Pedro’s brand was officially off to the races!

About Pedro’s (North America)

The wax is/was probably paraffin. The original formulation of Pedro’s Ice Wax, as tested by Friction Facts in 2013 (below) was relatively inefficient. Pedro’s introduced Ice Wax 2.0 and “Slack Lube” later. There are several other drip lubes with wax. It is useful to distinguish drip lubes marketed as wax from wax emulsions. Wax emulsions are fluids, and applied with drippers but differ from most drip lubes.

Bicycle lube manufacturers often claim that drip lubes clean while lubricating. These claims are never supported by evidence or test results. Few manufacturers even venture to explain how a lubricant can contain or coexist with detergents and solvents. Riders can hear an unlubed chain, a dry chain, or a corroded chain and may notice dirt sticking to a chain or caking on the chainwheels, cassette cogs or derailleur pulleys. Riders may apply large amount of lube to “flush” out dirt. Lube can work on a chain that has dried out after being exposed to large volumes or flows of water (water can break down oils. The chain flings off water but lacks lubricant and behaves poorly after drying). Fresh lube may help to dissolve surface corrosion on a lightly oxidized chain. Flushing out dirt contamination “in” the chain with lube is a theoretical possibility but has not been demonstrated.

Lube manufacturers claim that their products are superior. A few make explicit efficiency claims based on proprietary/confidential test reports. Such behavior by established brands tends to conceal or discredit claims that these are inferior lubricants.

Consumers know, as matter of principle, we can not rely on and should not trust marketing claims. The law in most of the industrialized world – and particularly in the UK and USA makes it hard for consumers to hold manufacturers liable for misleading claims of quality. The leading legal principle is caveat emptor (buyer beware). Courts traditionally brush marketing claims off as puffery. While most consumers think they can detect bullshit, most are overconfident about their capability. Consumers rely on misleading indicators of quality – e.g. brand, packaging, price? Often consumers buy because they need something, and will accept whatever they can find.

Additives

The article Bicycle Chain Lubricants Explained at the BikeGremlin site canvasses most of the additives in use in products in 2021.

Teflon – Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) – has been a drip lube additive. Rock ‘n Roll and other drip lubes with Teflon did well in Friction Facts efficiency tests (below). Finish Line USA markets itself as a firm specializing in cycling, and markets its Finish Line dry lube for coating chain parts with Teflon. Teflon is a Dupont brand and trademark, and the common name for PTFE. Finish Line USA is the manufacturer of the Dupont brand of bike lube. Finish Line USA states in its marketing that it was founded by an engineer who had worked for Mobil, the automotive lubricant distiller/manufacturer. PTFE is a fluorocarbon. Some lubricant manufacturers, in the 21st century, disparage competitors for using fluorocarbons, which are greenhouse gases.

Some additives promoted by manufacturers have not been proved to decease wear:

• “ceramic” additives;
• carbon tubes or particles or nano additives;
• micro-sized tungsten spheres.

The marketing-driven model that microscopic particles act like bearings is theoretically flawed. Indeed the empirical evidence suggests that such particles, like dust and grit, contaminate the oil and contribute to chain wear.

8. People and Projects

Introduction

This section touches on scientific and industrial testing of materials. Mainly, it discusses sources that have been mentioned in this series, and this post. The inventions are cleaning and lubrication products. While useful products have come to market, maintenance and cleaning of drive trains is not well known.

The inventions, plans and goals had economic factors. I mention the economic factors to understanding how manufactured items operate, and which ones were sold and distributed. Some of the people challenged the consensus narratives of the lubrication industries and bicycle component manufacturing and sales industries by

• testing bicycle chains and lubricants;
• publishing the results of testing in journals, magazines, web pages and social media, and
• developing, producing and marketing durable chains and lubricants that provable reduced chain wear.

The persons discussed had a combination of curiosity and economic interests or hopes. Many of the projects and publications discuss new products that mechanics and rider might use. My interest was how they increased knowledge and awareness of chain maintenance and effected changes in the bicycle markets.

Testing Materials

Standards for materials and testing materials and testing devices to measure the properties of materials were developed by individuals and by industrial entities, often by commercial entities.

The Rockwell scales of hardness, typically used in engineering and metallurgy, were named for its inventors, the Rockwell brothers who worked for a company that made ball bearings.

The testing and standards body known (as of 2021-2024) as ASTM International was founded in 1898. ASTM standard G77, “Standard Test Method for Ranking Resistance of Materials to Sliding Wear Using Block-on-Ring Wear Test” (revised 2022) is used to test materials. The desciption of standard G77 by ASTM:

1.1 This test method covers laboratory procedures for determining the
resistance of materials to sliding wear. The test utilizes a block-on-ring friction and wear testing machine to rank pairs of materials according to their sliding wear characteristics under various conditions.
1.2 An important attribute of this test is that it is very flexible. Any
material that can be fabricated into, or applied to, blocks and rings can be tested. Thus, the potential materials combinations are endless. However, the interlaboratory testing has been limited to metals. In addition, the test can be run with various lubricants, liquids, or gaseous atmospheres, as desired, to simulate service conditions. Rotational speed and load can also be varied to better correspond to service requirements.
1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. The
values given in parentheses are for information only. Wear test results are reported as the volume loss in cubic millimetres for both the block and ring. Materials of higher wear resistance will have lower volume loss.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

The ASTM G77 standard is used in machines like the ones use by Josh Poertner of Silca Velo, discussed below. In those videos a metal sample “pin” or block (not a pin from a chain) is held against the ring of the device.

BTI Site and Writers

The Bicycle Technical Information pages written and published by Sheldon Brown were noted in Part 1 in this series. The pages on that site were written by Sheldon Brown and other authors including John S. Allen. I cited papers by the late Jobst Brandt on lubrication and cleaning. Brandt is the author of a published and well regarded book on bicycle wheels, and was involved in many ventures including the Avocet cycling computer, one of the first cycling computers.

Journalists, Cycling Publications

VeloNews was a printed magazine about cycling, and at of 2024 is an online publication. It covered technical issues seriously at one time. In 2018 it was folded into the Outside magazine brand which treats cycling as a consumer lifestyle choice.

CyclingTips was an online cycling publication that was folded into the Outside magazine brand in 2022 and effectively closed by the new owners of the company.

Notable writers:

• Caley Fretz, once a technical writer and editor at VeloNews became an editor in chief at CyclingTips, and later at Escape Collective;
• James Huang, once a technical writer, was an editor at CyclingTips, and later at Escape Collective until May 2024;
• Dave Rome, once a technical writer, became an editor at CyclingTips, and later at Escape Collective;
• Brad Copeland, a mechanic who has worked for mountain bike racing teams (Specialized, Scott-SRAM) and worked with broadcast media joined Escape Collective in June 2024

Jason Smith, Friction Facts, Ceramic Speed

Jason Smith, an engineer in Boulder, Colorado, USA ran Friction Facts (“FF”) from 2012 to 2015. I have not read material that explains the business model for FF. FF followed up on the idea of testing the efficiency of bicycle chains lubricated with various products, that emerged from academic engineering theory. Jason Smith became an expert of testing methods and drive train friction. He disposed of FF 2016. A search engine may direct a reader to a site in a domain called Friction Facts. That domain, as of 2022, contained puff reviews of cycling products. It may have been acquired by a cybersquatter.

Jason Smith became an associated with the lubrication and cycling accessory firm Ceramic Speed, which manufactures and sells bearings, drive train products, the UFO brand of bicycle lubricants and several automotive products.

While Jason Smith was running FF, some of the test results were published. The main FF test results can be accessed on a Ceramic Speed web page. Ceramic Speed continued to test lubricants, and components for chain efficiency, but does not publish them. It has shared some results, and some results have become available.

Ceramic Speed launched a wax emulsion fluid chain lubricant product, UFO Drip, in 2017. It was and is made with emulsified paraffin or similar compounds that are applied to chains on the bike, like drip lubes, and left to dry before the chain is properly lubricated and ready for riding.

John Thompson & Molten Speed Wax

John Thompson is a businessman in St. Paul, Minnesota USA. He established Molten Speed Wax to manufacture a commercial paraffin wax blend that could be applied to a bike chain, off the bike, immersed in molten wax. Molten Speed Wax’s story:

The hot wax technique has likely been around since “Mile-A-Minute Murphy’s” era [about 1899?], so why did we wait until 2013 to try it?

Our family’s history racing bicycles dates back to the early 70’s when waxing was somewhat common; we certainly were aware of the technique. To add insult to injury, we’ve sold cross-country ski wax in our winter business for over a decade. We know wax like the back of our hands, including all the eclectic additives and myriad application techniques. You’d think we could put two and two together.It took a clever engineer named Jason Smith to put us on the right path. Jason figured out that a waxed chain rivals the efficiency of a perpetual motion machine. He added a little PTFE (the non-stick coating on your frying pan) and molybdenum disulfide / MoS₂ (dry lube that’s hard to pronounce) to paraffin and published the info for everyone to see. Before we knew it we were “cooking chains” in our basement and experimenting with our own additives and techniques. Now our wax is made in large batches with high tech industrial machines the size of small cars.

Everyone has a Eureka moment in life. For us, it was realizing that we could virtually end chainring tattoos on cyclists’ calves. Seriously, we saw an opportunity to help DIY folks by premixing the ingredients into an easy to use, packaged product. Waxing for top performance is simple if you don’t have to source and mix your own PTFE and MoS₂. We also created in-depth, step-by-step directions with helpful tips so it’s nearly impossible to mess up. If you can make instant pudding, waxing a chain is child’s play. 

Molten Speed Wax (web site), About page (quote taken 2023-10-08)

The history of paraffin as a bicycle chain lubricant musthave been recorded in newspapers, magazines, journals, fanzines, letters and correspondence and other sources but little such material is available in a internet/web search program.

Adam Kerin, Zero Friction Cycling

Adam Kerin was and is a cyclist interested in road riding, cyclo-cross, and mountain bikes racing. At one point in his life he was a law enforcement officer.

He started Zero Friction Cycling (“ZFC”), a firm in the bicycle maintenance business in Adelaide, Australia, in 2017/18. It specializes in maintaining and selling bike chains and lubricants. He developed test devices and methods to run different chains with different lubricants for thousands of kilometers with electric motors in his test machines. In 2021, ZFC launched a YouTube channel which is a tool and platform for Adam Kerin to report on his research and explain his ideas. Adam Kerin was and is an advocate of paraffin lubrication. He also presents his finding in reports and other documents published on the ZFC web pages. His style is discursive.

Adam Kerin was interviewed by the Australian mechanic and cycling tech writer Dave Rome for CyclingTips in March 2018. The new owners of CyclingTips repackaged ontent within other Outside magazine branded cycling content. The interview has disappeared.

ZFC tests chains and lubricants. Adam Kerin makes an argument about for the economic advantages of using quality chain and lubricants, and investing time and effort in chain cleaning and maintenance. He has compared the marketing of most drip lubes, wet and dry, to the marketing of “snake oil” in 19th century patent medicines, but has not claimed the marketing is illegal or fraudulent. ¹American law banned false medical claims about drugs in 1906. There is no effective consumer protection law against vague claims about automotive, household or bicycle lubricants.

Episode 11 of the Zero Friction Cycling (“ZFC”) YouTube series complains that some lube manufacturers market lubes with claims mainly based in efficiency testing done by those manufacturers or private labs. In some instances manufacturers imply that their product performs better, or that competing products performed poorly in the manufacturers’ tests. ZFC YouTube Episode 12 criticizes most cycling journalists for reporting on lubes based on short observations of whether a bike chain appears to run quietly and shift smoothly.

ZFC has identified the manufacturer of the Muc-Off products – which have not fared well in ZFC tests – as using its own efficiency tests to disparage competitors. ZFC’s post or page Muc-Off Files Part 1 (notes of its discussions with Muc-Off in March 2022) and ZFC YouTube channel Episode 16 and Muc-Off files Part 2 (Cycling Most Dishonest Marketing?), ZFC YouTube channel Episode 20 explains Adam Kerin’s doubts about Muc-Off’s efficiency claims.

His videos mention his collection of bike tools, and his interest in maintaining his own bikes, including cleaning and repacking the bearings on his bikes! He has views on maintenance, cleaning and lubrication.

Josh Poertner, Silca Velo

Josh Poertner is an American engineer and cycling consultant. He was employed by the component manufacturer Zipp (it made wheels; it was acquired by SRAM and is now a SRAM subsidiary). His role was in part to supporting Zipp products in use by professional cycling teams. He set up a Aeromind LLC (Limited Liability Company) in Indiana which acquired the Italian Silca brand in 2013 after he left Zipp. Silca was known for pumps, tools and components. Silca Velo became a manufacturing, wholesale and retail business in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Silca has improved the pumps and tools under Josh Poertner’s leadership and started new product lines. For instance it fabricates titanium parts – shoe cleats, bottle cages, a computer mounts.

Much of the material published by Silca is informative about cycling and technology. Silca sponsors the Marginal Gains Podcast, and publishes the Silca Velo YouTube channel. Jason Smith, James Huang and Adam Kerin have been guests on the Marginal Gains Podcast. Marginal Gains has done several episodes on chain lubrication (and The Pipeline Problem in June 2021 on the supply chain/logistics backlogs in cycling parts and supplies).

As a guest or host of a technical or industry podcast, including Marginal Gains, Josh Poertner can be well informed, engaged, focused on issues, and often avoids promoting Silca’s products. In that mode, he is nerdy, well-informed about science, engineering and manufacturing, keen, sincere and helpful In that persona, he has also published many useful videos about bicycle chains on the Silca Velo YouTube channel, including:

• June 2020: Chain Friction Explained;
• April 2024: Stop Wasting Your CHAIN LUBE! Know the BEST Way to Apply It, correcting an earlier video about the use of Silca’s Super Secret (wax compatible chain protection fluid lube), and showing how fluid moves into a bushingless chain in a segment about 8 minutes long, starting about 7 minutes after the beginning.
• July 2024: Microscopic Magic: Save Your Chain from Wearing Out! about chain wear and elongation.

Silca started to sell lubricants, including Silca NFS (the Silca branded and labelled version of the Nix Frix Shun drip lube, which was well regarded by ZFC in 2017-2018). Silca released several lubricants and cleaning products 2020-2024.

In broadcast audio and video Josh Poertner has said that the drip lubricant category is full of snake oil claims – by other manufacturers. I agree.

Josh Poertner told an anecdote about how a professional cycling team decided that red Zipp hubs were faster in the Marginal Gains podcast The Placebo Effect and Marginal Gains (Dec. 16, 2019). The placebo effect can also explain a way that a con man or a saleman sells a deal. His commercial comments can make him look and sound like a character like those played by the late Robert Preston in The Music Man and The Last Starfighter, or Ray Stohler (played by Paul Dooley), the father of the cycling-struck teen in the 1979 movie Breaking Away, a used car dealer.

Josh Poertner promotes Silca products, and makes a case for the value of those products. Silca sells high tech products or improved modern versions of cycling tools and accessories – usually high-priced stuff. Silca emphasizes that some products facilitate “marginal” gains in performance. Silva claims that its products are superior to other products. Silca justifies its prices based on its brand name, and selling the products to demanding cyclists.

When he talks about Silca chain lubrication products he finds it hard not to promote Silca. Silca behaves like other brands in talking about Silca products that it has tested without disclosing how the tests were done.

Lennard Zinn

Lennard Zinn is a mechanic and journalist who has been writing on cycling tech and repair for decades, for print and online publications including VeloNews. He has written books (old fashioned printed books) on maintenance and repair.

Lennard Zinn published an article “We went to Germany to test the most popular bicycle chains” in VeloNews in January 2020 about a visit to the Wippermann/Connex chain factory in Hagen, Germany, a chain breakage test and the company’s continuous chain-durability tests. The tests ran chains until chains were elongated 13.6 mm, which is 1% of the average chain length (calculated as 108 links on a road bike with 50/34 chainrings and an 11-29 cassette, at 12.7mm per link = 1371.6 mm. Removing the master link, 107 links x 12.7 = 1358.9 mm).

9. Efficiency Tests (Friction Facts)

Most chain and lubricant testing was private. Chain lubricant testing was rarely mentioned in academic or professional literature before Professor Spicer’s (Johns Hopkins University) paper in 2001, discussed in the Bike Chains, Part 3, (section 5 of the endless article).

Friction Facts (“FF”), began to test lubricants for efficiency in or before 2012. Friction Facts used test machines, to measure friction losses in a chain moving under load, by the methods of Professor Spicer’s team, with a lower range of error.

An overview of FF testing:

• the chains were new, cleaned with warm mineral spirits in an ultrasonic cleaner for 5 minutes, and dried,
• lubed by dripping fluid (i.e. drip) lubes,
• tested on a machine that
  • puts out 250 watts at the chain wheel for a test interval of 5 minutes,
  • measures the power at the chain wheel
  • measures the power at the cog on the drive hub;
• The loss of power, due to friction in the chain parts, is reported as watts.

For more, at the Ceramic Speed site, follow the link “Why Ceramic Speed” to Test Data Reports/Chain Lube Efficiency Reports.

FF’s testing did not confirm the idea that lubrication did not contribute to chain efficiency. Efficiency testing did not generate information on which lubricants extended the durability of chains. FF did not test, directly or indirectly, the “factory grease” that chain manufacturers apply to bike chains.

The FF chain testing protocol was addressed a post published by Ceramic Speed called Chain Efficiency Testing. Also, Adam Kerin of Zero Friction Cycling (“ZFC”, below) summarized the Friction Facts methods:

Full Tension Test … has a chain ring, a cog, a weight pulling back cog to tension chain equivalent to 250w “load”. There is a drive motor and a braking motor. A $6k usd torque sensor is mounted on shaft driving chain ring and braking the cog.

This test method is extremely precise if you have the right equipment (ie the quality of the motors, the power supplies, the torque sensors – the calibration protocol that has all components up to temp and stable, and all tests are conducted at same ambient temp and humidity).

… the measure is taken between two extremely precise torque sensors mounted on the shaft driving the chain ring and the cog. The difference between what goes in and what comes out – that’s your loss from the chain. If you are using the same calibrated control chain, then you have the loss figure for your lubricant efficiency.

… Friction Facts found that many lubricants exhibited a sudden and very high jump in loss if kept running for long periods on an FTT machine as both the top and bottom span of chain are under tension (due to tension being by way of a weight pulling cog to introduce tension).

As such for longer test runs (ie to see how lubricant performs over hundreds of kms. Possibly with contamination introduced etc at certain points) the chain – after a short (few mins) efficiency test on FTT machine would be moved to Full Load Test Machine (basically just set up as a bicycle drivetrain to allow slackening time through bottom span of drive train for lubricant to re align and reset).  Long run intervals done on Full load test, then moved back to FTT for periodic outright efficiency measure.

ZFC “Latest News” No. 27

Several FF tests were reported by Caley Fretz in VeloNews in March 2013 and February 2014. The VeloNews articles have pictures of the test machines and many details. VeloNews reported that FF:

• compared lubricants on viscosity by letting some lube run along an inclined metal surface;
• commented on “longevity” which meant how quickly lubricant wore off or dried up. FF said that some lubricants wore off fast. The methodology of measurement is not clear.

The VeloNews articles appear to be the only accessible reports of the efficiency tests. The articles and test results can be tracked down:

• VeloNews – in print; Web copy of the relevant issues were paywalled after VeloNews was acquired by Outside;
• In versions of the VeloNews articles republished
  • by the manufacturer of Molten Speed Wax;
  • by Ceramic Speed with Ceramic Speed’s proprietary test results on its UFO Drip v1 by Ceramic Speed. Ceramic Speed published the VeloNews/FF bar graphs of the 2014 FF results interpolating Ceramic Speed’s wax emulsion UFO Drip Chain lubes as the most efficient lubricant.
  • by CyclingTips in its March 2018 introduction to ZFC and survey of “fast” (efficient) lubes, and
  • by Ceramic Speed with Ceramic Speed’s proprietary test results on its UFO Drip v2, used by CyclingTips in its November 2020 review of UFO Drip v2.
• Lubricant manufacturers make claims about efficiency to market their products . Some have interpolated their products into copies of the 2013/14 FF/VeloNews bar graphs.

Ceramic Speed published the VeloNews articles with additional results for Ceramic Speed’s new wax emulsion drip lube, UFO Drip (original; v1); see also the Ceramic Speed paper with the VeloNew articles in pdf.

The best lubricants in the FF/VeloNews articles are those that show the lowest “watts expended”. A lube that tests as losing 4.5 of 250 watts is 98% efficient. According to some reports, some chains with some lubes lose may lose as little as 3 watts – i.e. are 99% efficient. These reports are anomalous, or reflect some improvements since 2014. FF tested, among others:

VeloNews 2014	immersive wax	Molten Speed Wax	≅ 4.6
VeloNews 2014	wax liquid	Squirt slack wax a byproduct of processing oil into paraffin	≅ 4.7
VeloNews 2014	Cooking (olive) oil	Del Papa extra virgin	≅ 5.1
VeloNews 2014	bicycle chain wet lube	NFS Nix Frix Shun ? in 2022 NFS Ultimate (not Silca NFS)	≅ 5.5
VeloNews 2014	motor oil	Mobil 1 (5W-20 weight)	≅ 5.6
VeloNews 2014	lubricant additive	zinc dialkyl dithio- phosphate (“ZDDP”)	≧ 6.4
VeloNews 2014	personal lubricant	Vaseline Petroleum Jelly	≅ 6.4
VeloNews 2014	bicycle chain dry lube	WD-40	≅ 6.4
VeloNews 2014	bicycle chain wet lube	ProGold Extreme	≧ 6.9
VeloNews 2014	bicycle chain dry lube	White Lightning Epic Ride	≧ 7.9

Ceramic Speed released some of its later efficiency test results to CyclingTips as above and in 2019:

Ceramic Speed was willing to share some of its recent and typically-secret data about which chains perform best with the UFO V2 race treatment process. The process for applying the secret-formula wax-based submersion lubricant (after a multi-stage cleaning process) is the same across all chain models, and so it provides a clear and precise indication of the most efficient chains.

CyclingTips, 2019, Finding the Best Bicycle Chain

CeramicSpeed also released some test results to ZFC,

10. Chain Wear testing (ZFC)

ZFC Method

ZFC began testing chains and lubricants for “longevity” or “durability” by testing for elongation wear in 2016. ZFC tested chains and lubricants with an industrial electric motor attached to a stationary bike trainer to measure the wear on chains run under standard conditions:

• on reference chains that have been cleaned and treated with tested lubricants, or
• on tested chains lubricated with a reference lubricant product.

ZFC produces data on tested lubricants in spreadsheets, reports and comparative charts. ZFC projects the cost of replacing chains into “cost to run” calculations for some chains and a couple dozen lubricants. ZFC has published a few dozen narrative reports about lubricant results as of June 2024. ZFC’s work on the effect of lubricants on longevity (wear) was featured in CyclingTips articles. The links here do not take you to the articles. The new owners of CyclingTips redirect sites to the Velo online magazine, which is on the brands held by the publishers of Outside Magazine. The articles:

• March 2018 “Seeking the Holy Grail, a Fast Chain Lube that Saves You Money“;
• August 2019 “How to check for chain wear: The easy way, the best way, and why“;
• December 2019 “Finding the best bicycle chain: What over 3,000 hours of testing revealed“.

The ZFC measurement methods for tests of chain and lubricant are explained in the CyclingTips article How to Check for Chain Wear and the ZFC Test Brief statement. ZFC measures chain elongation with a KMC digital caliper chain checker device that measures to .01 mm. Adam Kerin starts with a new, clean (factory grease removed with solvents), lubed chain and adds lube at intervals. The tests are run on reference test chains. These test run the chains in fixed intervals adding up to 5 x 1000 km test blocks, unless the chain fails before reaching the last blocks. The failure point is .5 mm elongation wear over an 8 link span, which is close to the standard .5% chain replacement recommended by chain and drive train component manufacturers and bike shops. The test machines and the way dirt and water are applied to chain are demonstrated in Episode 9 of the ZFC YouTube series:

Using an industrially motorised Tacx neo smart trainer to control interval load and distance, plus specific intervals that include either no added contamination, dry contamination, and wet contamination – lubricants can be properly assessed over thousands of km’s of controlled testing. Not only can we determine a lubricant’s overall performance – but we can get a break down as to how a lubricant handles different types of conditions, as well as how it stacks up vs the manufacturers claims.

Flat vs Hill Simulations – The chains will be run on a calibrated smart trainer (Tacx Flux) at alternating intervals to simulate flat riding and hill km’s. If just run on flat all the time the km’s clockup too quickly. Most riders ride up hills to some degree so having intervals where the chain is still subjected to 250w load but km’s clocking up slowly delivers an overall average speed for the test of around 29kmh (depending on what block test finishes). It also allows me to rotate through more cogs on cassette and between small and big chain rings for longer wear rates on test components. Flat sim intervals will be on cogs 4, 5 and 6 on large chain ring and be 400km long, Hill sim will be on cogs 1,2 and 3 on small chain ring and be 200 km long. The interval lengths are halved during contamination blocks to 200/100 km.

ZFC measures chain elongation after each test block:

		Purpose
1	Lube	lubricant penetration into spaces where metal bears on metal
2	Dirt	performance after chain has been contaminated
3		does lube abate dirt contamination effects
4	Water	effect of water on chain already contaminated by dirt
5		does lube abate contamination effects

ZFC adds lube at fixed intervals. Lube intervals:

Re lube intervals will be every 400 km on Flat simulation intervals, and 200 km on hill simulation intervals UNLESS this rate of re-lubrication would be detrimental according to manufacturer instructions with regards to if re lubing too frequently risks gathering too high a level of contamination. If an adjustment to re lube intervals vs base levels is made this will be noted accordingly in test.

During contamination blocks, the rate of re lubrication is doubled – every 200 km of flat simulation and 100 km hill simulation – as it would be normal behaviour that riders re lubricate more often if riding in harsh conditions, as well as giving lubricants more of chance to “clean as they lube” etc. Again this will be adjusted if manufacturer instructions are clear that this rate would be detrimental and noted accordingly.

ZFC also test lubricants for single application longevity by testing lubricants on reference chains without periodic relubrication.

Adam’s Analysis

Adam Kerin discussed:

• what features of a chain resist wear, and
• which lubricants resist wear.

and identified:

• lubricants that perform well in reducing chain wear, and
• some durable chains.

ZFC regards paraffin wax, applied immersively, to be the best lubricant for protecting bike chains from wear. ZFC also regards some liquids, “chain coating” fluids (mainly paraffin emulsions or fluid paraffin precursor petroleum distillate, to be effective. Adam Kerin supports paraffin lubrication as an efficient use of time and money to apply a lubricant that that blocks dirt and water, keeping the chain clean and avoiding the effects of using oil on modern chains.

In Episode 2 of the Zero Friction Cycling YouTube series (published June 2021) Adam Kerin categorized lubricants:

1. “Dry” drip lubes. These use “carrier” fluids which dissipate or evaporate leaving some kind of material on the chain. Most of these lubes test poorly in wear testing;
2. Oily “wet” lubes. All of them lose effectiveness because they trap dirt. All of them work for a while under wet conditions but lose effectiveness as they wash out in wet conditions. A few modern products are effective for a long time under adverse conditions;
3. Immersion (hot) waxes. These are applied when wax is heated to liquid and penetrates the load bearing spaces where it accumulates; the wax cools to the waxy semi-solid state. The wax fills the space, which protects against contamination. The wax is the lubricant. These lubricants work for hundreds of hours but need to be redone or refreshed. Applying these takes some tools (including a slow cooker or Instant Pot), knowledge and time.

ZFC has consistently reported immersive waxes – paraffin with additives – to be the best lubricants in protecting against chain wear. Video Episode 4, Wax Part 1 provides a narrative explanation. Adam Kerin suggests that plain paraffin, in blocks or in the form of manufactured products (melting down candles) is inferior due the low manufacturing standards. He recommended modern immersively applied paraffin wax products – MSW and Silca Secret Chain Blend (and a few others). However he tested some generic paraffin in 2023-24(there are many variants on paraffin, an product of refining and chemical engineering) Paraffin is discussed in Bike Chains Part 7 in this series.

ZFC also recorded good results with some modern fluid products which he describes as wax emulsions or chain coatings. Mr. Kerin initially differentiated between “traditional” “dry” drip wax lubes and some chain coating such as Squirt & Smoove. ZFC tests showed Squirt & Smoove work well, for a time. He had reservations about Squirt and Smoove – they may not penetrate depending on conditions, and can make it hard to clean or reset a contaminated chain. ZFC tested the wax based paraffin emulsion fluids Silca Super Secret Chain Coating and Ceramic Speed UFO (new formula)(March 2021).

In an interview with Dave Rome and James Huang of CyclingTips in the CyclingTips NerdAlert podcast released March 16, 2022 “Finding the best chain lube for your needs” Adam Kerin discussed his experience with modern liquid wax products including products by Ceramic Speed UFO, Silca and Rex Black Diamond, and updated his assessment of drip lubes. He suggested that traditional dry drip lubes had large amounts of carrier and too little lubricant material to coat the chain parts properly, while modern wax-compatible chain coating products coat the chain better. Some of the chain coating liquids dry into a solid wax or paste.

ZFC largely regarded most “traditional” drip lubes, wet or dry, including the wax drips, and most oily lubes, as inferior.

Factory Grease; Cleaning; Waxing

ZFC tested chains treated with Shimano “factory grease‘ by testing Shimano chains without removing the factory grease (see lubricant spreadsheet). ZFC favours removing factory grease before the chain has been contaminated with dirt and water before putting any lubricant on a chain. ZFC says it is worth cleaning a new chain to remove factory grease. His usual routine involves a chain that is not on a bike, and includes rinsing a chain by immersing it in “mineral terps” (mineral spirits) to dissolve the grease, and agitating (shaking). (In Canada, mineral spirits are sold as such, and also available in a more refined and less odorous formulation sold as paint thinner under the Varsol brand). Adam Kerin also does a further rinse in methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) to remove the residue of the mineral spirits. The rationale and method are discussed in Episode 6 “Chain Preparation FAQ” of the ZFC YouTube series from 2 minutes 15 seconds to 10 minutes.

It the spreadsheets, which are complex:

• ZFC calculates the of cost to run a lube, $ per 10,000 Km on assumptions about replacing chains and groupsets. ZFC refers to Shimano 11 speed road chains and components – Ultegra and Dura-Ace, as well as GRX. There are sheets for different conditions. I think the currency in the material from the ZFC site is $ Australian and the prices are in Australia;
• The wear refers the replacement standard of .5 mm. across 8 links. Wear in Blocks 2 and 5 is cumulative;
• Chain life is a calculation assuming the correct use and periodic reuse of the lubricant;
• Some “Immersive” lubricants – e.g. MSW were wax pellets; in 2022 MSW changed to selling cakes of wax; – the wax is melted and the chain is immersed in hot melted wax.

ZFC reviewed several “traditional” drip lubes in 2023, including Finish Line Dry (with Teflon), Finish Line Ceramic, PrestaCycle One, Wolf Tooth WT1. In 2023-24 ZFC reviewed a light generic (sewing) machine oil.

ZFC has published videos commenting on manufacturer/retail product claims and the quality of advice from the staff at bicycle shops.

Chain Durability

ZFC has measured chain wear on new chains to test the chains for durability. As of February 2022, 31 chains had been tested. These tests are similar to the lubricant durability tests. ZFC runs the test machine(s) on chains lubricated with White Lightning Epic Ride, a low viscosity dry-drip lube. The tests are explained:

• Chain longevity testing page;
• Test brief

ZFC graphed the results in bar graphs showing the Km before the wear reaches the accepted replacement point of .5%. The actual total wear, over the length of the chain will vary. An ANSI 40 pitch chain has links 1/2 inch (12.7 mm.) long. A chain will normally be more that 100 links long. A road chain may have 108 links or several more; a gravel or mountain bike chain could be longer. It depends on the length of the chain stays and the diameters of the largest chain rings and cogs. A chain of 108 links is 1371.6 mm long. The replacement elongation of .5% of that chain is a fraction more than 6.8 mm. Most drop-in chain checkers measure a span of 8 to 14 links. ZFC measures a span of 8 (half) links, with a precise KMC micrometer chain checker, at two points along the chain. ZFC defines or calculates the .5% replacement point based on wear on an 8 link span as .5 mm. ZFC reports elongation in a graph “km’s to 0.5% wear – Digital Chain Wear Checker (0.5mm across 8 links)”. The Km to .5% wear graph identified a few chains that last 3,000 Km. with the test lube. The average of the 11 speed chains was just over 2,000 Km. The KMC X11 SL (the semi-premium Super Light model) was above average at about 2,500 Km. [My factory chain had been an X11, but not the Super Light model]. The KMC X11 E-bike chain reached the replacement point at about 1,700 Km. [My new chain in spring 2021 was a SRAM 1170, which tested at about 2,700 Km to .5%.

In the test brief ZFC discusses chain material, surface hardening and surface coating. On the chain testing page ZFC says:

Budget chains … will be made of lower grade steel,  and will  likely have no surface hardening or low friction treatments or coatings applied (or limited parts receive treatment – i.e inner plates are treated but not pins or rollers.) Premium chains you can expect will be made of higher grade of steel, manufactured to tighter tolerances, and may have numerous treatments such as chromium carbide hardened pins and/or rollers, nickel plating or titanium nitride plating on inner/ outer plates, and again a variety of low friction coatings applied to some or all working parts of the chain.

It is expected that premium chains will be lower friction due to a number of factors (design, manufacturing, low friction coatings), and if have had surface hardening treatments, should be longer lasting.

Adam Kerin makes observations of chains during ZFC’s businesses of preparing chains, and testing – e.g. whether lube is expelled from the chain, and the sounds the chain makes as the test blocks proceed. Some observations are based on measurements. He consults with engineers in the cycling lubricant and the chain manufacturing businesses and mechanics and riders. He employs a model or idea of what happens in a moving chain. He says chain wear is not linear and does not proceed at a uniform pace – a chain has tipping points. He is concerned with whether a lubricant penetrates the spaces where lubricant is need, how well it is distributed, and with when and how contamination becomes distributed. The observations are in the narrative reports and web material, or in occasional cumulative “key learnings” papers (May 2019 paper; and updated v. 2.3a paper). His 2022 summary starts with these points:

1. Do not use wet lubricants if you ride off road.
2. Remove factory grease before installing or using a chain.
3. Immersive waxing is the lowest wear option
4. If you ride in wet weather, you must reset contamination in chain.
5. We now have some amazingly long lasting lubricants.
6. Do not underestimate the drivetrain cost to run difference between lubricants.

Adam Kerin recorded a YouTube Video Episode 18 Key Learnings from Lubricant Testing published on the ZFC channel May 8, 2022. It is nearly an hour long. He also consolidated his updates in update 2.3a, including notes on e-bike requirements.

Chain strength

ZFC uses a load cell device by LoadCell Supplies to test chains for tensile strength. As of February 2022 ZFC has published results on 16 chains. The machine broke down and the tests were paused.

The results and procedure:

• Tensile testing page;
• Tensile testing brief.

ZFC has done a tensile testing video on its YouTube channel, Episode 19 Chain Tensile Testing.

11. Innovation

MSW, Ceramic Speed UFO

For a few years, MSW was manufacturer of the principal paraffin bike chain lubrication product. Competitors innovated in engineering, manufacturing and marketing lubricants and chain cleaning products 2017-2023, inspiring innovation by MSW:

• Ceramic Speed launched its UFO fluid chain lubricant product in 2017;
• Silca Velo released a hot wax, a wax chain coating, and Synergetic, an oil based (wet) drip lubricant in 2020 and 2021;
• Ceramic Speed released an new version of UFO Drip in 2021;
• In 2021-22, Molten Speed Wax began to market and sell a new formula;
• In 2023 Silca released a new version of its hot wax;
• Rex released Black Diamond chain lubricant fluid and race powder in 2022;
• Other manufacturers launched other immersive wax products and appliances;
• Silca Velo and Ceramic Speed released chain cleaning fluid chemicals

Silca

Immersive Wax, and Chain Coating Fluid

Silca Velo’s immersive wax product, Silca Secret Chain Blend, became a top lubricant in ZFC lubricant wear tests. Its chain coating drip fluid wax Silca Super Secret Chain Coating, is superior. Its prices are higher than the prices of competing lubes but less expensive than several lubes sold as professional grade (racing) lubes.

Josh Poertner said in videos that Silca had been making paraffin wax pellets for a professional cycling team(s) for a few years, and that Silca put the product into production for retail sale as Silca Secret Chain Blend, released in June 2020. Hot Wax X was released in 2022. Silca followed up with advice videos and promotional videos. Silca did not claim, at first, advantages over other immersive waxes. The first mover in modern immersive wax production had been Molten Speed Wax. MSW and Silca Secret Blend paraffin wax products have to be melted. Each has some additives. Immersive wax was seen as a difficult way of lubricating chains when Silca brought its Secret Chain Blend to market. Silca’s entry to the market inspired MSW to improve its formula and change its presentation from pellets to solid pucks or disks. The sales of wax products have not been reported or published.

Silca Super Secret Chain chain coating fluid lube was announced in April 2020. In some ways, it competes with Ceramic Speed UFO Drip and with a few liquids made from paraffin precursor oils, or natural oils:

• Squirt,
• Smoove,
• Effetto Mariposa Flower Power.

Silca says its Super Secret Chain chain coating fluid lube uses the the same paraffin as its hot wax Secret Chain Blend, with water and alcohol to make the product a low viscosity fluid; the fluid it is supposed to dry out and remain in place as a lubricant wax. The marketing is that this is as good as hot wax, and easier to apply. The label on the containers advises the product should be use on an “ultra clean” chain, new or used. This means, after reviewing Silca’s videos and podcasts, a chain with factory grease and residues of old lubricant and dirt removed – deep cleaned with solvents with the chain off the bike. The reviewer at Road.cc noted this, and some problems with the application of this lube in a review posted in October 2020. It is runny – most of it runs off the chain at the moment of application. I found this to be true.

Silca Velo suggests Super Secret Chain Coating be left for 24 hours after application to let the lube penetrate and dry into a wax chain coating. Silca’s product release information about Super Secret Chain Coating did not discuss the conditions limiting the use of this product – although more information was published by Silca.

Josh Poertner answered questions comparing Silca Secret Chain Blend, Super Secret Chain coating and Synergetic in March 2021 in the Marginal Gains channel video “Choosing the Best Chain Lube“. He said that Super Secret Chain coating had to be left for 12 to 24 hours after application, before use. Mr. Poertner said that a user planning a long ride in dirty or wet conditions would choose, among the Silca products, the wet lube Synergetic. (Further discussion of using Super Secret Chain Coating as a wax-compatible drip lube to refresh or top up immersion wax on a chain in Bike Chains 7 in this series).

Josh Poertner has not, as of August 18, 2024, directly attacked the new Finish Line hot waxes with their microspheres, although his discussions of lubrication of circular surfaces seem to criticize the idea that such particles can do what the Finish Line marketing says they do.

However, in a video published August 16, 2024 promoting more Silca custom wax “chips” he claimed that Silca’s Super Secret (Hot) Wax was the best lubricant in a ZFC test when ZFC has not made that call.

Synergetic drip lube

Silca announced Synergetic wet lube in November 2020. Synergetic superceded Silca NFS, which had been on the market as Silca’s wet drip in 2018. (Silca NFS had been endorsed by Adam Kerin of Zero Friction Cycling in his discussions with Dave Rome of CyclingTips for the March 2018 Seeking the Holy Grail article). Mr. Poertner said that Silca Velo had been unable to obain some ingredients and decided to drop Silca NFS and offer a new product.

Silca’s Synergetic wet lube was discussed in the a 22 minute Silca Velo YouTube video November 17, 2020 Announcing Synergetic Web Lube. The video shows the use of an abrasion testing machine with Synergetic and with Silca’s previous web lube, NFS. Silca has done other videos with the device to claim the superiority of Synergetic to Pro-Gold drip lubes and the superiority of Silca’s Synerg-E (e-bike) wet lube. The development of Synergetic was discussed in the Silca Marginal Gains podcast Lubes & Chains & Marginal Gains, November 30, 2020. The dominant theory has been that there must be enough oil on/in the chain to form a durable liquid barrier film on the surfaces where metal bears on metal and can cause wear. The video shows the wear that occurs where the oil does does not adequately coat the metal. For bicycle chain and other roller chains, this is generally believed to be due to the failure of the lubricant to penetrate or the displacement or dissipation of the lubricant.

In the podcast, Mr. Poertner referred to:

• racing car motor oils, Polyalphaolefin (“PAO”) and other “synthetic” base stocks,
• high quality type 5 (100% PAO) – the original Mobil 1 synthetic lubricating oil,
• the invention of hydro-cracked synthetic oil,
• litigation between Mobil and Castrol and
• changes in the motor oil industry.

He mentions Silca’s testing and comparison of Mobil 1 with Silca’s NFS wet lube product and the new Synergetic wet lube. The podcast discusses the additives that Silca uses. Wear testing establishes that Silca wet lubes with zinc dialkyldithiophosphates and tungsten disulfide are better than other wet bike chain lubes. Mr. Poertner said that Synergetic is formulated with a high quality synthetic motor oil as a base oil. Silca contends this product coats the chain parts with lubricating tribofilm(s). The application of this product requires a film of oil to supply more additives to maintain the tribofilm, and as lubricant.

Silca initially used dripper bottles with pharmaceutical dripper tips to dispense small drops on rollers, for Synergetic. This is useful in aiming the drops at the edge of the rollers, and limiting the flow to a few drops,with little waste . Silca later dropped that feature and started to use conventional dripper bottles.

In November 2021 Silca released its Synerg-E e-bike lube which is like Synergetic, with an additional “tackifier” additive and/or calcium sulfate to enhance adhesion to the chain.

Marketing

Silca’s marketing has some features:

1. Silca, like Ceramic Speed, has used a bar graph that looks like the Friction Facts or VeloNews friction efficiency graphs, with its products interpolated;
2. The Marginal Gains episode on the Silca Secret Chain Blend immersive wax pellets show an Instant Pot, the Silca sous vide bag package, and a non-contact infrared thermometer. These will interest consumers with spare cash and a yen for conspicuous consumption.

Silca’s material about Synergetic emphasized the ease of use and minimizes the time and effort of cleaning chains lubed with the product. Josh Poertner, in the 22 minute Silca Velo channel (YouTube) video November 17, 2020 Announcing Synergetic Web Lube used a blue machine that he calles a Timken machine, an ASTM machine and an ASTM G77 machine. The manufacturer is not named; it may have been made by the American Timken Company.

The videos shows the use of the blue machine with Silca products and with some other drip lubes:

• E-Bike Lubricant Showdown Round 1 between Silca e-bike lube Synerg-E and Finish Line’s e-bike lube;
• Lubricant Showdown #2 between Silca Synergetic and ProGold Prolink and Xtreme lubes;
• Lubricant Showdown 3 between Silca Synergetic and White Lightning Clean Ride and Epic Ride .

The machine is not said to be used to test bike chain components on the ASTM G77 standard. The machine is used for product demonstrations to criticize other drip lubricants. Based on FF and ZFC tests, the drip lubricants were not efficient or efficatious to reduce chain wear:

• ProGold
  • FF had showed around 7 watts
  • ZFC does not show any testing of ProGold products;
• White Lightning
  • Clean Ride – FF had showed around 6 watts, and
  • Epic Ride – FF had showed 9 watts; it had failed ZFC testing.

The videos shows the wear that occurs where or when lubricant film does does not adequately coat. The amount of lubricant applied or “flung” is not measured; no time is allowed for distributing or settling the lubricant. The ring and pin arrangement is different than the interior spaces of bike chains. A surface area of the machine ring is much larger than the surface area of bike chain pin or the interior surface of roller. The discussion of lubricant being flung seems to be a distraction, given a ring powered by an electric motor at speed will fling any liquid on the surface.

The length of the wear marks are noted and in the videos is measured. The wear marks left by the machine on pins lubricated by Synergetic were small compared to the wear marks made by other products,. In the ProGold/Synergetic video, Mr. Poertner says that he surprized by how small the wear marks left on pin after the ProGold sessions are, implying he expected larger marks. In the White Lightning/Synergetic video, Mr. Poertner showed how rapidly and badly the sample wore when the ring and the sample pin were wetted with the White Lightning products.A failure of a lubricant to form a film on on the moving or load-bearing surfaces in a roller chain can be due to the failure of the lubricant to penetrate into the chain between the moving metal surfaces, or the displacement or dissipation of the lubricant. Some products – e.g. Silca Velo’s Synergetic- use an automotive motor oil base oil and additives that coat the chain parts with metal lubricating tribofilm(s). Mr. Poertner said that the lubricating ingredients in White Lightning and Finish Line products were diluted in a carrier fluid and did not lubricate effectively, which is are fair points for discussion and comment.

In the White Lightning video Mr. Poertner said the White Lighting products and some Finish Line products contained small amount of PFAS “forever chemical” additives. The environmental accusation apparently is that the products contain Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and persistant organic pollutants. White Lightning markets Clean Ride as a wax lube, and Epic Ride as made of “non-petroleum based synthetic oils”. White Lightning does not use the Teflon™ or claim that its product contains Teflon. It does not appear that White Lightning says it contains PFTE.

When ZFC tested White Lightning products, the company did not respond to ZFC questions about its marketing claims for its products or about its testing processes.

I did not believe that the White Lightning and Finish Line products were good or good value before I saw these videos. In those videos, I saw the the marketing persona of Josh Poertner, more than his engineer persona.

More Innovation

Silca released”Ultimate Chain Stripper + Wax Prep.” in 2023, which competes with Ceramic Speed UFO Drivetrain Clean. Both are innovative, and different than mineral spirit solvents. Both are supposed to be biodegradaable, perhaps avoiding the enviromental and regulatory problems of disposing of used solvents and petroleum products. Both are expensive.

Other manufacturers entered the immersive paraffin wax market in 2022 & 2023:

• Rex wax lubes;
• CycloWax in Belgium introduced CycloWax, an immersive wax, and dedicated wax pot.

In early 2024 Silca released:

• an additive wax to mix with other hot waxes to strip factory grease on a new chain in a one-step process, and
• a dedicated wax pot with high temperature settings to melt the new additive wax and remove factory grease and wax a new chain in a single operation.

In August 2024 Silva began to market “chips” of waxes to alter the efficiency and durability of its hot melt wax products, and began to claim that its wax products had been the best tested by ZFC. ZFC had not published review of Hot Wax X, and listed the Silca immersive Waxes near the top of its tested and partially tested products but not at the top of the list.

There were announcements in early 2024 that major manufacturers in the drip lube industry were planning to release immersive waxes, chain coating fluids, and improved drip lubes. By July 2024 Finish Line had launched an immersive paraffin product called Halo. It was reported to have been failing in the first block of ZFC wear tests – to be as bad as Muc-Off and Finish Line drip lubes, relying on marketing and economic dominance of the relevant channels of distribution and sale of products.

Prepared chains

Shops including MSpeedwax, and ZFC sell and ship new chains, with factory grease removed, waxed with a branded immersion wax, ready for use. A buyer can test the riding a waxed chain. The chains will have to regularly reset by users by successive immersions. If the rider is not happy with the paraffin routine, the paraffin washes out and the user can dry the chain and use it with the user’s lube of choice.

Some vendors, e.g. Silca Velo, offered to provide a chain that has been prepared and polished. The theory is that a shop can polish or treat the metal on the inside of a chain that has been rivetted together by suspending diamond fragments in a lubricant to create a paste or slurry – which is removed by throrough cleaning before the chain is lubricated.

12. Choices

Many or most modern chains are not durable.

A few lubricants have been shown to help make chains last longer. The main options for a user or rider, involve recurring effort and costs:

1. Monitor chain wear and
   • replace the chain every few thousand Km., or
   • buy and use a better chain to replace the chain supplied by the manufacturer;
2. Keep the chain clean and lubricated; and
3. Use better lubricant.

Bicycle chain lubricants are chemically engineered petroleum products. Cleaning a chain involves other chemically engineered products, often solvents. Most lubricants and solvents are chemically engineered petroleum products. The main lubricant choices:

1. immersive paraffin waxes:
   • Manufactured pucks or blocks of processed paraffin and additives, including:
     • Molten Speed Wax,
     • Silca Secret Chain Blend,
     • other products developed by competing manufacturers – e.g. Rex, and
     • paraffin that some consumers have access to (blocks, candles etc.);
2. drip (including “wet” and “dry”) lubes,
   • Most are not very good:
     • expensive products from vendors that market widely and aggressively e.g. Muc-Off;
     • apprarently inexpensive products by brands including White Lightning, Finish Line, WD-40, Muc-Off, etc. ;
   • A few are effecive but fairly expensive e.g. Silca Synergetic;
3. chain coating or “wax-compatible” fluid waxes,
   • Ceramic Speed UFO;
   • Silca Super Secret Chain Coating;
   • Tru-Tension Tungsten All-Weather;
   • Smoove;
   • Squirt;
   • other innovators;
4. A few other fluid lubricants – e.g. Effeto Mariposa Flower Power.

Immersive waxing involves deep cleaning a chain to remove factory grease, and regular immersions in heated (“hot”) wax. Deep cleaning is discussed in Bike Chains 5. The repeated immersions involve a minor amount of time. The proprietary paraffin waxes are available from the manufacturers and from some bicycle supply companies:

• MSpeedwax in Shoreview (St. Paul) Minnesota ships its Molten Speed Wax (“MSW”). MSpeedwax also is the American distributor of YBN chains and master links. MSW has been available from online retailers in the USA, although online retailers had product shortages in 2022;
• Silca Velo in Indianapolis, Indiana in the USA, ships its Secret Chain Blend and other lubricants;
• As of April 2023, Rex Black Diamond immersive wax was on the market .

Zero Friction Cycling, in Adelaide Australia sells Molten Speed Wax, Silca Secret Chain Blend and other lubricants. ZFC encourages consumers outside Australia to order lubricants from the manufacturers or local vendors where feasible to avoid the shipping costs for orders that involve shipping product from Australia. MSW and ZFC sell chain, including YBN chains and some other merchandise.

Drip lubes are easy to apply. The chain has to be cleaned often, and the chain wears in spite of cleaning and lubrication.

Chain coating fluids are also applied by dripping but require extra effort and time:

• Some (Silca Super Secret Chain Coating, Ceramic Speed UFO Drip), perhaps all these fluids, require deep cleaning the chain to remove factory grease. The grease occupies the spaces that should be lubricated, and affects the operation of the lubricant.
• These fluids have to be refreshed, and the chains have to be cleaned.
• Chain coating fluid waxes require a a period of at least a few hours after application(the chain has to have time to dry).

Table of Contents

• Preliminary
  • Endless Post
  • Scope
• 18. Paraffin
  • Chemistry and History
  • Cycling Uses
  • Immersion
  • Waxing Knowledge
  • Prices
  • My start in waxing in 2022
  • Emulsions
  • Chain Coating Fluids
• 19. The Immersive Method
  • Removing the Chain
  • Factory Grease
  • Dirty Wax
  • Hot Wax Safety
  • Slow Cookers
  • Instant Pots™, Multicookers and other devices
  • Temperature and Agitation
  • Chain Spa
• 20. Wax-Compatible Fluids

Preliminary

Endless Post

This is part 7 of 8 posts organized as a single article, individually published as posts on this blog. In March 2024 I began to reorganize and revise the long article. The sections are numbered for reference here and in the table of contents for each post.

Part/Post & Link	S.	Topics
1. Chain Wear		My discovery of wear Issues
	1	Safety Bicycles — History — Variety — Manufactured Industrially — Bike Brands — Shops or Stores — Mechanics
	2	Bike knowledge sources, Internet
	3	Bike Chains
2. Roller Chain	4	Chain Drive
3. Lubrication	5	Lubrication Theory
	6	Petroleum
4. Lubricants
	7	Fluid Lubricants — Motor Oil — Drip Lubes — Engineered — Wet and Dry marketing — Additives
	8	People and Projects
	9	Lubricant Efficiency Tests
	10	Wear tests – chains & lubricants
	11	Innovation 2022-24
	12	Consumers’ options
5. Cleaning	13	Cleaning
	14	Deep Cleaning with Solvents
	15	New Products
6. Durability	16	Modern Chains
	17	Durable Chain
7. Paraffin	18	Paraffin Wax
	19	Method
	20	Wax-compatible Drip Lubes
8. Learnings for Make Benefit		Assortment of Notes

Scope

This post mainly discusses immersion in melted paraffin (hot wax) as chain lubrication. It will begin with a discussion of paraffin. It will address:

• some attempts to use paraffin in drip lubes,
• paraffiin chain coating emulsions and
• other chain coatings applied as fluids.

18. Paraffin

Chemistry and History

Paraffin is a wax, a dry solid. Paraffin wax is a refined petrolem product, a synthetic wax made of alkanes. Some of its properties depend on the refining. The melting point can be under 35 ºC, or over 50 or 60 ºC. A company that obtained the corporate name ParaffinCo and the domain name paraffinco.com refers to paraffin wax as “normal paraffin”, it says, on a web page about the industrial uses & applications:

Normal paraffin is a straight-chain alkane, typically derived from crude oil through the refining process. It consists of a linear arrangement of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached, forming a saturated hydrocarbon chain. Normal paraffins vary in chain length, which influences their physical and chemical properties, making them suitable for different industrial applications.

The melting point of normal paraffin varies with the length of the carbon chain, providing flexibility in choosing the appropriate type for specific applications.

Due to its saturated hydrocarbon structure, normal paraffin has low chemical reactivity, making it safe and easy to handle in various industrial processes.

It exhibits excellent chemical stability, resisting oxidation and other chemical reactions. This stability ensures that normal paraffin maintains its properties over time, even under varying environmental conditions.

Normal paraffin is hydrophobic, meaning it repels water. This property is particularly useful in applications where moisture resistance is crucial, such as in coatings and sealants.

…

Normal paraffin is used as a base oil in the formulation of industrial
lubricants. Its stability, low reactivity, and lubricating properties
make it suitable for various applications.

In metalworking, normal paraffin-based lubricants reduce friction and wear on cutting tools, enhancing their lifespan and performance. The lubricants also help to dissipate heat generated during the machining process, preventing damage to both tools and workpieces.

…

Normal paraffin’s versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of applications across various industries. Its ability to adapt to different formulations and processes makes it a valuable ingredient in many products.

Normal paraffin is relatively cost-effective compared to other raw
materials, providing an economical solution for industrial applications
without compromising on quality and performance.

Normal Paraffin: Its Industrial Uses & Applications

The use of paraffin wax as a lubricant was discussed in a paper “The Friction of Lubricated Metals” published in by the Royal Society of London in 1940. Solid paraffin wax lubricates as a solid. The reasons paraffin wax lubricates have not been fully scientifically explained. The 19th century explanation for why ice (frozen water) is slippery when other cold solids are not is still debated – see the Vox article “Why is ice so slippery“.

The practical questions about paraffin as a bike chain lubricant are:

• Does it reduce friction?
• Since it is a solid
  • how is it applied to a roller chain?
  • as applied to open bearings (i.e. not sealed or otherwise protected), how can a user apply it?

Cycling Uses

The manufacturer of Molten Speed Wax says lubrication with paraffin was tried in the era of Mile a Minute Murphy, (i.e. before 1900 in the early days of safety bicycles). I have not explored this factual claim.

The bicycle chain lubrication industries attempted to deliver wax in suspension or solution in fluids, but did not find ways to apply solid paraffin wax to bicycle chains comparable to the practice of bike mechanics and cyclists – lubrication with oils and fluids.

Manufacturers experimented with putting paraffin or other wax in suspension in carrier fluids in dry wax lubricants in the 1980s and 1990s. The drip “wax” lubes originated in that era were not durable lubricants, but they were well marketed and competitively priced.

Immersion

For use as a bicycle chain lubricant, paraffin can be melted down into a low viscosity (thin) liquid, and a chain is immersed in the hot wax. The liquid fills the spaces around the pins and along the edges of the rollers. When the chain is removed from the liquid paraffin cools and solidifies. The paraffin wax is a microscopically thin barrier between the metal surfaces of the pin and the “sleeve” (bushing or half bushings, roller), and the overlapping areas of the link plates. The wax adheres to the metal and apparently sheers to slip, reducing friction. Paraffin may sheer, or form surface liquid films. Solid wax is more water repellent than liquid oils – it is not as easily “washed” out by contact with the stream(s) of water droplets striking and flowing into a moving chain.

As discussed in the post Bike Chains 4 in this series, Jason Smith of Friction (“FF) tested lubricants, including paraffin in 2012 or 2013. The FF test results were published in VeloNews in an article in 2013.

The idea of using a commonly available commodity attracted cyclists ready to experiment. Readers of the 2013 VeloNews article sent questions to the magazine about immersing chains in melted paraffin to get paraffin wax into bike chains. Questions were addressed by Lennard Zinn’s Technical FAQ column in VeloNews.

The positive results of the original article and a further VeloNew article in 2014 attracted attention. A few cyclists experimented with removing chains from bicycles and applying melted paraffin. This was discussed in cycling publications – inially printed periodicals (magazines, journals). As the internet expanded, the discussion moved online. The uses of paraffin (by riders, doing diy “garage mechanic” work melting wax in “coffee cans” in the 1970s or 80s) are mentioned in a few online resources including the CyclingTips Waxing Endless FAQ article by Dave Rome (another article published online at CyclingTips that the publishers of Outside and Velo have unpublished).

Immersive waxing did not work unless the user removed factory grease from the chain by repeated immersion in mineral spirits and agitation. If a clean chain is submerged in hot paraffin, the chain will warm to the temperature of the wax; the wax penetrates into the spaces around the pins, inside the rollers and at the end of overlapping link plates. If previously waxed chain has been properly cleansed of contaminants (washed off and chain dried), it can be treated as clean.

Removing factory grease also appears to be effective for increasing efficiency and reducing wear and noise with wax emulsions/fluids, dry-drip lubes with friction reducing additives, and oily wet lubes.

Lubricating with paraffin presented challenges:

• The chain had to be removed – which was not easy without master links;
• The chain had to be cleaned;
• Paraffin had to be melted;
• The chain had to immersed, moved and cooled. The wax had to penetrate the chain and stay in place;
• The wax will, as the chain makes its revolutions, break down and flake off. Small amounts of wax are expelled;
• The exposed wax at edges of the chain will be contaminated;
• While solid wax is more water repellent than liquid oils – it is not as easily “washed” out by contact with a stream of water droplets striking and flowing into a moving chain – waxin needs to be renewed – a chain must be cleaned and lubricated again.

Within a few years after the VeloNews article in 2013:

• other proprietary immersive waxes and wax emulsions with special features (additives, special packaging) came on the market;
• riders and mechanics began to publish articles and videos on immersive waxing using retail paraffin or proprietary products safely (melt the wax in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, not on a flame). Some described the process, in an ironical tone, as “Chain Spa”, etc.

Molten Speed Wax developed and marketed its proprietary paraffin product within a couple of years after the FF test results were published. Arguably, MSW did not exploit the so-called first mover advantage in the market for hard wax.

Adam Kerin of Zero Friction Cycling (“ZFC”) argues immersive waxing involves less effort and cost than using dry-drip and wet lubes, and provides benefits for cyclists/owners:

• It reduces chain wear, which reduces the costs of operating and maintaining a bike; and
• Paraffin wax can be applied by a cyclist for modest expense, with little effort.

The users of paraffin say several things about why waxing works, and some of the benefits:

• The lubricant penetrates the chain and occupies the spaces,
• A waxed chain is not oily. Dirt does not stick to a freshly waxed chain,
• Paraffin resists the movement of dust, dirt and abrasive material into the chain, and
• Solid wax is more water repellent than liquid oils – it is not as easily “washed” out by contact with a stream of water droplets striking and flowing into a moving chain.

The bike lubricant article at BikeGremlin notes drawbacks of wax as perceived by many engineers:

{A ] shortcoming of paraffin wax is that it isn’t mobile enough to replenish lubed surfaces after being displaced, while not being strong enough to resist being displaced after put under pedalling pressure. This is apparent after some water gets on a paraffin wax lubed chain – it quickly starts squeaking.

That is why paraffin wax lubed chains need to be re-lubed often. Also, chain needs to be completely clean and dry before lubing, so that paraffin wax can stick to it and prevent dirt from sticking to it.

Unless paraffin wax is bought, melted by heating, chain submerged in it, let to drip dry, excess rubbed off … then a “special” dry lube for chain needs to be bought, with a fluid solvent that dries off and a rather high price. Label usually says something along the lines of: “wax based chain lubricant”.

Some commercial paraffin wax based chain lubricants often have other dry lubricants added (usually PTFE), in order to improve characteristics. However, unless some oil is added as well (which beats the purpose of using a dry lubricant to prevent dirt from sticking to the chain), the problem of displacement from friction surfaces (and not flowing back) mostly remains!

BikeGremlin, 2016, updated 2021, Bike Lubricants Explained

Paraffin advocates accept:

• A chain needs to be cleaned deeply to remove factory grease before it waxed;
• Paraffin needs to be renewed or replenished after a few hundred kilometers of riding.

The wax moves as the stresses of pedalling stress the lubricant in the chain links. A waxed chain may creak if the wax is thin or weak in one place within one link. This may happen if the wax has not fully coated the chain, which happens if the chain is not clean or the wax has become contaminated.

The wax begins to break down within a couple of hundred kilometers of riding. Small amounts of wax are expelled; some of the exposed wax at edges of the chain will be contaminated. Paraffin protects a chain from dirt and water for a limited time and distance. Therefore the chain should be relubricated at short intervals. If a chain is dry and free of contaminants on the visible surfaces, it can be redipped in the same wax. The simplest method of cleaning a waxed chain used in reasonably dry and clean conditions is to put the chain on the unmelted wax and heat the wax and chain until the wax melts. The wax can be melted repeatedly. A half pound of wax will last, according to MSpeedwax, for about 8 lubrications of training chains.

Adam Kerin of Zero Friction Cycling recommends a structured approach to cleaning and lubrication:

• Factory grease should be removed before a chain is installed. Removing factory grease is best done before the chain is on the bike, as it involves putting the chain in solvents. A chain that has been lubed with a fluid lubricant and used need additional preliminary cleaning. Adam Kerin and others have opinions about which bicycle or industrial cleaning products can remove dirt and contaminated chain lubricant;
• The rider should clean the chain according to the contaminants encountered – dirt, water or both – after every ride;
• The best practice is to renew paraffin every 300 or 400 Km. – or at shorter intervals.

A fairly small amount of wax can be melted and used repeatedly, until the wax in the pot is too contaminated.

The critics of immersive waxing view it reservations relating to:

• Power Efficiency – some drip lubes may be more efficient in converting the rider’s effort to forward motion (distance, speed);
• Economic efficiency – the time and cost of regular waxing;
• The difficulties of relubrication during long rides or competitive events – the necessity of taking a break to install another waxed chain

Waxing Knowledge

CyclingTips had the “endless FAQ” article How to Wax a Chain, now unpublished, and a YouTube video (still available in 2024) A Beginner’s Guide. The paraffin pioneer Molten Speed Wax LLC (“Mspeedwax”) has an article Waxing Your Chain, and a YouTube video How to Wax aTraining Chain. YouTube also brings up a a video on the Bike & Blades channel, called Molten Speed Wax: The Epic Guide.

Zero Friction Cycling has articles on its side and videos on its YouTube channel:

• May 2022 Chain preparation/cleaning instructions – concise (flow chart);
• May 2022 Chain preparation/cleaning FAQ Guide V.2;
• August 2022 Chain maintenace guide;
• Waxing Instructions – Brief;
• Waxing Zen Master Guide;
• Immersive Waxing FAQ;
• Video, ZFC YouTube Channel Episode 17, Immersive Waxing, the Concise Version;
• Video, ZFC YouTube Channel Episode 21, Lubricant Choice Guide;
• Video, ZFC YouTube Channel, Episode 4, Part 2, Immersive Waxing How-To.

Adam Kerin suggested practices that a rider can follow after recreational and training rides or commuting in wet conditions in his paper Wet Weather/Winter and waxing guide. A wet chain should be wiped down to remove any water clinging to it. A rider can use alternative chains in succession, and set aside the used chain(s) for re-waxing. Adam Kerin cautions against putting a conventional “dry” or “wet” lube on a waxed chain. It is a temporary measure which will contaminate the chain. Serious contamination can lead to a full deep cleaning with solvents. Adam Kerin suggests only using wax-compatible fluid lubricant on a waxed chain.

Silca Velo has a YouTube Marginal Gains TV channel video made September 2020, How to Hot Melt Wax your Chain.

The manufacturers and vendors of the brand name bicycle chain waxes, and many chain wax advisers:

1. suggest waxing with a brand name bike chain wax, and
2. warn against substitutions such as candle wax, canning wax, hobby/craft wax, and industrial paraffins.

However, when ZFC tested a no name paraffin sold as candle wax, it did not do badly,

The brand name chain waxes have been used by thousands of users, and the working methods are known. Users may not know what is in a substitute paraffin or a particular batch, particularly with industrial lubricants.

Prices

The leading brand name bicycle chain immersive waxes were sold as bags of pellets. Silca Velo still sells pellets; MSpeedwax shifted to selling 250 g. (half pound) discs (cakes, pucks?) of Molten Speed Wax in 2022. 250 g. of paraffin pellets, or caked paraffin, can be melted in a small container or device – e.g. a slow cooker – in one session. The chain will not take up more than a fraction of the wax. The unused paraffin can be cooled, and melted again several times. The used chain will surrender some contaminants into the wax. The wax in the pot wax will become contaminated. The prices, per bag, as of the end of April 2022:

• Mspeedwax sold Molten Speed Wax in 1 lb. (453 g,) bags for about $25 (U.S.). It changed to 500 g. bags in late 2021 and to pucks in early 2022;
• Silca Velo sells Silca Secret Chain Blend in 500 g. sous vide pouches for about $53 (U.S.). Shipping charges apply, but are waived/discounted for orders over $100.

There are other manufacturers and sources of paraffin. Several immersive wax products have been developed in the post was first written. Adam Kerin of Zero Friction Cycling mentions a couple in his news update June 3, 2022, and has reviewed or discussed other.

My start in waxing in 2022

When I began to look seriously at paraffin in February 2022, Mspeedwax was not shipping wax in March and April 2022; MSpeedwax was taking orders for new formula “available 4/30”, hoping to be able to ship product by May. MSpeedwax sold and shipped pre-waxed YBN chains. I bought and received 2 chains.

Among online retail distributors of Molten Speed Wax, some – e.g. Modern Bikes – said that they had no stock in March. Others – e.g. Universal Cycles – said they had stock, but applied high shipping costs to orders and claimed that delivery problems in Canada were attributable to the US Postal Service, the Canadian Border Service agency (clearing Canada Customs), and the Canada Postal Corporation. “One pound” of Molten Speed Wax from Universal Cycle, ordered in March 2022, arrived May 4, 2022. It was a 500 g. bag of pellets. The bag had adhesive labels indicating the wax had Tungsten Disulfide. It was a bag of “new” MSW pellets.

As of mid-April 2022, Mspeedwax explained its supply chain issue, according to updates published by the Australian distributor, Zero Friction Cycling, as a problem with obtaining containers. By the end of April, I had two new prewaxed YBN chains. I scraped dirt and the residue of old lube off the chain wheels and the cassette. I did not scrub the component in solvent.

I put a few hundred Km on each new YBN chain, and notice the chains starting to creak. I did not have wax to re-wax the chains. I tried to refresh the wax with Silca Super Secret Chain Coating (Silca Velo’s wax-compatible drip lube). As the mileage accumulated, I installed a spare SRAM PC1170 chain. I cleaned it with solvents (removed factory grease), put it on the bike and lubed it with Silca Synergetic. I used that that chain to avoid risking wear of my better chains and wear of drive train components until some wax from one of the sources showed up. The use of wet lube on the SRAM PC1170 chain will have consequences. It adhered to the drive train components, and will contaminate waxes.

In late April 2022 MSpeedwax’s “4/30” had become “5/20” and the price of MSW went from $22 to $25 per 500 g. By May 4, MSpeedwax’s goal became 6/10. By May 7, 2020 MSpeedwax announced MSW was being shipped in pucks, and changed product images on its web site. Dealers – e.g. ZFC – began to anticipate filling back orders by June 2022. I received my pucks on my February 2022 order on May 20, 2022. The pucks were wrapped in bubble wrap. I received the pucks on my March order in late July. The supply stabilized, and as of 2024 there are several immersive waxes marketed to cyclists.

Emulsions

Bicycle lubricant manufacturers may process paraffin wax to create their own proprietary emulsions. A refiner, a chemical company or a wholesale distributer may supply paraffin emulsions to manufacturers of bicycle products. ParaffinCo says:

Paraffin emulsion consists of finely divided paraffin wax particles suspended in water, typically with particle sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers.

Paraffin emulsion appears as a milky-white liquid with a smooth texture. It is easily pourable and can be diluted with water to adjust the concentration

Paraffin emulsion is stabilized with emulsifiers to prevent the wax particles from agglomerating and settling out of solution, ensuring long-term stability and shelf life.

Normal Paraffin vs Paraffin Emulsion: Specifications & Uses

Chain Coating Fluids

I have mentioned drip lubes marketed as paraffin lubrications. In 2024, some of those drip lubes have been reformulated or kept on market.

ZFC use the term chain coating to refer to several fluid products that are applied as drip lubes, including paraffin emulsions. ZFC notes that some wax-compatible chain coatings can be applied to relubricate a chain that has been lubricated by immersion in melted normal paraffin. Two wax-compatible paraffin emulsions, tested by ZFC with good results:

• Ceramic Speed UFO Drip;
• Silca Super Secret Chain Coating.

Some chain coating fluids are made of refined petroleum products that have not been refined to the point of being paraffin which are not as wax-compatible as paraffin emulsions ZFC has reviewed the South African fluid lubes:

• Smoove;
• Squirt.

ZFC has reviewed some chain coating fluids including Effetto Mariposa FlowerPower that are effective, but not wax-compatible.

I will discuss the use of drip lubes, chain coating fluids and wax-compatible chain coatings on waxed chains in section 21.

19. The Immersive Method

Removing the Chain

Immersive waxing involves working with the chain off the bike frequentlly. The master link makes removing the chain much easier, and makes working with the chain off the bike regularly feasible. Master links are discussed in Bike Chains, Part 2 in this series.

Factory Grease

The point of removing the factory grease is to install paraffin on a truly clean chain to allow the paraffin to penetrate to the interior spaces and adhere to the metal. This also makes the initial immersion and subsequent lubrications with paraffin faster and simpler. Paraffin can be removed and replaced with a liquid lubricant – but time, effort and money will have been spent. The supporters of waxing say it is seldom necessary, after factory grease has been removed and a chain has been waxed, to do another deep cleaning with detergents and solvents.

Removing factory grease from a new chain is a time-consuming and demanding project. Removing factory grease requires solvents that will penetrate the chain and carry off the dissolved grease. The solvent recommended to cut grease is mineral spirits. It is also necessary to rinse the chain with a polar solvent that will carry off any water. Industrial ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is good. Cleaning a used chain is more demanding. Removing old lube and contamination requires a chain cleaning detergent before the use of the mineral spirits and methylated spirits.

Removing factory grease, or old lube, contamination and factory grease from a chain (or from drive train components) requires buying, storing and using chemicals that have strong odours or may irritate the respiratory organs, and which may need to be disposed of according to environmental regulations. A bike shop may perform the work, but will charge by the hour. This is hard-core DIY stuff.

Dirty Wax

A reasonably clean waxed chain can be waxed repeatedly, until the wax in the pot is too contaminated. Immersing the chain in melted wax will remove dirt. MSpeedwax suggests a half pound of its paraffin can be used 8 times for “training chains” if the chain is rewaxed at intervals and the contamination is simple dust. Contaminated wax will be discarded after a few uses, and replaced with clean fresh wax. A user will observe the wax during wax jobs and learn to judge contamination.

A waxed chain requires basic maintenance. This is mentioned by Dave Rome in the CyclingTips waxing FAQ and other material. The chain should be wiped to remove water if the chain has been used in wet conditions. Dirt on the outside will come off if the chain is wiped. Some substances that adhere to a chain, such as small amounts of old wet lube degrade the wax.

If a chain has been waxed with contaminated wax it should be reset by deep cleaning and fresh lubrication with clean wax.

Hot Wax Safety

The melting point of paraffin is approximately 37°C (99 °F)., but it varies. Some paraffin waxes melt at up to 67°C and congeal at 66.4°C. The melting point of the paraffin chain lubes is above 55℃, above the range of temperatures in the temperate and tropical parts of the world. Further notes on these waxes:

• MSpeedwax cautions on the wax package that MSW should not be heated above 220 ℉ (104 ℃). It recommends that the chain and solid wax be heated to 200 ℉ (93℃). The chain is placed on dry wax in the pot, and heated at the same time to the same temperature. It suggests measuring temperature with a candy thermometer. Adam Kerin of ZFC mentions in some of his articles that he thinks it is 60℃. The exact melting point is not easily measured in a slow cooker unless the user has an instant read thermometer. It is in the range of 55 to 60℃;
• Josh Poertner of Silca Velo did a YouTube Marginal Gains TV channel video in September 2020 How to Hot Melt Wax your Chain. He said that Silca Secret Chain Blend melts at 140 to 150 ℉ (60 to 65.6 ℃)

At the flash point volatile vapour enters the air, increasing the risk of fire and explosion. The flash point of paraffin varies, depending on the mixture. It may be 250 to 300° C. The boiling point of paraffin is above 370 °C (698 °F). The temperatures are not precise because paraffin is a blend of manufactured hydrocarbons, often mixed with other substances. The melting point(s) and boiling point(s) of paraffin are higher than the melting and boiling points of water. An appliance that generates enough heat to boil water can melt paraffin, but will probably not boil paraffin. The manufacturers of MSW and SSCB do not put product specifications, such as melting point or flash point of the wax on the Internet.

The bicycle chain waxes have additives. The additives do not seem to produce gases that can harm the user, and have minor environmental effects. Without disclosing amounts, the manufacturers list the lubricating additives:

• Molten Speed Wax: MoS₂ (Molybdenum disulfide), PTFE and WS₂ (Tungsten disulfide) ;
• Silca Secret Chain Blend: WS₂ (Tungsten disulfide),

Modern bicycle chain wax advisers discourage the methods said to have been used by the populist mechanic/riders in the 20th century: melting paraffin on a stove top, camp stove, or outdoor burner (e.g. a camp cooker that home brewers might use to brew beer or camp chefs would use to deep fry a turkey in oil). Even if you are careful, shit can happen in many ways – slip on the floor, step on lego, bitten by bug, distraction, inattention, pets, kids, zombie apocalypse. The wax can spill and catch fire from an open flame.

Waxing Nordic (cross country) skis was/is required with wooden skis. and wooden skis with laminated plastic bases. The Norwegian firm Swix made – and still makes a range of ski wax cylinders to rub on to skis to promote glide on the tips and tails and grip under the “kicker” section. (Swix has not brought abicycle chain wax product to market). Some ski waxes were melted by heating a waxing iron with a torch, melting the wax on the hot iron and dripping liquid wax on the ski bases, and smoothing/distributing it with the hot iron. When I was younger and confident, risk meant nothing … Waxing skis has changed too.

Slow Cookers

MSpeedwax and ZFC advise using an electric cooking device called a slow cooker (Crockpot™ is one slow cooker brand). Slow cookers are a mature electric appliance technology. Electric multi-cooker appliances such as the Instant Pot™ are electric pressure cooker devices with “smart” controls and slow cooker functions. Basic slow cookers with ceramic inserts (crocks), without timers or “smart” controls have 3 or 4 settings: Off, Low, High (or Off, Warm, Low, High). The heating element is in a belt in the metal case that surrounds the insert. The element is always on; the switch controls the watts of power that to the heating element. This kind of slow cooker may heat to about 100 ℃ (212 ℉) in spots at the outer edges. It takes over 30 minutes on high to warm a chain and a 225 g. (1/2 pound) of wax to about 65-70 ℃. The contents will get hotter as time passes, specially with lower amounts of contents. A small or medium slow cooker will hold a chain – even two or more chains, and melt enough wax to immerse the chain(s).

MSpeedwax advises to use a slow cooker on high, and set a timer. ZFC advises using the low setting. Low will melt the wax. It takes longer, but is safer and gives the user more time for other things. MSpeedwax suggests a slow cooker with a small crock (1.5 or 2 quarts), and discourages using 4 or 6 quart models. Adam Kerin of ZFC uses large oval slow cookers in videos – he has them in his shop and uses them to wax multiple chains in one session. Adam Kerin provides advice on the ZFC site on locating places that sell 1.5 and 2 quart slow cookers in New South Wales. He recommends staying with small or medium (3.5 quart) slow cooker devices. Basic slow cookers were and still are available in small (1.5 or 2 quart), medium (1.5 or 4 quart), and large ( 6, 6.5 or 7 quarts). Larger retailers still carry brand name small slow cookers with ceramic inserts. In March 2022, I located a 2 quart slow cooker at a Walmartstore in Victoria BC for under $30. Small used slow cookers are available. Buying a small slow cooker is an inexpensive way of getting a dedicated device. It isn’t an elegant device. It uses electricity. It is less efficient than other appliances, but it draws little current.

MSpeedwax advises that the chain should be in the slow cooker, and should heated with the wax. ZFC agrees. Adam Kerin adds that If the chain was left out, the chain should say in the hot wax at least 5-10 minutes.

Some advisers, e.g. the narrator in the Bikes and Blades channel video, suggest a device designed to melt waxes used in beauty spas. Small Rice cookers may be about the same size as small slow cooker. The automated heat controls of rice cookers are set up to bring water to boil quickly and then simmer. MSW has not discussed rice cookers. ZFC says rice cookers are not a good idea for heating bicycle chain wax.

MSpeedwax and ZFC use a swisher tool to manage handling the chain while the chain and wax are hot. A tool that sticks up out of the wax is necessary – it is not feasible to get the chain out of 70 to 100 ℃ liquid without a tool. MSpeedwax sells one ($15 US) but has posted an article “Making a Swisher Tool” with detailed dimensions to make one by cutting and bending a metal coat hanger. The dimensions are for a tool that will lay a chain in the bottom of a small or medium slow cooker. When the waxed chain is removed, the chain can be removed from the swisher (use gloves – hot) and hung over the pot (if the working space is ready) to catch hot melted wax that will drip from the chain until the chain cools and the wax congeals in place. The pot, if you do not plan to cook in it, can store the wax, which can be reused.

Instant Pots™, Multicookers and other devices

Silca Velo suggests using an Instant Pot™ (or a comparable multicooker). An Instant Pot can melt paraffin, safely, using the slow cooker program setting. Silca Velo executive Josh Poertner recommends, in the Silca Velo waxing video, using the multicooker slow cooker settings. . As Mr. Poertner demonstates, an Instant Pot is faster to reach the desired temperatures than a conventional slow cooker. Silca does not appear to be concerned about chemical effects of overheating the wax. Silca does not think the risk of heating above the flash point is serious. An Instant Pot™ should hit a burn warning and shut down before it heats the contents to the flash point of paraffin in any of its programs. The high energy programs that need the lid locked should not be used to melt bicycle chain wax.

Other videos on other sites (e.g. Russ Roca at Path Less Paddled) show users using the sauté program. The wax melts from the bottom. The user can break the cooler crust and stir the wax to distribute the heat. The user may have to tend the pot.

Instant Pots are electric pressure cookers, with powerful heating elements to heat fluids to temperatures above 100 ℃, and safety features to prevent burning or overcookingfood. An Instant Pot’s sensors and programs turn the power off and on to maintain the temperature. Josh Poertner said in the Marginal Gains video How to Hot Melt Wax Your Chain that an Instant Pot was better than a conventional slow cooker at melting paraffin. Mr. Poertner suggested putting the wax in the Instant Pot’s liner/insert/pot and melting it in the pot. He recommends buying a liner/insert/pot for wax, and keeping the wax liner in the garage or workshop. He would use a multicooker without the pressure lid, in a lower heat program.

Multicooker devices can be operated without the pressure lid in slow cooker and sauté programs. The medium slow cooker program setting puts out comparable heat to a conventional slow cooker on low; the high slow cooker program setting puts out comparable heat to a conventional slow cooker on high. Culinary publications – e.g. America’s Test Kitchen – warn that Instant Pots™ heat large amounts of water (4 quarts in a 6 or 8 quart pot) so slowly in the slow cooker program settings that the water will not reach temperature that the user expects. The low or medium sauté settings can melt wax or heat water faster than the device in slow cooker mode, but may cut out when the device hits the top of a range. The heating element of an Instant Pot heats the food at the bottom of the pot (nearest the heating element) to these temperatures, which are lower than the flash point of paraffin:

Setting	℃	℉
Slow cooker medium	88-93	190-200
Slow cooker high	93-99	200-210
Sauté low	135-150	275-302
Sauté medium	160-176	320-349

Silca Velo suggests a way to use an Instant Pot with Silca’s Secret Chain Blend Wax – putting the resealable waterproof plastic bag into hot water in the Instant Pot liner/insert/pot. Silca describes the bag as a sous vide bag; the point is that the bag can be placed in near boiling water and will not melt or degrade. The Instant Pot is used to heat water quickly to a temperature that will melt the wax, a temperature at or below the boiling point of water (212℉; 100℃). The pouch is put in the water; the wax is melted without melting or tearing the bag. In this method, the chain is waxed in the bag and the wax does not touch the pot.

In the Silca Velo video, Mr. Poertner builds a swisher with a used spoke, and uses it to lower the chain into hot wax rather than putting the chain in with the unmelted wax. He says that the liner/insert/pot can be removed to a place where the chain can be hung.

Silca endorsed using an Instant Pot™. This approach works if you have a device and use it safely. Buying a liner/insert/pot for wax may be more expensive than buying a dedicated slow cooker. You may be reluctant to operate an Instant Pot outside your kitchen, or reluctant to carry a pot of hot wax and a chain around.

Some users have tried to adapt tdevices used to melt wax for beauty industry uses (i.e. depillatory), but devices for that industry may not melt wax to the proper temperature.

Some specialized cycling industry products were in the markets in late 2023 or early 2024. Cyclowax sells a wax pot in Europe. Silca has a special hot that will handle paraffin and a special wax developed by Silca to strip factory grease and wax a chain in one step.

Temperature and Agitation

MSpeedwax recommends using a candy thermometer to check the temperature of the melting/melted wax. It said when the wax was heated to 200 ℉ (93℃), the user should agitate the chain for 45 second and take it out. In ZFC videos, Adam Kerin uses a digital thermometer and says the user should agitate the chain. ZFC does not have a recommendation on how long to leave the chain in the wax if the chain has been heated in the slow cooker.

Mr. Poertner of Silca Velo demonstrated the use of a non-contact infrared thermometer to check the heat of the wax, at the surface, as it heats and cools in an InstantPot. Russ Roca of the Path Less Pedalled site uses such a device in his November 2021 video “Watch This before you Wax your Bicycle Chain“, basically following the Silca method. Silca is looking for melted wax – above 140 to 150 ℉ (60 to 65.6 ℃). Silca agrees that a chain should be agitated when the wax is melted. Mr. Poertner recommended leaving it in the wax until the wax begins to congeal. If a user knows the congealing temperature, a user with any device that reads the temperature can leave the chain in the pot and take it out as the wax is congealing. This means, I think, less wax will drip off or out of a chain?

Chain Spa

The user needs to have or acquire devices, and set up a working space and routine to use wax.

20. Wax-Compatible Fluids

The solid wax on a waxed chain should block dripped fluid lube from penetrating the chain when the wax is fresh. After the chain has been used for a while, a dripped fluid may have some spaces that it can penetrate. The main direct consquences of using a fluid on a waxed chain:

• The fluid may lubricate places where the wax has been compressed, displaced or deteriorated;
• A fluid may trap contaminants or weaken the wax; and
• The user may need to reset the chain to get rid of contaminants including the residue of the fluid by deep cleaning before re-waxing.

ZFC’s advice was to not use most drip lubes on a waxed chain, including the traditional low reputation dry-drip lubes marketed as depositing a wax or waxy lubricant on the working parts of a chain. ZFC says that wax-compatible drip lubes can be used on an immersion waxed chain. The term seems to refer to a lubricant that will come out of a chain immersed in melted paraffin without contaminating the paraffin or interfering with the application of melted paraffin to the chain. Adam Kerin said, at one point:

Can I use a drip lube to supplement waxing? Sort of. I have tested Smoove with msw, and if a single application (as per my advanced [Smoove] application guide in instructions tab), and you run that application until it is starting to feel a bit dry, then re waxing straight over seems to go ok – just not you will be contaminating wax in pot somewhat. Same with UFO Drip. I have heard from a customer similar with Squirt (which is same type of lubricant as Smoove). If you add any other drip lube on top, then you will need to fully strip clean and prep chain again prior to waxing following Waxing Zen Master guide – with the addition of boiling water rinses first to melt off majority of wax before moving to solvents. Remember for chains the wax needs to bond to clean film free chain metal, if you put drip lube on top and then just rewax – expect wax will not bond to chain metal, and it may contaminate wax in the pot such that all future waxing’s wont go too well either. Smoove / squirt is often used for long extreme events like 24hr mtb racing or mtb stage races over top of msw as that works brilliantly, but cleaning prior to re waxing after is required to keep wax in pot clean and ensure good wax bonding to chain metal.

Zero Friction Cycling, Wet Weather Guide (June 2019)

Immersion suits my schedule.

Silca Velo promotes Silca Super Secret Chain Coating drip fluid as almost chemically identical to Silca Secret Chain Blend immersive wax, and requires users to “ultra clean” a new chain, to remove factory grease. Silca Velo sells it as the cold equivalent of hot wax in a drip bottle. It is low viscosity (very runny) drip. It must be left to dry. If factory grease is not removed, or if it is not dried, it will not lubricate as well as advertised – or as reported by ZFC. Applying this stuff makes a mess; a lot of fluid is wasted dripping off the chain. Super Secret Chain Coating was intially sold in 4 ounce and 8 ounce dripper bottles. Silca later released the product in 12 oz. quantity in a 16 oz plastic jar, for immersing a chain in the product. There is no video for the use of this jar. ZFC has not done a report on this method of application. A user posted a video April 1, 2022 of using a chain cleaner cassette tool to apply the product.

Josh Poertner of Silca Velo addressed topping up an immersively waxed chain in the March 2021 Marginal Gains TV video “Choosing the Best Chain Lube“. When a hot immersion is not possible. and Silca Super Secret chain coating drip is not practical (the user has to give the fluid coating 24 hours to penetrate and dry), his solution, within the Silca products, is to use the oil based Silca Synergetic wet lube for the event or ride. For a rider who rides waxed chains, this means changing chains before the event or, resetting (deep cleaning and hot waxing) the chain before (and after) the event/ride.

Silca recommends “topping up” a chain waxed with Secret Chain Blend by dripping Super Secret Chain Coating on the waxed chain, as demonstated in the Silca Velo YouTube channel “Ask the Expert” video episode 7 “Chain Maintenance“. Josh Poertner presented this advice again May 11, 2022 in the Silca Velo YouTube “how to” episode How to Extend the Life of your Hot Wax Treatment. In the “how to” video Josh Poertner:

• gives a reason for using a wax-compatible fluid lube. He says that the original wax is compressed and displaced, leaving spaces that a fluid will penetrate, providing addtional lubricant;
• suggests that the chain should be cleaned by running it through a microfiber cleaning cloth before dripping a wax compatible fluid on the chain.

I used Silca Super Secret Chain Coating to top up MSW waxed chains in April 2022. It worked when I gave the chain coating fluid time to set.

Adam Kerin does not address the time requirements for low viscosity liquids to dry or set. Using a fluid that needs time to set is not feasible when the lube is applied during a ride when a rider on a long or extreme ride on a waxed chain needs to relube during the event.

Adam Kerin of ZFC addressed the use of wax compatible chain coatings in the ZFC YouTube video Episode 18 Key Learnings from Lubricant Testing May 8, 2022. He suggests (at about 6:30 in the video), for a rider who uses a wet lubricant for a long ride, using the “least wet” product. His advice for best option for a multi-day event or a bike packing trip (at about 40:15 in the video) depends on conditions. He suggests wax compatible drip lubes can be used to top up a waxed chain if on a ride under dry condition, when a rider is making a long stop – such as stopping overnight on a long ride. He favours owning and using a second waxed chain and carrying and changing to the replacement chain on a long ride under wet and very dirty conditions, or using a “dedicated race chain”. Eventually his advice involves compromises; there is no free lunch with chain lubrication.

In the CyclingTips NerdAlert podcast March 16, 2022 “Finding the best chain lube for your needs” Adam Kerin expanded on using fluid chain coatings with a waxed chain. He mentioned Ceramic Speed UFO Drip, Silca Super Secret. He mentioned, in passing, Rex Black Diamond which is a wet lube. (The Finnish ski wax firm Rex released two bicycle chain fluid, 2015-2022.) ZFC has tested and reported on UFO Drip, Silca Super Secret. There is no ZFC report on the Rex product. ZFC has not reported structured test reports of any of these products to “top up” an immersion wax. The site has notes that Rex Black Diamond was in the store and being tested. In the “Concise” waxing video, posted in April 2022, at the 10:55 point, Adam Kerin recommends 3 wax-compatible drip fluid lubricants for use to refresh the lubrication on a waxed chain:

• Silca Super Secret Chain Coating;
• Ceramic Speed UFO;
• TruTension Tungsten All Weather.

Adam Kerin recommends using these products, as needed, to keep the chain running smoothly, between immersive applications of melted paraffin. He suggests a few wax compatible products can be used 3 to 5 times between immersions; he still recommends immersions as the primary way of re-lubrication of a waxed chain. He followed up with a video in September 2022 – ZFC YouTube Channel Episode 21, Lubricant Choice Guide.