Episode 3 Maintenance Level 1
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- In this video we are talking about general maintenance.
Zero Friction Cycling's Adam Kerin is obsessed with the idea of how a simple chain lube selection can not only make you faster, but can potentially greatly increase the lifespan of your drivetrain. Want your chain (and drivetrain) to go far further than you’ve ever seen before? Want some free speed, too? Watch this video to find out more !
I love the fact with MSW I can wash my chain in boiling water and rewax in minutes. My wax pot is even plugged into a smart plug so I can turn the heat on from the road.
Ha, now that is clever! I need one of those to get hot bath running in winter....
Love the way you present this information. And I truly appreciate your concern for solvent use and reducing our impact on the environment. I was saddened to hear our wilderness mountain areas & water resources have been contaminated by forever chemicals found in ski wax. Will we ever learn?
I've been on the fence with immersion waxing FAR TOO LONG! I watched Dave wax his chain in "Breaking Away," but I never took the proverbial plunge. That all changed a few weeks ago! So glad to finally have made the switch.
I asked this question below, but figure I should post it more prominently.
Definitely understand wiping the surface dust off the chain prior to re-immersion.
However, do you recommend blowing out the chain links with compressed air as well? Seems to me that 50% of the plate surfaces are on the inside, so might as well try to remove that dust as well.
But then I could see that compressed air may actually force contaminants further into the recesses of the links. So I'm curious what your opinion would be.
PS And I look forward to listening to your discussion debunking the notion that immersion waxes aren't appropriate for wet riding. Thanks again.
Thanks so much for the feedback dudeonabike, and it sounds like welcome to waxed life - it really is a grand ol time :) Regarding compressor - there is no detriment for immersive waxing - any dust that is penetrated past outside and so wont wipe off, that will be going into the wax pot on re wax, or if re lubing with a wax lube, the wax lube will drag it down further into chain anyway. So if you do manage to blow it out, yeehaa - if you dont, you havent made anything worse - so the only caveat would be to ensure do the wipe first so you are not blowing external dust in .
Other than that, is most cases the difference i expect will be very minimal as i would expect that dust that has penetrated past side of roller etc will be pressed into the wax coating, and so it wont blow out, it will just go into the wax pot on re wax. But again there will be no harm in trying in case you do get a little bit out that hasnt.
@@zerofrictioncycling992 thanks for the reply! You're responsiveness is impressive on a 2 year old video. Many thanks.
Appreciate the additional advice. Yeah, I'll clean the exterior as well as I can and then utilize air. Might as well. Oh wait, now I'm ADDING to my chain maintenance routine when wax is supposed to do the OPPOSITE! Ha, ha! Step away from your OCD, man!!!
Up in the Sierra this weekend and will continue "testing" my oh-so-belated chain revelation. "I've seen the light!!!"
Thanks again. :)
Thanks for the tips Adam, time to get rid of those messy wet lubes!
Thanks for sharing this
Push for the algorithm! 🍻
Lots of good information here.
I fully clean and then hot wax on chain installation.
Then drip wax Silca SS every 100-125 miles.
When I wash my bike I remove the rear wheel and place a chain keeper in the drop-out. Then I pour boiling water on the lower portion of the chain as I rotate the cranks backward. Then re-wax with Silca’s SS drip wax. How does this method rate ?
Thanks Dave
Hey dave! it depends on your riding - if you ride dry road - there is zero benefit to boiling water rinses. If you ride offroad in dry - wiping outside of chain with microfibre cloth with alcohol spray to remove surface dust is again much effective vs boiling water - you just dont need to try to flush out the lube from inside as that will be barely contaminated. Boiling water rinses really recommended ONLY post wet rides where water has transported contamination deep inside chain and been pressed into set coating. In which case pouring over chain will be better than nothing ,but really a bath is best to really melt off wax layers from deep inside chain, a lot less from deep inside will be melted out properly by pouring over, and you would use a heap more boiling water for a better than nothing job, whereas a kettles worth and 3 to 4 baths of 30 sec soak, 30 sec agitate - that does a very good flush clean of the highly refined paraffin base wax lubes. Need to really make sure chain is proper dry after too, i need to update info on that after some deeper discussions.
If you are riding dry road / offroad - you only should worry about a very periodic re set for a top lube like ss drip - and ufo drivetrain clean is your best option if on bike is preference - spray on, soak 5 mins, rinse with boiling water, dry - you rippa. UFO clean is one of the very few solvents that work on grease and waxes. Every circa 2000 to 3000km for dry road riding and circa 1000 to 2000km for gravel / mtb.
I will be working on a flow chart soon i hope for chain maintenance :)
@@zerofrictioncycling992 Thanks for all the advice . Have you had a chance to try Silca's bio degreaser ? Is it comparable to UFO spray wax degreaser ?
UFO is hard to find in the USA.
I’m a hiker turned bike noob and going out on long bike tour. Is immersive wax and drip wax still good for me since I will be out In Rain, dirt, gravel and dry roads. I would only have access to boiling water say weekly. I could carry mentholated spirited though.
Thanks. Learning. A lot from your business
Good morning Pgreenx - Yes indeed most waxers just pack a bottle of wax compatible lubircant - (Silca ss drip, ufo drip, Tru Tension tungsten all weather). Normally trying to re set during a bike packing trip or tour is not that feasible, so usually it is done on return, and it is much easier to re set chain from some harsh riding if on wax then immersive wax compatible lubricant as you can just use some boiling water flush rinses to do a great reset job then re wax - very easy, cost effecting vs needing to use liters of solvent to re set contamination in a wet lubricant chain.
Note that all lubricants above will struggle a bit if you are hitting really solid wet weather, all wax emulsion lubricants like need AT LEAST an 8hr set time or can be easily washed off next wet ride on next day. If it going to be proper wet, it may be worth packing some silca synergetic to use instead as that is very good re staying on and keeping chain lubricated - just know that it will be a full solvent reset when back home.
Another option vs trying to pack cleaning agents is to simply pack a second chain. This means you can swap to a fresh chain halfway through and minimise wear damage from contamination increase hammering one chain in the wet, you can alternate daily for longer set time etc if each day is wet, and on such things personally im a believer of a spare chain just in case - anyone can be only one crunched shift away from a snapped chain or bent link - a spare chain is 250grams, can save a lot of friction and wear in the second half of a long harsh conditions trip, and great redundancy - i rate this as a better approach vs packing cleaning stuff
hope that helps and welcome to the lovely land of two wheels - ooh its grand out there :)
@@zerofrictioncycling992 thanks so much for the thorough and fast reply. I was two days away from lubing my new Moots Routt 45,s chain with with what I thought was a good (dry) lube. Now way Down he rabbit hole with all your tech material and videos learning all this stuff.
Thanks you again!
@@zerofrictioncycling992 One last quick question - If i'm out for 2 weeks camping and sure to hit weather, is it best to just bring the wet synergetic instead of both that and wax drip lube. I'm inevitably going to hit rain (plus bike out in rain all night) and will be camping and end up with the wet lube on at some point .
Even two chains will surely end up wet...thanks again
hello! just to clarify, you mentioned that after dry dusty rides, just wipe off the chain using a cloth with methylated spirits. i assume you still rewax afterwards?
Hi Joseph depends on whether chain needs to be re-waxed or not, ie if freshly waxed and just completed a dusty ride but still plenty of treatment lifespan left, no need, it is just mostly important to remove surface dust, and then when in that habit you will ensure you have removed surface dust before re-wax when it is time to re-wax, and save importing many rides worth of contamination into your wax pot by getting ride of that dust that has stuck to outside of chain due to static. Some area's rides - you get very little dust (ie good hard pack), other terrain if its dry can be super dusty and so a lot of dust will stick to outside of chain, and you definitely do not want all of that brought into wax pot on re-waxing, or imported inside chain upon re-lubing, so its a quick easy & cheap tip that makes a tangible difference over time to get into the habit of doing.
@@zerofrictioncycling992 Thanks for your contributions to drive train efficiency and longevity gains!
So what about wiping a dry, dusty chain off and then blowing with compressed air? Seems like this will go a long way to remove the dust particles on the inside plates of the chain as well.
However, there's the risk of forcing contamination into the rollers and between the plates. So is this to be avoided? Or is it recommended?
Realize this post is over 2 years old, but figured I'd ask anyway.
Is there any fear of warping the chain with a boiling water emersion? Do you advise putting the chain in warm water and bringing it to a boil?
No not at all - the parts are thin and all heat quickly, and there plenty of tolerance play between parts - it would take a much more serious effort than boiling water to warp a bicycle chain
So, can I use the dismissed dry lube. Can I just switch to a wet lube if I’m not going wax at the moment? Do I need an insane deep clean first or just a run through the Pedro piggie? I don’t ride in much wet weather . Just run of the mill old USA roads. Thx.
hi daniel apologies i not sure what you mean by dismissed dry lube. You can use wet over existing lubricant just take note of if the previous lubricant is poor, and not going to be great to mix with a super good lubricant, you will compromise your new good lubricant if you dont properly clean. It is same as if you had terrible grease is your bearings and now you have bought proven super good grease, are you just going to slap that in over the top or are you going to clean the crap grease out first. If you clean and how well you clean is up to the individual, but as your hardest working part by a gazillion miles, having it run on proven top super low friction low wear lubricant not contaminated with crap lubricant is of course the path recommended by zfc. Pedro piggie and similar are ok, but bath volume is small, so flush cleaning out previous lube really well can take A LOT of baths vs popping chain off, putting in a container and ripping a few baths of a few hundred ml each through it in no time.
@@zerofrictioncycling992 Thank you much for the reply. Am I mistaken that you mention the finish line type dry lube is your least recommended method? It is, of course, what I have been using.
@@daniels6554 Hi daniel sorry for delay reply - just back from a week off and madly catching up. And heavens no - again that type of dry lubricant is just really really bad - information why is covered well by josh poertner in this video - ruclips.net/video/UsyCEOlqSXY/видео.html
basically they are a category to avoid at all costs, and Finish line are in my opinion a lubricant brand just living off their name from the time when no one had any idea re bicycle chain lubricants. I havent bothered testing any finish line yet as i already know the answer to the tests from seeing customer chain and drivetrain lifespans through the workshop on their products. Brands that at this time ZFC places the strongest possible do not buy rating on for chain lubricants are Muc-Off, Finish Line, White lightning, and anyone marketing a ceramic lubricant product.
How do you suggest drying a chain adequately before applying a wax based drip lube. I’m gonna be trying Grax lube. Would compressed air on the chain get enough out if the links prior to application?
Hey Jacob! A wet chain is less of an issue for lubricants like grax that use water as the carrier. What can happen if chain is still wet inside is you will dilute your application somewhat, so you may get less longevity of that application, and you will have a longer set time so would want to allow at least overnight set minimum. COmpressed air is better than nothing, but it does struggle to dry deep inside. Hairdryer or heat gun is much more effective as it heats the chain up quickly and to quite hot - this evaps water out from deep inside chain. Grax like a lot of other wax emulsion lubricants has significant initial penetration issues - if i was me i would read from page 10 the application guide for such lubricants - their instructions are insufficient to avoid initial high wear
zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/How-to-apply-Wax-or-Wet-Drip-lubricants-v2.pdf
@@zerofrictioncycling992 thank you for that information! Very informative. Would you possibly recommend Silca over Grax whenever it’s time for a new bottle for its simplicity of use? I live in the hot, muggy SE USA so wax seems like the best option for my region.
@@jacobmason9040 Grax is a good lube, just it has penetration issues that makes it a bit tricky if you need to clean and reset frequently - if you dont - then its fine just get past the initial application and then its groovy for a good stretch before need maintenance if riding in dry. SS drip is MUCH cleaner over time, easier to apply as zero penetration issues, and very easy to reset clean - but it will take longer to set in humid conditions and treatment lifespan in wet / humid will be on the lower end so you will need to apply frequently - however personally.... as long as treatment lifespan is sufficient for your rides - application is very quick and easy and wear rates are very low (and the cleanliness, easy of cleaning if need to post wet ride etc) - overall i prefer the drips that use a highly refined paraffin base for this vs the squirt / smoove / grax - as whilst they are good - the penetration issues, gunking up over time, tough clean when need to clean etc - it is not my preference. However the longer lifespan per application, especially in wet or humid - that may be a preference instead for others riders etc
Thanks for another informative video. I'm using the Silca hot wax and the liquid version to top up. In between hot waxing I tend to just hose down the chain on-bike and after it dries I reapply the liquid wax to top it up - rather than use the alcohol and micro-fiber wipe down method. Do you have an opinion? Am I maybe removing too much wax by hosing it down or, counterintuitively, making the dirt stick more to the chain?
Hi Ovidiu, no that is perfectly fine, water itself wont wash wax off, wax will be abraded off when riding in wet conditions because the water brings abrasive contamination in with it, but just washing bike at home - no problems. The only thing to be aware of with doing this is that wax is abraded off the outside of chains rollers first, leaving that metal exposed, and chain rollers are made of a high carbon steel for hardness, and so if wetted and left exposed - they can start to oxidise quickly. Some waxes / chain coating type lubricant users if hose down bike including chain then leave it for a couple days can find rollers starting to rust - so post wash wipe chain dry (blow dry with hairdryer even better) and reapply ss drip or re-wax - that will protect chain rollers again from oxidation.
@@zerofrictioncycling992 thank you for the clarifications. Great videos. Looking forward to the next one!
Great info, but I disliked format with one huge undiluted block of talking. For me, being a visual person, I needed comparison charts and close ups to punctuate which lube you are talking about. Even with a large 23" PC screen I could not make out some of the products you were pointing to.
Thanks rico, yeah me either - i apologise i ahve been doing these vids too rushed and not enough prep (things have been crazy busy but i have a retail manager on now and hope to prep / present better in future). Thankyou for taking time to respectfully feedback input - it really does help re me getting off my butt to do better in future
We should be happy to have this info in any format. I really appreciate the vids