I use Super Secret in a pretty lazy way and it's still way way cleaner and lower maintenance than my previous lube. I'm a pretty casual rider so it seems just fine in terms of performance. This stuff is marketed as something for serious roadies, but the cleanliness of the drivetrain could be the single reason why a commuter or casual rider would love it. For instance, when my chain comes off, I can touch it and there's barely any nasty black stuff that comes off. I used to think that was just how bikes were, but it was really the lube attracting all that crap to the chain.
To clean chain simply use Silca’s biodegradable chain cleaner product with a ParkTool chain cleaner or similar device. Rinse and dry throughly. It only takes a few minutes.
I use the SS lube. But different technique. After a good clean in solvent a few times. I place the new chain (fully dry) in a plastic zip lock bag with about 30 ml of the lube. I then let that soak, shaking many times and leave it out in the sun for hours. Total time in the bag is 24 hrs. Then remove, let dry for a day and brush off the excess. With this technique I got 7500 miles out of a sram red axs chain with almost no wear. Ans no wear on the cogs or chainrings.
Don't clean your chain with boiling water. Zero Friction Cycling said it does more bad than good. Just wipe down your chain with a microfiber cloth and reapply the lube.
I do this and also run chain backwards with a couple of basic nail brushes pinching each side of the chain to take out some dust if it's there, and occasional squirt of denatured alcohol on a cloth & run the chain through that. All very easy and quick, no mess, no fuss.
Silca recommends boiling water cleaning (but in jar). It washes off old wax with all the dirt and you can reapply hot wax again. This is to save chain stripper liquid.
Don't get why "faff of setup" is a con. All chain lubricants work better with the factory lube stripped (even the terrible Muc Off lube you said you liked, which has proven to have some of the highest wear rates of all chain lubes). It's just that the majority of the best lubes are wax based where a stripped chain is more critical. Also don't get the logic behind "not using it for other bikes". The time you would have to spend scrubbing/degreasing ends up being way more over the life of the chain vs. boiling water (or even isopropyl and a rag) which you need for the Super Secret. That and you have a drivetrain that's slower and wears way quicker. This is especially on top of you owning the Silca Strip product, which makes stripping a new chain a 10min process.
How often did you re-apply Squirt Chain Lube when you were using that? Curious as to the relative staying power of the Silca to other wax lubes; 300 miles sounds pretty frequent to me. Thanks!
Why you didn't normalize your audio? 😢 You would get better results if u do a immersive wax at first and the UFO Drip Lube AC might be a good alternative for you.
That liquid wax is made to be a supplement between real chain waxing hot bath applications, not as a standalone lube. Just so you know. Ask Silica's Josh Portner.
That’s not true. Josh literally states in his videos that you can use it as a supplement to hot waxing or use it on its own but it’s a less efficient method of applying wax and hence requires several applications over time to achieve the same level of wax as the hot wax method.
That's not true. He said using it as a supplement is ideal as a hot wax starts the chain off with lube that is a lot more compacted. Josh himself has noted that if just using Super Secret then be sure to reapply after every ride for the first few rides to account for the slightly higher few % of voids (as Super Secret has liquid as a carrier) and compaction of the wax. This is why they sell Super Secret as a combo pack with their Chain Stripper product.
I use Super Secret in a pretty lazy way and it's still way way cleaner and lower maintenance than my previous lube. I'm a pretty casual rider so it seems just fine in terms of performance. This stuff is marketed as something for serious roadies, but the cleanliness of the drivetrain could be the single reason why a commuter or casual rider would love it. For instance, when my chain comes off, I can touch it and there's barely any nasty black stuff that comes off. I used to think that was just how bikes were, but it was really the lube attracting all that crap to the chain.
To clean chain simply use Silca’s biodegradable chain cleaner product with a ParkTool chain cleaner or similar device. Rinse and dry throughly. It only takes a few minutes.
Both videos gave me precious insight on the matter, thank you Mike! Absolutely user friendly tutorial and review!
I use the SS lube. But different technique. After a good clean in solvent a few times. I place the new chain (fully dry) in a plastic zip lock bag with about 30 ml of the lube. I then let that soak, shaking many times and leave it out in the sun for hours. Total time in the bag is 24 hrs. Then remove, let dry for a day and brush off the excess.
With this technique I got 7500 miles out of a sram red axs chain with almost no wear. Ans no wear on the cogs or chainrings.
Helpful! I use Muc-off dry lube and it seems to work quite well. Prefer to avoid oily lube. Looking forward to the Dolomites and Andorra videos!
resent test data from Zero Friction Cycling seems to suggest that the Muc-Off lubes don't perform very well in terms of drive train durability
@@kaybaumann9696ah balls I just bought a bottle :(
Cheers mate 👋😊,
Very good first review! Sounds pretty good 💯😊.
Stay safe and have a good one 🙏👍☺️..
In terms of the fluff of applying you were referring to, were you talking about needing to use chain stripper each time you apply?
Don't clean your chain with boiling water. Zero Friction Cycling said it does more bad than good. Just wipe down your chain with a microfiber cloth and reapply the lube.
I do this and also run chain backwards with a couple of basic nail brushes pinching each side of the chain to take out some dust if it's there, and occasional squirt of denatured alcohol on a cloth & run the chain through that. All very easy and quick, no mess, no fuss.
Where did you hear ZFC discourige use of boiling water? ruclips.net/user/clipUgkxZqhTuQ_W9NU-tF-heWCJVqsJn0KO--zz?si=Gm4p96OevUx6Fwxl
Silca recommends boiling water cleaning (but in jar). It washes off old wax with all the dirt and you can reapply hot wax again. This is to save chain stripper liquid.
@@MrVolodus I'll trust ZFC over Silca on the matter.
Silca doesn’t sell chains (other than the pre-waxed ones) so I can’t imagine why they’d recommend something that would ruin a component?…
Don't get why "faff of setup" is a con. All chain lubricants work better with the factory lube stripped (even the terrible Muc Off lube you said you liked, which has proven to have some of the highest wear rates of all chain lubes). It's just that the majority of the best lubes are wax based where a stripped chain is more critical.
Also don't get the logic behind "not using it for other bikes". The time you would have to spend scrubbing/degreasing ends up being way more over the life of the chain vs. boiling water (or even isopropyl and a rag) which you need for the Super Secret. That and you have a drivetrain that's slower and wears way quicker. This is especially on top of you owning the Silca Strip product, which makes stripping a new chain a 10min process.
Hi. Thanks for the video. I am very interested to hear your thoughts after two months (or longer) of riding with this lube.
How often did you re-apply Squirt Chain Lube when you were using that? Curious as to the relative staying power of the Silca to other wax lubes; 300 miles sounds pretty frequent to me. Thanks!
How much had your chain stretched during those 600 miles?
Chains don’t stretch
@@cosminsel Absolutely right. Lengthened then.
In other news, the tomato is a fruit.
Why you didn't normalize your audio? 😢
You would get better results if u do a immersive wax at first and the UFO Drip Lube AC might be a good alternative for you.
That liquid wax is made to be a supplement between real chain waxing hot bath applications, not as a standalone lube. Just so you know. Ask Silica's Josh Portner.
That’s not true. Josh literally states in his videos that you can use it as a supplement to hot waxing or use it on its own but it’s a less efficient method of applying wax and hence requires several applications over time to achieve the same level of wax as the hot wax method.
but what was it designed for??? it doesn't have the same additives as their hot melt.@@stevevarga8621
That's not true. He said using it as a supplement is ideal as a hot wax starts the chain off with lube that is a lot more compacted. Josh himself has noted that if just using Super Secret then be sure to reapply after every ride for the first few rides to account for the slightly higher few % of voids (as Super Secret has liquid as a carrier) and compaction of the wax. This is why they sell Super Secret as a combo pack with their Chain Stripper product.
go ahead and try it as a standalone then, let me know what you think after a month of riding.@@stevevarga8621
go ahead and try it as a standalone then, let me know what you think after a month of riding.