Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Fair enough. I found another article from Velo that does list the Clean Ride and the difference between the best...parafin...and the Clean Ride looks to be about 1.6W. However, the difference between the best and worst is only about 3W.
I'll agree that pressure will cause the some of the wax to migrate away but certainly not all of the wax will migrate away. And I'll agree that liquids work the same way. However, if you are constantly having to wipe the excess off the outside of the chain...I'm not completely unfamiliar with using oil based chain lubricants...you are remove the oil from the system. Oil removed can't migrate back either.
Not that it matters that much. If it did, the service life on a waxed chain would be far less than that of an oiled chain. It isn't in my experience.
As for the "gunk", none of it gets into the chain because that same wax that migrates away from the pressure points serves as a barrier to the grit getting into the chain. Additionally, the wax does serve as a trap for the grit in the first place. The grit doesn't stick to the wax in the same manner as it sticks to the oil. I have cleaned waxed chains in the past as well as oiled chains and I've never experienced that familiar gritty feeling with a waxed chain.
Why does everyone think that a wax lubricated chain is so noisy? What "noise" are you trying to drown out that you think I have? My chains don't squeak. They don't rattle. They don't sound any different than an oil lubricated chain. And I don't feel that grinding, grating of grit being sized reduced in the chain.
As for "wasting watts", do you really have any idea how much wattage is being wasted? The 1.6 W lost between the best lubricant...which is still paraffin by the way...and the White Lightning is the difference between 15 mph and 15.2 mph. The difference between Rock and Roll Gold and Clean ride is 15.0mph and 15.1mph. Kind of splitting hairs, isn't it?
I know it's not a lot of watts from the middle of the pack to the high end, but 3W is 3W. When you can get that back essentially for free by a lube choice, what's not to like? At an average power output of 150W, that's 2% back for free. I recently installed a power meter on my bike and I have to say I was very surprised at what you can do with rather low watts and the difference by adding as little a few watts to the current effort when riding.
As for there being "better lubes out there", my question is still better how? I get the same chain mileage, I don't have to clean all the time and I don't have to don Super Fund Site level protective gear to touch my chain. I am infinitesimal...immeasurably?...slower.
I don't clean all the time either - mostly I just add lube when needed and wipe the excess off with rag that has spray of WD40 in it the next morning. The trick to a clean chain is keeping the extra lube off external parts of the chain. That's true of any lube.
Your experience with wax was different than mine. I found it noisier and not especially cleaner. When it got noisier, it seemed to me to happen a lot faster from the time I first noticed the increased noise to where it was really noisy. It's also really hard to get it out of the chain if you want to go back to non wax lubes. So, I avoid it. But it's great that it works for you and it's great to have choices.
J.