Originally Posted by cyccommute

Okay, a review of the review. First, what are Colin Levitch's credentials? What makes him any more qualified to comment and offer an opinion then me? At least I have some experience with bicycles, bicycle mechanics and, most importantly, some familiarity with chemistry. He has a degree in "media".

Second, he misses the point entirely by saying "Its thin nature means you need to reapply it frequently". It is only "thin" in application. The same could be said of any number of oil based lubricants as many of them have a solvent carrier to "thin" them out and act as a solvent to remove old lubricant. Once the solvent has evaporated, the lubricant thickens and is supposed to stay in place. With oil lubricants, this is obviously not happening because the of the constant need to wipe the outside of the chain where the oil flows to. Wax based lubricants don't need the constant wiping because the wax stays where it is put once the solvent evaporates.

I have ridden with White Lightning in all conditions. I've ridden other lubricants in all conditions. In my experience, they perform similarly. An oil based lubricant isn't any better...or worse...in rain and needs the same refreshment after rain that wax based lubricants do. If anything, they need it (and cleaning) more following rain since the oil that is left forms an emulsion with the water and places the water next to the metal.

If you recall from the last time you had bottled salad dressing, oil and water don't mix well and the water migrates to the bottom of the system. On a chain, that bottom is the pins, plates and rollers of the chain. Waxes don't mix with water either but at least they don't form emulsion that hold the water against the metal.



First, your car doesn't make "noise" if it simply runs "low" on oil. If it runs out of oil, then, yes, it makes horrible noises. But the conditions inside an internal combustion engine are very different from the conditions under which bicycles operate.

The "noise" that some people experience with White Lightning isn't that much different from an oiled chain, the oiled chain sound is just drowned a bit. It's not the squeak that you hear from a completely dry chain. It's more a clatter which I attribute to the plates moving laterally, rather then any kind of "grinding" noise. I don't notice it at all, frankly.

And, yet again, my chain wear interval isn't any different from people who use oil and/or clean their chains weekly. That's the standard against which wax lubricants need to be measured. You might have a point on wear if the wear were accelerated but that has not been my experience.



And my experience has been just the opposite. I don't apply after every ride, I don't apply at 70 miles, my shifting doesn't suffer, and I don't have to clean my drivetrain all the time. I have used White Lightning on tours and on rides all over the US in all kinds of conditions. My daughter used the stuff in Seattle while she was going to grad school. Yes, I have to reapply it following rain but, as I've said above, who doesn't apply lubricant following a rain ride?

As I've said over and over again, I apply it to the chain in an interval that is similar to that others apply when using oils. I get similar mileage out of my chains...no better but certainly no worse. If White Lightning was as bad as so many make it out to be, wouldn't I be experiencing accelerated chain wear and wouldn't I need to use a whole lot more of it? It just doesn't happen.



The idea of the wax flaking off the outside of the chain and taking the dirt with it isn't just a great concept but works in practice. The chain is extraordinarily clean on the outside.

As for the inside of the chain, you are thinking of this the wrong way. Yes, it may flake off the bearing surfaces but where does it go? It goes right back into the space where it flaked off of. The wax is soft and isn't prone to breaking down into small enough particles to move out of the chain. It can be removed with a solvent but unlike oils, wax is very viscous...basically a semisolid. It falls back onto the pin inside the roller and is churned around where it is replenished on the actual bearing surface. Granted it might not make it to the plates which might account for the noise that some people experience...the plates are knocking together and creating noise...but that noise isn't due to the bearing surface being starved.

Further, unlike oils, the wax stays put when you stop riding. Oils move flow out away from the bearings. When you are constantly wiping the chain to remove "excess" oil, you are removing the oil that is supposed to be flowing back into those spaces to refresh the lubrication. Oil on a rag does nothing for lubricating the chain.



And here is the big difference between the lubricants. Yes, you should first clean the chain if you are using oil because the oil serves as a vehicle for grit and dirt to stick to. Wax lubricants slough off the dirt and don't trap it in the first place. When the fresh wax/solvent lubricant is applied, very little grit gets moved into the chain because there is very little grit stuck to the chain.

Don't believe me? Go for a ride in dusty conditions with a wax based lubricant and with an oil based lubricant or, better yet, drive down a dusty road with both on the back of a car. See which one is coated in thick dust at the end.

You can bash wax based lubricants all you like but when the replacement mileage for either is the same, they are both working as effectively. The only difference is that one is far cleaner and less futzy than the other.