Originally Posted by
davidad
The black comes from inside the chain. Metal wear particles and oil. Wipe the chain off after each ride and it will stay cleaner longer.
I'll agree that the black gunk is metal particulate but the problem is that the oil provides a vehicle for the metal particulates to move around. The beauty of a wax lube is that the lubricant doesn't flow. There are still metal particles but they aren't in a matrix that flows that easily. Any metal bits and lubricant that does get transported to the surface of the chain drops off instead of sticking to the outside of the chain...and your hands...and your calf...and in the inside of your car...and up around your eyebrows...and on the neighbors cat.
Wiping the chain just removes the excess oil but it is replaced by more from the inside until there is no longer any oil to flow out. That would be good except everyone reapplies more oil and starts the cycle all over again.