MAK

I thought I'd go to the experts on this.

Wolf Tooth is advertising a lube called WT-1 Chain Lube. They say that it cleans, lubes, protects and lasts 3-5 times longer than other lubricants and is for all conditions. I'm not sure how one product can work optimally in both wet and dry conditions.

Has anyone tried this yet? Before I consider spending $18.95 for a 2 oz. bottle, I'd like some user thoughts and comments.

Thank you.

nomadmax 

At that price I'd call it WTF lube.

adipe

"3-5 times longer than other lubricants"

i'd bet my homebrew protects 3-5 times longer than WT-1 Chain Lube.
and by the way... my homebrew does contain detergent, along with other additives: antiwear, antioxidants AND dispersants - because some solid lubricant particles need to be dispersed around (homogenized).

if they are secretive as regarding all their ingredients and their % weight then i will be withholding information regarding my homebrew too. it's about 10 times cheaper too.

Crankycrank

My advice is to try it yourself and report back. The problem with Lube recommendations is that with 10 different users there will be 10 different opinions and many lubes make the same claims as Wolf Tooth. Almost every lube out there has enough loyal fans to keep the mfr. in business and enough detractors to buy something else.

Iride01 

My laundry detergent is always advertising that they have a new improved formula to get me the cleanest clothes. My gasoline brand for my car tells me all the time how many more miles per gallon I get from them. And who knows how incredibly healthy I'd be if I took all the stuff they advertise to improve my health.

Why will chain oil be that much different in their advertising?

But to be fair, there are newer (within the last 10 or so years) formulations that seem to work better to keep my chain less gunky. I don't wear chains out very fast, so lubrication differences aren't a concern for me.

zandoval 

Oddly I have found that it's not the lubricant on and in my chain but rather the dirt on and in my chain. I pick up so much dust and dirt on my roads that the lubricant never has a chance to fail. I lubricate my chain often because it gets dirty often not because the lubricant failed.

But thanks for the post. I am always interested in new lubricants and thier claims. Especially some of the new high pressure hydraulic oils used in fancy engines. Once in the 70's I used Amalie Graphite Motor oil on my chain... Man... What - a - MESS...

Shimagnolo

$18.95 per 2oz -> $1212.80 per gallon.
Man, I need to get into this business!

Iride01 

You might change your mind and feel that it's not enough money after fielding customer complaints from where's my order to it dissolved their chain. And then the relentless questions that the answers are printed on the bottle.

MudPie

I’m always a bit skeptic with fantastic claims. If it sounds too good to true, it probably is. But for that price, maybe the claims are accurate.

davidad

Chains aw oil and unscented mineral spirits. Remove chain and clean it every 800 miles and lube.

fooferdoggie 

the problem is that it becomes not cost effective. like rock and roll lube lasts me about 100 or so miles on dry rides and it is 9.00 for 4oz. so even at 3 times longer it costs even more. rock and roll I just squirt on as a move the chain and wipe it off and I am done I don't need to clean the drive train. so will it save money? nope it will cost even more. it would only save me 5 or so minutes over the rock an toll over a month. it would need to last quite a bit longer to be worth the cost.

Koyote

if only Walter White had known how much he could get for a good chain lube.

Shimagnolo

Especially if it was colored blue!

3alarmer 

...


...if you use that stuff on your chain, it will also keep your bike from getting hit by a tornado.

79pmooney

Hey, it protects in all conditions. That includes tornados. (Probably safer on a recumbent where you can rout the chain over and under body parts.)

frogman

DaveSSS 

I'm still using my paraffin based liquid lube that costs pennies per ounce to make. 1 part paraffin with 20-30% gear lube and 4-6 parts naphtha or camp stove fuel. I relube every week or around 150 miles and take the chain off for cleaning and exchange for a different one in my rotation about every 600.

adipe

naphta is a poor choice for a volatile solvent.
you could either use xylene (which will still take sooo long to evaporate completely) or just the hot bath method. having a jar (with lid) in a pot full of slowly boiling water. you only need to have the jar a bit suspended, an inch above the pot's bottom (not touching) and then you don't need much water in the pot (heat transfer through condensation). the pot should have a lid as well, to not lose too much vapor (energy waste and humidity). have intense heat for the first minute and then the minimum heat on that pot.

dedhed

British paraffin or US paraffin? LOL

cyccommute 

Nope. Mineral spirits (aka naphtha, white gas, white spirits, etc) is close enough to as volatile solvent as xylene that it won’t make much difference. The boiling point (which influences evaporation rate) of xylene isomers ranges from 138°C to 144°C. The boiling point of mineral spirits is broader and depends on the cut of mineral spirits but ranges from 130°C to 200°C with the most commonly available “odorless” spirits in the US having a boiling point of about 140°C. White gas (aka in US as “Coleman Fuel”) has a boiling point of 98°C which makes it much more volatile than xylene.

On the safety side, odorless mineral spirits has a higher flash point (40°C) than mixed isomer xylenes (17°C to 25°C) and far higher than white gas (-4°C). Mineral spirits are also safer in terms of toxicity. They are merely an irritant with low acute and chronic toxicity. Xylenes have moderate acute toxicity and low chronic toxicity. White gas has moderate acute toxicity and moderate chronic toxicity because it contains more aromatic components.

I’m hoping that your suggestion for a “hot bath method” is in reference to wax not to heating the solvent. No solvent should be heated to use it for cleaning!! There no need for heating solvents. They will do their work just fine at room temperature and evaporate quickly without additional heat. Heating a volatile solvent of any kind greatly increases the possibility of fire and exposure. Since most heating is done on a stove in a house, the rise of setting the house on fire are considerable. Just be patient and let the solvent evaporate outside. 15 minutes even on a cold day is usually sufficient.

tl;dr version, odorless mineral spirits are a better choice with less downside.

grizzly59

Wolf Tooth's own MSDS says -> "Solvent Refined Light naphthenic oil 20-40%" .

cyccommute 

AKA “mineral oil”. According to the CAS number it’s the same mineral oil as in WD-40. And in about the same proportions. I suspect gear oil/wax mixture.

70sSanO

In my experience lubes fall into a pay me now or pay me later category.

Dry lubes are generally cleaner, but you need to re-apply more often, cleaning components is less of a hassle

Wet lubes tend to pick up more dirt, and last longer, but cleaning seems to be more of a pain.

I’ve used both and each has merits, but you do have to pick your poison.

That said, if it really lasts and stays clean, then the price is not a problem.

John

cyccommute 

In my experience, the lubricant doesn’t matter. Wet lubricants aren’t any more effective than dry. Granted it is an unscientific survey, but most people report about the same chain mileage independent of the kind of lubricant used. That’s the measure we should use for “effectiveness”. If someone invented a lubricant that made a chain last twice as long as other lubricants, I’d use it in an instant…even if I had to clean the damned chain weekly. But every lubricant is about as effective so the trade off is between frequent cleaning and not. I’ll take not having to clean over the alternative any day.

As for how long the lubricant lasts, I question the common wisdom that wax based lube…especially solvent based wax lubricant…doesn’t last. I’ve been tracking it lately to answer just this kind of question. Five years ago, I did a 1500 mile tour around Lake Erie and only had to lubricate 3 times (one because of rain). I got roughly 700 miles out of each lubricant application (one at the beginning, one in the middle, and at that end of the tour). Although I didn’t keep track of the mileage after the tour, I note the mileage for the chain at around 3500 miles.

More recently, I got 480 miles out of one application of White Lightning, then 150 miles, and I’m currently at about 200 miles. The middle one is only because I used the old parts to build up a new frame and decided to start fresh. The more important thing to note is that nearly 500 miles using White Lightning. That’s in the range of what I generally get between lubricant applications…or, in other words, 500 to 700 miles. I don’t know that oil based lubricants can claim better.

Troul 

Let us know how it works for you. I would pay a clean penny if a lubricant could keep the grit out, the grime off, & not attract debris.