Those are usually in an oil bath. There are also metal-on-metal bearing surfaces designed to be self lubricating -- notably oil impregnated bronze bushings -- but those usually involve softer sacrificial components to conserve the more expensive parts.

Man, I'm 57 years old. Be careful who you say softer sacrificial components around. :o

Take the blue pill .... :D

Squirt did very well in the second round of VeloNews testing. It even scored better than plain paraffin. I use it on my mountain bikes. Much more expensive than plain paraffin, but the convenience of being able to just drip it on the chain is nice. It's wax-based and clean.

http://www.fitsportslab.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/VeloNews2014-01.pdf-page-002.jpg

Historically, lobster is prison food...


I prefer lobster over steak. :D

My point exactly. We get the same kind of answers in chain lube threads.

The answer to chain lube is "yes."

If ya love er, lube er. The chain...


It can likely be applied to many situations...

;p

Yes.

I think it's more important to keep the chain clean than the type of lube used. The road dirt or worse, the dirt from trails sticks and grinds your chain and everything else it touches, but I'm sure we all know that.
I personally have found the thicker, waxier stuff claiming to be "dry", to be a dirt magnet, though many swear by it.
So for me, every couple of rides, I clean and lube with light stuff and wipe excess right after the lube.

Curious to know what the waxers are getting for chain life.

I've got a (8 speed kmc x series) chain that has over 10,000 KM that has not yet reached 0.75% wear.

I use whatever oil I have on hand, wiping off excess grime and grit (thoroughly, 1 link at a time) before re-lubing.

I've used solvent in the past, with poor results, in regards to chain life.

I'd think chain life varies with rider power, too, since transmitting higher power will apply greater forces to the mating surfaces within the chain.

Analogous to hand sanding with more pressure versus lighter pressure.

Maybe I should keep my mouth shut (almost always) but .... yeah, like that will ever happen.

As far as I can tell the difference between wet and dry lubes (still haven't tried straight paraffin but I tried a lot of stuff, particularly when I did a lot of off-road) and as far as I can tell the Big difference .... is in how black the crud on your chain gets.

The vast majority of cycling products, like products in general, all work with in a few immeasurable percentage points of one another by most real-world metrics.

Maybe in a year-long controlled-condition, double-blind indoor test using six different chains running one of six different lubes for precisely controlled time and specific matched power outputs and environments .... but for me... I put on one chain in April, one in June, one in December, each on a different bike, and each one sees completely different road conditions, degrees of abuse, and load. Then I try to remember which is which and when I last cleaned it ... then I try to make some generalization based on a comparison of things too different to compare.

I really like White Lightning .... but I decided that while maybe it kept the chain less black, it was ridiculously overpriced. I got a ton of free samples of Cannondale chain lube which I don't like because it is too runny, and big bottle of similar Nashbar stuff ... both are super for chain cleaning, but not sure they last as long ... but who can Really tell?

I am used to Tri-flow. I like it because I am used to it ... and because it is oil when I need oil ... and cheap.

Basically, throw something slippery on your chain, and wipe it with a rag full of degreaser regularly. Every now and then get it really clean and dry it in the microwave (please don't tell my wife) and then throw some slippery stuff on it.

I will try paraffin ... but all I really expect is less blackness in the adhered grit. We shall see.

I pretty much believe this. I use the Park CM-5 cleaner regularly, relube with syn motor oil. On the Park cleaner making a mess slinging the solvent all over the place, it depends on the condition and position of the foam wiper block, if that's good, very little solvent gets outside the cleaner.

And chains are cheap unless you get the hollow pin, super light weight ones. So it allows for one to experiment in longevity.

The chain will remain clean as will the jockey wheels and cassette.

I'm curious why you leave the chain in the wax for more than a minute or two? When I heat up the wax I usually wax 3 or 4 chains, one at a time, but just dip them in the wax until they heat up and then remove and wipe with a paper towel.

Oh, no ... Paraffin Wars have commenced. :)

More wax? :)

Has tallow been used as a chain lube?

Given all the things that HAVE been used, even limiting it to those mentioned here on BF, it's likely that at least someone has tried it.

How about going straight to the manufacturer?

SHIMANO NORTH AMERICA HOLDING, INC. / SHIMANO NORTH AMERICA BICYCLE, INC.

One Holland, Irvine, California 92618 U.S.A.
Phone: +1-949-951-5003 / Fax: +1-949-768-0920

SRAM: not sure their phone is for consumers.

Shouldn't you wait till the wax has cooled a little bit, before taking the chain out, otherwise too much of the wax will run out of the rollers? :twitchy:

Laziness?

Seriously, some days I don't have time to finish. Doesn't hurt to leave it overnight.

And I have a theory that leaving it in the melted wax longer ensures the stuff will wick into the bearing surfaces. Even melted paraffin is pretty heavy, thick stuff so it may take longer to seep into those areas.

I fish the chain out of the melted wax and hook it hanging over the crock pot to drip the excess back into the pot.

To make it easier I'll use paper clips or something easier through the ends of the broken chain before dipping it. Then I can fish it out with heavy duty hemostats or surgical towel clips (handy tools all around, not just for medical use) and hang the chain to drip and cool.

While it's warm but not hot I'll wipe it down. After the chain cools I'll just loop it up and stick it in a ziplock bag with the Missing Link for next month. I put about 400-500 miles a month on the road bike, so the timing works out for rotating between two identical chains.

The excess will flake off while riding. Sometimes it'll accumulate little blackened boogers that feel like soft plastic. These are easy to wipe off the freewheel/cassette and chain rings. After the first ride on a freshly waxed chain there's usually no additional flaking of excess wax.

Tallow has traditionally been used as a lubricant on heavy machinery, including locomotives. No reason why it couldn't be used on bicycle chains.