i use liquid lubricants (gt85, boeshield, wd40 bike lube) and never get a messy drivetrain. i spend 3x the amount of time wiping my chain clean after applying the lubricant as i do applying the lube. i make sure my chain isn't wet to the touch. because i'm not lubricating the plates, im lubricating the bushings. your chain shouldn't feel wet to the touch after you've lubed it. if it does, wipe more lube off.
even after lubing the chain and spending time to wipe it off, i'm finished with the process in the amount of time it takes wax to melt.
i lube my chains every 100mi or so and regularly get 3,000mi of use from a chain in my geared drivetrains.

I recently read what I believe (not positive though) is the most recent study on the subject. They went nuts comparing new chains to broken in chains, this lube vs that lube. On and on. The big surprise was that the difference between a freshly well lubed chain and a chain with ALL lube REMOVED was "insignificant and immaterial".

:roflmao2::lol::roflmao2::lol::roflmao2:

^+1 been using wet lube forever without fail; apply, wipe, ride. Don't even need to remove the chain. The wax thing seems like too much work to do on a regular basis, but this whole conversation has got me interested since i hear that some factory lubes are wax based, although I'm not really 100% sure on that. I know it's been a point of contention among many members, but I do think the factory lube is good to run for several hundred miles. Recently installed a new izumi chain out the box and it's been ninja silent for the past 100 mi easy and no need for any additional lubricant.

It's really not a lot of work - I can break and install a chain in under a couple minutes at this point, and the re-application period is (purportedly) 300-500 miles. The rest of the time is how long it takes for you to plug in the crock pot, and to give it a singular wipe afterward.

It does take a while for the wax to melt, but that's not hands on time. Just plug it in and do something else for an hour. It does require some planning though because @johnnytheboy rightly mentioned it can't be done on the fly.

@SquidPuppet I agree about the drivetrain friction/drag thing - it's like really? How can it make that much of a difference, and who cares? Buy some nice tires if you want a real speed improvement that will actually make a difference.

That does bring up the whole question of why one lubes a chain - doing it for efficiency is stupid; it's really about extending the useful life of your drivetrain and reducing wear. I have not logged miles on a chain w wax vs wet lube - and I think it's a great idea.

If any of you are clean freaks (like me) I highly recommend it :)

if you're lubricating your chain properly your drivetrain will stay clean. also, braking a chain over and over is bad news. quick links are intended to be used as one and done and pushing pins in and out seems like a bad idea, also.

I take my chain off and completely clean it with a degreaser every 200 miles or so. Then apply ProGold lubricant to each chain bushing and roll them back and forth a little to set the lube. I love that stuff! My drive train is very quiet and stays fairly clean for commuting and weekend rides.

What lube are you using? Tri flow and other cheap stuff turns black in 1 long ride for me

t9 boeshield, wd40 bike lube, gt85, triflow, rock n roll...you name it. if it's turning black after one ride, you are leaving too much lube on the chain.

ProGold ProLink Chain lube

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/08...g?v=1494391449

Always stays clean looking, even after wet rides.

I won't really get into the lube debate but I personally like the Finish Line Ceramic Wax Lube, if you don't that's cool and if you do that's also cool and if you are indifferent well that is also still cool.

However I did cop a peep at the new baby (that foundry I teased a while back) and it is purdy as all get up. Finally have the last part, for some reason a brake part got lost or was missing and we needed a longer e-tube wire and of course the mechanic working on my bike had to go off and work for Shimano doing NRS for a week or so getting to play with Moots bike (all with new Duracci r9100 BS) and others for whatever big womens' race happened recently in the U.S. So soon I will have the bike and be able to snap some pictures of it all done and get to ride it.

Waxing is for bikini lines and hair lips, not chains. :D

Today I wiped down my dirty black chain which is still black, and still looks dirty.

I'm stoked for another ideal warm-weather Saturday: 2 hr race pace group road ride in the AM, MTB ride PM up in Mount Laguna during an overnight camping trip. On Sunday I'll drop down Noble Canyon (expert level 90 min DH) and ride back up on the road - which actually doesn't take much longer.

Monday and Tuesday off work, gonna ride big Monday and cap it off with a team event on July 4th at Karl Strauss for a morning ride and then free BBQ and beer after.

I'm really looking forward to this! If all goes as planned I'll be darkly tanned/crispy, lean and pleasantly fatigued by the time it's over :).

Looking at this. Looking at your avatar. Looking at this. Looking at your avatar.


:lol:

Ha! For the record I'm of Mexican decent - unlike Miles Davis who fits that description for his own reasons :)

Today I discovered strava. oops

It's not a bad thing. I track all of my miles, each bike is listed so I can keep track of individual miles as well. You can also track mileage on components so you know hey, I only got 900 miles on those tires or whatever. You don't have to be a Stravhole like some people are.

today is my 8th month anniversary of being sober. also, i hit 3,000mi for the year yesterday.

Yesterday I lead Arlington Critical Mass again. We had 12 riders this month. Today I had time to post about it.

And,
[MENTION=112127]johnnytheboy[/MENTION], we didn't start or finish at a bar this month. Amusingly, one of the riders even complained about other groups drinking too much and not riding enough.

Congrats. It does get easier. 4.5 years here, not even a sip. Your brothers here will always be here for you for support.

thanks! just for the record, i never had one bit of trouble with alcohol. was never dependent on it, never had any trouble with the law or anything like that. after partying last halloween, i woke up on november 1 and decided to take a short break. it turned into one week, then a month and now 8 months.
i never went to AA meetings or anything like that. i just didn't wanna drink anymore. it was easy since day 1 and i haven't really missed it at all.

Group ride done, rode hard, led out the sprint. Up next: shower, burrito (w rice!), and up the hill for some mountain biking!!!

I replaced my 99% of my alcohol intake with cannabis and it has done wonders for my health and fitness.

:thumb: Congrats on the anniversary

Today I had the pleasure of meeting this fine man.

Dad bikes 1,400 miles to hear deceased daughter's heartbeat on Father's Day - CBS News

He is riding from Madison Wisconsin to ft Lauderdale Florida to honor his daughter and raise awareness on how important it is to be an organ donor. He just happened to walk into my shop and I recognized him from a video I saw the other day. He is an amazing guy and is almost to his finish line.

Great job Bill!

Picked up a new set of wheels today. 70s fillet brazed Schwinn Sport Tourer
https://i.imgur.com/22A0VMl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HJM6DyK.jpg

And yes, that is an ancient crusty Brooks. I have spent some time this evening conditioning it with Proofhide.

http://i.imgur.com/aNldiax.jpg
Skip tooth gears!

Cool bike! What are your plans for it?

Dave