Well, I ‘used to use it’, and since I bought the string of smart bikes, haven’t ridden outside much (I tweaked the scapholunate tendons in both wrists and have been advised to ‘be careful’ riding outdoors).
The caps on several bottles broke, and the contents evaporated. (It’s like the old Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil caps in the 70’s, always breaking) So I’ve tossed most of what I had. The OOB (out of business) bike shop near here raved about that brand. I think at one point that was all they sold.
I bought the Silca bag-o-wax, but haven’t used it yet, I’m just not riding outdoors enough to make the process worth it. I want to ride out more this season, so better get going on it. But the rust on the chain from the trainer was shocking, and so was the ability of noise cancelling headphones at blocking any noise from it. The pedals were so trashed. The needle bearings were nearly completely gone. I wonder how many watts were added by all that resistance. Yikes…
Is Muc-off a good alternative to the Silca wax system? A local shop has an elaborate multi bin system for waxing chains, a cleaner bin, a wax bin, and I think a third bin for post waxing. It would be easier if they did it I think, but the comments here seem to rip the practicality of their system. Hmm…
In the past, I rode chains for a season and then tossed them. Maybe taking better care of them and I’ll get several seasons out of them. shrug
The issue with that is you end up with Muc-Off Lube on your chain. If they did the first two steps and waxed it, it may be of some interest to people who want a clean long lasting chain.
I’d pass on MucOff. Stripping is easy with mineral spirts especially for drip on oil lube. You don’t need to be squeeky clean as oil lube will mix with factory lube.
If you want to wax but don’t want to buy hot dip equipment, you can strip the chain and then use a drip on wax (Smoove, Squirt, or Silca’s product). I’m having great results with Smoove and my chains are lasting forever. The last one went 2 years without any measurable stretch on my Park chain checker and then I just changed it anyway because I never had a chain last two years.
CeramicSpeed UFO Clean Drivetrain. 10-15 minutes to strip factory grease on a new chain. Should be the same easy with latecomer Silca Chain Stripper but I haven’t used that one.
I’m going to try that when I run out of mineral spirits. The jug I have though is probably good for 5-10 chains - maybe 5 or 10 years at the rate I’m prepping new chains.
I have ‘the bag’ of their ‘secret wax’ from Silca, and got a rice cooker. That’s what I was told will work, just haven’t had the need to experiment, and ruin a rice cooker. I do have a new Ultegra chain and some denatured alcohol so I figured I could get the Shimano gunk off it pretty well and not worry about getting the stripper juice off it.
Is a rice cooker the best to use, or just the easiest? I may give it a go this weekend since it’s been on my mind for a while. That’s what drew me to this thread. ‘You should do that soon!’
Alcohol alone probably isn’t going to cut it for stripping the chain ufo or Silca stripper best, mineral spirits then alcohol second best and maybe degreaser last as possible options
I’d follow Silca’s instructions. It should work fine. I don’t know about rice cookers. Silca shows a pot of boiling water and an instant pot in their video.
You need a stripper solvent like the UFO stuff people are raving about, Silca’s stripper, or mineral spirit baths. Alcohol is usually the final step depending on what stripper you use.
I guess you could also try Silca’s Strip Chip thingy and use an instant read thermometer to get the temperature right.
UFO Clean is 5 minute soak, agitate for a minute, pull out chain and drop into hot water, remove and use a hairdryer to get rid of water. Then hot wax.
Do you or anyone else know what’s up with the UFO bottle sizes. It looks like $27 for 500ml spray bottle but a couple places online show a 1L bottle (no sprayer) for around $30. The one liter size is not on UFO’s web site. Has it been discontinued?
I just started full immersion waxing my chain. I typically try to clean my drivetrain/chain after each bike ride, especially if it’s dusty/wet/etc. If I’m using silca chain wax, is it overkill to wash my chain/replenish with the silca lube wax after each ride/wash?
IIRC the general recommendation is wipe the chain with a microfiber towel after every non-filthy ride and top up with silica drip wax every week, and do the immersion wax once a month
Found the one litre bottle, but it’s ‘sold out’. The Silca Chain Stripper isn’t inexpensive either. I have the Muc-off drivetrain cleaner. Will that work? I have their ‘Bio Drivetrain Cleaner’. Curious if it’s junk.
I do have a really incredibly bad bottle of Malbec. Seems like it might make a good chain cleaner. Only partly joking on that. Yow!!
EDIT: I can get 6 1L bottles of the UFO Chain Cleaner for $216.00.