Relevant info from recent ZFC testing:
https://silca.cc/pages/synergetic-wet-lube
Looks like I’ll be buying some super secret drip for the MTB’s.
Sounds like Josh @ Silca is going to have Adam @ ZFC retest again with 2 drops applied per roller and 24hr cure time.
For SS drip, for me, it doesn’t cause any inconvenience. I ride 4-5 days a week so if I’m taking off Friday before the weekend, I’ll do my application Thursday evening after my ride and then it has all the way until Saturday morning to cure. I’ve been very pleased with it, though synergetic might be my go-to for MTB
I use Silca Hot Melt wax on my gravel bike. I get about 10 hours of riding on a single application.
I used Squirt to relube my chain mid-gravel ride this past weekend. Worked great.
Man, this means that I have been riding around with subpar chain for the past year… I was following the steps in the guide and there was nothing that was mentioning acetone or such, until I found Molten Speedwax guide…
Oh well, excited to try it on a properly clean chain going forward 
I rode 100 miles yesterday on gravel, on a freshly waxed chain (Silca hot melt).
Forecast said 15% chance of rain. We got caught in the 15% in a short heavy thunderstorm. I can confidently say that fresh wax and wet grit do not mix. After the rain stopped and things dried up, my drivetrain sounded horrific. These are challenging conditions for any lube, but this was really bad - worse than I’ve experienced before.
I stopped, cleaned it, and applied some Squirt. The good news is this process is quick, only a minute or so (I had a small brush I used to brush the chain, cassette and rings to remove dried grit), and helped significantly.
If it had kept raining however, I don’t think this approach would have worked.
Until the rain (about 80 miles), my chain was doing great. So I think wax is good for dry and dusty. But not so good in the wet.
Summary takeaway for me - wax is great for dry gravel. Not good for wet gravel.
I’m also starting to believe that wax does not work great when you do a lot of riding with the chain at a more extreme angle e.g. in the big cassette cog.
I think under these conditions, the pin/plate interface experiences a shearing force that scrapes the wax away - and unlike wet lubes, the wax can’t flow back to where it’s needed.
I really like the cleanliness of wax … but there have been several instances where I’ve not been very impressed.
I found squirt cold weather ok in the wet this winter. Up to 5 hours, get home and it needed to be reapplied.
Squirt had good test results on a wet, muddy chain. But I would distinguish between squirt and other wax. I use squirt on my cross bike and it works well in the mud, but it only needs to last an hour and them it gets washed and re-applied. I use other drip wax on my road bike, and they don’t recommend that for wet conditions. I have got it wet on occasion, and it was fine, but I wouldn’t use it in winter when the roads are wet for 6 months.
Also even though its fine on my cross bike - we don’t have much sand or grit here, only mud/soil.
Ok, so i’ve got a completely clean new KMC chain (as per Mspeedwax’s instructions). At this moment I have access to both Squirt and UFO Drip (v2) and was wondering whether to immerse the chain in a plastic bag with either of the drip lubes, then hang-drying it? Or would it simply be better to install it on the bike and then apply the drip lube?
Another alternative I thought of was ordering the Silca Secret Chain Blend in order to do a hot bath with the wax pouch, but not sure whether it’ll be that much better?
I’ve had similar results in similar conditions. What’s odd though is this: when the chain got noisy during a gritty ride, I blasted it off with clean water (not drink mix!) from a water bottle, and it got quiet and stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. Another time I had similar experience with dust - for the final 20 miles of a long ride, the chain was really noisy. I didn’t have any extra water so I just lived with it. When I got home, I blew off the chain with an air compressor and it got silent again. So I think sometimes dust and grit sticks to the wax. The wax is still there, but there’s stuff on top of it. All that said … I’m trying the Silca Synergetic stuff now. so far so good.
Just got a bike with SRAM Force AXS - has anyone found a reusable link for these chains as I couldnt find one on Google etc? Has anyone got experience waxing these drivetrains? I wax all my 10 and 11 speed bikes and would like to do it on this as well ideally.
Otherwise thinking I may just need to try Squirt and not a wax bath method?
Thx
I rode SBT GRVL yesterday with a freshly waxed chain (Shimano GRX drivetrain). The conditions were dry and dusty.
Things were great until about mile 70 when the chain started to make noise. By mile 100 the chain was very loud. At an aid station at mile 110 I took a minute to brush off the dust and apply Squirt. The chain was silent for the remaining 30 miles.
I think wax does not do well under conditions where you are riding a lot with the chain at an extreme angle - e.g. bigger cassette cogs. I think the shearing of the plates across the pins as the chain flexes scrapes off the wax, and unlike traditional liquid lube, the wax can not flow back to where it’s needed.
I’d bet most of the testing we see on wax chains is with a straight chain.
I ride a lot in the mountains, so spend a lot of time in the bigger cassette cogs. I really like the cleanliness of wax - and I guess the good news is that my solution above - brush + Squirt - is quick.
But it’s annoying that a fresh waxed chain can’t make it for more than 6 or 7 hours under the conditions I ride in.
Hi Dave,
congrats on SBT! I remember you mentioned something similar a month ago, did you try anything different in you lead up to the SBT?
Yeah not sure if hot wax dip is perfect for gravel or MBT - mostly I think its the dust in those large events
I think it has more to do with chain angle than the dust. Wax collects less contamination than wet lube in my experience.
Don’t immerse with UFO drop. ZFC say the product gunks up when opened up to the elements. You will likely end up wasting a lot.
On that point I already find UFO drip (V2) to be very thick even when heated in water and shaken excessively. I was actually concerned about penetration vs my previous chain coating, Tru Tungsten, which had consistency like water. Anyway chain seemed to run quiet, so just apply as per instructions.
I hate waxing right now. Waxing is not a big deal when its cold since I dont ride outside, but right now im burning through a chain a week. Some times on the weekend I will have to put 2 chains on. I cant seem to get more then 120-150 miles out of a waxed chain. I know, im prob not doing it right.
Last ride I got caught in a pop up shower, chain had a total of 60 miles on it, I put some silica super wax stuff on it, so I can use it for another 100 miles.
Wow, only a 0.5 watt savings (at 250-300 watts) using a chain not cleaned after 200 miles versus a chain thoroughly cleaned and lubed (wet lube).
Maybe a waxed chain would perform better, but it seems if you make any attempt to just clean and lube your chain with any product, at worst you’re likely losing out on less than a watt. Is your chain cleaning efforts worth it? I guess I can stop worrying about which chain lube performs best.
I’m less concerned about efficiency, and more about drivetrain longevity and general cleanliness (my bike often travels inside my car/van if I drive somewhere).
Wax (immersive and drip lube) works well for both as it does not pick up contamination. As I’ve gotten more experience with immersive waxing, it’s not something I’ll do very often, and will generally skew towards drip wax instead.
My experience also. Both of my chains are on their 5th immersive wax, and the result is similar after each time.
I’ve accepted that drip wax will be needed every 5 or 6 hours or so.
Thanks, i ended up not immersing it and just applying link by link. Agree on the consistency, very dense. I think the first milliliters which were in the nozzle somehow coagulated to a stiff string but even though the rest of the bottle was shaken and kept in warm water it was really thick. Chain runs smooth and quiet though.
Only purchased a test bottle of 20ml so might continue with UFO or switch to Silca which seems to harden more than UFO.