As a former rock n’ roll user i agree. The chain looks clean on the outside, but as ZFCs testing has revealed with all kinds of wet lube, the dirt on the inside remains and the lubricant on the inside is contaminated. With hot wax and proper cleaning you get that out, and get much better longevity as a result.
With only using SSS, I got 6700 miles out of my last road chain, which had significant amount of rides in the rain. I also use it on my gravel bike, but haven’t worn out the chain yet, but it definitely got more mile on it that using a wet lube and is showing no sign of wear.
I’m getting a bit lost, was hoping someone could advise.
Currently just use muc off lube, road only. If I was to clear down my chain. Can I just drip the silca super secret on the chain? Or is this more a top up for a full wax.
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Buy a new chain, strip it of factory grease, and then apply your wax lubricant of choice.
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Yes, you can absolutely do this….I went most of last year doing it. Does it provide maximum advantages of waxing? Probably not, but it is a good gateway process.
I have since started using the full hot wax treatment and then using SS to top off. The chain does seem to run smoother once you hot wax.
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Yes. This is what I currently do. But I normally ride outside once a week doing a longer ride on the weekend. And indoors 2-3 days during the week. Soon building up to a longer gravel event I’ll likely be doing 2 longer rides on the weekend.
But right now I’m just using SSS without an immersive wax to start. I don’t know if I’ll switch away from that. I’m not too concerned with a watts saving. SSS is pretty quiet. Beyond that I just make sure to check for chain stretch and swap chains sooner rather than later.
If you’re using Muc-Off, there’s a high chance your chain (and maybe cassette) are worn out anyway. I’d start with checking the chain before anything else, if it’s well under 0.5 it may be worth it but it’ll likely take 2 litres of Mineral Spirits to get it clean. Easier would be to start with a new chain. At that point SSS or UFO will absolutely work on a perfectly cleaned chain. I’d apply a little heavier/more often at first to build up the protective layer, and then when the chain sounds noisy or if caught in wet weather.
Looking at the chart above, if you’re using the top drip waxes there’s really no reason to do immersive other than a tiny wear saving - unless you’re regularly riding in dirty wet conditions. With the advent of UFO clean and others that will clean a waxed chain perfectly well on the bike, it opens up a lot of options for not having to break the quick link for those who don’t want to be swapping chains every few rides 
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What’s the best drip wax that will keep my chain quieter the longest? That is my only concern for 95% of my riding.
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Most will probably say Silca Super Secret…but the differences between any of the drip waxes is insignificant. Don’t worry about which is “best” since you’ll never notice the difference. They are all damn good.
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Head here:
Scroll down and click “Full Lubricant Testing File”. Use this spreadsheet to draw your own conclusions based on riding style/biome/budget.
The UFO Clean price tag is not appealing. But what IS appealing is not needng Gatorade jars of mineral spirits and denatured alcohol sitting around just for initial chain prep.
I don’t mind taking chain off when super dirty and tossing in the ultrasonic cleaner but just spraying on UFO clean, scrubbing a bit, and rinsing sounds much better.
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does wear == noise?
Don’t agree with this at all, just because there are so many very different products marketed as ‘wax’;
Something like squirt is worthless vs Silca / Ceramic Speed UFO and is also not compatible with an existing immersion wax setup for topping up.
It does not penetrate well enough, last long enough or reduce wear enough.
But those aren’t really drip waxes, so….
Not necessarily no, but the noise generated by one hot melt vs another is negligible. AFAIK hot melt is known to be louder than wet lube.
im talking about drip wax. I miss the factory lube quiet
Wax is louder than wet lube, but I’d describe my setup as close to silent. Tru Tension is the quietest due to the reasons mentioned above though, in my experience.
I did the math somewhere, UFO Clean is not that expensive. Over a year (?) and I’m still on my first bottle and use it to both strip factory grease (3 chains at different times) and roughly every two weeks on the bike touch up degreasing while washing my bike.
UFO drip wax and my chains go about 150-200 miles / 240-320km before reapplying drip wax. Almost all outside miles.
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Thanks. That’s helpful as I was curious how long a bottle would last. If it’s something lasting a year it’s not a big deal especially as it allows the convenience of cleaning the chain on the bike and I don’t need to have mineral spirits, denatured alcohol, and Gatorade bottles sitting around but could just have the UFO cleaner and that’s it
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