And as far as the Turps/Alcohol how are you guys disposing of these? I’m in the US.
You guys rock thank you. Maybe not a bad idea to hang the chain over the jar and let any excess drip get back in there for reuse too.
That’s what Silca says. They say the jar is good for 60 applications every 1,000 miles and the dripper should be used to maintain approximately every 250mi. Our summers are quite humid so I expect to do the drip once a week (150-200mi) and dip once a month, probably less once I’m related indoors again. I’m looking to take about half of the jar and bottle it for maintenance.
Seemed like a no brainer to spend $10 more for 50% more product and just source a bottle of my own
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Not a bad idea if I can’t find a bottle but I feel like I’d create a mess of dripping with a brush. This stuff is not viscous at all, I’d say even less than olive oil
FWIW, the pdf linked has a bunch of tips. He even mentions boiling for a waxed chain in order to cause less contamination to your bag of wax.
Alright so I got the chain all cleaned using ZFC process, dipped it into the jar, it’s hanging to dry/cure now. One little tip for jar users instead of dropping the chain in and having to fish it out, use a bread twist-tie and loop it through one of the ends of the chain and as you twist the lid shut, pinch it between the jar and the lid. This will make it easier to fish the chain out of the jar. Going to give it a long cure time but the splatter I have on my shower walls has already hardened into a solid so I expect the inside of the chain to do the same
I like the plastic baggie trick.
I put my clean chain in a plastic zip lock bag and then put one drop on each link. I sealed it up let it sit in the plastic bag for a few days while I articulated the links several times per day.
Smoove has issues with initial penetration so I think this really helped as I seemed to get good penetration. It’s certainly contributed to less waste.
If I were going to do it again I’d put the bag in a warm water bath to make the Smoove flow better.
If I didn’t have two bottles of Smoove I’d certain be trying Super Secret.
Good idea too. The only issue I can see with this for right now is that wax will dry inside of the hollow pins, not really a problem functionally but just more wax that can flake and get into places later. Might use a toothpick and push it out once it dries. Been an hour and it’s already hardening a bit and turning into a waxy texture. I’m way more excited than I should be
Had to try again. Initially it was silent but after my 60 miler on Saturday it was a bit louder so I figured something was wrong, the wax was coming out a little dark but not bad figured maybe I messed up the curing process. Topped it up a bit from a dripper and let it sit overnight, did a ride on the trainer and everything came out black so obviously did not prep well enough.
Just had to go through it again, more baths, another dip, chain is curing now, hoping for better results. Also removed and thoroughly cleaned the RD and jockeys to avoid contamination
Anyone else used the jar yet?
I had to do mine twice the first time I tried Smoove. Finally, boiling the chain in the water multiple times really got it clean. Every time I think about how much work it took to get a Campagnolo chain squeeky clean I have second thoughts about drip on wax. 
I love the little tips and commentary in the Zero Friction Facts review. Things like:
IF SRAM CHAIN ADD 2 to 3 more rounds of mineral turps due to srams use of FACTORY GLUE and NEVER ONE YOUR LIFE RUN A SRAM
CHIAN WITH THEIR FACTORY GLUE IN A RACE
He mentions the boiling water too:
post wet ride with
a wax / wax emulsion chain, boil up kettle and do some boiling water rinses in an OPEN container (closed container will explode open and
scald your face), blow dry, mineral turps rinse, blow dry, metho rinse, blow dry – into wax pot, and yeeha.
I’ve switched to using Squirt on all my bikes. I’ve been pretty happy so far - but one challenge with wax is if you need to re-lube mid ride. There’s no good way to do this, as they all need to dry to be fully effective.
The longest ride I’ve done so far is 100 miles on my MTB, and I needed to reapply twice. Not ideal, and probably questionable effectiveness.
I’m hoping with better chain prep this year I can get the wax lube to last longer (multiple cycles of degreaser, alcohol, boiling water).
I’m tempted to try the Silca Super Secret - but that has the same challenges as Squirt/Smoove with re-lubing.
For my long race this year (SBT GRVL) I may have to switch to a wet lube. Maybe will give Silca Synergetic a go.
Good podcast with Josh from Silca talking about their lubes.
Basically, his view is hot wax is the best approach, topping up periodically with SS. And Synergetic for people who don’t want to go through the hassle of prepping a chain.
https://marginalgainspodcast.cc/lubes-chains-marginal-gains/
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I’ve had really good success with waxing chain, but have an ultrasonic cleaner that makes prep work much easier. I’ve used both MSW and more recently Silca’s wax. A prepped waxed chain is perfect for a big day event like Leadville or a long gravel day. In dry conditions it should definitely hold up well for full day and likely longer. If you ride through a lot of water and get grit into the chain, it could cause issues but wax can help push out some dirt and you use the chain.
If you wanted something that is easy to reapply during an event, Rock N Roll Gold is worth considering. I use this as my day to day lube on mountain bike and gravel bike. Start with a clean chain, apply and let it dry overnight. If you need to apply during an event or long day you don’t need to let it dry and the application process will help clean out grit.
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Yeah. I haven’t yet made the step to hot wax. Maybe I should.
Can’t be bothered with wax and have used rock n roll gold for last couple of years…but not trying to decide…RnR gold vs Silca Synergetic???
If I go back to a wet lube, it will be Synergetic. The results of the wear test are amazing.
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agreed.
I batch cook chains 2 or 3 at a time. Mineral spirits to clean and strip, alcohol for first drying out. Then I use a citrus cleaning solution diluted in the ultrasonic bath to clean, alcohol rinse. Then a firearms cleaning solution diluted in ultrasonic bath, alcohol rinse and let dry overnight. Then I use the new sous vide bag the slica wax comes in and my ultrasonic cleaner to drive the wax into the chains. A bit of a process but I end up with chains that perform flawlessly for a long time. Top off with the slica liquid when necessary.
I only use wipperman stainless chains as well. Stretch slower and seem to be a touch quieter w wax than KMC/Shimano chains.
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So far I’m not impressed with the Silca SS CL at all. Get maybe 50 miles on the MTB and 100 on the road and the chains sound as dry as no lube. I clean with citrus based degreasers and have always found full immersion lubing to yield the longest lasting results with just about every lube I’ve tried in the last 20 years. So far the winner in my climate (NV, desert) is still Muc-Off Ceramic Dry, followed by Boeshield T9.
The Silca product is unique in that it dries to a consistency, look, and feel very similar to hot paraffin. Unfortunately is also only lasts as long as paraffin. Feels pretty good for the first 20-30 miles but what good is that?
It’s also VERY expensive and a LOT gets wasted by immersion lube method. Maybe it’s temperature dependent during application. So far I’ve been applying it in colder (below 60 degrees) temps in a very dry climate. Maybe it will perform better once it warms up a little.
Mine did the same when I did poor prep work. There are very specific steps for prep that have to be followed to yield the right result. I knew I was doing something wrong when I was getting mediocre results with something that got stellar ones from ZFC.
Seems to be holding up better now but need more time to see. Citrus based degreasers are seemingly not the proper way to clean a chain for wax and may explain the issues
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wax-at-home/
“ I also recommend using mineral turps vs de-greaser as it is generally a more effective solvent for factory grease on chains, it is cleaner leaving less of film for final step to deal with, and it is easily recycled via your local councils hazardous liquid waste facilities.
Chain cleaning is always a 2 step process – step one is cleaning chain, step 2 is ensuring no film is left on chain from cleaning to ensure wax / lube can bond to clean & clear chain metal.”. The degreaser is likely leaving a film that Wax/SSCL cannot bond to
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In the Silca video, looks like Josh uses citrus degreaser, followed by alcohol as the final step.
I watched it yesterday, then pulled the trigger on buying the Silca hot wax and SS drip wax.
I ride a lot in dry dusty conditions and have five ~6+ hour MTB and gravel races this summer
I’m hoping this gives me a solution that can hold up in these long rides without needing to relube mid ride.
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