chain lube

[Mike and Joan Divine]

Over the years, I have used just about everything, including bike specific tubes like White Lightning, Finish Line, WD-40, and a PTFE tool oil.  They all work fine, but they all have disadvantages.  Some would build up on the chain which I didn’t like.  I decided to try something out of the ordinary and I think this will be my choice from now on.

 

I have started using mineral oil and it seems to work very well.  Here are the advantages as I see them.

 

1. Safety – by a long shot, mineral oil is probably the safest lubricant sold.  You never think about it since it is sold in the in the pharmaceutical sections of stores since it is in fact a drug.  Mineral oil was created as a laxative decades ago and is listed in the United States Pharmacopeia which means it must conform to the standard outlined there as a drug.  Anything that is safe to drink has got to be safe to handle.
2. Cost – I doubt any other lubricant that you might use for your chain costs less and is easier to find than anything else you might choose to use.
3. Performance – I find shifting very smooth using it.

 

Hope this info will be helpful

 

Thoughts?

[Doug Scott]

When I started riding in 74/75, I was taught to use a double boiler and Gulf Wax..  I have modernized with a $15 crock pot from Goodwill.  For a small period I use Squirt.  Lord only knows what I used riding cross country.  I use Connex chains because not only are they super tough, the quick link is a breeze.

I have modernized to a two chain rotation.

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Doug Scott

Please note email address change from DAS_...@comcast.net to Doug...@gmail.com

[Rudi Riet]

Ah, chain lube. The blessing and bane of many a cyclist's existence.

I'm now firmly in the modern chain wax club. I strip that infernal shipping grease off my new chains and immerse them into a small Crock Pot of wax (Silca Super Secret, for those curious) and then top up with either Silca's drip or CeramicSpeed's UFO drip wax.

The stuff works well. My chains last a long time.

I used to be a wet lube user, but the stuff would not stay clean over time and it would accelerate the wear and tear on the chain, cassette, jockey wheels, and chainrings. Since switching to wax I've seen longer life on all of these. Yes, it's a bit of a faff to hot wax a chain. It's also a faff to try and immediately dry a chain after riding in wet weather (they can, and will, rust, though it's just cosmetic). But once you're into the routine it's great.

I still use wet lube on one bike that's stored outdoors (that gets Boeshield T-9). I also have some Silca Synergetic that I use in a pinch in the winter months (it plays nicely with wax). And I have some bottles of Lilly Lube, NixFrixShun, and Muc-Off Dry around for times when I need them for non-chain use.

Mineral oil is an interesting choice. I can't argue with cost. But it will attract grit and grime - something wax doesn't do at all. And that grit and grime will wear things out as a grinding paste develops. If you are good about wiping down your chain after application - and only applying to the rollers of the chain, rather than slathering everything in lubricant - it should work fine. Is it the lowest friction solution? No. Is it budget friendly? Yes.

But I find hot wax to be even more budget friendly. One bag of Silca lasts me 2+ years and many chains. The drip wax isn't too pricey, either, and a bottle tends to last a while if applied correctly (i.e. only to the rollers, no excess) onto a wiped-down chain.

Just my $0.02 - your mileage may vary.

Rudi

--

[Mike and Joan Divine]

I remember a guy who used to work at DOE in Germantown who used to wax his chains.  I remember him melting wax in a old coffee can and mixing gear oil with the paraffin. 

As I mentioned, I am now using mineral oil and for years before I used White Lightning and switched to 3-IN-ONE Multi-Purpose PTFE Lubricant.   Since chains are relatively cheap and I usually get a year out of one, doing the waxing process is not for me.  Of course I’m sure once it’s waxed you probably get a lot of miles before having to do it again

 

From: Doug Scott <doug...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2025 9:24 AM
To: Rudi Riet <rdr...@gmail.com>
Cc: Mike and Joan Divine <mikeandj...@erols.com>; peda...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [pedalers] chain lube

 

T-9 is great stuff and after the solvents and carriers have evaporated, what’s left is mostly paraffin.  I used it liberally on a bike my daughter stored outside at UNC.  Four years of daily use later it returned for a visit and was mostly ok.

 

Waxing chains has been around for a long time.  I began sometime around 1975.  In that era “the” secret was to mix in a couple of tablespoons of chainsaw bar oil. 

 

I still use plain old Gulfwax and keep two chains in rotation.  I have moved to Connex chains.  The quick link connection is super easy and the chain wear rate is some fraction of Shimano’s - like half.

 

I boil the chain and brush it for cleaning in one pot and a Goodwill sourced crockpot handles the wax.  Temperatures are not critical other than to leave the chain in the melted wax long enough to come up to roughly the same temperature. I tend to throw chains on the solidified block and let them come up to temperature together.

 

The chains are good for up to 500 miles and will tell you when more wax is required.  I do carry a bottle of Squirt in the car to top up in a pinch.

 

While I love the fact that Josh Portner and Silca have parts to my old Track pump, I am of the view his chain wax system represents an excess of marketing.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 20, 2025, at 11:51 PM, Rudi Riet <rdr...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pedalers/CAHWH0HdJFW%2Bewh6-YFMCfSSpj9O4u2ECuguby0rMhufKO8VSxg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Doug Scott]

T-9 is great stuff and after the solvents and carriers have evaporated, what’s left is mostly paraffin.  I used it liberally on a bike my daughter stored outside at UNC.  Four years of daily use later it returned for a visit and was mostly ok.

Waxing chains has been around for a long time.  I began sometime around 1975.  In that era “the” secret was to mix in a couple of tablespoons of chainsaw bar oil. 

I still use plain old Gulfwax and keep two chains in rotation.  I have moved to Connex chains.  The quick link connection is super easy and the chain wear rate is some fraction of Shimano’s - like half.

I boil the chain and brush it for cleaning in one pot and a Goodwill sourced crockpot handles the wax.  Temperatures are not critical other than to leave the chain in the melted wax long enough to come up to roughly the same temperature. I tend to throw chains on the solidified block and let them come up to temperature together.

The chains are good for up to 500 miles and will tell you when more wax is required.  I do carry a bottle of Squirt in the car to top up in a pinch.

While I love the fact that Josh Portner and Silca have parts to my old Track pump, I am of the view his chain wax system represents an excess of marketing.

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 20, 2025, at 11:51 PM, Rudi Riet <rdr...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pedalers/CAHWH0HdJFW%2Bewh6-YFMCfSSpj9O4u2ECuguby0rMhufKO8VSxg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Steve Palincsar]

I like Connex links, too.  They're re-usable, and they're available separately.  I use mine with Shimano chains.

On 8/21/25 9:23 AM, Doug Scott wrote:

 I have moved to Connex chains.  The quick link connection is super easy and the chain wear rate is some fraction of Shimano’s - like half.

-- 
Steve Palincsar
Alexandria, Virginia 
USA

[Rudi Riet]

Speaking of more modern wax: it's a lot better than the old methods that mixed in bar oil.

Yeah, Poertner is a marketing guy. But the two most modern chain waxes - Silca Super Secret and CeramicSpeed UFO - have tested a lot better than the old paraffin with oil or teflon mixed in. They also last longer, per not only my own experience but that of many others who are now in the wax pot column. And once you're into a rhythm it's really simple upkeep.

The modern drip waxes - Squirt, Silca, CeramicSpeed UFO - are also much better than their predecessors. They work, they don't create awful buildup, etc. Yes, there's more work to the initial setup, but I get around 3,000 miles per chain. Given I'm a higher wattage rider that's saying something. 2,000 was my typical limit before the switch.

I'm a fan of T-9 for any chain that's used in extreme conditions or stored outdoors. I also like it as a frame protectant for steel frames, preferring it to the boil linseed oil that is Frame Saver. What I also like about T-9 is that it has zero PFAS components, which can't be said for many lubricants out there. I use T-9 on a bike that is stored outside and it has kept the chain rust-free and supple for more than a year, and has kept the bike's frame (it's chromoly) rust-free at the same time.

I'm also a fan on Connex links, tho I'm typically using KMC quick links these days as they're easier to find and do well for 4-5 uses. Again, I'm a high-wattage rider and put a good deal of torque into my chains. These links do well for my needs and haven't failed, as yet.

Rudi