Anyone using or have tried a 'dry' or wax chain lube?

[AZguy]

I think for guys that come from the moto world, chains (even somewhat "expensive" ones) and most bicycle parts (at least until you get into the super high end) seem dirt cheap by comparison to the moto stuff and puts it all into a whole different perspective... the bikes are also a lot easier to work on than the motos...

Kept trying to tell a friend she should get a new chain, hers was all rusty and the master link looked like it was going to fail at anytime... took her at least six months after my first pointing it out... she kept saying she should order one online... I just kept telling her to go to the LBS, they aren't expensive.... finally she spends the $12 on the chain, rides the bike to my workshop and I put it on in less than five minutes... she wondered why she put it off after that =]

[73Eldo]

Drives me nuts when I am out on a ride and hear a squeaking chain. Soooo easy to fix even if you just use WD40 which everyone has at lest one can missing the straw around the house. Squeaky brakes bother me too but after having discs on my own bikes that I could not get to stop squeaking that then suddenly quit or start again on their own I am a little more forgiving about that.

[AZguy]

Have you tried WD40 on the squeaky brakes? Just kidding

Do you have metallic pads? They tend to squeal unless bedded in really well and even then they may. Organic pads are usually very quiet but at least for me last about 1/5th as long as the metallic...

[73Eldo]

I know the one I replaced is metallic and I'm not positive what the others are since I didn't get any of them new in the package. I like the metallic and have a spare set so unless I start to have issues with them that is likely what I will stay with. Both my bikes have the same brakes now so same pads. Unless I'm on the mountain bike trails I'm getting better about using both brakes which really seems to reduce wear so I don't expect to go through pads as fast as I originally thought and was experiencing.

[AZguy]

Yeah - I'm way better off with metallic but they do have a tendency to make noise... maybe try re-bedding?

[73Eldo]

My street bike which is mostly what I am riding at the moment has been good recently except for an intermittent chirp from the front. No noise while braking so I assume its just the moving pad maybe not returning all the time. A light flick on the lever it stops. With all the wet salt and sand I have been in I'm happy its not worse.

The fat bike feels like its been months since I rode it so I can't remember if that was making noise or if it too had quit. Last ride it was in snow and it was snowing but warm enough that on the way to the trails I went through massive salt puddles so I'm expecting to find some things stuck on that one. We are in the start of what is likely a month long thaw and dry out period now so trails are all closed anyway. My new Salsa front hub for this one just came today so I should go see how many nipples are stuck and if I had the correct data for the spoke calculator. It said if I flip the sides I should only be 1 mm off on the length. Also need to see if I remember how to build a wheel, its been a couple (ok maybe 25) years.

[73Eldo]

That is the video I have cued up and paused already. I thought I remembered more than I did. I was sitting with all the parts in front of me and could not remember what step 1 was. I will be thrilled if I get it laced tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice so I may ride instead of spending the day truing a wheel. Lucky for me I still have a park stand that I got the upgrades for last summer to do 29's and fats. Got a park dish gauge and even found a nipple driver I have not touched for 25+ years.

[73Eldo]

Hmm according to this site I have only taken an hour to get it laced. Phase 2 I got all that side in and was off one hole but caught it before I got to phase 3 so it was an easy fix. I think I got it done correctly and it didn't take too long. Can't tell yet how my spoke length came out. Will likely find out tomorrow maybe while the battery is charging for a ride.

[Retrorockit]

I tried some generic copper metallic pads, and they were always noisy. I got some EBC bronze pads, and the rears were OK but the front were noisy until I scrubbed the old lining material off of the rotors with some 1500 grit sand paper. Now the fronts are silent, and I need to sand the rears a little to get them to be as quiet. So i'm finding that brand name metallic pads, and rotors scuffed clean can be quiet brakes. Scotchbrite or other abrasive pads would probably work just as well

[73Eldo]

My brake noise appears to be run out in the rotor just lightly contacting the pads. I put a little of the paste stuff on the backing plates for auto brakes and that seemed to help most of the ride. It started a bit near the end of the ride but I'm not sure if that was because cooling ambient temps or maybe sight pad wear increasing the clearance. Could also be some moderate use changed the runout.

On the chain lube front before yesterdays ride I switched to the Squirt Ebike formula now that it should stay above freezing. It goes on about the same as the low temp stuff but seems to turn clear in maybe 15 mins vs over an hour for the low temp stuff. So far I got no complaints. Its way cleaner than regular lube for sure, I had to pull down the spare bike that has regular lube on it so I was able to compare how much cleaner the wax is.

[73Eldo]

Getting some more miles on both bikes now and I am still happy with the Squirt lube and very happy in how clean things are. Even on the trail bike with the extra dust getting kicked up its not that bad mess wise. Its very strange that more sand and junk doesn't stick to the wax because if you touch it it feels sticky like just before oil turns to grease kind of sticky but the crap doesn't really seem to want to stick to it.

[AZguy]

Finally changed my chain at spot on 3000 hard miles - it had 1.5mm total stretch... was going to just keep the cassette (11-46t) but found a super deal on an open box 11-51t so figured why not?

[DaHose]

AZguy - Isn't that 51T GINORMOUS on the wheel? It's a trip how huge that thing looks on my new wheel. I haven't tried on the new wheels yet, so I'm unsure about chain length. Did you need to go to a longer chain, or did your existing chain from the 46T work OK?

Jose

[AZguy]

AZguy - Isn't that 51T GINORMOUS on the wheel? It's a trip how huge that thing looks on my new wheel. I haven't tried on the new wheels yet, so I'm unsure about chain length. Did you need to go to a longer chain, or did your existing chain from the 46T work OK?

Jose

It's still shiny and very hard to miss - I should get a picture of the whole bike to put it in perspective... was doing some "around the block" shake out and all the bicycle guys noticed that great big pie plate on the bike parked out in front of the pub

I was replacing the chain at the time but yes it required more links, prolly four? I should check...

[Retrorockit]

My Surly 50T stainless ring is shiny too and hard to miss. That because it's on the front and not hidden behind a bunch of other stuff.

[AZguy]

My Surly 50T stainless ring is shiny too and hard to miss. That because it's on the front and not hidden behind a bunch of other stuff.

Well mine won't stay that way - old vs. new

[Retrorockit]

Sunrace offers casettes in black too.

[AZguy]

Yes but I got the silver one for $20 less ($80 vs $100) so it was clearly the "winner"!

Back when I first contemplated getting one they were both ~$90 and I was going to get the black one but then thought why bother spending the money since it's good enough the way it is.... then my damn buddy went and bought a bike with an 11-50t so... game on!... in just a few montsh they'd gone up to $100 though.... arrrg... then I found the open box silver and bingo!


And it will get black enough in time

[DaHose]

I saw another company selling a 51T 10-speed cluster, so I am taking a hit for the team and testing it out. I'll report on the quality/performance once I get a chance to use it. Existing reviews are positive, so I have high hopes. I will only run that cluster at max. of 1000W with my 48V battery packs, so we'll see how it handles heavy e-bike power.

Jose

[AZguy]

I ran about 50mi on the new sunrace 11-51t (11sp) and everything was great. The gearing is the same in the higher gears so cadence at "cruising" speeds didn't change at all. It brings just the right amount of very low speed at a reasonable cadence I was missing and the gear steps are fine... it seemed like I was just turning too slow when at the slow speeds for technical stuff (2.5-3mph) and it brought me just enough there to make it easier to balance and avoid lugging... Pleased with it overall so far... Ran full 30A at times... shifting is very smooth as it has always been...

[TNC]

Finally changed my chain at spot on 3000 hard miles - it had 1.5mm total stretch... was going to just keep the cassette (11-46t) but found a super deal on an open box 11-51t so figured why not?

I've never run anything newer than 9-speed stuff on my mountain or road bikes. It's funny, I'm a luddite in that respect while I won't skimp on my suspension components and frame design on my mountain bikes. I'm not racing or climbing Mt. Everest, so I've never seen the need to go to the high count rear cogsets...staying with 11-34 9-speed cassettes with a 2-chainring setup. Now...I've just gone to a BBSHD on an '08 Santa Cruz Nomad, and obviously this cuts you down to one chainring...and in this case the smallest I could get to maintain a really good chainline, 42T Luna Eclipse.

So, as this point I didn't feel the 11-34 was that great for an overall gearing setup to match the 42T rear, and if I ever had to pedal this heavy beast back to a trailhead or home, the 50+ pound behemoth would be punishing without pedal assist. I found that a company called Box Components had a solution for this in the form of an 11-50T 9-speed cassette with shifter and clutched derailleur. That cassette is all steel and highly rated for ebike. It's been working like a charm so far with the BBSHD and actual mountain biking. I'm still amazed at the size of that steak platter back there, but it seems to work just fine, even across a 9-speed jump from 11-50.

On chain lube?...I'm still in the camp of a good chain lube needing a thin, petroleum based carrier to get the lube in the links/rollers. These are not o-ring chains like my dirt motorcycles use. They benefit from the lube actually getting into the chain elements. AZguy is right in that these chain lube debates are about as bad as the "what's the best motor oil" wars that rage on and on inside the automotive and motorcycle forum sites...LOL! I'm also still a luddite when it comes to recommending White Lightning Clean Ride for various reasons too numerous to mention now since I've gone way over my usually long winded limit...LOL!

[Retrorockit]

The way to get a wax lube inside the chain is to use a double boiler to melt the wax, and soak the chain in that. The hard part is getting the petro based stuff out of there first. Watt weenies swear by it. I used to do that to a couple chains at a time until I started riveting my chain due to parted quick links. Oil definitely works. Wax is an option many people prefer. Mostly having to do with dirt pickup/transfer issues.