Hello Jack. No idea if Smoov is better than what you do — may not given the deep cleaning you do. But it is simpler and easier (so far).
It'll take another month or two before I can really say! It gets cold and muddy here in VT, which should be a good test. Best. Paul On Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 12:54:58 PM UTC-4, Jack K wrote: > > I've been following a variant of Zero Friction Adam's suggested routine > for years, but unlike Adam I adopted that routine out of laziness. I hot > wax with Chain Wax(TM), a paraffin + PTFE product that I bought a lifetime > supply of when it went off the market 20-ish years ago. Between hot waxings > I lube up with Boeshield (usually) or ProGold (until the bottle runs out). > Somewhere I got a tiny drip bottle of Boeshield about the size of my thumb, > which is easy to carry on the bike when need be and it's easy to refill. > > Boeshield is fairly clean stuff, but eventually the chain does get to the > point where it leaves a smudge on your calf if you bump it. I take that as > a sign it's time for an off-bike clean and hot wax treatment. Sounds like > maybe Smoov would be better than Boeshield? I'll likely give it a try in a > decade or so when my supply of Boeshield runs out. > > -Jack > > On Thursday, August 6, 2020 at 7:45:16 AM UTC-4, ☆ Paul ☆ wrote: >> >> Hello Everyone. >> >> I contacted Adam Kerin a few weeks back, who runs Zero Friction. (http:// >> www.zerofrictioncycling.com.au). His website's mission is to get the >> lowest friction possible on bicycle chains for bike racing. While that's >> the antithesis to Rivendell, I asked him about the cleanest chain lube that >> doesn't involve waxing, since one side effect of low friction is lubes are >> many are very clean. He wrote a REALLY LONG response, the upshot being he >> likes SMOOV lube. I ordered some and it arrived yesterday! >> >> Adam's recommendation was to wax once, then use Smoov after. Waxing is a >> lot of work, so as an experiment yesterday I just cleaned the hell out of >> one of my chains by sticking it in a big plastic bottle, covering it with >> chain degreaser, and shaking it (Sheldon Brown method). Then went over it a >> second time with a brush and did the same with my drivetrain. Still a >> little grease in the joints of the chain, but shiny clean and not sticky >> for the most part . I'm going to try Smoov today and will report back. >> >> Adam also sells pre-waxed and pre-cleaned chains. >> >> Here's Adam's long response for those of you who want to read it: >> >> "Waxing is by far and way the best but outright treatment if longevity is >> not its main brief and if push re-wax treatments then past about 300km the >> chain will feel and sound very dry and friction and wear ramps up, and >> popping them off for a re-wax all the time may not be feasible for your >> operation. >> >> The best combo is likely to be an initial remove chain and strip clean >> factory grease as per instructions in my wax zen master guide ( factory >> grease needs to come off anyway), and initially wax with msw. Then after >> bikes have done about 200kms move to smoove. Smoove is a very cheap but >> very long lasting per application lube with excellent low wear and >> contamination resistance. A bottle is $25 and lasts a long time – you only >> apply 2 to 3ml per re lube and a re-lube will last about 800km. Re-lube >> technique with smoove is important however, lube needs to be warm (and >> preferably chain as well but it will be ok if not - its just better if it >> is), work in thoroughly by backpedalling about 30 times, then WIPE OFF >> EXCESS THROUGLY, and allow overnight set. Doing this smoove stays very >> clean and not gunky for a good stretch, however every approx. 3000km a >> clean and start over is great if you can. >> >> Many use msw start then smoove for cycling holidays, cross continent >> races etc – it is a great combo – msw negates smooves initial penetration >> issues. >> >> Have a look at waxing zen master guide and smoove advanced application >> guide – may seem a bit but in reality its easy, and it will help kids learn >> some great skills, and it will deliver the level of low maintenance, low >> friction and very cheap lubricant running costs you are looking for. >> (only issues is both myself and importer are currently out of smoove, but >> more in stock soon… ish…..) >> >> IF one slathers smoove on and doesn’t wipe excess then you will gunk >> things up, but if you apply as per instructions you leave a high performing >> lubricant INSIDE the chain where it is needed, not outside to gather >> airborne dust and contamination and so the outside stays impressively clean >> for an impressive period. With traditional oils / wet lubes ever single >> particle of airborne dust (of which there is a lot, just shine a bright >> torch into the air at night) will stick on contact which is why they go >> downhill very quickly re mess, friction and wear. Don’t even get me started >> on white lightning lubes, they are up there as the worst in the industry. >> You could walk into your pantry right now and randomly mix together >> anything you have in there that is liquid, and you will make a better lube >> than any white lightning product. >> >> Smoove sets to a semi solid plastic state so it is very contamination >> resistant and so wont be phased much by puddles and general airborne >> contamination. If they don’t clock up many miles, you will get a very long >> run out of the msw the smoove lubed chains indeed." >> >> >> Hope this helps, I'll report back. >> >> I may buy one of his cleaned chains and try that out if this doesn't work! >> >> >> Paul >> >> >> >> >> On Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 10:57:28 PM UTC-4, John Hawrylak wrote: >>> >>> John >>> >>> Don't know what the OEMs use ot how the apply it, but agree it's last >>> for about 500M. >>> >>> Does TriFlow attract dirt??? >>> >>> John Hawrylak >>> Woodstown NJ >>> >>> On Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 5:56:10 PM UTC-4, Whatcha Oughtter wrote: >>>> >>>> Does anyone know what’s on chains when they are new out of the box? It >>>> always seems sticky but doesn’t seem to attract too much dirt, is really >>>> smooth and quiet and lasts a long time. After the factory lube is gone I >>>> use tri-flow with pretty good results. I used motorcycle chain lube for a >>>> while that sprayed on thin and penetrated into the nooks and crannies but >>>> dried out thick like a grease. It attracted all kinds of grit and wore out >>>> a chain in very short order. -John >>>> >>>> >>>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ef490a2c-8dcd-4126-b30f-da0f569d0667o%40googlegroups.com.
