Ah, they are different kinds of bearings, and testing has shown that Jobst’s wax chain hypothesis doesn’t hold up.
The gear oil days were filled with cup and cone bearings, which were not sealed, and are kind of precious and adjustable. I still ride mine, but they are not really state of the art anymore. They are nice when well adjusted and lubed. Most folks use grease in them, but flushing clean oil through the system, following by a wipe with a rage was thought to keep things smooth and free in the nineteenth century. I still do that for pedals. However, even mid twentieth century cup and cone bearings were being replaced with low or no maintenance sealed cartridge bearings, to be replaced at the end of their life. Less labor than tearing down and adjusting cup and cone. But chains are different. The Zero Friction website (zerofrictioncycling.au) publishes extensive tests of chain lube and now chains. He is independent and enjoys chain lube as much as I do, no, probably a lot more than I do. His tests show even the squeakiest waxed chains last longer and introduce less friction than liquid lubes, but it’s OK to mix and match if it’s super cold. Too cold to ride, which it never is where I am. Bill Gibson Tempe, Arizona, USA My Photographs <https://billbgibson.myportfolio.com/> : https://billbgibson.myportfolio.com/ and on Behance: https://www.behance.net/BillGibson <https://billbgibson.myportfolio.com/> If you like my photographs, buy me a coffee! <https://www.buymeacoffee.com/04141955> On Mon, Jun 16, 2025 at 7:03 PM Benz Ouyang, Sunnyvale, CA < [email protected]> wrote: > I'm not sure how you reconcile the belief that "bicycle bearings should be > filled with gear oil" and advocating for chain wax, when Jobst clearly > explained that wax (Silca or otherwise) "is not mobile and cannot replenish > the bearing surfaces once it has been displaced." > > > On Monday, June 16, 2025 at 6:14:56 PM UTC-7 Bill Gibson wrote: > > How I love chain lube discussions. I, too, used Chain-L and still have > plenty, but I think lubrication is a science, and science moves on. So, it > is Silca wax deluxe for me now. Of course, I currently reside in > Arizona...But maybe Chain-L is/was a kind of repackaged gear lubricant. I > always felt that bicycle bearings should be filled with gear oil, except > maybe the headset. As I may have once mentioned on the internet, I used to > cut gear oil with white gas to lube a chain, because of viscosity, > following the instructions of the the great author of the always > controversial Effective Cycling, John Forrester, who passed on this and > other gems of British Cycling lore to this former Texan. All his bikes > seemed to have oiler holes and caps added. So much of his lore has passed > into history as conditions on the roads change, and new research reveals > new truth. Such as: a quiet chain is not always a well lubed chain, and a > noisy chain is not always out of lube, and many lubes create a grinding > paste that erodes components faster than no lube at all. Sort of like > narrow high pressure tires and wide supple tires are not what we all > thought they were! > > Bill Gibson > Tempe, Arizona, USA > My Photographs <https://billbgibson.myportfolio.com/> : > https://billbgibson.myportfolio.com/ and on Behance: > https://www.behance.net/BillGibson <https://billbgibson.myportfolio.com/> > If you like my photographs, buy me a coffee! > <https://www.buymeacoffee.com/04141955> > > > On Mon, Jun 16, 2025 at 5:49 PM Patrick Moore <[email protected]> wrote: > > Kent Peterson liked the imaginatively named “Chain-L” that worked well in > Pacific NW weather and didn’t get too dirty. His first bottle lasted him 14 > years of high-mileage riding and just ran out. > > He thinks that “Chain-L” might simply be chainsaw oil and that’s cheap for > a quart. > > Some years ago when Deacon Patrick abounded on this list, he suggested > chainsaw oil for bike chain lubrication, and I bought a quart. Man, does it > cling! Like a needy toddler. Unfortunately, while it might be relatively > clean for a “wet” lube, it certainly does attract dry sandy dirt — I tried > it once, the chain immediately got covered in grit, and I had a heckofa > time getting the stuff off my chain. I want back to expensive proprietary > waxes, Purple-something, and, latest, Smoove. > > But if it clings so well to a chain it ought to work very well with small > internal parts, so I use it to lubricate my various internal gear hubs, > those that have oil ports. I expect 500K miles out of each hub. > > > https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F92183f8e-832d-494a-9eb8-f942c7936903_2331x2921.jpeg > > [image: image.png] > > -- > > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing > services > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* > > *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* > > *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* > > -- > 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 [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsFPMzPwHD0boX979y-n__JgG7WEnyXyY99mfS6bvAuOQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsFPMzPwHD0boX979y-n__JgG7WEnyXyY99mfS6bvAuOQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > 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 [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a3bd8279-e94f-4029-b2e2-30dd26902e67n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a3bd8279-e94f-4029-b2e2-30dd26902e67n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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