Dusty conditions & drivetrain maintenance

Hello,

I'm looking for advice or maybe just being told that what I'm doing is right and it is what it is... I live in Az and do all of my gravel riding on dusty roads. I find that I can get maybe 4 or 5 rides, approximately 40miles each, before I have to remove my chain and seriously clean it meaning soak in degreaser, dry it off, lube and reinstall. I pushed my luck recently and didn't do anything for 2 typical rides plus a short ride and on the way back I thought my drivetrain was going to explode it was so noisy. Honestly, I thought my bb might have gone south on me. Fortunately I was by myself, I think the noise would have driven someone else nuts.

I use Finish Line dry lube and I typically will wipe the chain clean and reapply after most rides. At most, I might skip this for one ride. I guess I may be spoiled as I've been road riding here in Az for 12 years and that requires very minimal maintenance. I switched to dry lube after using wet lube which seemed to work well in terms of drivetrain performance but it was a gunky mess after every ride.. I love gravel riding and I certainly don't expect it to be as simple as riding on dry roads but if there is something I can do to make it easier I would appreciate any/all tips!

TIA!

I'm not sure this will make things much easier on you, but you might switch lubes. I used to use Finish Line and found it to be gunky and needing lots of maintaining. I like Muc-Off ceramic C3 a lot better.

Try waxing your chain every few hundred miles and use some with dry wax lube in between re-waxings.  The wax baths should last considerably longer than dry lube from a bottle.  It might actually be less work than what you're doing already.  

I recommend wiping before, but also especially after. Finish Line Dry will act like a solvent when first applied and will free-up gunk inside and out, but will turn to sludge if not wiped while still wet. Excess lube on the outside just collects more gunk.

Waxed chains. Plain and simple.  I was having exactly the same problem you have. Super fine dust from all the ATVs on my roads by the end of the summer. I could barely get through one ride before it would be a mess. Then I came across chain waxing and never looked back.

My niece gave me a deep fat fryer she wasn't using and so I just put all my wax in there and when the chain starts to squeak a little, I throw it in the fryer and then it lasts me for another month. The added side benefit is you never have messy chains or stains on your clothes or hands anymore. You can grab the chain when it comes off, put it back on the bike and then brush your hands off.
I also thinking it lengthens the life of your chain considerably. 

I'm starting to think wax may be the answer.. I need to watch some videos and see what it entails. In the past I never really considered it but with quick links it just isn't a big deal; I was always a bit nervous about correctly installing the Shimano pin..

I've also been curious about waxing (chains lol).  Question - do you wipe your chain down after a ride and/or do any other cleaning between waxing (which I've read can be a month apart)?

I have also found the hot wax method from oz cycle's channel to be very effective, and I do it a lazier way, and with multiple chains. It does take some investment in the supplies and tinkering with the methodology, but it works ridiculously well, and you basically never have to have to deep clean your cassette, jockey wheels, or chainrings because all that accumulates is harmless paraffin wax residue.

I also suspect that over the course of long rides, compared to other lubes that attract friction modifiers (aka dust, dirt), waxed chains are appreciably more efficient.

Noonievut wrote:I've also been curious about waxing (chains lol).  Question - do you wipe your chain down after a ride and/or do any other cleaning between waxing (which I've read can be a month apart)?

There is zero maintenance between waxing.  I grew up in the middle of nowhere and thus have been home wrenching for 38 years.  Chain waxing is the single greatest thing I ever came across in that time (1A would be the quicklink which makes waxing super easy) that simplified and improved bike maintenance.  
Usually what happens is I forget my headphones for a ride and I note my drivetrain is a little noisy.  And then it goes like this:
1. Plug in the deep fryer
2. Pop the chain off and put the quick link where I won't lose it. 
3. Drop the chain in the fryer basket
4. Come back 30 or 40 minutes later and fish out the chain. Let it cool a bit and reinstall.  
5. Spin it a bit until the excess wax falls off.  Sweep up, put the bike in the garage.  
The drivetrain goes silent again.
Some folks use a small crock pot, but the fryer can get really hot.  The theory being it heats up and expands the metal, the wax seeps in and gets in all the tiny spots.  Plus, the fryer heats up quickly and has a little basket to fish it out.  I've done two or three at once, but my gravel bike gets 95 percent of the miles so I usually do that once once a month.

During the worst part of the summer, the "flour" dust requires more frequent waxing, but it is still better than cleaning my chain and relubing after every ride.  And like I said above, the chain lasts forever, so much so that I just bought the XTR/Dura Ace chain because well ... why not if you get so many more miles out of it.  

One note: whether it is new or used, you have to COMPLETELY degrease the chain.  New chains I just use boiling water and some dish soap.  Used chains are messier and I used degreaser until it came out somewhat clear.  After the first wax though, the only thing I'll do is give it a quick swipe with a rag and then drop it in the wax.  

I can't begin to say how much easier it is than hand lubing the old way.  I went to Hobby Lobby or Michaels and bought a big package of parrafin wax and I've been using it for nearly a year.  The wax looks really dark now but it does not affect the chain performance.  

SWGraveler wrote:

So, I'm thinking I going to give this a try. I was looking on Amazon at wax; will a 1lb block last me a while or should I buy more? Any parafin wax works?

A 1 pound pot lasted me ~7K miles being pretty messy / lazy with the runoff, and any paraffin wax is fine. I use Gulf Wax from the grocery store canning section. For the PTFE powder there is a 1.5 oz jar on Amazon that is the right size for 1 pound of wax, and you can get 100g bags of 1-3 micron from AliExpres cheaper.

Once I have done an initial waxing, do I need to clean the chain prior to subsequent waxings?

SWGraveler wrote:Once I have done an initial waxing, do I need to clean the chain prior to subsequent waxings?

Not really.  You can wipe it down with a towel/rag  but it won't have collected anything because nothing sticks to it like with oil or other lubes. 

It sounds like you would be a great candidate for waxing, but it looks like everyone else has already said that!  Being brand new to it, I would start with a system like Silca, who has a ton of great info out there, just to get going at first.  After that's proven then I'd go towards the homebrew method to make improvements or save some money.

Thanks for all the helpful responses! I have ordered the Silca wax; as suggested it looks like a great intro to waxing and the boil in bag just seems like a great idea.. I'm really looking forward to riding with a quiet drivetrain and less maintenance. 

Ride safely,
Scott

I boil the dirty chains in an old pot of of water two at a time to get the old wax out, then wipe them off with a rag while still hot. Seems to easiest way to get reasonably clean chains to re-wax.

Should also add that the only way to make this work once you're invested in something out of Breaking Bad is to run multiple chains, and just sorta assembly line the process doing 2-3 chains at a time on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I use six of the SRAM PC-1110 chains ($18 /w quick link) for my gravel bike, and two chains for the other bikes I actually ride.

I've done my first waxing and so far I'm really impressed. I bought the Silca wax in a bag since it has all the additives in it but I used an old pan(didn't heat in the bag) that I can just leave sitting until next time. I've been able to do 2 dusty rides so far, and my drivetrain is clearly in better shape than it would have been with my previous method. My plan is to do a few more rides and then do another waxing. If it keeps going like this, I'm going to switch my road bikes over as well as they are both about due for new chains/cassettes.

Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge!

Ride safe,
Scott

If you really want to get into the nitty gritty of chain waxing, start reading through all the articles in http://www.zerofrictioncycling.com.au.  Tons of good info.  Waxing is the way to go for sure.  For cleaning before re-waxing, just place the chain in a small collander/seive and pour boiling water slowly over it...melts the old wax while rinsing out any grit/grime that has contaminated the chain.  As noted before, the chain must be completely clean of all oil based lubes/factory protective lube...wax won't stick otherwise.  An ultrasonic cleaner works wonders when used with mineral spirits, then flush with alcohol a couple times.  Yes, it does take a bit more time and requires a small investment (mini crockpot, US cleaner, mineral spirits/alcohol, extra chains if you want, and of course a good wax blend) but the dividends are worth it.  I've been trying Absolute Black's GraphenWax and Molten Speed Wax...both work well.  As noted previously, a great chore for a rainy afternoon...

I appreciate all the information; I have been wondering what's next now that I have a waxed chain. The hot water wash and re-wax doesn't seem like a lot of work now that I have waxed once. I'll check out the info at that link; thanks for posting it. 

I'm thinking it might be fun to try a blend of a these waxes since they all claim to be the best and they all have ingredients that seem to make sense. Anyone tried mixing them?

I just picked up an ultrasonic cleaner and some Silca Super Secret lube. I recently upgraded my GR to the blinged out XX1 Rainbow chain and cassette, so I want it to stay looking good.  Hey, I can't go fast any more so might as well look good right?  (I have a lot of bikes, so the cleaner will definitely so some good use).
I've read that the Silca SS Lube doesn't last as well as real wax so maybe I need to pick up the wax instead?  Anyone tried it?  In the past I've used wax, but just the common variety, and it didn't last that well.  I used about every other lube there is, and it seems like if you aren't willing to do a total cleaning of your chain, then it will eventually look like crap (although some lubes are much blacker, dirt attracting and tattoo causing than others).