I just watched a couple of really interesting videos on cleaning and waxing a chain using Silca's "Secret Chain Blend" and "Super Secret Chain Lube" for general top up and maintenance. The prep seems a bit laborious but the results seem to be pretty clear that this lube process really prolongs the life span of the chain. I was chatting with a member of the Colnago Bike Owner's group on FB and he swears by it. Any of you folks do this?
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Silca wax lube...
Jared Purdy
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I just watched a couple of really interesting videos on cleaning and waxing a chain using Silca's "Secret Chain Blend" and "Super Secret Chain Lube" for general top up and maintenance. The prep seems a bit laborious but the results seem to be pretty clear that this lube process really prolongs the life span of the chain. I was chatting with a member of the Colnago Bike Owner's group on FB and he swears by it. Any of you folks do this?
![Image]()
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Short answer: No.
Long answer: The extra time and $$ spent will not deliver significantly more longevity than lubing properly with an oil based "wet lube" regularly. IMO, you are just wasting time and $$ if you fall for these products.
There are plenty of people here who get 10K+ miles (16K+ km) out of their chains with nothing more than a re-lube and good wipe down every 500 to 1000 miles). My chain never comes off my bike until it's time to replace it.
There was a recent thread on this here where you can get more detailed info and opinions:
www.roadbikereview.com
Long answer: The extra time and $$ spent will not deliver significantly more longevity than lubing properly with an oil based "wet lube" regularly. IMO, you are just wasting time and $$ if you fall for these products.
There are plenty of people here who get 10K+ miles (16K+ km) out of their chains with nothing more than a re-lube and good wipe down every 500 to 1000 miles). My chain never comes off my bike until it's time to replace it.
There was a recent thread on this here where you can get more detailed info and opinions:
Best chain lubes...
Anyone have something the "love". I keep bouncing back to TriFlow (been good for 30yrs, but is messy). I have recently been using the Silca "Super Secret" and have mixed feelings. It develops a light squeak much sooner than TriFlow even without exposure to rain days. Sometimes the squeak starts...
www.roadbikereview.com
Define "really prolonged life"?
That is a subjective statement.
How much longer does it last.. how many miles or what percentage? What were the testing conditions?
To me it sounds like sales gimmick. To me "really prolonged life" would mean an increase of... I dunno... 40-60%. Which I know would be B.S.
This was just recently discussed. (and frequently discussed in the past)
Best chain lubes...
Anyone have something the "love". I keep bouncing back to TriFlow (been good for 30yrs, but is messy). I have recently been using the Silca "Super Secret" and have mixed feelings. It develops a light squeak much sooner than TriFlow even without exposure to rain days. Sometimes the squeak starts...
www.roadbikereview.com
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91 Posts
The mechanic (also a Silca employee) said riders boast up to 10K using their method. I honestly don't know how many kms I get out of one chain, and I'm pretty anal about chain cleaning and lube. For a thorough clean, I usually take it off, degrease, let dry, then relube. For years I've used either Park or Finish Line Dry (I don't ride in the rain).Define "really prolonged life"?
That is a subjective statement.
How much longer does it last.. how many miles or what percentage? What were the testing conditions?
To me it sounds like sales gimmick. To me "really prolonged life" would mean an increase of... I dunno... 40-60%. Which I know would be B.S.
This was just recently discussed. (and frequently discussed in the past)
Best chain lubes...
Anyone have something the "love". I keep bouncing back to TriFlow (been good for 30yrs, but is messy). I have recently been using the Silca "Super Secret" and have mixed feelings. It develops a light squeak much sooner than TriFlow even without exposure to rain days. Sometimes the squeak starts...
Recently, a friend of mine who own's a bike shop in Toronto, who rides almost entirely mountain bikes, recommended "Bike Maintenance Next Generation EP Ultra". It's also a dry lube, but when it dries it feels heavier that Park's or Finish Line's dry lube. I'm using it on my Colnago with Record 11 speed and so far so good.
10k (kilometers?) So 6,200mi. So what is that 'prolonged' over? What's the comparison?
Sounds like just subjective anecdotal stories from people trying to justify the time, effort, and money to keep their chain sparkly clean.
I can get over 6,000mi from my chain using oil lube and WAAYY less maintenance.
You're better off posting this in another forum.
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Sure there is! The magic is paying more and getting less chain life than with oil based lubes!
This pretty much says it all.
Nuh uh. It's all magic
Magic:
tricking people into believing things that aren't true or possible
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Some very passionate responses!! 
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24,421 Posts
The only thing that receives more passionate responses than chain lube on a bike forum is motor oil on a car forum.Some very passionate responses!!
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Apparently!! I had no idea. Been riding these bikes for over forty years and just joined a coupled of forums in October as I bought new bike and thought I'd seek out ideas and opinions (no shortage of the later!!).
Passionate? naaaaSome very passionate responses!!
If you want to see passionate, wait until wax users start attempting to explain their magic "really prolonged lifespan" when asked to provide proof.
I’m curious if your new bike has rim brakes or disc brakes.
Heading back under my bridge now.
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LOL! And you know what they say about opinions!
As JSR implied, the other thing people on this forum are passionate about is whether rim or disc brakes are better. For your viewing pleasure:
The Once and For All, End All Be All, Disc Brakes vs...
This topic/debate appears to keep rearing it's less than handsome head in multiple threads and forums around here clearly irritating some of the participants in those threads. It seems to pretty much bring out the worst in RBR every time it happens. So, I am proposing that we go ahead and...
www.roadbikereview.com
The Once and For All, End All Be All, Chain Lube Thread
And before you know it, you will be one of us!
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5,870 Posts
Even if one of these miracle products delivered on their promise (and none do), and got you 500-1,000km more out of a chain, what’s the real savings? How much is the miracle? How much time and effort is involved? Between increased cost and increased effort, is a $5 or $10 overall impact worth it in terms of chain wear ver time/miles? No. Consider that homebrew is like $15.00 for a lifetime supply. It would have to destroy chains to make a better longevity argument. And we all know it works really well.
Chain longevity is just a fools pursuit. I mean no snark to OP, it’s a common bit of thread content. But who cares really, you are dealing in minute differences if differences exist at all.
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Chain longevity is just a fools pursuit. I mean no snark to OP, it’s a common bit of thread content. But who cares really, you are dealing in minute differences if differences exist at all.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
It's not just chains, it's chainrings and cassette too.
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