More chain lube follies

 Chain, chain, chain....

Apologies to Aretha Franklin, but some people are foolish. Recently Zio Lorenzo was taken-to-task by (he assumes) a member of the chain-wax cult when he claimed a chain on his own bicycle showed zero measurable wear after 4000 miles of use, without ever being waxed. Simply oiled now and then.

He doesn't really hate these people but DOES hate the fact they act like anyone not in their cult is somehow a moron..or flat-earther as a certain Australian ex-cop likes to say.

Zio's used Mobil 1 as chain lube for decades with excellent results, but never paid much attention to actual data on wear...until the wax-culters started making some wild claims along with inferences that non wax-culters must be idiots. 

Now he has some.

Odometer reading from the bicycle. MAHLE e-bikes have (like your car) an odometer in them. There's no way that Zio knows of to tamper with them. 3991 kms with maybe 10% of that on dusty trails and the rest on paved roads. Certainly NOT the grueling test protocol "Mr. Friction Fiction" claims to put chains through, but in Zio's opinion probably more representative of normal use without any bias that might make wax seem superior to oil or vice-versa.

This chain was lubed with Mobil 1 SHC 75/90 and nothing else, maybe the first time Zio's actually done so. Usually he'd just grab a lube applicator and drip some oil of one brand or another on (after wiping the chain with a rag) then spin the cranks backwards a few times, wipe off excess and that was that.

Chain was cleaned a few times as part of a bike wash, using a teaspoon or two of simple diesel fuel brushed on the chain and the rest of the drivetrain components, then washed off with simple dish soap. A wipe with a dry rag completed the service. More lube was usually needed after a few hundred kilometers - dripped-on, wiped off.

Above is a new Campagnolo EKAR 13-speed chain, showing (surprise!) zero wear measured by a KMC digital chain checker.

Above is the chain that came on the bike after almost 4000 kilometers.

At least one person implied that something shady was being done with the digital chain checker to cheat on the results. Zio hopes the above shot of a non-digital checker's reading might get them to take off the tinfoil hat!

Bottom line? Use whatever you want on your chain (or mustache, bikini line, etc.) as it's your money and your time. But PLEASE stop trying to make it seem anyone not doing it your way is a Luddite, moron, flat-earther, etc. And pay close attention to what the marketers of these waxing products claim, they have a pretty big financial interest in your purchase of $50 bags o'wax pellets, gizmos to melt the wax in, etc. etc. vs a liter of gear oil for $15.