A year or so ago, I had a contact with Marcin from Absolute black.
He advised me to try Squirt, a paraffin emulsion(with water) instead of traditional lubes.
And that my drivetrain would last much longer than my usual 5000km.
On top of being much cleaner, it seems he is right about the longevity of the drive train.
I kept a little bottle in my bag, in case of really bad, long, muddy rides to add some mid ride.
However few months ago I found Oz cycling video about waxing your chain:
His answer to questions are very interesting too, part 1:
And part 2:
Recently GCN made an awful disservice to the cause, with a really poor video compared to Oz.
So I tried.
Got the paraffin in a 5kg pack, the 20€ rice pot, a plastic cocktail shaker to clean the chain.
I will probably go the ultrasonic cleaner route soon, to avoid the diesel cleaning and other dirty fluids.
At the beginning it is messy, you need to be careful to not end with paraffin everywhere.
And it last longer than a usual chain cleaning. But it comes better with practice.
I get it done in about 5' of net time now.
Do that in a well ventilated place, as paraffin, although it is the same you get in home candles, is not very good to inhale.
The result is impressive. Ultra smooth, silent and most importantly clean drivetrain.
After each muddy ride, or multiple dry rides, I just shake the chain in hot water and soap.
Rince it. Dry it. And in the paraffin rice pot.
When the temperature gets to about 52°C get the chain out, wipe it.
And mount it back.
I tried the paraffin/xylene Oz recipe to get a bottled lube.
But it doesn't look to be adapted to colder weather, I can't get it liquid on the trails.
Squirt is already a very good option for a medium/good clean chain.
But paraffin is the best if you learn how to use it.
