For I take a shower I take care of my 'horse'. It adds half an hour to my ride.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mD5VtVTkRrCByDr87

Lou

On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 05:50:49 -0800 (PST), Lou Holtman
<lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:

>For I take a shower I take care of my 'horse'. It adds half an hour to my ride.
>https://photos.app.goo.gl/mD5VtVTkRrCByDr87
>Lou

Nice bicycle.

For your amusement, I think I've found some of the most complicated
chain cleaning and waxing videos. 3 solvent degreaser baths, 1
alcohol bath, ultrasonic cleaning, Instant hot Pot and then apply the
wax and tungsten disulfide. Video by Silca and sponsored by Shimano.

"Silca Secret Chain Blend"
<https://silca.cc/pages/secretchainblend>

"MGTV: How to Hot Melt Wax Your Bicycle Chain"
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (30:43)

Cleaning the Chain, Part 1:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4c7MwEmMs> (16:14)

Cleaning the Chain, Part 2:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (11:15)

Enjoy.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 20:47:41 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 05:50:49 -0800 (PST), Lou Holtman
><lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>For I take a shower I take care of my 'horse'. It adds half an hour to my ride.
>>https://photos.app.goo.gl/mD5VtVTkRrCByDr87
>>Lou
>
>Nice bicycle.
>
>For your amusement, I think I've found some of the most complicated
>chain cleaning and waxing videos. 3 solvent degreaser baths, 1
>alcohol bath, ultrasonic cleaning, Instant hot Pot and then apply the
>wax and tungsten disulfide. Video by Silca and sponsored by Shimano.
>
>"Silca Secret Chain Blend"
><https://silca.cc/pages/secretchainblend>
>
>"MGTV: How to Hot Melt Wax Your Bicycle Chain"
><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (30:43)

I watched the above for a minute or so. Foolishness. The guy is using
his wife's cooking gear. :-)

Obviously you aren't married or you'd know that is a no-no. Use your
wife's cooking gear and the next time you come home from work you'll
find the dealer installing the new cooking stove or maybe the second
fridge.

"What Are You Doing?" "Well, you got my cooking stove all dirty with
the stinky wax stuff so I had to buy new!"

You can buy an electric cooking pot for your stinky wax far cheaper
then the new stove :-)

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:16:50 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 20:47:41 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
>wrote:
>>"MGTV: How to Hot Melt Wax Your Bicycle Chain"
>><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (30:43)
>
>I watched the above for a minute or so. Foolishness. The guy is using
>his wife's cooking gear. :-)

I'm surprised he lived to tell about it. Notice that he warned the
viewers not to tell his wife about it.

However, I have a question. At:
<https://youtu.be/m3uSbNjI53Y?t=1271>
he dumps a waxed chain into the cooking pot and shows bubbles coming
out of the chain. He declares this to be air bubbles and getting the
wax into the chain and pushing the air out. He also mentions using an
ultrasonic cleaner to "push the wax in to get the air out". What I
see in the video is far more "air" coming out of the chain as bubbles
than I would expect from the small air voids in the chain. It looks
to me more like it's boiling water and belching water vapor, but I'm
not sure. How the water got into the chain or wax is unknown.

What's your opinion? Air bubbles, boiling water or something else?
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 23:04:26 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

>On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:16:50 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 20:47:41 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
>>wrote:
>>>"MGTV: How to Hot Melt Wax Your Bicycle Chain"
>>><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (30:43)
>>
>>I watched the above for a minute or so. Foolishness. The guy is using
>>his wife's cooking gear. :-)
>
>I'm surprised he lived to tell about it. Notice that he warned the
>viewers not to tell his wife about it.
>
>However, I have a question. At:
><https://youtu.be/m3uSbNjI53Y?t=1271>
>he dumps a waxed chain into the cooking pot and shows bubbles coming
>out of the chain. He declares this to be air bubbles and getting the
>wax into the chain and pushing the air out. He also mentions using an
>ultrasonic cleaner to "push the wax in to get the air out". What I
>see in the video is far more "air" coming out of the chain as bubbles
>than I would expect from the small air voids in the chain. It looks
>to me more like it's boiling water and belching water vapor, but I'm
>not sure. How the water got into the chain or wax is unknown.
>
>What's your opinion? Air bubbles, boiling water or something else?

Being a savvy old fellow I bypassed the kitchen and bought an electric
cooking pot. I set the thermostat just cool enough that the wax mix
didn't boil. No bubbles. I then washed the chain in a solvent to get
as much "dirt" off as possible - note: some skip this step - and then
after the chain had stopped dripping tossed it in the hot wax. But no,
I never saw the chain giving off any bubbles whether in the solvent or
the hot wax. But then, I really didn't study the subject, I never
hovered over the washing or waxing to see whether it bubbled or not.

But, I'm a bit of a skeptic about forcing the wax into the chain. Hot
wax is a pretty thin liquid and flows almost like water. A new chain
is pretty well soaked in a sort of oily substance which is at least to
some degree a preservative to prevent rusting before sale. If the
manufacturer knows what he is doing the chain must be completely
saturated so where does the air come from?

As an aside in breaking a new chain to make it the correct length for
the bike the pins always look oily.

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 15:08:19 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 23:04:26 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:16:50 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 20:47:41 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
>>>wrote:
>>>>"MGTV: How to Hot Melt Wax Your Bicycle Chain"
>>>><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (30:43)
>>>
>>>I watched the above for a minute or so. Foolishness. The guy is using
>>>his wife's cooking gear. :-)
>>
>>I'm surprised he lived to tell about it. Notice that he warned the
>>viewers not to tell his wife about it.
>>
>>However, I have a question. At:
>><https://youtu.be/m3uSbNjI53Y?t=1271>
>>he dumps a waxed chain into the cooking pot and shows bubbles coming
>>out of the chain. He declares this to be air bubbles and getting the
>>wax into the chain and pushing the air out. He also mentions using an
>>ultrasonic cleaner to "push the wax in to get the air out". What I
>>see in the video is far more "air" coming out of the chain as bubbles
>>than I would expect from the small air voids in the chain. It looks
>>to me more like it's boiling water and belching water vapor, but I'm
>>not sure. How the water got into the chain or wax is unknown.
>>
>>What's your opinion? Air bubbles, boiling water or something else?

>Being a savvy old fellow I bypassed the kitchen and bought an electric
>cooking pot. I set the thermostat just cool enough that the wax mix
>didn't boil. No bubbles. I then washed the chain in a solvent to get
>as much "dirt" off as possible - note: some skip this step - and then
>after the chain had stopped dripping tossed it in the hot wax. But no,
>I never saw the chain giving off any bubbles whether in the solvent or
>the hot wax. But then, I really didn't study the subject, I never
>hovered over the washing or waxing to see whether it bubbled or not.

Thanks. I guess I'll need to either hot dip a chain and see for
myself, or convince someone to do it for me.

>But, I'm a bit of a skeptic about forcing the wax into the chain.

In a previous rant, I mentioned that if one really wanted to remove
all the air bubbles, one would use a vacuum pump. That's the way I
prevent air bubbles from forming or remove them from plastic, wax or
silicon molds.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=vacuum+pump+to+rremove+air+bubbles>

>Hot
>wax is a pretty thin liquid and flows almost like water. A new chain
>is pretty well soaked in a sort of oily substance which is at least to
>some degree a preservative to prevent rusting before sale. If the
>manufacturer knows what he is doing the chain must be completely
>saturated so where does the air come from?

Sloppy handling. Splashing the chain around in a pot of hot wax is
going to trap some air bubbles in the wax. Try an egg beater in some
wax and watch the bubbles form.

>As an aside in breaking a new chain to make it the correct length for
>the bike the pins always look oily.

I once took apart an pin and sleeve type chain and removed all the
grease and oil. That included partially removing the pins to degrease
them. I then smeared the chain with some thin oil that I dyed with a
phosphorescent oil leak detector that glowed under UV light. I put
the chain back together ran it for a while on a bicycle stand. I then
took it apart again and inspected the pins and sleeves under a
microscope and UV light. The pins were mostly dry. Some of the dye
on the pins came from smearing the pins against some oil piled up on
the side plates.

I must admit that this test wasn't definitive and should probably be
repeated under more controlled conditions. However, if it's true,
then the only oil that chain internals will see is the oil that was
applied at the factory.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 5:47:55 AM UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 05:50:49 -0800 (PST), Lou Holtman
> <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >For I take a shower I take care of my 'horse'. It adds half an hour to my ride.
> >https://photos.app.goo.gl/mD5VtVTkRrCByDr87
> >Lou
> Nice bicycle.
>
> For your amusement, I think I've found some of the most complicated
> chain cleaning and waxing videos. 3 solvent degreaser baths, 1
> alcohol bath, ultrasonic cleaning, Instant hot Pot and then apply the
> wax and tungsten disulfide. Video by Silca and sponsored by Shimano.
>
> "Silca Secret Chain Blend"
> <https://silca.cc/pages/secretchainblend>
>
> "MGTV: How to Hot Melt Wax Your Bicycle Chain"
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (30:43)
>
> Cleaning the Chain, Part 1:
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4c7MwEmMs> (16:14)
>
> Cleaning the Chain, Part 2:
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (11:15)
>
> Enjoy.
>
> --
> Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
> PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
> Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

I watched the first video. Well everyone has its own time result balance. This method is way off balance for me. My crossbike is used in the worst possible conditions so It has to be cleaned and the chain has to be relubed almost after every rude. I can’t be bothered with cleaning the bike with a toothbrush and hotwax the chain every time. My method works for me. Pressure washer at the carwash a no go? Nonsense if you do it right after the ride and take a little care and dry the bike afterwards. Dry the bike thoroughly is what most people ‘forget’. An aircompressor comes in very handy. A small one is more than good enough. It is about 130 euro here. For fun I will take the crank off today after the ride (other bike) and take some pictures after two seasons of my cleaning ‘torture’.

Lou

On Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 2:04:41 AM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:16:50 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 20:47:41 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com>
> >wrote:
> >>"MGTV: How to Hot Melt Wax Your Bicycle Chain"
> >><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3uSbNjI53Y> (30:43)
> >
> >I watched the above for a minute or so. Foolishness. The guy is using
> >his wife's cooking gear. :-)
> I'm surprised he lived to tell about it. Notice that he warned the
> viewers not to tell his wife about it.
>
> However, I have a question. At:
> <https://youtu.be/m3uSbNjI53Y?t=1271>
> he dumps a waxed chain into the cooking pot and shows bubbles coming
> out of the chain. He declares this to be air bubbles and getting the
> wax into the chain and pushing the air out. He also mentions using an
> ultrasonic cleaner to "push the wax in to get the air out". What I
> see in the video is far more "air" coming out of the chain as bubbles
> than I would expect from the small air voids in the chain. It looks
> to me more like it's boiling water and belching water vapor, but I'm
> not sure. How the water got into the chain or wax is unknown.
>
> What's your opinion? Air bubbles, boiling water or something else?
> --

I've never had that many bubbles come from a clean dry chain. I suspect you might be correct that it's water, but inconclusive at best.