White Lightning Dry Ride. OK Now?

[simonhill]

I always used to use the dry ride version of WL. Then about 3 years ago I found it didn't 'work' anymore. Basically it was too dry. One application only lasted half a ride.

I changed to wetter lubes and have been happy with their lubing, but still prefer a drier lube, particularly when touring. A nice dry chain is better when taking bike into hotel, onto bus, etc.

I heard that there was a problem with the dry lube that has now been sorted. Anyone know anything about this before I try (yet) another bottle of the dry stuff.

[Mick F]

Can't help at the moment.
It was me who raised this as a problem, in that the wax content varied considerably from one batch/bottle to the next.

With a weak solution, the stuff was rubbish, but a strong solution was great. I experimented ............ and I'm still using it .............. with strengthening the solution by pouring off the blue liquid from the top after it settles out.

This stronger solution is absolutely great!
I intend buying a new bottle soon and checking it out and possibly enriching it by decanting off the blue.

Meanwhile, I was in contact with WL in the USA and they seemed not to know about the variations but thanked me for my observations. They sent me a few bottles of Epic Ride as a compensation and promised to look into the problem. Although the ER is ok, it seems to be only a bit better than thin oil in that it makes your chain black after 100miles or less. I don't like it at all, and it's similar to all similar products I've tried.

Best thing I've EVER used is a good rich Clean Ride.

Watch this space in the next few weeks when I buy some more.

[reohn2]

When I tried WL a few years ago I found it didn't last one ride before needing reapplying,tried for a few rides thinking it may need to build up on the chain but things didn't improve,I concluded it wasn't upto the job,so I ditched it.
I take MickF's point about it separating out and decanting off some of the solvent to get a richer mix,but TBH if WL can't produce consisant batches of the stuff I won't buy it.
At £4.50 or more for 4oz (which could be as little as 3oz(?) after decanting off solvent)there's no way I'd even consider it.
In a similar position to the OP I'd send it back with a letter of complaint.

[Mick F]

How long have I been using my present bottle WLCR?

Looking at my Wiggle account, it was Feb 2014.
I'm just over three-quarters through the 240ml bottle at £8.99. Remember, I threw away some of it!
That's a year and a half, and makes it about 50p per month.

OK, I've not so many miles as some folk, but looking at my records it about 7,000miles since then. That makes it just over a quid per 1,000miles (in round numbers)

[colin54]

Mick do you clean off the original grease a new chain comes with before use ? I might give this stuff a try.

[Mick F]

Yes.
I've always done this as I've never trusted the "lube" that comes with the new chains.
My argument is that if the chain comes lubed properly, why can't you buy this wonderful lube from the chain manufacturers?

I am reliably informed that this "lube" is good stuff ......................... BUT ................. it's grease and NOT a dry chain lube. Therefore it gets washed off before I use the chain, good stuff or not.

[simonhill]

Cheers MickF, the go to man for chains!

I'll try pouring a bit of the stuff off the top. Nothing to loose.

Rheon, my LBS gave me a replacement bottle, then gave me a different lube, so no worries on the refund front. That was a couple of years ago, but I still have a nearly full bottle.

I'll watch out for Mick's further revalations.

[colin54]

Thank's Mick.

[Mick F]

Here's the thread about WLCR concentration/mixture.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=88573

[Brucey]

FWIW my experiences are not dissimilar to R2's. I think it works for some folk esp in the summertime but elsewhere not so much.

In the wintertime, they grit the roads heavily in my neck of the woods and one winter ride is usually enough to see a WL'd chain start to rust horribly.

On the plus side I think you can see very easily when a WL'd chain needs to be cleaned, and I can see why you would want to use it on a summertime tour.

BTW the WL I bought was about 2/3 to 3/4 solvent, once it had settled out. 'Could do better'.

cheers

[Flinders]

I use WL Epic Ride these days, works fine. Every now and again I wipe the chain and jockey wheels with an old towel and relube.

You do need to shake the bottle before applying it, though, because it 'settles'.

I have a new chain about every 1500 miles or so as a precautionary measure to protect the cassette, am on mostly rural roads in the winter, so plenty of mud, grit and other crap about, and the current cassette has done about four or five chains now with no signs of wear or trouble- and it's not a butch cassette or chain as it's a 27-speed road bike. Never seen a spot of rust anywhere. Still only less than half way down my second bottle in about 5 years (and other people in the household nick mine when they can't find theirs)

[Samuel D]

I have a new chain about every 1500 miles or so as a precautionary measure to protect the cassette

A bit off-topic, but is it actually beneficial to change the chain ‘early’? I don’t do this, reasoning that as the chain elongates it rides higher on each sprocket tooth and therefore wears a different part of the tooth compared to a new chain. So replacing the chain before the wear-indicator says so only means you keep wearing the same part of the tooth (the lower half, say), rather the using up the full wear surface of the tooth.

Of course I ask because I don’t know that my understanding is correct!

[Mick F]

I tried Epic Ride, and it's no better than thin oil IMHO.
It attracts grit and makes your chain black in quite short order. I don't like it. It's as bad as the ProLink Gold that I tried some years ago.

My experience of Clean Ride is throughout 12months in a year .......... winter as well as summer, rain as well as dry.
It doesn't wash off very easily in the wet and I've often ridden all day in pouring rain and never had a rusty or squeaky chain.

However, I don't live in an area where they salt the roads to high heaven, so maybe in the depths of a norther winter, I may have a different opinion.

[reohn2]

I use WL Epic Ride these days, works fine. Every now and again I wipe the chain and jockey wheels with an old towel and relube.

You do need to shake the bottle before applying it, though, because it 'settles'.

I have a new chain about every 1500 miles or so as a precautionary measure to protect the cassette, am on mostly rural roads in the winter, so plenty of mud, grit and other crap about, and the current cassette has done about four or five chains now with no signs of wear or trouble- and it's not a butch cassette or chain as it's a 27-speed road bike. Never seen a spot of rust anywhere. Still only less than half way down my second bottle in about 5 years (and other people in the household nick mine when they can't find theirs)

It'd be cheaper to change chain and cassette at say 7 to 9K miles when both knackered
Say 7 chains @ £10=£70 + 1 cassette @ £25(?) = £95 for 10.5k miles
1 chain @ £10 +1 cassette @ £25 = £35 for 7k miles
No contest IMO.

I usually get 4.5k miles before a chain is at 1/16 per foot wear,and use three chain before the cassette needs changing.Say 13K miles costs me 3 chains @ £11 + 1 cassette @ £15 = £48.But I use cheap as chips(£4 for 400ml) TF2 aerosol lube.
No contest again IMO

[reohn2]

I have a new chain about every 1500 miles or so as a precautionary measure to protect the cassette

A bit off-topic, but is it actually beneficial to change the chain ‘early’? I don’t do this, reasoning that as the chain elongates it rides higher on each sprocket tooth and therefore wears a different part of the tooth compared to a new chain. So replacing the chain before the wear-indicator says so only means you keep wearing the same part of the tooth (the lower half, say), rather the using up the full wear surface of the tooth.

Of course I ask because I don’t know that my understanding is correct!

See my post above.
Change the chain when it measure 1/16 inch wear per foot and the cassette will be safe for three sometimes four chains worth of wear.
I can't say whether a chain will last 4.5k miles using WL dry lube,but IME it does using TF2 aerosol spray lube.