Mid drive chain efficiency and longevity tips

[Zambam]

@BlueSwordM Thanks for finding more sources. I already ordered one lb of the Jaquard from https://www.michaels.com/product/jacquard-microcrystalline-wax-block1lb-492977964241911817 $21.08 shipping included

Really looking forward to less flaking.

 

[Ianhill]

What the hell ! if it makes my bikes chain feel the same way as I do when I put it on my gooch, I’ll give it a try.

 

[Diggs]

Here's my first waxed chain after 480 miles before getting re-waxed. It has never been cleaned (except getting rid of factory grease) and this is the way it came off the bike. I do like the way it stays clean as I've mentioned elsewhere, I lift my ebike in and out of my van and occasionally brush up against it. Look close and you can see a few scars no doubt where I shifted the BBSHD under load. I actually am surprised it did this well as I rode a couple hundred miles on crushed limestone trails. They have their own unique fine dust.

 

[pomah]

1200 km (745 miles) and need a new chain? That's crazy low! What kind of bike is your BBS02 on?

Not familiar with Squirt. Just looked it up. It's wax in a water base. Have you tried hot wax which may lengthen chain life?
View attachment 375899

Not familiar with Linkglide either. Just watched this video. It says to get all the benefits, Linkglide must be used as a system, i.e. chain/cassette/chainring/derailleurs must all be Linkglide. Is that what you have?

Nope no interest in changing to a oil/wax that requires more time, squirt is very time efficent to apply.

I use the linkglide chain, cassette, derailer and shifter, but it does not really matter for longevity. The only difference in the system is the cassette teath desigh and cable pull. The chain is a standard shimano 11 speed chain.

I'm not really sure what you say 1200km is a short chain life, that is what you on most non ebikes, and I'm running 500W of power through mine.

The bike is a surly bridge club

 

[pomah]

I didn't think oil lube is compatible with wax. Just came across this confirmation:
"The most important thing to remember is that wax and lubes do not mix. Applying a wet lube on top of a waxed chain will give you the worst of both worlds: A sticky mess that attracts dirt and causes high friction and chain wear. Just avoid it."
Source: I Bought A Pre-Waxed Chain. What Now?.

I clean my chain before applying any lubricant, It does not matter if I apply squirt again to a layer of squirt or if I apply oil.

 

[pomah]

I see some pictures of "clean" chains, that is nice and all, but has nothing to do with when you should change it, you do not change a chain because it is rusty or dirty, you change it when it has "stretched" beyond a certain point.

 

[hillslayer@]

Chains don't stretch the rollers wear down.

 

[Zambam]

I clean my chain before applying any lubricant, It does not matter if I apply squirt again to a layer of squirt or if I apply oil.

You sure about that? Oil and wax do not mix at room temperature afaik.

 

[Zambam]

I'm not really sure what you say 1200km is a short chain life, that is what you on most non ebikes, and I'm running 500W of power through mine.

I said that not based on personal experience (I have not worn out a new chain yet on wax), but from videos on youtube.
Here's one example

 

[pomah]

Chains don't stretch the rollers wear down.

I think this explains it better, https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/workshop/how-to-know-when-its-time-to-replace-your-bicycle-chain

 

[pomah]

You sure about that? Oil and wax do not mix at room temperature afaik.

I try to explain how I do again. Before I apply squirt, or other lubricant I degreese my chain/clean it. Therefore I wrote what I did, I can go from squirt in the summer to an oil based lubricant in the winter, all depending on how the weather is. To give you a better understanding, I live in Sweden, some winters we have very little snow and therefore not much of an issue. Some winters we have snow/rain mix where the municipality allso sprays salt mixtures on the road. At the later conditions, especially using squirt, the chain rusts and the squirt is required to be applied much more often, especially if i decide to clean the salt of after each commute, there I switch to an oil based lubricant that 1, stays on the chain longer, 2, protects it from corrosion better than squirt and 3, is easier and faster to apply. There is also less, dust/dirt in the wet environement that makes it less interesting for me to use squirt

 

[pomah]

I said that not based on personal experience (I have not worn out a new chain yet on wax), but from videos on youtube.
Here's one example

I hear him say that, but I have never seen any cassette that survives anywhere close to 45 000 km... Or a chain that lives for 15 000 km, and I'm not even talking about an ebike that most of us here use.

I hade amazing chain life, 2000-3000km, when I had a rear motor on my previous ebike build, that was also throttle only and about 900W, but that should not be considered a bike in my eyes.

I'm sure that hot wax lubricants can probably extend the chain life, or even increasing the re application of the lubricant will do that as well. But for me, after measuring chain wear for a few years, my experience is that applying squirt once a month, will give me the best chain life in the environment that I use the bike.

 

[Zambam]

I hear him say that, but I have never seen any cassette that survives anywhere close to 45 000 km... Or a chain that lives for 15 000 km, and I'm not even talking about an ebike that most of us here use.

I hade amazing chain life, 2000-3000km, when I had a rear motor on my previous ebike build, that was also throttle only and about 900W, but that should not be considered a bike in my eyes.

I'm sure that hot wax lubricants can probably extend the chain life, or even increasing the re application of the lubricant will do that as well. But for me, after measuring chain wear for a few years, my experience is that applying squirt once a month, will give me the best chain life in the environment that I use the bike.

I believe you get 1200 km on a chain, given the harsh conditions you ride in! It would be interesting for you to try hot immersion wax and see if you get better results (It's not much more work- you won't know till you try).

I looked at your build thread- nice work! How are those N.E.S.E modules doing?

 

[pomah]

I believe you get 1200 km on a chain, given the harsh conditions you ride in! It would be interesting for you to try hot immersion wax and see if you get better results (It's not much more work- you won't know till you try).

I looked at your build thread- nice work! How are those N.E.S.E modules doing?

Well those modules were doing great, but then the battery burned up with parts of my basement... Cause of fire was a UPS system in the same cellar but that is it... I would recommend the N.E.S.E. modules to those who want to build, the main problem is finding a good BMS, but part from that it is great.

 

[WaverlyCycles]

Well those modules were doing great, but then the battery burned up with parts of my basement... Cause of fire was a UPS system in the same cellar but that is it... I would recommend the N.E.S.E. modules to those who want to build, the main problem is finding a good BMS, but part from that it is great.

A UPS fire? As somebody with multiple UPS systems in my house, may I ask for some details?

 

[pomah]

A UPS fire? As somebody with multiple UPS systems in my house, may I ask for some details?

I dont have many details sadly, but after the fire, since it is an insurance claim, the insurance company did an investigation and concluded that the small eaton UPS I had caused the fire. Apparently, according to the investigator, they sometimes can do that if they are older.

I'm not sure if I buy that, but that was the official investigation and conclusion. My own take away from this is:

Do not put all batteries in one charinging corner, even if is is nice and comfortable to charge them all in one place, when one goes they all go...

Now 6 months later they are still finishing the cleaning up of the house, still no rebuild, and hopefully after 1-2 weeks they will start to rebuild. At the end of this we have not lived in our own house for over 1 year because of the fire and damage the smoke did to the house.

For the future I will separate my "larger" ebike batteries and allways charge them outside, even winter time. And the smaller ones, tool batteries, will be stored inside, but not on charger.

 

[neptronix]

For enjoyers of saving a watt or two, here's something tangentially related:

Silca has some very nice TPU tubes for sale now.

 

[n00b]

Waxing chains is very nice, especially if you're running a mid-drive drive motor and have had chains pop.
If you do that, you should probably have a chain tool with you, no matter what.

 

[n00b]

And here I am gonna try 10-speed chains and gears with a BBS03 again.
70/30 it ends up in broken chain fail.Then it's back to whatever 8-speed combo works.