I’m heading to Kyrgyzstan for 3 weeks for the SRMR and some other bits. I can’t decide on what to do with the chain. I ‘ve converted to waxing and I love it for the low friction and keeping everything clean although it wont last the distance for the trip, and the drip on wax can be a hassle with the long drying time. What are your recommendations for a durable all conditions lube that is also low friction (and won’t end up in a black greasy mess)?
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Silca synergetic is way to go.
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Based on ZFC’s recent testing, I’d be tempted to say this is a good use case for starting with Squirt Hot Melt wax and topping up regularly with Squirt lube. NB - yet to try either myself, and in isolation Squirt lube doesn’t get great reviews (although this may be due to poor penetration - starting with the hot wax and adding the drip lube every day may ameliorate this problem).
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My experience of synergetic is that it does turn into black grease, although that’s fairly manageable if you take a rag with you to wipe it each day.
I still much prefer the cleanliness of wax so for multi day trips I start with an immersion waxed chain and then make sure I top it up before bed time. I haven’t done anything longer than a week though
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Is this a trip where you will attempt to go as far as you can with the least amount of breaks or will you be resting most nights? If it’s the latter, I don’t see why you can’t just top off with drip wax when you get done with riding at the end of each day, if necessary.
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I attempted SRMR in’23 and I rotated between 2 chains, replenishing the one on the bike with Silca drip wax and using the other while the drip got a chance to dry.
I dnf’d (shortcut 350km) for reasons of poor navigation and illness, but still amn’t sure if the chain swapping was genius or stupidity. Next time, I will start with endurance chips maxed out, but I have not decided on the follow-up lube
It takes many hours for the drip wax to dry, and the nights in Kyrgyzstan are cool, or potentially cold, so there is no chance for the drip wax to dry during my 6-hour sleep stop every night
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Hi Doug, thanks for your response, and sorry to hear of the DNF (although it’s pretty popular). Yes, I had thought of the chain swap option too… but excess weight … dilemmas
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There will be long days and nights , so the idea of schedule of re-waxing does seem really feasible
FWIW I asked Josh Poertner at Spoken last year about chain lube for things like PBP, where there’s little downtime and rain is likely. His suggestion was to start off with hot wax (including endurance chips), then top up with drip wax (if there is sufficient drying time), and switch to Synergetic if or when there isn’t. I note that on a recent North to South of Africa crossing the lube of choice was “motor oil” presumably scrounged when needed; Tony Oliver (forner UK framebuider) adopted this strategy too. If the choice is a clean but noisy chain or a quiet oily chain I know which I’m going to pick.
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Rex Black Diamond Chain Lube. It’s not as clean as wax lubricants, but it’s also wax-based and lasts forever.
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Hi SP, thanks for the research and sage advice. This is firming up as the preferred approach. There should be plenty of engine oil available 
I was able to successfully complete SRMR back in 2021. I started off with a new chain and a Squirt wet lube that I topped off every other day. I wanted to try and save weight so only took a few spare links rather than an entire spare chain which seemed to work fine for me.
It’s an amazing experience so remember to slow down every now and then so that you can savor the moments and enjoy the incredible landscapes that Nelson’s routes take you through.
Good luck!
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Thanks Justin- yes, time in the mountains is a gift. I’m aiming to saviour the experience and pick up the lantern rouge.
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Interesting question.
I am doing The Bright Midnight (1100 km in Norway) in July, and I am sure to get a lot of rain (but hopefully also some sunny bits).
Last year I did El Piri in Spain (which was mostly dry). I started with a waxed chain and topped it with Squirt drip wax each evening, so it could dry for 5 or 6 hours (and sometimes during the day, too, without drying time but just to silence the chain).
Squirt sells this small bottles, which are really easy to pack. I bought a couple of them and fill them up from a bigger bottle when empty.
https://www.bike24.com/p2233983.html?sku=822779
Since a couple of months, for waxing I switched from cheap paraffine wax to Silca with an Endurance Chip. In dry conditions, the Endurance Chip really helps. I also started using Silca drip wax to top up, but to be honest that stuff doesn’t seem to last long in wet conditions, so I will be using Squirt again for The Bright Midnight.
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Hi WB - this is the type of advice I’m after. I too find Silca good, but fragile in the wet, and problematic to apply. I think I’ll be a Squirt convert! All the best for Norway!!
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Small update.
A guy I know who does those long randonneur rides posted this on his Instagram.
The chain lube is Dumonde Tech X Pro X Lite.
I got myself a bottle and going to test it during Bright Midnight.
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Speedx is what I use for bikepacking. As do all my buddies now. You don’t need much.
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I rode Trans Pyrennes last year with a Squirt top-up bottle. Worked fine. Whilst it’s not SRMR your bike / drivetrain is gonna take a beating on these things, as will your body and mind so the best solution is the one you will action. For me that was a quick wipe and a re-apply a couple of times during the race. Did I always let it dry? No. Was it probably fine? Probably.
The few watts you’ll save with an optimised chain will be easily spent faffing.
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Years ago, years before I finally switched to wax lube in 2019, I was using Dumonde Tech Lite. Back then I never bothered to keep track of how often I had to lube the chain and l also wasn’t keeping track of chain wear so I can’t really speak to the duration of the Dumonde Tech lube in wet condition and the wear rate on the drivetrain. My impression of the Dumonde Tech lube was the drivetrain would get quite dirty after a ride. Wiping the chain after each ride was a must to prevent the chain from attracting more dirt. Is your goal to ride the longest distance under all conditions without frequent re-application of lube?
An underrated combo that worked really well for me on a rainy 1000 km event last year (the storm-shortened London-Edinburgh-London) was starting with a Silca hot waxed chain, then using Tru-Tension’s Bananaslip Tungsten drip wax to top it up. The big advantage of the Tru-Tension is that it only takes 5 minutes to set, compared to hours for other drip waxes, and it rates as well as Silca’s drip wax and wet lube on ZFC.
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