jstonebarger wrote:
CrankShaft wrote:
jstonebarger wrote:
I don't do a ton of gravel riding, but I wax chains for cyclocross, and it works brilliantly pretty much in all conditions.
How long are your races? In my experience wax fails between 1 and 2 hours of wet riding. In a 7 to 17 hour gravel race I need the lubricant to last at least 4 hours.
In testing wax seems to last longer than anything else in wet conditions (
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/). For short events like cyclocross it's simple -- two or three prepared chains lasted me an entire rainy muddy week at nationals in Louisville. Still, I've done rainy days on the road that lasted much longer than two hours without issue.
Squirt is tempting for on the fly reapplication, especially as it won't totally contaminate a treated chain. Keep in mind, though, that it's not used as directed -- Squirt is intended to dry before use.
About that link: if you go to the bottom right of the page, there are some downloadable (PDF) detailed reviews for each lube. And here's where the story seems to get complicated.
In the MSW test, Kerin (the ZFC guy) straight up says that MSW is amazing, even in wet conditions, including as a race-day MTB or CX lube. He thinks that water per se doesn't affect the wax. The dust and mud, however, will abrade it off after about 3-4 hours of continuous exposure. And then friction, chain wear, and noise will markedly increase - so, consistent with Crankshaft's experience.
He does seem to rate both Squirt and Smoove well by themselves for single very long events as well (i.e. use them and not MSW). It sounded like you had not tried Squirt alone. Reading his reviews for each lube, it sounds like each of them should do very well in single long dry and dusty events. For single long wet events, it sounds like he rates Smoove higher. The thing is, he says that you have to clean the chain like you would for MSW (i.e. ultrasonic cleaner, get all the factory grease off), then "layer" the lube - apply once, ride the bike a bit to work the lubricant into the chain, then add another layer once the chain is dry, then repeat several times. He seems to be thinking you need to do this for the first 5 rides on the chain. That's on page 50 of the Smoove review.
Oh, and he says that after a wet ride, you will want to deep clean a chain that you treated with Smoove. Yeah, this sounds like a lot of work.
His
wet weather guide does endorse MSW plus Smoove to top up as a strategy for long wet rides. I realize this isn't consistent with Crankshaft's experience of using MSW topped up with Squirt at Kanza, however.