not all chain lube are the same!

the chain lube I tested!

this photo was taken immediately I drop 2 drops onto each circle

this photo was taken 5 minutes later

Motorex Wet Lube

- Messy, hard to squeeze. Tip not fine enough. Lube it the night before the ride and next day my floor is full of the lube. Place my bike on top of my car and when reach the destination can see some oil stain on my car roof. After the ride can see the chain is still very shinny with oil.

Finish Line - Dry lube
- so far so good. No complain. I tried to drip a few drops on my finger and not the very oily feel. Clean and will not attract dirt.
- after 1 day the surface of the paper is will very sticky

Pedros GO!
- Exactly the same as Finish Line - Dry lube.
- very smooth when i place a drop on my finger

Finish Line Wet Lube
- almost the same as Motorex but will not mess the floor. I guess it will still stick on the chain.

Finish Line Wax
- after 1 day the surface feels sticky, but not as sticky as Finish Line Dry Lube.
- smudge on paper immediately

Park Tool CL1
- Synthetic Blend Chain Lube with PTFE
- works great in wet or dry conditions.
- Also work great on cables, spoke nipples, and derailleur and brake pivots
- very thing feels the same like Redline dry lube.
- smudge on paper immediately and smudge the most compares to others

Muc-off dry lube
- Put a few drop in my fingers and rub them. Few seconds its gone! Dont event need to wash my hand.
- paper surface after a day crumple just like a water on the paper
- will smudge even the ink!
- dam paper

Pedros SynLube
-You can get it in KL now but some people said they got it from KSH TTDI. Called all the LBS and no one is selling it now. Email Pedros and I can only get it in Singapore.

Synlube - Fully synthetic lubricant designed to handle the harshest conditions. Formulated with extreme pressure additives, corrosion inhibitors, and tackifiers to provide wear protection, lubrication, and staying power in extreme wet and muddy conditions

Tubeless - the Pros and Cons

March 2011 I converted my wheels to a tubeless. Convert mean It can be not using a tubeless rims with non tubeless tires. Please refer to my March 2011 post here. Im using Notubes ZTR Alpine (tubeless) and Kenda Klimax tires (non-tubeless).

July 24 2011 is PCC Prez ride. A week before the ride I top up another 30ml each of the wheel and yesterday 17th August after removing the tires - it dried out.

So here are my POV of Pros and Cons about tubeless conversion

The Pros
- reduce weight - at least 200g for 2 wheels
- need not to remove and replace a puncture tube during a hash
- cut cost for each tube is RM15
- not messy

The Cons
- you wont know when is the sealant dried out inside your tires.
- costly setup (RM25 for 1pc tubeless valve, RM50 for a small bottle 473ml for sealant, RM10 for 1pc rim tape) and this is a self workmanship. LBS can do it for RM100 per piece.
- 1st time setup is difficult. My suggestion is to use a new tires and pick the right tires and stick with it.

This is what I found from ZTR website

Stan’s ZTR Rims with BST offer significant performance gains
- Short sidewalls trap air better when running tubeless
- By making the inner rim sidewall the same shape as the tire bead we can trap air pressure much better when
running tubeless.
- When tubes are used the lower sidewall of a BST rim will eliminate many of the pinch flats that occur when the
tire is driven into the top of the rim.
- The combination of short sidewalls and wider internal rim widths makes a 24mm wide rim perform like much
wider 30mm wide rims but in a much lighter package. This is why the ZTR rims have won so many races it's not
just the light weight but the tire performance every rider gets from this rim.
- The rim and tire are the largest rotating mass we have on a bicycle. When we can reduce the rim weight by 100
to 160g we gain speed.
- Tire performance is greatly improved thus allowing riders to run pressures lower than ever before.
- Lower pressures will make the bike smoother over rough terrain.
- Lower pressures will have less rebound when hitting rocks roots etc.
- This lower pressure will allow the tire to conform and absorb much of the impact putting suspension into the
bicycle.
- The combination of the lower air pressure better tire stability makes riders faster and with better control.

Wheel Truing - self made

I had my front wheel dent during my Jim Thompson ride on Cameron Highland on the 14th August 2011.

Monday morning 15th August I took it to a shop and I was surprise to see this self make wheel truing.

What do you think?

close up view

Away to Jim Thompson Trail Cameron Highland

woke up at 6am and ready to ride to Ringlet for breakfast at 7am. Ride start at 8am sharp

my bike is ready to go

gather at Shell Ringlet

the sunrise at Ringlet

briefing

breakfast

the kind of downhill - about 6km

shot before crossing the road for the 15km climb

almost there

finishing shot

time arrive

vince Ng

Tun Poey

packing home the same day

I will be Mountain biking at Cameron Highland this coming Saturday 13th Aug till 15th Aug 2011.

This is a casual ride and also a photography trip. I will be bring only the Panasonic GF2 with 14mm f2.5 and 20mm f1.7. So watch out for some nice nice photos and my trip photo documentary.