More expensive/gramme than heroin 
Literally no idea how expensive heroin is but I saw the price of those powders 
I’ve just bought some Tungsten Disulphide 
Tungsten is the new “be all and end all” apparently so I’m sure we’ll see more of this on the market
Managed to pick up a free, unused slow cooker which is smaller than the one I already had so perfect for chains. Will get my two cleaned and waxed today and look forward to not getting covered in crap each time I remove the wheel from the TT bike. I got PTFE powder but not moly’ - I will try pencil graphite one day though as this may turn out to be much cheaper and readily available, with the majority of the benefit of MoS2
Decided it was time to give the bike a good clean this morning, the hunk on the drivetrain was doing my head in.
Oh dear god, it’s thick with gunk. It’s going to take a good few sessions to get it back to looking as good as new.
Dry lube applied after this morning’s clean.
Linked to what @roscoemck is saying above, does anyone here uses or bought a chemical cleaning thingy to remove the gunk off chainrings and sprockets etc? I think some bike shops use a jewellery cleaning device where you put a dilute acid / cleaning solution and it warms it up. Stick the parts in for a few hours and they come out good as new. Any ideas?
That’ll be an ultra sonic bath/jewellery cleaner.
@Matthew_Spooner uses one that I know of.
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Yes, cost me £5 from a charity shop. It works on a 6min cycle, and I find that 3 cycles is usually enough. I use Degreaser and water solution
Think that they are cheap on Amazon
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After now converting to waxed chains I’m now on the look out for a cheap cleaner too
Over 400kms in dry weather on that now - still looking good
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Also loving the waxed chain life, 12 hours of riding on the roadie outdoors including getting caught in a shower and no need for a rewax yet - still clean and smooth
I use petrol for really gunky chains, soak them in a jar for a few hours or overnight. That or citrus spray degreaser and a toothbrush for chainrings, cassettes and derailleurs
The cleanliness of that cassette makes me want to wax my chain 
I usually just hose/jet wash my bike down after a mucky ride.
Degreaser on the chain, few revs, hose that.
Dry bike.
Rag on chain.
WD-40 all the cables and moving parts.
Silicone spray tubes (helps muck not stick so bad)
I’ll take the wheels, crankset and forks off every so often to clean and regrease (cheap lithium)
I’ve not used oil in years.
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Next time you replace a chain give it a shot.
I only had to buy a cheap cooker from amazon and the wax itself. White spirit etc I already had in.
I’ve not been forced to ride in the wet yet but I can’t see myself going back to tirelessly cleaning and lubing my chain!
That sounds exactly like my routine
@Adam just so this is clear for me you use white spirit to degrease the chain, then methylated spirit/acetone to remove what’s left and the white spirit then once dry you apply the wax?
That’s what I did last time, though substituted petrol for the white spirit.
Not quite.
With my new chains I’ve given them a quick wipe with some baby wipes (got plenty of those hanging around)
Then pop it in a jar with white spirit. Give it a 2 minute shake then leave it for a few hours.
Take chain out wipe it with a rag to see if it leaves behind any crap, if so stick it back in the jar with fresh white spirit and repeat until clean.
Only once you’re happy it’s clean do I then stick it in a jar with the meths for a couple of minutes then wipe clean and hang to dry.
Then drop it in your wax!
Edit - it’s the meths that cleans the white spirit off of your chain
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Thanks mate, will get online shopping then waxing.
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@Doka posted a link to some super cheap wax somewhere up on this thread.
And @theslingerland has posted his videos up there too
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Read this whole thread with a sense of incredulity. 
.
We sold our slow cooker a few years ago so buying another would mean admitting it was the wrong choice … not going to happen
Wash the bike every once in a blue moon. Clean the chain less than that, chuck some dry lube on every couple of rides.
Last cassette/chain on my summer bike lasted from Sep 18 to March this year - about 4600 miles.
Admittedly, I should have cleaned the winter bike a bit more during the very mucky conditions we had - needs a new chain and cassette after less than a year.
I recently cleaned and greased a bottom bracket for the first time after it started creaking - I gave it a month and it didn’t go away. Was very proud of myself
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Anyone tried car wax on their chain rather than using the slow cooker method?