I mean oil is oil, some are better as lubricants but all of them are going to reduce friction somewhat. When I rode fixies there were all sorts of weird home solutions being used in my group, but it didn’t really matter because those chains are bomb proof.
I can’t say for certain but if you tried the olive oil trick in a modern 10/11/12 speed drivetrain it would not last long. Not really because of an increase in friction but all of the dirt olive/vegetable/mineral oil attract. Lubricant is much thinner and doesn’t ‘hold’ dirt to the same degree, especially inside the roller links.
Wax improves the lifespan not by dramatically reducing friction, but by making dirt ingress virtually zero. The actual power gains are maybe a few watts, and that’s if you use special wax additives to further reduce friction.
I literally lubbed my bike chain with olive oil once in a while for a couple of years whilst using it almost daily to commute to work.
One can get away with A LOT when it comes to bicycles.
I mean oil is oil, some are better as lubricants but all of them are going to reduce friction somewhat. When I rode fixies there were all sorts of weird home solutions being used in my group, but it didn’t really matter because those chains are bomb proof.
I can’t say for certain but if you tried the olive oil trick in a modern 10/11/12 speed drivetrain it would not last long. Not really because of an increase in friction but all of the dirt olive/vegetable/mineral oil attract. Lubricant is much thinner and doesn’t ‘hold’ dirt to the same degree, especially inside the roller links.
Wax improves the lifespan not by dramatically reducing friction, but by making dirt ingress virtually zero. The actual power gains are maybe a few watts, and that’s if you use special wax additives to further reduce friction.