Composition, method and use

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a wax with graphene compositions offering surprising benefits in reducing bicycle or motorbike chain lengthening, particularly in off road environments with high dirt and water levels such as during mountain biking or off-road biking. The invention is further directed to a method of preparing such compositions and to the use of such compositions on bicycle or motorbike chains.

Claims

1. A method of protecting a bicycle or motorbike chain from dirt by submerging the chain in a molten composition comprising more than 88-99.99% by weight of wax, 0.01-3% by weight of graphene, and more than 0% and less than 30% by weight of water; wherein the composition, when cooled, is adapted to protect the chain from dirt.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wax is paraffin.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises 5% by weight of oily substances that are liquid at room temperature.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composition is adapted to minimize the frequency of reapplication of the molten composition to the chain.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composition is adapted to reduce chain lengthening.

6. A method of riding using a mountain bike or motorbike with a chain by first submerging the chain in a composition comprising more than 88-99.99% by weight of wax, 0.01-3% by weight of graphene, and more than 0% and less than 30% by weight of water; and subsequently riding in an off-road environment.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the wax is paraffin.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the composition further comprises 5% by weight of oily substances that are liquid at room temperature.

Description

EXAMPLES

Example 1Preparation

(1) The composition according to the invention was prepared by stiffing graphene (3% by weight; graphene) into an aqueous wax composition that comprised paraffin (40% by weight; solid paraffin), inhibitor (2% by weight; diethanolalkylamines), biocide solvent (1% by weight; 5-Chlor-2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-on) and water (at 100% by weight).

Example 2Comparative Example

(2) The composition prepared in example 1 was tested on a bicycle chain and compared to the same composition without graphene. In this experiment, a bicycle chain was treated with the composition to be tested and the bicycle with the chain was positioned on a stand and pedals were moved during 6 blocks of each 1000 km Blocks had differently defined standard conditions, including no contamination (blocks 1, 3 and 5), dry contamination (block 2), wet contamination (block 4) and extreme contamination (block 6; 2? more water and 2? more dirtincluding soil and sandthan in wet contamination).

(3) After each block, bicycle chain lengthening was measured with the precision caliper. Chain lengthening was expressed in percentages wherein 100% represents the lengthening of the chain such that the standard chain checker tool sinks into the chain links on both sides: this is a standard procedure for determining that chain replacement should be considered.

(4) During block 4, the composition with wax and graphene only had 33.7% chain lengthening while the comparative composition with wax but without graphene performed worse with 41.7% chain lengthening.

(5) The composition of the invention had total chain lengthening of 86% after block 5. The chain treated with the comparative composition (without graphene) had passed 100% chain lengthening during block 5 (in fact 107%).

(6) It is concluded that the aqueous composition comprising a combination of wax and graphene according to the invention outperformed the same composition without the graphene, supporting the surprising and inventive character of the present invention.

Example 3Comparison With Commercially Available Lubricants

(7) The composition of the invention prepared in Example 1 was tested in the same set-up as Example 2 but was this time compared to commercially available lubricant products. The chain treated with oil-based Rock N Roll Gold passed 100% lengthening during block 4 (122% stretch). The chain treated with aqueous wax-based composition Squirt? also passed the 100% mark in block 4. The chain treated with oil-based White Lightening Epic Ride? failed in block 3. Wax-based Smoove? failed in block 5. Oil-based Muc Off Hydro Dynamic? and Muc Off Nano? both already failed in block 2. Oil-based Cycle Star Gold? failed in block 3. Oil-based Silca NFS? failed in block 5, while wax-based Wend Wax-2? failed in block 3. The composition of the invention was still usable in block 6.

(8) In conclusion, the composition of the invention outperformed all commercially available lubricants that were tested under the same conditions. In fact, the composition of the invention even beat each of those lubricants during each block. This further supporting the inventive character of the present invention compared to commercially available products used for lubricating bicycle chains.

Example 4Comparison With Molten Wax Chain Treatment

(9) The composition of the invention with wax and graphene prepared in Example 1 was also compared to a bicycle chain that was treated with molten wax that was reapplied 3 times during every block, thus every 333 kilometers Importantly, this requires a cumbersome process for each block requiring: taking the bicycle chain of the bicycle, cleaning the chain, treating the chain with molten paraffin, brushing off excess wax and placing the chain again on the bike (see also above explanation in the description).

(10) The composition of the invention outperformed the molten wax in blocks 2 and most importantly in block 6, the block with high levels of dirt and water, even though the molten wax chain was cleaned and treated every 333 kilometers. Particularly, this block 6 is representative for mountain biking or for instance off-road motorcycling races. Accordingly, the composition of the invention is surprisingly most suitable for protection of bicycle or motorcycle chains against high dirt levels such as conditions typical for mountain biking or off-road motorbiking.

Example 5Wax-Graphene Composition Versus Composition Comprising Wax

(11) A wax-graphene composition (wax-graphene composition A) according to the invention was prepared by stiffing 1% by weight of graphene into 99% by weight of molten paraffin at a temperature of around 150? C. A bicycle chain was treated with the molten wax-graphene composition and mounted on a bicycle. Wax-graphene composition A showed reduced chain lengthening in comparison to commercially available MSW wax product comprising wax and additives (PTFE and MoS2) as evidenced by and measured with power loss over distance (km).

Example 6Wax-Graphene Composition With Oil Versus Composition Comprising Wax

(12) Addition of 5% by weight of liquid paraffin oil and 1% by weight of graphene to 94% molten paraffin (wax-graphene composition B) further reduced chain lengthening, in comparison with commercially available MSW wax product. In fact, commercially available MSW composition showed 8.2 W power loss after 333 km (requiring reapplication) while wax-graphene composition B lasted 2100 km Composition B had a pastier appearance and seemed to stay better on the chain.

(13) These results prove that wax-graphene compositions of the invention have surprisingly good characteristics as to reducing chain lengthening.