Technicalities

From the engineering perspective, it does not make much difference whether you are about to design a bearing or transmission for a bike or big production machinery. Why - one might ask, since both carry significantly different amounts of loads. Well, the first reason is that it is only a matter of scale. The mechanics stay the same. The second reason is that it is not the power, force or load being carried over that matters most, but pressure being applied to the faces of the mechanical system.

Simply put, pressure is a ratio of force over area it is applied to, hence the mechanism durability is mostly due to its dimensions. Obviously, these are calculated to withstand the loads, but the rule of thumb is that the less room you have for the design, the thinner it gets, and the less load it can carry. Not to mention the constant trend of material cost and weight savings, being one of the reasons behind today’s transmissions and bearings shorter and shorter lifespans.

Then, there comes friction (we will have a closer look at it in the next paper), causing the system to deteriorate over time, but the rate highly depends on lubrication. The criteria for lubricants applied to bearings or chain and gear transmissions are highly elevated due to the boundary friction model that occurs in those systems – small amounts of lubricant separating the cooperating surfaces or lack of sufficient separation in addition to high loads per unit surface and thus high pressures. This obliges to the application of lubricants with the EP additives (extreme pressure). At the same time, lubricants must create a durable oil film that is resistant to being washed away or pressed out from between the surfaces, due to accessibility limitations at exploitation stage.

Revolubes™ technology has been proven to meet the criteria in multiple tests according to ASTM specifications (American ISO). These tests are aimed at industrial applications, where the technology was initially developed more than 30 years ago, yet Revolubes™ is the first brand to implement it in outdoor sports.
The technology is known as Calcium Sulfonate Complex (CSC), which will be described in a separate paper in more detail, and provides lubrication through chemistry rather than hydrodynamics. The lubricant binds chemically to the metal surface (metallic bonding), forming a durable, monomolecular coating. The established layer is non-washable, impossible to be squeezed-out and can operate in low (-40degC) and high (+200degC) temperatures, keeping its lubrication features in the range. It has extremely high resistance to forces perpendicular to the surface (normal forces), but ultra-low resistance to parallel, shear forces (tangential forces), thereby reducing the friction coefficient between contacting surfaces from 7 to 10 times. On the other hand, the coating provides great material reinforcement against stretching (tensile forces).

Revolubes™, due to its chemical activity, modifies physical features of the material’s top layer and alters the “wearing-in” of the cooperating surfaces from shear (material machining) to plastic (material displacement). This means that during the wearing-in process, the shape irregularities are no longer being cut and extracted, but plastically deformed, pressed and strain hardened. In this process, the surface irregularities and shape deviations are reduced by moving the material from crests to cavities, strengthening the surface of frictional contact, tightening fit tolerances, thereby increasing the contact area, and thus reducing the load per unit area factor - pressure.


In simple words, the use of Revolubes™ on your gear will:

  • Significantly prolong its lifespan
  • Ensure smooth and uninterrupted operation in any conditions
  • Reduce its internal drag
  • Provide long intervals between applications
  • At least half the required lubricant amounts

Additionally, with a bit of care, all of this can be achieved preserving pristine cleanliness of your gear, as the coating is and stays transparent making it a great choice for those fancy colour chains.

If you'd like to dive into the topics we deal with at Revolubes, pick some links below.