Works very well, I'm actually shocked how well it works. I've also used just the replenisher as the primary sealant and it also works, but it was a small poke, nothing serious.
The first step version has carbon braids in it, you can't inject it. So you have to break the bead of the tire, pour it in, get the bead back on, etc. It's invariably a mess with a road bike tire. It looks nice and easy on a video when someone uses a MTB tire, it's not that way for a road tire. It's SUPER sticky too, so rub it hard with a towel or wash it right away.
The replenisher you CAN inject, but it will gum up the valve. I put a drop of chain lube (oil based) in the valve after then of course pump the tire right up, and it seems to help with that.
I really wish it wasn't so messy to install. I ideally want them to sell just the fiber strands, so we can pour them into the tire, seat it, then inject sealant. I really hate disturbing the tape of a rim, that's my main issue. The mess I can handle outside, but still, I want it cleaner.
But, even with all of this, it works. I've gotten cuts in my GP5000's and while it spews all over your bike, it will seal anything normal road debris ish. I don't cheat my road bike onto gravel and then complain about it, just road bike stuff.
Worth it, works better than normal stuff with glitter or black pepper sprinkled in for sure.
The one thing I truly don't like with waxing is the longevity. It's not anywhere near these alleged lab tests you see online. Example, If I take my freshly waxed chain, throw it on my bike, and go for a 4 hour ride, the chain is definitely sounding a bit rough by the end of that ride. It's not to say it's still not lubricated, but it's louder than fresh. That's only 4 hours, call it 80 miles, and those are dry, road miles.
I will top it up with drip wax around that time, cheat it a bit more, and by the time I get to 8-10 hours, I am re-waxing, and that's again, dry miles on the road.
I'm not a newbie either, this is just how it is. So my theory was that if this endurance chip worked, it'd save me from using the drip wax, which also lasts TOPS, one 3 hour ride, less is usual, and it'd stop me from paying for the drip wax.
I am really going to buck the system here, and I tested this with Molten Speedwax, I only use their stuff for waxing. I took one of their pucks, 250g, and used 2x endurance chips, to get maximum longevity out of it. Brand new everything. Melted it all together, nothing special happens, it just turns into wax, no unicorns came out of the pot or anything else fun.
I took my chain, gave it a thorough wipe clean, and waxed it. Let it dry, and remounted. First thing of note, you don't get nearly as many break-in flakes all over your bike with the endurance chip tuned wax, it's almost like it's sticky, but not to the point that it's picking up dirt. Broke in about the same, it's 40 degrees in the morning where I am, and my first ride of the day is cold. Coming home is 50-60, and it sounds the same there too.
So first wax lasted me just over 300 miles before I was hearing the chain get audibly louder, to the point that it sounded dry anyway. These were all dry, road miles too. Chain didn't pick up any extra dirt either than normal. Wiped it, and just rewaxed for round 2. It's got 110 miles on it right now, and is doing the same as the first wax, so it wasn't a fluke.
For me, this has been a solid hack to the wax, and I know it's not even the pure Silca wax base either, but sorry, I'm not switching waxes, MSW is solid. It works and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
I also waxed my bad weather bike's chain, and got in one rain ride that was 1 hour of drizzle, but very wet roads. I didn't wipe it or anything, and it's fine, no rust, and still pretty quiet. I haven't had a good downpour rain to really test it, but I'd probably assume I have to at least hit it with drip wax either way, it's wax, water washes it off either way as far as I can tell from my years of doing this.
So, I say it's a good buy to hack your wax. Plus it'll save you taking the quick link off and on one extra time if you count this as a double+ extension of your base wax.
What I don't know yet is if it's in fact still lubricating, or if it's just quiet. I could put honey on my chain and it'd be nice and quiet, but it won't be lubricating. I'm waiting for one of the online testing sites to do their piece, but from a 600 hour a year rider/racer, my data shows a solid increase in longevity.
I do think it's expensive though. Whatever it is, it can't possibly cost that much, but I'm not a chemist and have no clue what it is, so I knew the price going into it.
A friend bought this tape for his C64 and swore it was some of the best he tried. Although it costs a bit more than typical foam/cork bar tape (~10-15%), I decided to give it a try. I must say that after ~200 miles, this tape is indeed worth the cost. Very cushy and noticeably absorbs more vibrations from rough roads than other "thick-style" foam/cork tape. After a couple 40-50 miles rides, I had to re-wrap the tape on one side after a bar end garage door opener came loose. It and the finishing tape easily re-wrapped smoothly and was no different in appearance and feel from the once-wrapped side. The tape looks very lux and has very nice feel under the hands, plush and grippy but not overly sticky. The only question is longevity, but given Silca's reputation and apparent quality of this product, I expect this tape to last at least as long as others and be well worth the little extra $ to make my rides more comfortable.
A must buy!
The Silca Mattone is a slick seat pack that has room for my essentials (tube, tire levers, CO2). I like how it attaches to the saddle with a thick rubber strap and the boa closure, so no unwanted rubbing of plastic or metal on the saddle or seat post. I don't understand how it could be accessed while attached to the bike (as claimed by the product description), but that's alright, I would typically take a seat pack off the bike when repairing a flat anyway. I haven't tested the water-resistance yet.
