Yeah bike definitely needed that second round of cleaning and I do think I like this Effetto wax more than the Rock n Roll.
I mean, this was also after realigning the rear derailleur, which absolutely didn’t hurt anything, and also I absolutely did a better job of cleaning the cartridge the second time than I did the first, even if the first time got out 90% of the dirt and crud. But still.
I guess the best way to put it is that I kept glancing at the gear display thinking I was one gear lower than I actually was. The first time made everything much smoother; after the second cleanup, it basically bought me an entire gear.
Also, the shifting was so smooth and quiet I didn’t even always hear it. I had to check a few times, that’s how smooth and quiet it was.
I did have a little noise on one gear start to show up early in the ride but a little fine tuning at the halfway point sorted it out completely and everything else was fine so that was nice.
sooooooo smoooooooth
Here, have a fall photo from the Sammamish River Trail:

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.