It's so clean. I use a drip-on wax from Squirt, and not having to use degreaser to clean the bike is amazing. I don't care if it gives me 10W or takes 10W, clean hands and calves are worth it.
Yes the chain stays cleaner but I find the major difference is not the product I'm using but rather my behaviour towards my chain state. I'm checking it much more frequently than when I was using oil and so it gets much more care, pretty sure you could get the same result with oil but it's just more messy. I still use oil for my indoor trainer bike which doesn't get outside because waxing would bring very little benefit there
If you have to store your bike in your living space and not in a shed or basement, the biggest advantage is that everything is so clean and you don't bring any black gunk into your home.
@@Flym4n111 Same here with Squirt and the advantages but when I went with the Silca system, it switched the game up several notches especially with their new Endurance additive. More expensive to get into the system but once you've made the upgrade you'll never look back :-)
EXACTLY the same experience for me - I've got ten years of cycling on you LOL and I'l never go back either. The Silca system is rather expensive to get into but it's well thought out and works to a fair thee well. Their extended use "ENDURANCE" wax additive I think you will find VERY addictive :-)
@@jakebrakebill Agree. We all started out with an oiled chain. Just like we all started out on a tricycle. Neither of these things are bad, They’re just less efficient. What ever degree of efficiency you’re happy with is fine. Personal choice. Friction occurs when people refuse to accept proven or demonstrable efficiencies… could be cleanliness, impact on wear, impact on friction etc. It’s like saying things “fall up, not down”, which is a regressive form of thinking that does a disservice to the truth and riders.
@@paulgrimshaw8334 I'm always behind the curve because I want to see how things work out in the public sector more than a lab. Waxing is like the first index shifter, then the first brake lever shifters, now wireless shifters, it's been a game changer for me.
I started using wax approximately 1 year ago and will never go back to oils. Having a clean bike is so nice and it makes travelling with the bike much nicer as a result (less mess). I don’t find it difficult or annoying and if there are also performance gains and component life gains, bonus!
I've gone back to oil for the winter. I found it didn't last at all long enough and I would only ride the bike when it was dry, which was hardly ever. I have 2x waxed chains ready and waiting to go again in the spring, I do love how clean it stays.
You should try Chain L if you like oil, it's the best one. I would be using it year round except I am riding on a sandy path at the moment and dry lube is better for this. No sand involved nothing can beat the pure drivetrain quietness of Chain L. Wax sucks for this and is making noise after 4-5 rides.
Try the Squirt e-bike chain lube, I found it being far more water resistant than both silca energetic wet lube and also their wax; the chain used to have an oil/water mix in it after a rain ride, but when in summer I once happened to end up in pouring rain with my second bike with Squirt e-bike lube on, the water had no chance of getting in the chain, it stayed waxed and dry. They also got a wax for low temperature.
I think the cleanliness is a benefit that doesn’t get enough attention. I use super secret on my old beat up commuter, and don’t have to worry about getting stains on my pant legs every time I bump my chain.
This is about the only reason im going this way i lucky enough to be able to afford multiple chains on standby. so yea the cost was high but should be able to wax my chains once a month and not worry about it.
Been waxing about 8 years. I get 8,000 to 10,000 miles per chain before hitting the stretch indicator for replacement. I use hobby parafin wax, 50g of 50 micron ptfe (teflon) and change my quick links every 5 waxes or so. I keep two chains per bike if I have to re-wax and don't have time. Over all, I find it less work than having to wipe off, lubbricate and periodically remove and degrease an oil based chain plus its nice having a clean drive train.
i personally wouldnt play around with teflon but thats a general problem in the bike industry with all the micro particles and chemicals they wildly throw at everything without a second thought
I first heard of chain waxing from Oz Cycling. I followed his steps for making up the wax, cleaning the chain, and applying the wax. Still works and the overall coast is pretty cheap. Not being a pro rider and doing my winter riding on Zwift, I do not burn through a lot of wax per year. So for me, I'll keep it DIY for my wax mix. Thanks for the good video.
I wouldn’t hot water rinse your chain in the sink, like you showed in the video. The water and wax will cool just a few feet down your drainpipe and then stick and eventually build up and clog your drain. Not good.
Fully agree. I get about 2x chain life in the winter and 5x or more in dry weather. Overall time spent is less due to cleaning time. Rotate 3 chains so always have an easy swap over.
Using drip wax(wet wax) for about 3 years now, I got a few additional tips. 1. A lot of people say it needs to set in for a night, but I find that applying with heat works better. Apply it during the day in warm sunlight or use a hairdryer to really get it in the chain. 2. Stretch your chain out when applying and actually helps a lot to apply some on the gear cogs as well. 3. Specifically for wet wax, you really need to rewax if you ride in the rain as the water does wash it out a lot. 4. Clean it will hot boiling water in a bucket instead of running tap water like in the video. (wax can cool down and clog your drain) Now you can ride in white socks and shoes too.
It s all about the convenience for me. I have tons of equipment from my Smithing days and that includes a heating element for when I used to use Froglube on my parts. The process is just like waxing a chain. I trie it for a year and just found it too inconvenient when I can just apply a wet lube 100x faster and on the go. I can admit that when I get new chains, I do wax them before installing them, but once I think its time for a relube, I skip the wax and use traditional wet lubes..
I changed from oil lubrication to drip-on wax lubrication about a year ago. I'm not really interested in power savings (I'm quite a leisurely cyclist); the main benefit for me has been a big reduction in maintenance. On the bike I commute to work on, when it had oil lubrication the chain needed cleaning at least once a fortnight in winter, and the chain needed replacing roughly once per year. Since I changed to using drip-on wax, I'm cleaning or re-waxing the chain no more than once a month, and wear on the chain seems to have greatly reduced. There aren't any downsides I can see to using drip-on wax in comparison with using oil.
@@rkhayden You're lucky, don't pay attention to it at all because then you will become someone who prefers mineral oil to waxing, and mineral oil is a mess.
Thanks Alex and crew , I became a "Waxer of the chain " after trying lubes for years! The wear and cost savings were incredible ! Once I learned how to do it , it became a lot easier , and the money I have saved changed my mind forever , thank you !
I really like wax on my fair weather bike. For my winter commuter (it rains all winter here) I went back to oil lube. Wax had to be reapplied so much that it was more of a mess than the oil.
I’ve been hot waxing using Molten Speed Wax for the past 9 years. I may have missed it - it’s important to strip the chain of the factory lube as well as your cassette, chain rings and pulleys of grease, oil and grime from pre-waxing. To that end it’s easiest when setting up a new bike, or at least replacing the chain and cassette. The above is true about stripping whether hot waxing or using the emulsion.
@@winterwatson6437 for sure can be. My point was it seemed the presenter forgot to talk about stripping the drive train - making it lick clean. Though that might have diminished his pitch for people to go to wax.
+1 for MSW. Great tutorial vids on their site, and their wax is awesome. The YBN chains they sell are fine, and for $40 they’ll strip the factory grease and send it to you already waxed.
Ive been using squirt wax emulsion lube for a year or so now. seems to work well, I reapply it every 3-4 weeks. the chain and jockeys don't have that gritty crud you get with oil based. chain seems quiet no idea how it impacts wear in reality
My method - old rice cooker, 12 paraffin wax candles, 500ml paraffin oil. Perfect, under under $20. The oil makes the candle wax more flexible. Don’t over think it!
@@William.Driscoll , perhaps you trust a left leaning publication that specializes in attacks on conservatives (as usual the attacks don’t pan out) as well as sensationalism masquerading as journalism. You can find building blocks for tens of thousands of chemical products occurring naturally in the body. There as yet is NO studies which can prove an direct association with pfas. But sensationalism sells. Most all lubes would be considered toxic in manufacturing and use or particularly misuse.
I have not used wax, because i am in northeast Ohio (lots of wet & frozen wet), & i live off my bicycle. Use a Rohloff rear to a single ring on the front, so the chain can last a long time (compared to before with a cassette). Go ride. Know your/you're love
I started hot waxing this summer (with liquified wax top-ups in between hot waxes) and I'm sold on it for road but I'm not sure about gravel. It seems to get loud quite quickly in dry dusty conditions. But I suppose oil lubes in dusty conditions might be even worse?
I used a drip on wax emulsion for 10 years before I ever tried hot wax immersion. Where I would differ from you is that I would recommend simply going to hot wax immediately. Emulsion waxes tend to be a bit softer and pick up more dirt. You end up having to clean your drive train more often (still dramatically less than an oil based lube). You also benefit enormously from flushing the chain, which is much easier if you remove the chain. Also, you *still* need to properly degrease the chain before you start anyway. Once the chain is off the bike, it's just easier to do hot wax immersion. I think people who are wax curious and don't want to spend a lot of money should simply try paraffin. You need a large tin (an empty tomato tin is fine). Put the tin in a cooking pot half full of water. Put the wax in the tin. Heat the tin over very low heat. You want the water to simmer, but not boil. Add the chain and let it sit there for a long time. You don't even need a stand. Once you remove the chain from the wax, it only takes about 3 minutes to cool down. Use some tongs to remove the chain from the wax and simply hold it for 3 minutes. If you have a bit of uninsulated wire, you can thread it through the chain if you want. Once you have a degreased chain, it really shouldn't cost you more than about $10 to experiment with a waxed chain. I think most people won't go back once they have tried it. After that, you can decide if you want the fancy expensive wax, and a dedicated wax melt system.
that's pretty much how I do it too. first time it feels complicated, second time it's very easy. Really only takes a couple minutes. degreasing and cleaning the chain is the hardest part about this (also it's amazing how much oil can hide in your drivetrain, the switch to wax made that visible)
The thing is with immersion waxing, you don't need to degrease the chain completely. Just a single 5 minute soak and shake in mineral spirits is sufficient to wash off the factory grease. The remnants of the grease and solvents will just dissolve in the molten paraffin. Water based wax emulsions are a different thing, the grease would prevent them from getting inside the chain.
@@ltu42i so hope this is true. do i have to take your word for it, or is there actual evidence? tbh my degreasing and cleaning has gotten a little sloppier than the first times around, so if it turns out that good is good enough, i'd be so happy 😅
@@p199a Just hot water. Usually I remove the chain from the bike, thread it onto a wire, put it into a small pot and then pour boiling water from the kettle on it. If you are using hot immersion wax, you can just take the chain out and you don't even need to dry it. It goes strait into the (cold) wax pot. Then you turn on the heat to melt the wax. The water in the chain is more dense than the wax, so it gets forced out of the chain by the wax and sinks to the bottom. As the wax heats up, the water slowly evaporates. By the time the chain is ready, there is no more water in the wax. Basically no effort at all. This is really one of the best parts of immersion waxing.
The real faff involved in chain waxing is stripping the chain clean before the first wax application. Which is not to say it's not worth the trouble, but the first time I read the stripping instructions I forgot about waxing for a solid year.
I Use wax for over 2 years now and the only negative i find that you have to re apply more often than the oily stuff, especially in the wet months. The positive its cleaner Your components last longer and a deep clean of the chain and the other components goes much faster.
What’s your take on the quick link, particularly on the 12 speed chains, as you shouldn’t re-use them. Shouldn’t that be consider as part of the equation if you wax your chain 15 times or more during its life span
From my personal experience and those commenting on the web, re-using quick links is no problem at all. And not all are "one use only." The bike industry has liability to think about. Plus, they get to make more money saying the links cannot be reused, so think about that. And as Richard said, you can purchase quick links marketed as reusable.
So, what do you do if you ride to work and it´s wet? As far as I understood, when using emulsions, you need to dry the chain and re-apply wax before you´re able to drive back home?? 🤔 Doesn´t sound less time consuming to me.
been waxing for about 4 or 5 years....hot waxing now and using drip wax as back up....chain lasting much much longer, no doubt. thanks for the history lesson. It does pick up a little gunk, and can wash of quicker than oil based lubes, but no where near the mess that lubes generate on the way to damaging your chain.Overall the extra faff is worth it (similar argument for road tubeless)
I wax my chain in order to experience that feeling of superiority. The chain is certainly quieter and seems to last longer. I don't use anything special - just a melted down candle and an old saucepan. The wax lasts between 200 - 500 miles so long as it doesn't rain.
Great to hear your journey though the waxing options. I have been using wax for a while and find the hardest part is getting all the oil from the existing chain to start with and the products to do this are expensive. Any tips?
Get a drivetrain cleaner replenishment bottle (I use Muc-Off drivetrain cleaner), pour a little bit of it into a jar with a screw-on lid, put the new chain in it, shake it about a minute, get the chain out, rinse it with tap water, hang it up to dry, done.
Hi there, I have multiple chains used in rotation now. I let any factory pregreased chain soak in turpentine or paraffin for a while. In case of turps I leave it thoroughly bathed for a couple of weeks in a waterproof lidded plastic container, and give it a gentle shake or stir every now and again. Once I think no residual grease I use a degreaser wash, such as Virasol, for say 10 mins, rinse with water, followed by an isopropyl bath for a few minutes let chain evaporate / dry with micofibre cloth. Now wax the chain remembering to take chain out of hot wax bath slowly to prevent wax running off too quickly and losing any benefit. Btw KMC now do pre waxed chains for around £30, which avoids all the initial processes above! Obviously the rest of drive train such as jockey wheels, sprockets etc should all be oil and grease free before using the waxed chain 😁😁😁
The SILCA chain stripper is expensive, but the nice thing is that you can pour it through a coffee filter and reuse it several times. That reduces the costs per de-greasing significantly. And one has to do it only for a new chain, so that bottle will last for 20+ chains. Most other more cost effective options I know produce to much organic waste that I have difficulties recommending them. I haven't tried boiling in dishwasher yet, but the factory grease is really a hard nut to bust for the regular detergents.
2 месяца назад+1
I am using a hot waxing and then drip waxing mainly. And reason is that this is cleaner and also easier than using an oil and then cleaning a chain. And as a bonus - yes I can surely say that my chains are lasting longer, a way longer than before.
Got in the habit of Silca hot waxing even on the commute bike, wouldn't go back to a black oily dirty drivetrain. Just rotate 2 or 3 chains per bike so you don't have to rush rewaxing, use an Xpower air duster to dry chain. Never had a problem with quick links or corrosion but I use good plated YBN/CONNEX 7 speed or 9 speed chains. Just air dust, wipe and rewax, never bother washing chains after initial prep for waxing.
I'd say don't worry about the degrees. What do you care if the paraffin is too liquid and not much of it stays on the chain? Perhaps you'll need to rewax 20% sooner, but you don't have to care when it's a simpler faster process. The excess wax will just flake off during the first rides, especially noticeable on the turbo trainer. I've heard that 73 degrees is a conspiracy by the expensive wax sellers in order to sell more of it. ;-)
Just as a suggestion. I got a cheap ultrasonic cleaner to clean the chain with some water based degreaser, the chain comes out like a mirror. Then I use simple wax. It is fun to see all the dirt that comes out!
I love using wax. But... you initially described a wax suspension that required a shake when wax particles settled. Said it didnt work well. Then later described it again saying it was pretty good. What were the differences? To remove wax.... take old pot. Clean of course. Boil water. Put chain in water. Leave it to boil a few min. Wax floats. Chains sink. Put pot insink with cold water in to cool the system. Scoop out floating hard wax. Take out sparkly clean chain. Give a rinse in case there are a few hunks of cold wax. Let dry. Put into new wax immulsion. I made my own wax kit. Bought 1kg of parrafin, and 100g ptfe at 1 micron size... total of about 45usd for all of it.another 15usd for a cheap slos cooker. And a couple wire coat hangers to hold chain, hang it after. Simple
Hi guys why does my squirt drip wax turn into a gray glue like substance where i feel like glue friction is holdng my legs back? I feel like i had to switch back to the black mess of my liquid super fast fully synthetic oil?
I Like the wax on my Sunshine-Ride bike, its clean, its less noisy I have the feeling. Recently I made a tracking tour in Italy where it was raining a lot, I had to drive threw flooded roads but mostly asphalt. The chain was rusty after the first day, after second day, I had passed 160 km with a freshly hot waxed chain, it was completely dewaxed. As the trip was not over jet I had to ask for oil... What to do against the rust?
Wax all the way! Went with the Silca system and won't go back to oil. It really is quick, easy, and simple. Just add one simple tool: quick link tool and I get my chain off, relaxed, and back on my bike in just over 30 minutes
What about corrosion resistance on the cassette for example? With oil you get sludge buildup you have to clean occasionally, but that oil inevitably moves around and covers the steel cassette keeping it from rusting. Would wax not more or less stay on the teeth of the cassette and therefore leave the rest of it exposed to oxides and contaminants? Seems like you'd have to not only wash it more often but also be extra concerned with making sure it is dry after said wash.
I can’t attest to its power characteristics, but as a lifelong motorcyclist, I’ve used a product called Maxima Chain Wax for decades. It’s a solvent based chain wax in an aerosol can, I waterPROOF so no worries about riding in wet conditions, lasts a loooong time between applications, and is quick and easy to apply. MUCH better product for motorcycle chains than any of the grease/oil based alternatives. Much cleaner, doesn’t fling off, and doesn’t attract dirt. It’s designed to protect expensive motorcycle chains that see much higher torque loads and rotational speeds so is a good specialty product. Can’t attest to its drag coefficient, but it at least checks ALL the other boxes mentioned in this video.
There are similar dialogs around lubrication of machine tools, but Rule #1 is always given as "Any oil is better than no oil." In fact, the wrong oil will get you about 95% or closer, to pull a number out of the air. I started dipping the chain of my track bike in melted paraffin over 30 years ago, largely because I wasn't riding it all that much, and I wanted to keep it in a bedroom, so chain cleanliness was my objective. I found I had to re-apply the straight paraffin every couple of rides, which was not a routine that would work for my road bikes. Along the way I tried a variety of commercial and home brew lubes, even mixes of chainsaw bar oil (super-tacky), Teflon, and light oil. Really, the easiest and most effective has been a low-budget version of the drip-emulsion approach, Dupont Chain-Saver. I just apply this the night before, spraying it on the inside (the top of the bottom run) of the chain while pedaling it backwards until the entire chain is wet. The volatiles evaporate, leaving a dry chain with a wax coating externally and internally. I still get some buildup over time that requires drivetrain cleaning, but it's pretty minimal, and drivetrain life has been quite good. I plan to do some more experimentation with a hot mix of paraffin, moly disulfide, and Teflon powder, but for now at least, the Dupont Chain-Saver is doing a fine job at a super-cheap price.
I do both. Hot wax like once per year and top off with the Super secret liquid wax every few rides. Will never go back to oil lube. Chain is always clean.
Dupont Chain Saver in the aerosol can is the best I have ever used. Was originally using it on motorcycle chains, but it works flawlessly on bicycle chains too.
I tried asking this question on a different channel but didn’t really get an answer. About this time last year I decided to try waxing my chain. I took a new chain, degreased it as thoroughly as I could, finally burning off the alcohol I had used to get the degreaser out. Then I dunked the chain in molten paraffin wax and put the chain on the bike. Not long after, we had a cold snap with temperatures in the double digits negative. It seems the wax got brittle in this cold and started flaking off. When it got milder again and they started salting the roads, that chain quickly descended into an ugly mess of rust. So, are there wax compounds that are more suitable for cold conditions (as in months of snow) or should I just give up on the idea altogether?
If I want to use the Silca chain strip system, would it be best for me to start with a new chain? Or, can I use my current chain, which is lubed with the Race Day wax based liquid.
Waxing chain is amazing, I have to admit that. But when the chain gets wet, you have to wipe it dry and rewax after, otherwise corrosion is going to be the problem.
You can mitigate this problem by putting on a stainless steel chain (e.g. from Connex) or get one of those hard chrome finished SRAM XX1 Eagle chains. They are more costly, but if you use wax, it could be that the next chain purchase is years and years away (you can get 14K km on an XX1 chain with no detectable wear).
@@JoeyMills-y3v Waxes have been used throughout history, across almost all applications, as lubricants. My mom taught me to rub a candle on wooden drawer glides so they slide smoothly. Waxed bike chains are incredible (except in the wet), I'm never going back to the expensive and Messy petroleum-based lubes.
@davebrown9725 your bike chain is not made of wood 🤣 No industrial roller chain lubrication methods use wax, they all use mineral oil... But keep reaching & coping, eh? 😂
What i want to know is what people are using to clean their chains of the old wax..... For waxing im using the paraffin wax mixed with paraffin oil, melt in the microwave for a few minutes drop chain in then out, super easy.....but it the cleaning that shits me.....been using unleaded fuel as it strips it off quicker than turps....but still a pain. And as for hot water, how is one getting their chain dry prior to waxing🤷
For best results cleaning your chain ahead of drip wax, use isopropyl alcohol. There is a spray on version available at office supply shops that really gets the job done. The alcohol dries quickly and you’re ready to apply your drip wax.
Haven’t tried. Love the idea of a clean chain but I guess if most of my rides involve lanes/mud/water even in summer, probably not advised right? (Long time Fenwicks Pro user)
I find hot waxing with parafin wax is best. With a quick link on the chain, it only takes minutes to swap in my spare chain and; job done. I clean and rewax the not very dirty chain at my leisure.
Squirt lube in summer, 3in1 oil in wetter winter conditions. Squirt washes off fast, my last chain didn’t last 2minutes because of riding in wet conditions.
That’s interesting, I use squirt and when I had a chained bike for commuting (I now have belt drive)I found that if I just reapplied (without cleaning😱) every couple of weeks it worked just fine and that was on a bike that was used EVERY day no matter what the weather for my 16 mile commute.
3-in-1 was originally sold as a bicycle lube, but that was 130 years ago. It is said to be a light spindle oil with a small amount of corrosion inhibitors. As such, this should actually make it a poor choice for a bicycle chain lube, as it lacks additives that would keep it from running out. It might be better to use a chainsaw bar oil, as this at least has tackifiers to keep the lube in place. It could be just the thing for your Rover Safety, though, especially if dripped out of a small glass bottle (the metal can didn't appear as 3-in-1 packaging until the 1930s).
My immersion home-brew mix of candle wax with tungsten & molybdenum disulfide powder performed flawlessly on our tandem. 400 mile trip with two days in hours of downpour. Chain needed zero attention thereafter and is still running fine (I admit it's louder than when fresh, but still no squeaks or sounds like it's dying).
I used Smoovie, Bike 7 Pro wax, Squirt for my Sram Force AXS and FlatTop chain... and the chain was very noisy after 5-10 km.... But.... for the gravel bike (when i have Sram rival) everything are ok. Why Sram Force is not good for Wax?
I feel like I don't understand. How is the last product different than the first product? Don't they have the same problems? I use Squirt's Wax and Water Emulsion, and it always leaves a huge mess on the drivetrain. I ride places that are dry, but very dusty. It seems to grab onto all that dust and keep it caked on the gears and chain.
Gone from White Lightening to Squirt to Smoove. Hose down sometimes after a ride and leave it outside to dry, put it in the storeroom and the outside of thr chain shows rust in places. So i can see that dipping a chain in wax would be better than just dripping wax onto the rollers.
Try Effeto Mariposa, it's sunflower seed wax and the oily nature of the sunflower seed will protect from rust unlike Squirt and Smoove (Paraffin based)
I HAVE been using drip Squirt wax for about a year. it’s taken a while and patience to remove the old grease but it stays cleaner. i took my bike in to my LBS and one of the mechanics chided me for having a “dry” chain. So, I guess it’s not a good idea. But for me it’s the best. Shifting is much quieter, the cogs get messy but I use Muc-Off drive train cleaner and it comes off. Not going back to oils.
Oh my! I took my bike to a bike shop to resolve a problem with a stuck shift lever while on vacation in Sicily. The good man washed and lubed my chain (which has just been waxed). It was a black mess by the end of the week.
Hey guys, this is more of a tech clinic question but still, when I'm rewaxing my chain I first dump it in hot water to get the old wax out. When I take out the chain it has remnants of the old wax in the inner outer link interface. Is it ok to wax the chain with it being there or do I have to painstakingly go through every link with a needle to remove it. Thanks
You need to take one end of the chain in front of you in one hand, take the other end behind you with the other hand with the chain going from between your legs. Then pull both ends up and start moving the ends backwards and forwards. That should clean the chain properly, at least if you haven't waxed yourself. Then you can insert a bar of wax up between your legs and repeat the aforementioned procedure to apply the wax. Simple and easy!
I've noticed this on my first rewax too, but didn't think much about it and went ahead. I've now done.... what.... 6, 7 rewaxes now and it didn't seem to hurt the wax. I did put it in hot water once at like the third rewax though.
Only use hot water after a mud packed bad conditions ride. If it's usual dry road usage just wipe the outside with cloth and you're golden. Been waxing for some time that way and my chain lasts 10k km with less than 0.2% elongation wear. And I add UFO drip sometimes, not using hot water after it either.
No one I know is able to answerr my question so I am turning to folks with more experience. I commute approximately 100 miles a week in all types of weather in the US upper midwest. If I switched to waxing how often would I have to wax the chain?
In my own limited experience with chain waxing, it's not the bees' knees for wet conditions. You'll probably find that you need to apply a liquid lube after riding through the wet stuff if you don't want to dip the chain in hot mix again.
@@jbarner13 thanks. I think will stay with my current wet/dry lubes for now. Degreasing the chain is easy and reapplying lube is a weekly routine. For me it appears waxing my chain would be a waste of time and money. Cheers!
I ride 150 miles a week in dirty dry Los Angeles on a sandy bike path and with drip wax this will last 3 weeks only. Without sand this extends to 4 weeks. If I were in the midwest I think I would use Chain L Mineral Oil for road and drip wax for off road. Wax is only good at repelling sand and dirt in my mind, mineral oil is better otherwise.
@@凸Bebo凸 that’s between 450 to 600 miles without having to lube. That’s really good imho. Unfortunately I have to regularly switch between lube for dry to lube for wet roads. Plus throw in the winter road salt for more issues and you can see why I was hoping a waxed chain was going to be my savior. Guess not.
I tried wax (Silca Super Secret) for a few seasons, and while it worked well it also left wax shavings on my trainer mat and sometimes on my apartment floor which became super slippery. So now I use Silca Synergetic instead, which is one of the least gunky chain lubes I have used so far. I think the chain noise and friction is about the same as with the wax.
The only drip wax I have tried (Squ...) is softer than melt-wax and retains dirt much more; the chain looks black almost as quickly as it does with a regular oil. Melt-wax chains stay much cleaner. I only use drip-wax to top up when I've run out of waxed chains and don't have time to do the waxing. As stated by others, waxing two or more chains, or at least waxing one before it is needed, limits many of the potential problems with waxing.
Smoove and Squirt utilize lower-grade, softer slack wax I assume because it flows better. But it's sticky. Kinda negates the whole idea of chain waxing: dry, non-sticky lube WITHIN the chain rollers with the added benefit of a dried barrier around the gaps between the parts to act as a barrier to dirt.
I would agree the Silca drip wax is the way to go. But I will take off the chain to dip it a couple of times a year but that also gives me a chance to clean off the wax build up on the drive train. Waxing the chain has definitely extended my chain life too. At over 3300mi this year my (dura ace) chain still hasn't stretched to the point of replacement
@gcntech Hi Alex and Ollie. Josh talks about layering wax (whether it be Super Secret Lube over Super Secret or Super Secret Lube over Secret Chain Hot Melt) after a ride to get as close as possible to 100% coverage. How should one clean their chain before adding another layer of Super Secret? Is simply running it through a microfibre cloth adequate, or do you need to use a cleaner + cold water rinse before another application??
The formula of paraffin wax with PTFE powder (TY Oz Cycling) works IMO best for my type of riding. I have tried the formula with Tungstein bla bla bla nano particles and had to apply more frequently the waxing process. Now I use melted candles with PTFE powder rotating 3 chains per bike. When my 3th chain need to be re-waxed I do all 3 chains, 1 after an other while I clean my bike. This is part of my maintenance routine. I rode with 1 chain around 12000Kms before I had to renew the chain. Problem is that a new chain on that drive train is more noisy due to small amount of wear on it. Reason why I start with 3 chains on a new drive train. Keep on waxing and ride safe.
95% of the hassle of wax is learning it the first time. After that it's a breeze. I only wax about once every 300 miles so it's just plain easier than any lube I've ever used. Add in the perfectly clean driveline all the time and hot wax is a no brainer. Cycling since 1973.
For spring/summer/autumn: new chain degreased then silca secret (hot wax) for the first time only and after only Silca super secret (drip). Application once a week (400...500 km) cleaning with micro-fiber (no water). Between 9000 and 10000 km with a chain (Shimano 12spd). If it rains application every time. For winter I also tried wax, but last winter it rained every day, the chain was dead after 3500 km (SRAM 12 spd & Dynamic Slick wax). This winter I will try Silca Synergetic oil. I also had good results with Dynamic Speed Potion wax in summer.
so where i live we have more than 130 days of rain in a year, would waxing still be beneficial? and can i just use some candels and a old soup can to heat them up in?
Yes, it's still beneficial. For me one waxing lasts about 600-800 km in the dry and about 200 km in the wet. If I get soaked right after waxing usually the wax endures, but if I get into a wet ride with the chain that has been waxed a few days ago and I do nothing after the ride, the next time the chain is dry and squeaky. Drip wax is a nice option for these cases if you don't have time for an immersion rewax.
@@ltu42 thank you for this very informative answere. i think i will just try it. since i am a commuter i cant realy avoid rain rides. going back to using oil is not difficult afterall.
If you go to the additional expense of multiple chains and reusable master links, then hot waxing can make sense for year-round commuting. The change to a fresh chain is quicker than cleaning and lubing an oiled chain on the bike. Just how clean the drivetrain stays is worth the hot wax process. I am doing the multiple chains and hot waxing on all my bikes now.
Bananawax Drag & Friction TdF Racing Chain Wax, 10 years Later still the best Chain Wax on the market. Never ever had a chain fail or cassette wear out in 10 years.
Effetto Mariposa Flowerpower Wax Lube if you want something ALOT cheaper than Silca (especially their 500ml bottle). I used many different brands of wax lube BLUB, Finish Line, Muc-off, Squirt but Effetto is the cleanest (Zerofriction aka Frictionfacts also ranks it highly)
Effeto is the best drip wax I've tried, but it's not the cleanest. It leaves that grey waxy stuff on the chain more than other drip lubes. The grey waxy stuff isn't very dirty though, and wipes off in 10 seconds with a rag.
Hi. I am both teams. Oil for MTB and wax for Road. Reason is, in my place its not so rainy as in the UK and I have bad experience with waxing in wet conditions. On MTB it gets much often wet and I strugggled with wax aso I decided to go back to oil. But I would rather find a good way to use wax in wet conditions as well. Any clue how to do it?
I got a brand new Dura ace chain and cleaned it more than a handful of times to remove the factory oil, but now it’s waxed I still see dirt on my rag when cleaning the chain, and that’s just using the bike indoors on Zwift. Is this normal?
Not unless you can clean the WD40 out of the chain internals. It is Not a lubricant for more than a few seconds, and can keep the wax from penetrating. When the hot wax is hot enough, it boils the wash water out of the chain internals so the wax can penetrate.
I ride emtb. Started waxing some years ago. No fancy stuff here. An old rice cooker filled with candle left overs. I have four or five chains I use with one cassette. I change after every one or two rides to the next one and rewax them all at once when they all where used. This setup works fine, is alway clean to touch and holds up for "ever". Worn out chains wear out the cassettes. But each of my chains is always well lubricated that way and sees so little wear. This set up just lasts without measurable wear. And is cheap in the long run.
Made the switch to wax emulsion about 2 years ago and I love it. No melting pot and cleaning the chain with hot water made chain maintenance super easy. I apply the wax after my ride to let it sit overnight. I repeat the process about every 200 miles.
Great video! I don't care, if wax or oil is on my chain, I just want to ride my bike, without putting a lot of time into maintainace to keep my bikes in good condition. Wax seems to be more time consuming, this is why I continue with liquid lubrication.
Once you start riding waxed chains, especially when you buy extra chains & reusable master links (so you don't have to go through the whole hot wax routine each time you need a fresly waxed chain), there is no going back to the dirty gritty nasty petroleum-based lubes. Fresh chain in minutes, with no dirty fingers!
Team Waxing, but i am struggeling with the question if i should keep waxing my commuter bike as well. Maybe I will switch back to oil on that one, because i am riding it a lot in the rain, and during winter on salty streets.
We were (hot-pot) waxing chains over 40 years ago. Now we didn't know it saved power back then, it was just cleaner... back then (1980's) I did dump dry graphite powder (lubricant) into the pot (i think i used a double boiler pot back then.. for safety...) so we did know or at least think that just paraffin was not enough. I think now I have the MOs2 in with the wax (I now just use a crockpot). The biggest thing is simply to never lube a dirty chain. I wash my chain with dish soap and garden hose and grudge brush..
If you use your bike for your daily commute, how are you even able to use chainwax? Every other day that I ride is one through the rain, when I tried a waxed chain the wax was gona after my first commute.
@@JoeyMills-y3v That's, that's, completely untrue. Noone uses mineral oil as a chain lube. It's sticky, would attract dirt and other crap like crazy, and would last about 10km. Noone, especially pro's, use mineral oil You're either lying or grossly mis informed. I've only used drip on wax (Peaty's), and even that has been a revelation with regards drive train cleanliness.
@@JoeyMills-y3v Shill? Bro, I don't get any money from the bike industry. And huge numbers of people wax their chains. Noone uses mineral oil you clown.
@@richardhaselwood9478 pretty sure tri flow has been the lubricant of choice for hundreds of grand tour winners, olympic champions, & record holders. Wax has not. Go argue with them, not me 😂
Team wax. I hot wax the new chain and then use drip wax from then on. I get 10,000 miles out of chain worn to 40%. I used to get 2000-2500 using oil. Quiet also ! Good video.
Like several others, I got the idea from Oz Cyclist. I use Gulf canning wax and blend in a little highly refined kerosene to control the melting point. In winter, a little more kero to lower the melting point and in summer a little less to raise it. Over 6 years I've spent less than $15 on lubricant cleaning chains for 2 bikes about 1x/month and I get about 3000 miles on a chain before it shows any measurable wear. My cogs on my current bike have 6400 miles with no measurable wear. If you're a national class cyclist, $50 for some tungsten sulfide and maybe PTFE might be worth it. Otherwise, a fool and his money are soon parted. Oh yeah. I clean my chains with some type of detergent surfactant (simple green or citrus) and mineral spirits. Surfactant to remove the dust and loose particles and mineral spirits to get rid of most of the residual wax. Getting all of the wax off isn't necessary.
I switched from candle paraffin to Silca and if anything the chain wear has only increased. I got 20 000 km out of the previous chain, and this one is showing 0.4% stretch after 10 000.
Spot on - except for the bit about adding PTFE - I'd do WS2 if anything, much much lower friction coefficient and more controllable particle size. I used to use canning wax (definitely better!) and stopped for no good reason other than laziness and lack of riding big miles. Interesting touch, your adding a bit of kero to lower the MP. Do you mean a few drops per 100ml, or? I wonder if the kero evaporates once the wax turns solid or remains in the frozen mix. Also, wonder if it makes the solidified wax mass more soft once it congeals? Too advanced nonpolar-organic chemical questions for me - I got lost somewhere between the wiki on vapor pressure and azeotropism, but happy to nerd along!
I love the concept but find that my customers are not interested. I think the reason is it takes more care to keep the chain lubed (not true with the new emulsion products) but in any case, I can't seem to sell it. I love it and the new emulsion products from Silca.
This is simply false. Over the LIFE of a chain, immersion wax is far less maintenance. My post-mountain bike ride routine involved 15-30 minutes of drive train maintenance. And on 2+ hour rides, I'm doing this on the ride as well. Hours and hours of time dedicated to wet lubes that is completely unnecessary with wax. Yes, initial prep is time-consuming, but once you're past that, there's far less day-in, day-out regular attention needed to a drive train. And in addition to ALL THIS, chains last far, FAR LONGER with wax. Which means cogs and chain rings last much, much longer. Then add to that the cleanliness? No-brainer. And the total lack of gunk build up? Wow, that's huge. And for those using 2-3 chains in rotation, you can go a six months to a year without having to "lube" your chain. Once a year to dump three chains into the pot and you're done? *WOW!*
i use on a new chain Silca hotwax, and every second or 3th ride I add Silca Secret wax on lubricant. Before I strted to use Silca products I used Squirt Wax, but that stuff did not hold on a wet chain. So stopped using that and now using over 3 years Silca and will not go away from it
Hi all, the drip on wax is excellent, but I have found that after applying as Alex suggested, try forcing the wax to run by rotating the the drive train backwards while heating the cassette with a hair-dryer. This is the Uncle Fester method!
Have you found any difference using chain wax? ⚙️
It's so clean. I use a drip-on wax from Squirt, and not having to use degreaser to clean the bike is amazing. I don't care if it gives me 10W or takes 10W, clean hands and calves are worth it.
Yes the chain stays cleaner but I find the major difference is not the product I'm using but rather my behaviour towards my chain state. I'm checking it much more frequently than when I was using oil and so it gets much more care, pretty sure you could get the same result with oil but it's just more messy. I still use oil for my indoor trainer bike which doesn't get outside because waxing would bring very little benefit there
If you have to store your bike in your living space and not in a shed or basement, the biggest advantage is that everything is so clean and you don't bring any black gunk into your home.
@@Flym4n111 Same here with Squirt and the advantages but when I went with the Silca system, it switched the game up several notches especially with their new Endurance additive. More expensive to get into the system but once you've made the upgrade you'll never look back :-)
Simply Wax and Ride
after 35 years of trying everything, I finally and reluctantly tried wax, and I'll never go back to any of the others.
EXACTLY the same experience for me - I've got ten years of cycling on you LOL and I'l never go back either. The Silca system is rather expensive to get into but it's well thought out and works to a fair thee well. Their extended use "ENDURANCE" wax additive I think you will find VERY addictive :-)
@@davidbee8178 👍
@@jakebrakebill Agree. We all started out with an oiled chain. Just like we all started out on a tricycle. Neither of these things are bad, They’re just less efficient.
What ever degree of efficiency you’re happy with is fine. Personal choice.
Friction occurs when people refuse to accept proven or demonstrable efficiencies… could be cleanliness, impact on wear, impact on friction etc. It’s like saying things “fall up, not down”, which is a regressive form of thinking that does a disservice to the truth and riders.
@@paulgrimshaw8334 I'm always behind the curve because I want to see how things work out in the public sector more than a lab. Waxing is like the first index shifter, then the first brake lever shifters, now wireless shifters, it's been a game changer for me.
Same, and I’ve been riding for 40 years. I used to race, and was a bike mechanic.
I started using wax approximately 1 year ago and will never go back to oils. Having a clean bike is so nice and it makes travelling with the bike much nicer as a result (less mess). I don’t find it difficult or annoying and if there are also performance gains and component life gains, bonus!
And not only that, but hot waxing is an order of magnitude less faff than degreasing and the consequent drive train cleaning!
I've gone back to oil for the winter. I found it didn't last at all long enough and I would only ride the bike when it was dry, which was hardly ever. I have 2x waxed chains ready and waiting to go again in the spring, I do love how clean it stays.
You should try Chain L if you like oil, it's the best one. I would be using it year round except I am riding on a sandy path at the moment and dry lube is better for this. No sand involved nothing can beat the pure drivetrain quietness of Chain L. Wax sucks for this and is making noise after 4-5 rides.
Try the Squirt e-bike chain lube, I found it being far more water resistant than both silca energetic wet lube and also their wax; the chain used to have an oil/water mix in it after a rain ride, but when in summer I once happened to end up in pouring rain with my second bike with Squirt e-bike lube on, the water had no chance of getting in the chain, it stayed waxed and dry. They also got a wax for low temperature.
Yes, riding in the wet is the one weak area for waxed chains, water tends to float the wax off.
@@overcookit1433 My experience too, run it on my MTB and its great.
I think the cleanliness is a benefit that doesn’t get enough attention. I use super secret on my old beat up commuter, and don’t have to worry about getting stains on my pant legs every time I bump my chain.
100% agree, cleanliness is the No.1 reason I wax 👍
If you wear your pants under your trousers like the rest of us, you should be okay!
This is about the only reason im going this way i lucky enough to be able to afford multiple chains on standby. so yea the cost was high but should be able to wax my chains once a month and not worry about it.
Same here. And with full fenders+ mud flaps, work pants arrive grease and road debris free, even in the rain!
Been waxing about 8 years. I get 8,000 to 10,000 miles per chain before hitting the stretch indicator for replacement. I use hobby parafin wax, 50g of 50 micron ptfe (teflon) and change my quick links every 5 waxes or so. I keep two chains per bike if I have to re-wax and don't have time. Over all, I find it less work than having to wipe off, lubbricate and periodically remove and degrease an oil based chain plus its nice having a clean drive train.
i personally wouldnt play around with teflon
but thats a general problem in the bike industry with all the micro particles and chemicals they wildly throw at everything without a second thought
I first heard of chain waxing from Oz Cycling. I followed his steps for making up the wax, cleaning the chain, and applying the wax. Still works and the overall coast is pretty cheap. Not being a pro rider and doing my winter riding on Zwift, I do not burn through a lot of wax per year. So for me, I'll keep it DIY for my wax mix.
Thanks for the good video.
Me too!
Same 👍🏻
Oz Cycle….. literally the worst advice ever on waxing chains. See Zero Friction Cycling for much better advice.
But he was pitching PFAS
@@madpeddler8263 the one I saw he used PTFE powder I the paraffin wax.
I wouldn’t hot water rinse your chain in the sink, like you showed in the video. The water and wax will cool just a few feet down your drainpipe and then stick and eventually build up and clog your drain. Not good.
I used to wash my paint brushes in the sink, then discovered a sticky mess in the drain outside. Its a similar scenario I guess.
100%. especially if you live in a cold climate. this is the same reason you should not pour cooking fats (bacon grease) down the drain.
@@manitoublackThe other reason not to pour your bacon grease down the drain is that it's delicious and thus valuable.
If you pour a gallon of gasoline down the sink after it should clean all that right up. You can clean the gasoline up with a match.
@@throx Thanks I will try that.
Fully agree. I get about 2x chain life in the winter and 5x or more in dry weather. Overall time spent is less due to cleaning time. Rotate 3 chains so always have an easy swap over.
Completely agree with you. I do the same and experience the same results.
Using drip wax(wet wax) for about 3 years now, I got a few additional tips.
1. A lot of people say it needs to set in for a night, but I find that applying with heat works better. Apply it during the day in warm sunlight or use a hairdryer to really get it in the chain.
2. Stretch your chain out when applying and actually helps a lot to apply some on the gear cogs as well.
3. Specifically for wet wax, you really need to rewax if you ride in the rain as the water does wash it out a lot.
4. Clean it will hot boiling water in a bucket instead of running tap water like in the video. (wax can cool down and clog your drain)
Now you can ride in white socks and shoes too.
It
s all about the convenience for me. I have tons of equipment from my Smithing days and that includes a heating element for when I used to use Froglube on my parts. The process is just like waxing a chain. I trie it for a year and just found it too inconvenient when I can just apply a wet lube 100x faster and on the go. I can admit that when I get new chains, I do wax them before installing them, but once I think its time for a relube, I skip the wax and use traditional wet lubes..
I changed from oil lubrication to drip-on wax lubrication about a year ago. I'm not really interested in power savings (I'm quite a leisurely cyclist); the main benefit for me has been a big reduction in maintenance. On the bike I commute to work on, when it had oil lubrication the chain needed cleaning at least once a fortnight in winter, and the chain needed replacing roughly once per year. Since I changed to using drip-on wax, I'm cleaning or re-waxing the chain no more than once a month, and wear on the chain seems to have greatly reduced. There aren't any downsides I can see to using drip-on wax in comparison with using oil.
Main downside is that after 5 rides the chain gets super loud on wax compared to oil.
@@凸Bebo凸 I've not experienced that. I'm applying drip-on wax once every twenty rides roughly.
@@rkhayden You're lucky, don't pay attention to it at all because then you will become someone who prefers mineral oil to waxing, and mineral oil is a mess.
Thanks Alex and crew , I became a "Waxer of the chain " after trying lubes for years! The wear and cost savings were incredible ! Once I learned how to do it , it became a lot easier , and the money I have saved changed my mind forever , thank you !
Glad that our advice was useful to you.
@@gcntech ALWAYS you are my go to you and Calvin of course
I really like wax on my fair weather bike. For my winter commuter (it rains all winter here) I went back to oil lube. Wax had to be reapplied so much that it was more of a mess than the oil.
I’ve been hot waxing using Molten Speed Wax for the past 9 years.
I may have missed it - it’s important to strip the chain of the factory lube as well as your cassette, chain rings and pulleys of grease, oil and grime from pre-waxing.
To that end it’s easiest when setting up a new bike, or at least replacing the chain and cassette.
The above is true about stripping whether hot waxing or using the emulsion.
cassette is easy enough to pop off and toss in the solvents with the chain
@@winterwatson6437 for sure can be. My point was it seemed the presenter forgot to talk about stripping the drive train - making it lick clean. Though that might have diminished his pitch for people to go to wax.
+1 for MSW. Great tutorial vids on their site, and their wax is awesome. The YBN chains they sell are fine, and for $40 they’ll strip the factory grease and send it to you already waxed.
Are you sure about that? Up until a year ago you were telling us that Muc-Off was gods gift to cyclists.
Daaaaaaamn
Perfect 😂
They don't call em "Gaslighting Communist Network" for nothing my friend.
Muc off is the ex girlfriend , Silca is the new girlfriend.
Your comment is perfect , i'm jealous i never came up with it myself.
Ive been using squirt wax emulsion lube for a year or so now. seems to work well, I reapply it every 3-4 weeks. the chain and jockeys don't have that gritty crud you get with oil based. chain seems quiet no idea how it impacts wear in reality
My method - old rice cooker, 12 paraffin wax candles, 500ml paraffin oil. Perfect, under under $20. The oil makes the candle wax more flexible. Don’t over think it!
So true! All these hyped speciality wax products are not worth it in my honest opinion. Keep it easy and simple with pure paraffin!
Add some Teflon powder. Amazon has it fairly inexpensive and commercial mixes use it as an additive.
@@awesomexistencePTFE powder is absolutely unnecessary and harmful to the environment. Literally microplastics with extra toxic properties.
ProPublica recently released a worthwhile read on Teflon and how it is found in almost every blood sample on Earth, as well as its toxicity.
@@William.Driscoll , perhaps you trust a left leaning publication that specializes in attacks on conservatives (as usual the attacks don’t pan out) as well as sensationalism masquerading as journalism.
You can find building blocks for tens of thousands of chemical products occurring naturally in the body. There as yet is NO studies which can prove an direct association with pfas. But sensationalism sells.
Most all lubes would be considered toxic in manufacturing and use or particularly misuse.
I have not used wax, because i am in northeast Ohio (lots of wet & frozen wet), & i live off my bicycle. Use a Rohloff rear to a single ring on the front, so the chain can last a long time (compared to before with a cassette). Go ride. Know your/you're love
I started hot waxing this summer (with liquified wax top-ups in between hot waxes) and I'm sold on it for road but I'm not sure about gravel. It seems to get loud quite quickly in dry dusty conditions. But I suppose oil lubes in dusty conditions might be even worse?
I used a drip on wax emulsion for 10 years before I ever tried hot wax immersion. Where I would differ from you is that I would recommend simply going to hot wax immediately. Emulsion waxes tend to be a bit softer and pick up more dirt. You end up having to clean your drive train more often (still dramatically less than an oil based lube). You also benefit enormously from flushing the chain, which is much easier if you remove the chain. Also, you *still* need to properly degrease the chain before you start anyway. Once the chain is off the bike, it's just easier to do hot wax immersion.
I think people who are wax curious and don't want to spend a lot of money should simply try paraffin. You need a large tin (an empty tomato tin is fine). Put the tin in a cooking pot half full of water. Put the wax in the tin. Heat the tin over very low heat. You want the water to simmer, but not boil. Add the chain and let it sit there for a long time. You don't even need a stand. Once you remove the chain from the wax, it only takes about 3 minutes to cool down. Use some tongs to remove the chain from the wax and simply hold it for 3 minutes. If you have a bit of uninsulated wire, you can thread it through the chain if you want.
Once you have a degreased chain, it really shouldn't cost you more than about $10 to experiment with a waxed chain. I think most people won't go back once they have tried it. After that, you can decide if you want the fancy expensive wax, and a dedicated wax melt system.
that's pretty much how I do it too. first time it feels complicated, second time it's very easy. Really only takes a couple minutes.
degreasing and cleaning the chain is the hardest part about this (also it's amazing how much oil can hide in your drivetrain, the switch to wax made that visible)
The thing is with immersion waxing, you don't need to degrease the chain completely. Just a single 5 minute soak and shake in mineral spirits is sufficient to wash off the factory grease. The remnants of the grease and solvents will just dissolve in the molten paraffin. Water based wax emulsions are a different thing, the grease would prevent them from getting inside the chain.
@@ltu42i so hope this is true. do i have to take your word for it, or is there actual evidence? tbh my degreasing and cleaning has gotten a little sloppier than the first times around, so if it turns out that good is good enough, i'd be so happy 😅
and how do you clean waxed chain if you want to wax it second time ?
@@p199a Just hot water. Usually I remove the chain from the bike, thread it onto a wire, put it into a small pot and then pour boiling water from the kettle on it. If you are using hot immersion wax, you can just take the chain out and you don't even need to dry it. It goes strait into the (cold) wax pot. Then you turn on the heat to melt the wax. The water in the chain is more dense than the wax, so it gets forced out of the chain by the wax and sinks to the bottom. As the wax heats up, the water slowly evaporates. By the time the chain is ready, there is no more water in the wax. Basically no effort at all. This is really one of the best parts of immersion waxing.
The real faff involved in chain waxing is stripping the chain clean before the first wax application. Which is not to say it's not worth the trouble, but the first time I read the stripping instructions I forgot about waxing for a solid year.
When you buy a chain from Molten Speed Wax, they’ll strip it for you and wax it for $40. Worth every penny!
I Use wax for over 2 years now and the only negative i find that you have to re apply more often than the oily stuff, especially in the wet months. The positive its cleaner Your components last longer and a deep clean of the chain and the other components goes much faster.
What’s your take on the quick link, particularly on the 12 speed chains, as you shouldn’t re-use them. Shouldn’t that be consider as part of the equation if you wax your chain 15 times or more during its life span
You can get re-usable quick links
From my personal experience and those commenting on the web, re-using quick links is no problem at all. And not all are "one use only." The bike industry has liability to think about. Plus, they get to make more money saying the links cannot be reused, so think about that. And as Richard said, you can purchase quick links marketed as reusable.
So, what do you do if you ride to work and it´s wet? As far as I understood, when using emulsions, you need to dry the chain and re-apply wax before you´re able to drive back home?? 🤔 Doesn´t sound less time consuming to me.
been waxing for about 4 or 5 years....hot waxing now and using drip wax as back up....chain lasting much much longer, no doubt. thanks for the history lesson. It does pick up a little gunk, and can wash of quicker than oil based lubes, but no where near the mess that lubes generate on the way to damaging your chain.Overall the extra faff is worth it (similar argument for road tubeless)
When you used the "hair removal" wax, was the chain nice and smooth though?
no it is to rigid
@@makantahi3731 “rigid” and “smooth” can be used the describe the same thing 🤣😎
I wax my chain in order to experience that feeling of superiority. The chain is certainly quieter and seems to last longer. I don't use anything special - just a melted down candle and an old saucepan. The wax lasts between 200 - 500 miles so long as it doesn't rain.
Love my Silca products. I have converted a few friends as well after they saw I have a better lubed drivetrain. Cheers
How would you deal with a waxed chain that had been ridden in the rain for a week and as set up some rust. would you do anyting before re-waxing?
Great to hear your journey though the waxing options. I have been using wax for a while and find the hardest part is getting all the oil from the existing chain to start with and the products to do this are expensive. Any tips?
boil in water + soap/cleaner (also, kmc and connex are starting to sell waxed chains)
Get a drivetrain cleaner replenishment bottle (I use Muc-Off drivetrain cleaner), pour a little bit of it into a jar with a screw-on lid, put the new chain in it, shake it about a minute, get the chain out, rinse it with tap water, hang it up to dry, done.
Hi there, I have multiple chains used in rotation now. I let any factory pregreased chain soak in turpentine or paraffin for a while. In case of turps I leave it thoroughly bathed for a couple of weeks in a waterproof lidded plastic container, and give it a gentle shake or stir every now and again. Once I think no residual grease I use a degreaser wash, such as Virasol, for say 10 mins, rinse with water, followed by an isopropyl bath for a few minutes let chain evaporate / dry with micofibre cloth. Now wax the chain remembering to take chain out of hot wax bath slowly to prevent wax running off too quickly and losing any benefit.
Btw KMC now do pre waxed chains for around £30, which avoids all the initial processes above! Obviously the rest of drive train such as jockey wheels, sprockets etc should all be oil and grease free before using the waxed chain 😁😁😁
Hot water plus degreaser is the best method besides ultrasonic. If the chain is too dirt you may have to repeat the process.
The SILCA chain stripper is expensive, but the nice thing is that you can pour it through a coffee filter and reuse it several times. That reduces the costs per de-greasing significantly. And one has to do it only for a new chain, so that bottle will last for 20+ chains. Most other more cost effective options I know produce to much organic waste that I have difficulties recommending them. I haven't tried boiling in dishwasher yet, but the factory grease is really a hard nut to bust for the regular detergents.
I am using a hot waxing and then drip waxing mainly. And reason is that this is cleaner and also easier than using an oil and then cleaning a chain. And as a bonus - yes I can surely say that my chains are lasting longer, a way longer than before.
I've settled on using a drip-on wax, then using a heat gun to melt the wax so it wicks into all the gaps. It seems to work quite well.
Got in the habit of Silca hot waxing even on the commute bike, wouldn't go back to a black oily dirty drivetrain. Just rotate 2 or 3 chains per bike so you don't have to rush rewaxing, use an Xpower air duster to dry chain. Never had a problem with quick links or corrosion but I use good plated YBN/CONNEX 7 speed or 9 speed chains. Just air dust, wipe and rewax, never bother washing chains after initial prep for waxing.
Candles from the shop, melt them in a rice cooker, take out the wicks. Put chain in, take out a 73 degrees, voila. Cheap and good.
I'd say don't worry about the degrees. What do you care if the paraffin is too liquid and not much of it stays on the chain? Perhaps you'll need to rewax 20% sooner, but you don't have to care when it's a simpler faster process. The excess wax will just flake off during the first rides, especially noticeable on the turbo trainer. I've heard that 73 degrees is a conspiracy by the expensive wax sellers in order to sell more of it. ;-)
@@ltu42 thanks 🙏, will try taking the chain out at higher temperatures!
Just as a suggestion. I got a cheap ultrasonic cleaner to clean the chain with some water based degreaser, the chain comes out like a mirror. Then I use simple wax. It is fun to see all the dirt that comes out!
I love using wax.
But... you initially described a wax suspension that required a shake when wax particles settled. Said it didnt work well. Then later described it again saying it was pretty good. What were the differences?
To remove wax....
take old pot. Clean of course. Boil water. Put chain in water. Leave it to boil a few min. Wax floats. Chains sink. Put pot insink with cold water in to cool the system. Scoop out floating hard wax. Take out sparkly clean chain. Give a rinse in case there are a few hunks of cold wax. Let dry. Put into new wax immulsion.
I made my own wax kit. Bought 1kg of parrafin, and 100g ptfe at 1 micron size... total of about 45usd for all of it.another 15usd for a cheap slos cooker. And a couple wire coat hangers to hold chain, hang it after.
Simple
He's waxing lyrical, but his theories are off the chain!
I wax 1,5 years now... But I still don't know certainly, when is the right time to rewax, how to get it to understand when to rewax?
For me, I’m a defo convert to waxing my chains (x4 at the mo), and might try the lubricant waxing sometime
Hi guys why does my squirt drip wax turn into a gray glue like substance where i feel like glue friction is holdng my legs back? I feel like i had to switch back to the black mess of my liquid super fast fully synthetic oil?
Squirt dries into quite a gooey wax, that's true. Fast immersion paraffin wax is faster than fast synthetic oil though!
I Like the wax on my Sunshine-Ride bike, its clean, its less noisy I have the feeling. Recently I made a tracking tour in Italy where it was raining a lot, I had to drive threw flooded roads but mostly asphalt. The chain was rusty after the first day, after second day, I had passed 160 km with a freshly hot waxed chain, it was completely dewaxed. As the trip was not over jet I had to ask for oil... What to do against the rust?
Wax all the way!
Went with the Silca system and won't go back to oil.
It really is quick, easy, and simple.
Just add one simple tool: quick link tool and I get my chain off, relaxed, and back on my bike in just over 30 minutes
I wonder how you relax your chain? Music, scented candles, gentle massage? 😂
Can thoroughly recommend Wippermann Connex links. Then you don’t need a tool or to replace the quick links.
Also multiple chains, so you don't need to go through the whole process every time you change your chain for a freshly waxed one.
@@inz_uzi Autocorrect/suggest working over time. I'm relaxed by the scent of the Silca system wax
@@hal9058 😂
does the normal wax candle works?
What about corrosion resistance on the cassette for example? With oil you get sludge buildup you have to clean occasionally, but that oil inevitably moves around and covers the steel cassette keeping it from rusting. Would wax not more or less stay on the teeth of the cassette and therefore leave the rest of it exposed to oxides and contaminants? Seems like you'd have to not only wash it more often but also be extra concerned with making sure it is dry after said wash.
Ok, got the chain for the first time, when do I apply new coat of wax? How do I know it's time to renew the wax coating?
Started waxing thanks to oz cycle about 3 yrs ago and will never go back even on my commuter in a uk winter, just run 2 chains
I can’t attest to its power characteristics, but as a lifelong motorcyclist, I’ve used a product called Maxima Chain Wax for decades. It’s a solvent based chain wax in an aerosol can, I waterPROOF so no worries about riding in wet conditions, lasts a loooong time between applications, and is quick and easy to apply. MUCH better product for motorcycle chains than any of the grease/oil based alternatives. Much cleaner, doesn’t fling off, and doesn’t attract dirt. It’s designed to protect expensive motorcycle chains that see much higher torque loads and rotational speeds so is a good specialty product. Can’t attest to its drag coefficient, but it at least checks ALL the other boxes mentioned in this video.
I only use organic Mānuka Honeycomb wax from the western highlands of New Zealand.
swag
I've been using "Race Day" liquid lubricant, that has a wax base to it. Is that a better option than a chain oil?
There are similar dialogs around lubrication of machine tools, but Rule #1 is always given as "Any oil is better than no oil." In fact, the wrong oil will get you about 95% or closer, to pull a number out of the air. I started dipping the chain of my track bike in melted paraffin over 30 years ago, largely because I wasn't riding it all that much, and I wanted to keep it in a bedroom, so chain cleanliness was my objective. I found I had to re-apply the straight paraffin every couple of rides, which was not a routine that would work for my road bikes. Along the way I tried a variety of commercial and home brew lubes, even mixes of chainsaw bar oil (super-tacky), Teflon, and light oil. Really, the easiest and most effective has been a low-budget version of the drip-emulsion approach, Dupont Chain-Saver. I just apply this the night before, spraying it on the inside (the top of the bottom run) of the chain while pedaling it backwards until the entire chain is wet. The volatiles evaporate, leaving a dry chain with a wax coating externally and internally. I still get some buildup over time that requires drivetrain cleaning, but it's pretty minimal, and drivetrain life has been quite good. I plan to do some more experimentation with a hot mix of paraffin, moly disulfide, and Teflon powder, but for now at least, the Dupont Chain-Saver is doing a fine job at a super-cheap price.
I have tried wax, but it just rusts. My friend had the accact same experience. Does not keep the rust away.
I do both. Hot wax like once per year and top off with the Super secret liquid wax every few rides. Will never go back to oil lube. Chain is always clean.
Dupont Chain Saver in the aerosol can is the best I have ever used. Was originally using it on motorcycle chains, but it works flawlessly on bicycle chains too.
Nice one Brian, I'm not a "waxer" but I will turn to your videos if I ever decide to.
I tried asking this question on a different channel but didn’t really get an answer. About this time last year I decided to try waxing my chain. I took a new chain, degreased it as thoroughly as I could, finally burning off the alcohol I had used to get the degreaser out. Then I dunked the chain in molten paraffin wax and put the chain on the bike. Not long after, we had a cold snap with temperatures in the double digits negative. It seems the wax got brittle in this cold and started flaking off. When it got milder again and they started salting the roads, that chain quickly descended into an ugly mess of rust. So, are there wax compounds that are more suitable for cold conditions (as in months of snow) or should I just give up on the idea altogether?
no, rewax more often
@@makantahi3731 thanks for that clear answer. I might go for a summer chain and a winter chain then.
If I want to use the Silca chain strip system, would it be best for me to start with a new chain? Or, can I use my current chain, which is lubed with the Race Day wax based liquid.
Waxing chain is amazing, I have to admit that. But when the chain gets wet, you have to wipe it dry and rewax after, otherwise corrosion is going to be the problem.
You can mitigate this problem by putting on a stainless steel chain (e.g. from Connex) or get one of those hard chrome finished SRAM XX1 Eagle chains. They are more costly, but if you use wax, it could be that the next chain purchase is years and years away (you can get 14K km on an XX1 chain with no detectable wear).
Seems a bit of an issue in the uk
That's because wax is not a lubricant. It's hilarious they've managed to con people into using it 😂
@@JoeyMills-y3v Waxes have been used throughout history, across almost all applications, as lubricants. My mom taught me to rub a candle on wooden drawer glides so they slide smoothly. Waxed bike chains are incredible (except in the wet), I'm never going back to the expensive and Messy petroleum-based lubes.
@davebrown9725 your bike chain is not made of wood 🤣 No industrial roller chain lubrication methods use wax, they all use mineral oil... But keep reaching & coping, eh? 😂
What i want to know is what people are using to clean their chains of the old wax.....
For waxing im using the paraffin wax mixed with paraffin oil, melt in the microwave for a few minutes drop chain in then out, super easy.....but it the cleaning that shits me.....been using unleaded fuel as it strips it off quicker than turps....but still a pain.
And as for hot water, how is one getting their chain dry prior to waxing🤷
For best results cleaning your chain ahead of drip wax, use isopropyl alcohol. There is a spray on version available at office supply shops that really gets the job done. The alcohol dries quickly and you’re ready to apply your drip wax.
Haven’t tried. Love the idea of a clean chain but I guess if most of my rides involve lanes/mud/water even in summer, probably not advised right? (Long time Fenwicks Pro user)
Found it did not prevent rusting.
I find hot waxing with parafin wax is best. With a quick link on the chain, it only takes minutes to swap in my spare chain and; job done. I clean and rewax the not very dirty chain at my leisure.
I blocked my nozzle when I was waxing - now there's a chat up line I've never used
Squirt lube in summer, 3in1 oil in wetter winter conditions.
Squirt washes off fast, my last chain didn’t last 2minutes because of riding in wet conditions.
That’s interesting, I use squirt and when I had a chained bike for commuting (I now have belt drive)I found that if I just reapplied (without cleaning😱) every couple of weeks it worked just fine and that was on a bike that was used EVERY day no matter what the weather for my 16 mile commute.
3-in-1 was originally sold as a bicycle lube, but that was 130 years ago. It is said to be a light spindle oil with a small amount of corrosion inhibitors. As such, this should actually make it a poor choice for a bicycle chain lube, as it lacks additives that would keep it from running out. It might be better to use a chainsaw bar oil, as this at least has tackifiers to keep the lube in place. It could be just the thing for your Rover Safety, though, especially if dripped out of a small glass bottle (the metal can didn't appear as 3-in-1 packaging until the 1930s).
My immersion home-brew mix of candle wax with tungsten & molybdenum disulfide powder performed flawlessly on our tandem. 400 mile trip with two days in hours of downpour. Chain needed zero attention thereafter and is still running fine (I admit it's louder than when fresh, but still no squeaks or sounds like it's dying).
I used Smoovie, Bike 7 Pro wax, Squirt for my Sram Force AXS and FlatTop chain... and the chain was very noisy after 5-10 km.... But.... for the gravel bike (when i have Sram rival) everything are ok.
Why Sram Force is not good for Wax?
I feel like I don't understand. How is the last product different than the first product? Don't they have the same problems? I use Squirt's Wax and Water Emulsion, and it always leaves a huge mess on the drivetrain. I ride places that are dry, but very dusty. It seems to grab onto all that dust and keep it caked on the gears and chain.
Gone from White Lightening to Squirt to Smoove. Hose down sometimes after a ride and leave it outside to dry, put it in the storeroom and the outside of thr chain shows rust in places. So i can see that dipping a chain in wax would be better than just dripping wax onto the rollers.
Try Effeto Mariposa, it's sunflower seed wax and the oily nature of the sunflower seed will protect from rust unlike Squirt and Smoove (Paraffin based)
I HAVE been using drip Squirt wax for about a year. it’s taken a while and patience to remove the old grease but it stays cleaner. i took my bike in to my LBS and one of the mechanics chided me for having a “dry” chain. So, I guess it’s not a good idea. But for me it’s the best. Shifting is much quieter, the cogs get messy but I use Muc-Off drive train cleaner and it comes off. Not going back to oils.
Oh my! I took my bike to a bike shop to resolve a problem with a stuck shift lever while on vacation in Sicily. The good man washed and lubed my chain (which has just been waxed). It was a black mess by the end of the week.
Hey guys, this is more of a tech clinic question but still, when I'm rewaxing my chain I first dump it in hot water to get the old wax out. When I take out the chain it has remnants of the old wax in the inner outer link interface. Is it ok to wax the chain with it being there or do I have to painstakingly go through every link with a needle to remove it. Thanks
You need to take one end of the chain in front of you in one hand, take the other end behind you with the other hand with the chain going from between your legs. Then pull both ends up and start moving the ends backwards and forwards. That should clean the chain properly, at least if you haven't waxed yourself. Then you can insert a bar of wax up between your legs and repeat the aforementioned procedure to apply the wax. Simple and easy!
I've noticed this on my first rewax too, but didn't think much about it and went ahead.
I've now done.... what.... 6, 7 rewaxes now and it didn't seem to hurt the wax. I did put it in hot water once at like the third rewax though.
@@pistonburner6448you’re not funny nor helpful to the guy….so take your joke between your legs and let it sit where it belongs.
Only use hot water after a mud packed bad conditions ride. If it's usual dry road usage just wipe the outside with cloth and you're golden. Been waxing for some time that way and my chain lasts 10k km with less than 0.2% elongation wear. And I add UFO drip sometimes, not using hot water after it either.
No one I know is able to answerr my question so I am turning to folks with more experience. I commute approximately 100 miles a week in all types of weather in the US upper midwest. If I switched to waxing how often would I have to wax the chain?
In my own limited experience with chain waxing, it's not the bees' knees for wet conditions. You'll probably find that you need to apply a liquid lube after riding through the wet stuff if you don't want to dip the chain in hot mix again.
@@jbarner13 thanks. I think will stay with my current wet/dry lubes for now. Degreasing the chain is easy and reapplying lube is a weekly routine. For me it appears waxing my chain would be a waste of time and money. Cheers!
I ride 150 miles a week in dirty dry Los Angeles on a sandy bike path and with drip wax this will last 3 weeks only. Without sand this extends to 4 weeks. If I were in the midwest I think I would use Chain L Mineral Oil for road and drip wax for off road. Wax is only good at repelling sand and dirt in my mind, mineral oil is better otherwise.
@@凸Bebo凸 that’s between 450 to 600 miles without having to lube. That’s really good imho. Unfortunately I have to regularly switch between lube for dry to lube for wet roads. Plus throw in the winter road salt for more issues and you can see why I was hoping a waxed chain was going to be my savior. Guess not.
I tried wax (Silca Super Secret) for a few seasons, and while it worked well it also left wax shavings on my trainer mat and sometimes on my apartment floor which became super slippery. So now I use Silca Synergetic instead, which is one of the least gunky chain lubes I have used so far. I think the chain noise and friction is about the same as with the wax.
The only drip wax I have tried (Squ...) is softer than melt-wax and retains dirt much more; the chain looks black almost as quickly as it does with a regular oil. Melt-wax chains stay much cleaner. I only use drip-wax to top up when I've run out of waxed chains and don't have time to do the waxing. As stated by others, waxing two or more chains, or at least waxing one before it is needed, limits many of the potential problems with waxing.
Smoove and Squirt utilize lower-grade, softer slack wax I assume because it flows better. But it's sticky. Kinda negates the whole idea of chain waxing: dry, non-sticky lube WITHIN the chain rollers with the added benefit of a dried barrier around the gaps between the parts to act as a barrier to dirt.
did you know KMC has a waxed chain you can get direct from the box plus the touch up wax? KMCGO?
I would agree the Silca drip wax is the way to go. But I will take off the chain to dip it a couple of times a year but that also gives me a chance to clean off the wax build up on the drive train. Waxing the chain has definitely extended my chain life too. At over 3300mi this year my (dura ace) chain still hasn't stretched to the point of replacement
@gcntech Hi Alex and Ollie. Josh talks about layering wax (whether it be Super Secret Lube over Super Secret or Super Secret Lube over Secret Chain Hot Melt) after a ride to get as close as possible to 100% coverage. How should one clean their chain before adding another layer of Super Secret? Is simply running it through a microfibre cloth adequate, or do you need to use a cleaner + cold water rinse before another application??
The formula of paraffin wax with PTFE powder (TY Oz Cycling) works IMO best for my type of riding. I have tried the formula with Tungstein bla bla bla nano particles and had to apply more frequently the waxing process. Now I use melted candles with PTFE powder rotating 3 chains per bike. When my 3th chain need to be re-waxed I do all 3 chains, 1 after an other while I clean my bike. This is part of my maintenance routine. I rode with 1 chain around 12000Kms before I had to renew the chain. Problem is that a new chain on that drive train is more noisy due to small amount of wear on it. Reason why I start with 3 chains on a new drive train. Keep on waxing and ride safe.
reshape teeth in cassette and chain ring if chain skips or is too noisy
Duckhams Chain guard was a motorbike product we used back in the 80's, worked well but started off black
95% of the hassle of wax is learning it the first time. After that it's a breeze. I only wax about once every 300 miles so it's just plain easier than any lube I've ever used. Add in the perfectly clean driveline all the time and hot wax is a no brainer. Cycling since 1973.
For spring/summer/autumn: new chain degreased then silca secret (hot wax) for the first time only and after only Silca super secret (drip). Application once a week (400...500 km) cleaning with micro-fiber (no water). Between 9000 and 10000 km with a chain (Shimano 12spd). If it rains application every time.
For winter I also tried wax, but last winter it rained every day, the chain was dead after 3500 km (SRAM 12 spd & Dynamic Slick wax). This winter I will try Silca Synergetic oil. I also had good results with Dynamic Speed Potion wax in summer.
so where i live we have more than 130 days of rain in a year, would waxing still be beneficial? and can i just use some candels and a old soup can to heat them up in?
Yes, it's still beneficial. For me one waxing lasts about 600-800 km in the dry and about 200 km in the wet. If I get soaked right after waxing usually the wax endures, but if I get into a wet ride with the chain that has been waxed a few days ago and I do nothing after the ride, the next time the chain is dry and squeaky. Drip wax is a nice option for these cases if you don't have time for an immersion rewax.
@@ltu42 thank you for this very informative answere. i think i will just try it. since i am a commuter i cant realy avoid rain rides. going back to using oil is not difficult afterall.
If you go to the additional expense of multiple chains and reusable master links, then hot waxing can make sense for year-round commuting. The change to a fresh chain is quicker than cleaning and lubing an oiled chain on the bike. Just how clean the drivetrain stays is worth the hot wax process. I am doing the multiple chains and hot waxing on all my bikes now.
What do you think of plant based chain lubes?
Bananawax Drag & Friction TdF Racing Chain Wax, 10 years Later still the best Chain Wax on the market. Never ever had a chain fail or cassette wear out in 10 years.
Effetto Mariposa Flowerpower Wax Lube if you want something ALOT cheaper than Silca (especially their 500ml bottle). I used many different brands of wax lube BLUB, Finish Line, Muc-off, Squirt but Effetto is the cleanest (Zerofriction aka Frictionfacts also ranks it highly)
Effeto is the best drip wax I've tried, but it's not the cleanest. It leaves that grey waxy stuff on the chain more than other drip lubes. The grey waxy stuff isn't very dirty though, and wipes off in 10 seconds with a rag.
Hi. I am both teams. Oil for MTB and wax for Road. Reason is, in my place its not so rainy as in the UK and I have bad experience with waxing in wet conditions. On MTB it gets much often wet and I strugggled with wax aso I decided to go back to oil. But I would rather find a good way to use wax in wet conditions as well. Any clue how to do it?
How does wax fair with winter cycling?
Wet conditions can flush the wax from the chain, so having multiple waxed chains ready to go is the best method, year-round.
I got a brand new Dura ace chain and cleaned it more than a handful of times to remove the factory oil, but now it’s waxed I still see dirt on my rag when cleaning the chain, and that’s just using the bike indoors on Zwift. Is this normal?
Can a WD40 be a good cleaner before the liquid max method?
Not unless you can clean the WD40 out of the chain internals. It is Not a lubricant for more than a few seconds, and can keep the wax from penetrating. When the hot wax is hot enough, it boils the wash water out of the chain internals so the wax can penetrate.
I ride emtb.
Started waxing some years ago.
No fancy stuff here. An old rice cooker filled with candle left overs.
I have four or five chains I use with one cassette. I change after every one or two rides to the next one and rewax them all at once when they all where used. This setup works fine, is alway clean to touch and holds up for "ever". Worn out chains wear out the cassettes. But each of my chains is always well lubricated that way and sees so little wear. This set up just lasts without measurable wear. And is cheap in the long run.
'I wish I HAD KNOWN...', not 'knew'! Good vid., by the way!👍
Made the switch to wax emulsion about 2 years ago and I love it. No melting pot and cleaning the chain with hot water made chain maintenance super easy. I apply the wax after my ride to let it sit overnight. I repeat the process about every 200 miles.
Great video! I don't care, if wax or oil is on my chain, I just want to ride my bike, without putting a lot of time into maintainace to keep my bikes in good condition. Wax seems to be more time consuming, this is why I continue with liquid lubrication.
Once you start riding waxed chains, especially when you buy extra chains & reusable master links (so you don't have to go through the whole hot wax routine each time you need a fresly waxed chain), there is no going back to the dirty gritty nasty petroleum-based lubes. Fresh chain in minutes, with no dirty fingers!
Team Waxing, but i am struggeling with the question if i should keep waxing my commuter bike as well. Maybe I will switch back to oil on that one, because i am riding it a lot in the rain, and during winter on salty streets.
We were (hot-pot) waxing chains over 40 years ago. Now we didn't know it saved power back then, it was just cleaner... back then (1980's) I did dump dry graphite powder (lubricant) into the pot (i think i used a double boiler pot back then.. for safety...) so we did know or at least think that just paraffin was not enough. I think now I have the MOs2 in with the wax (I now just use a crockpot). The biggest thing is simply to never lube a dirty chain. I wash my chain with dish soap and garden hose and grudge brush..
If you use your bike for your daily commute, how are you even able to use chainwax?
Every other day that I ride is one through the rain, when I tried a waxed chain the wax was gona after my first commute.
It's all a marketing campaign, relax. GT85 & cheap mineral oil like tri flow are all you need, & all the professionals use too.
@@JoeyMills-y3v That's, that's, completely untrue. Noone uses mineral oil as a chain lube. It's sticky, would attract dirt and other crap like crazy, and would last about 10km. Noone, especially pro's, use mineral oil
You're either lying or grossly mis informed.
I've only used drip on wax (Peaty's), and even that has been a revelation with regards drive train cleanliness.
@richardhaselwood9478 go away, shill. Tri Flow is a mineral oil & thousands of professionals use it. Nobody uses wax though. 😂
@@JoeyMills-y3v Shill? Bro, I don't get any money from the bike industry.
And huge numbers of people wax their chains. Noone uses mineral oil you clown.
@@richardhaselwood9478 pretty sure tri flow has been the lubricant of choice for hundreds of grand tour winners, olympic champions, & record holders. Wax has not. Go argue with them, not me 😂
Team wax. I hot wax the new chain and then use drip wax from then on. I get 10,000 miles out of chain worn to 40%. I used to get 2000-2500 using oil. Quiet also !
Good video.
40% ! ? The recommended maximum chain wear amount is 0.5%
@@joystation1 of course I ment 40% of 100% worn . Which is 40% of 1 mm .
@@davidide1525as if you can measure that 😂
Like several others, I got the idea from Oz Cyclist. I use Gulf canning wax and blend in a little highly refined kerosene to control the melting point. In winter, a little more kero to lower the melting point and in summer a little less to raise it. Over 6 years I've spent less than $15 on lubricant cleaning chains for 2 bikes about 1x/month and I get about 3000 miles on a chain before it shows any measurable wear. My cogs on my current bike have 6400 miles with no measurable wear. If you're a national class cyclist, $50 for some tungsten sulfide and maybe PTFE might be worth it. Otherwise, a fool and his money are soon parted. Oh yeah. I clean my chains with some type of detergent surfactant (simple green or citrus) and mineral spirits. Surfactant to remove the dust and loose particles and mineral spirits to get rid of most of the residual wax. Getting all of the wax off isn't necessary.
I switched from candle paraffin to Silca and if anything the chain wear has only increased. I got 20 000 km out of the previous chain, and this one is showing 0.4% stretch after 10 000.
Spot on - except for the bit about adding PTFE - I'd do WS2 if anything, much much lower friction coefficient and more controllable particle size. I used to use canning wax (definitely better!) and stopped for no good reason other than laziness and lack of riding big miles. Interesting touch, your adding a bit of kero to lower the MP. Do you mean a few drops per 100ml, or? I wonder if the kero evaporates once the wax turns solid or remains in the frozen mix. Also, wonder if it makes the solidified wax mass more soft once it congeals? Too advanced nonpolar-organic chemical questions for me - I got lost somewhere between the wiki on vapor pressure and azeotropism, but happy to nerd along!
I love the concept but find that my customers are not interested. I think the reason is it takes more care to keep the chain lubed (not true with the new emulsion products) but in any case, I can't seem to sell it. I love it and the new emulsion products from Silca.
This is simply false. Over the LIFE of a chain, immersion wax is far less maintenance. My post-mountain bike ride routine involved 15-30 minutes of drive train maintenance. And on 2+ hour rides, I'm doing this on the ride as well. Hours and hours of time dedicated to wet lubes that is completely unnecessary with wax. Yes, initial prep is time-consuming, but once you're past that, there's far less day-in, day-out regular attention needed to a drive train.
And in addition to ALL THIS, chains last far, FAR LONGER with wax. Which means cogs and chain rings last much, much longer.
Then add to that the cleanliness? No-brainer.
And the total lack of gunk build up? Wow, that's huge.
And for those using 2-3 chains in rotation, you can go a six months to a year without having to "lube" your chain. Once a year to dump three chains into the pot and you're done?
*WOW!*
Production Staff at your place is Excellent!
i use on a new chain Silca hotwax, and every second or 3th ride I add Silca Secret wax on lubricant. Before I strted to use Silca products I used Squirt Wax, but that stuff did not hold on a wet chain. So stopped using that and now using over 3 years Silca and will not go away from it
Hi all, the drip on wax is excellent, but I have found that after applying as Alex suggested, try forcing the wax to run by rotating the the drive train backwards while heating the cassette with a hair-dryer. This is the Uncle Fester method!