Immersive waxing / it should be more popular
#1201
Jedi Master
You are wasting your time because you are all locked into the idea a chain must be 100.00% down to bare metal before it can be waxed. Its not true. Hot wax will dissolve and mix with the factory grease (that i likely itself a wax*) A new chain can be hot waxed straight from the package and a dirty one can be rinsed i one bath of turps. Its plenty good enough and repeated waxing will make any difference fade to noting.
The origin of these beliefs are obscure, and even the dude over at zero friction cycling mentions in passing, in a resent video, he couldn't prove a difference in wear between no cleaning a all vs expensive "top chain cleaners". Of course he stopped the test because he wanted to test if cleaners removed factory grease well, not if removing it made a difference in the first place ..
* Thats why some of it is so stubborn, just like wax and try watchin any number of videos showing fabrication of roller chains. Some show the lubrication process and suspiciously it looks just like hot immersion waxing.
The origin of these beliefs are obscure, and even the dude over at zero friction cycling mentions in passing, in a resent video, he couldn't prove a difference in wear between no cleaning a all vs expensive "top chain cleaners". Of course he stopped the test because he wanted to test if cleaners removed factory grease well, not if removing it made a difference in the first place ..
* Thats why some of it is so stubborn, just like wax and try watchin any number of videos showing fabrication of roller chains. Some show the lubrication process and suspiciously it looks just like hot immersion waxing.
#1202
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This is my eighth season waxing chains and I've always wondered if this is true so today I waxed two new KMC x11sl chains. I stripped one using the same MSW technique I have always used and the other I just put in the crock pot. When I pulled the two chains out the results were definitely different. Noticeably more wax stuck to the stripped chain than the non-stripped chain. My guess is that after a few uses/waxes I won't be able to tell a difference between the two. We'll see.
I wax my chains in a sauce pan at low heat with the chain under the wax brick. Never pre-clean anything, and I have seen zero difference in outcome. But the oily chains pollute the wax faster. So I have a dirty brick for first time waxes and cleaner stuff for re-waxes.
#1203
Senior Member
One thing that also needs to be kept in mind is that the factory grease / wax, while soluble in wax, does take a bit of time to actually dissolve. Also the stuff that's inside the chain needs to be moved out and replaced by fresh wax. If one merely dips the chain in molten wax and just lets sit for too short a period, the wax inside the chain will have a larger portion of factory stuff in. Also too short dips may not let all the factory grease dissolve.
So if a chain is not cleaned prior in any way, it will require more time and more agitation to make wax flow inside the chain and actually dissolve the factory stuff.
Nowadays I do a single soak in solvent, quick wash in boiling water and then into the wax. Did three new chains yesterday and all of them came out like any other chain I have.
So if a chain is not cleaned prior in any way, it will require more time and more agitation to make wax flow inside the chain and actually dissolve the factory stuff.
Nowadays I do a single soak in solvent, quick wash in boiling water and then into the wax. Did three new chains yesterday and all of them came out like any other chain I have.
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It might also depend on temperature. Crock pots can keep the wax temp barely above melting point, which may not be high enough to dissolve the oil completely.
I wax my chains in a sauce pan at low heat with the chain under the wax brick. Never pre-clean anything, and I have seen zero difference in outcome. But the oily chains pollute the wax faster. So I have a dirty brick for first time waxes and cleaner stuff for re-waxes.
I wax my chains in a sauce pan at low heat with the chain under the wax brick. Never pre-clean anything, and I have seen zero difference in outcome. But the oily chains pollute the wax faster. So I have a dirty brick for first time waxes and cleaner stuff for re-waxes.
An overnight soak in fuel, then a rinse in rubbing alcohol and a final rinse under hot & soapy water, and voilà!
#1205
Senior Member
One thing that also needs to be kept in mind is that the factory grease / wax, while soluble in wax, does take a bit of time to actually dissolve. Also the stuff that's inside the chain needs to be moved out and replaced by fresh wax. If one merely dips the chain in molten wax and just lets sit for too short a period, the wax inside the chain will have a larger portion of factory stuff in. Also too short dips may not let all the factory grease dissolve.
So if a chain is not cleaned prior in any way, it will require more time and more agitation to make wax flow inside the chain and actually dissolve the factory stuff.
Nowadays I do a single soak in solvent, quick wash in boiling water and then into the wax. Did three new chains yesterday and all of them came out like any other chain I have.
So if a chain is not cleaned prior in any way, it will require more time and more agitation to make wax flow inside the chain and actually dissolve the factory stuff.
Nowadays I do a single soak in solvent, quick wash in boiling water and then into the wax. Did three new chains yesterday and all of them came out like any other chain I have.
#1206
Senior Member
If the chain is filthy to begin with, sure. But a new chain doesn't pollute a block of wax.
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I just have two bricks of wax - which is why I don't have to mess with solvents and rinsing. You are doing a lot more work than I am to get the same results.
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However, I do sometimes just use the chain out of the package for a few hundred miles, then wax it for the first time. Either way, the wax cleans it and gets some contamination. It just takes quite a few of these 'dirty' soaks to ruin the wax as a lube.
#1209
Senior Member
I went through two of those workshop sized bottles of Squirt and know it well. Yes it is important to really go out of your way to work it into the chain and let it dry. If done correctly it will run smooth and quiet. But the issue is that it will still produce grey gunk even if you clean off the outside of the chain, it's going to work itself to the surface and attract dust. Unless frequently attended to, it will get into the cassette, between the chain rings, into the jockey wheels, and so on.
Hot wax dries as hard as a candle, not into smeary goo. You can just vacuum hot wax flakes up from the floor, if you try that with Squirt bits that have fallen off, you'll just smear it into the floor. Squirt chains are sticky and it gets on your fingers if you handle the chain, you'll want to wash your hands. None of that with hot wax. That is a very significant difference.
Wiping down a chain externally does nothing for what's going on inside. Using those on-bike chain cleaner tools and so forth doesn't work either. Take your chain off and shake it up in some solvent and see what still comes out. Shiny chains on the outside will still grit away.
Just as immersion is required for proper cleaning, it is required for proper lubrication.
Here's a comparison of common lubes with/without contamination and chain lifespans. What people keep forgetting is that whilst some good lubes perform well (still not as well) upon initial application on a clean chain, the wear rate quickly deteriorates as contamination makes it into the chain, losing you more and more watts whilst eating up your parts. The more power you put in, the more watts, ZFC throws 2-6 Watts at 250W around, and that is just a side benefit not important to all but very important to some. It just keeps accumulating due to the superficial way people clean and relube their chains. Doing it properly would be way too much work, fortunately there is hot waxing where it's not an issue. Compare the chain lifespans. Also, simply google it and you will see that many pro athletes run waxed chains.
Hot wax dries as hard as a candle, not into smeary goo. You can just vacuum hot wax flakes up from the floor, if you try that with Squirt bits that have fallen off, you'll just smear it into the floor. Squirt chains are sticky and it gets on your fingers if you handle the chain, you'll want to wash your hands. None of that with hot wax. That is a very significant difference.
Wiping down a chain externally does nothing for what's going on inside. Using those on-bike chain cleaner tools and so forth doesn't work either. Take your chain off and shake it up in some solvent and see what still comes out. Shiny chains on the outside will still grit away.
Just as immersion is required for proper cleaning, it is required for proper lubrication.
Here's a comparison of common lubes with/without contamination and chain lifespans. What people keep forgetting is that whilst some good lubes perform well (still not as well) upon initial application on a clean chain, the wear rate quickly deteriorates as contamination makes it into the chain, losing you more and more watts whilst eating up your parts. The more power you put in, the more watts, ZFC throws 2-6 Watts at 250W around, and that is just a side benefit not important to all but very important to some. It just keeps accumulating due to the superficial way people clean and relube their chains. Doing it properly would be way too much work, fortunately there is hot waxing where it's not an issue. Compare the chain lifespans. Also, simply google it and you will see that many pro athletes run waxed chains.
let me tell you in brief. A chain that last all 6 blocks are lubricated a total of 30 times or, on average ever 200 simulated km. Sounds reasonable. - Except, that involves removing the chain from the bike 30 times to hot wax it. Thats a lot of work that I have a hard time believing anyone would keep up.
Contrast that to how the test is performed with drip lubes. Chain is initially cleaned and lubed with the test lubricant, but every subsequent lubing is applied on top of the old lube and added sand/contamination. NO cleaning at all. Chain is simply run into the ground, caked in old lube and sand. - Imo, you have to ask yourself if that procedure was designed in good faith or a specific outcome was the objective. I dunno, I was just stunned when i finally came around to read beyond the headline.
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This is great ´n all, if you follow the test procedure. Then some lubes come out really bad and others look like they can make a chain last forever. However, have you any idea how this is tested?
let me tell you in brief. A chain that last all 6 blocks are lubricated a total of 30 times or, on average ever 200 simulated km. Sounds reasonable. - Except, that involves removing the chain from the bike 30 times to hot wax it. Thats a lot of work that I have a hard time believing anyone would keep up.
Contrast that to how the test is performed with drip lubes. Chain is initially cleaned and lubed with the test lubricant, but every subsequent lubing is applied on top of the old lube and added sand/contamination. NO cleaning at all. Chain is simply run into the ground, caked in old lube and sand. - Imo, you have to ask yourself if that procedure was designed in good faith or a specific outcome was the objective. I dunno, I was just stunned when i finally came around to read beyond the headline.
let me tell you in brief. A chain that last all 6 blocks are lubricated a total of 30 times or, on average ever 200 simulated km. Sounds reasonable. - Except, that involves removing the chain from the bike 30 times to hot wax it. Thats a lot of work that I have a hard time believing anyone would keep up.
Contrast that to how the test is performed with drip lubes. Chain is initially cleaned and lubed with the test lubricant, but every subsequent lubing is applied on top of the old lube and added sand/contamination. NO cleaning at all. Chain is simply run into the ground, caked in old lube and sand. - Imo, you have to ask yourself if that procedure was designed in good faith or a specific outcome was the objective. I dunno, I was just stunned when i finally came around to read beyond the headline.
#1211
Senior Member
"Cleaning maintenance during test would severely impact the ability of the test to assess key performance abilities
and marketing claims."
Yeah sure, that sounds sort of reasonable, but repeated hot waxing perform the same function in it replacing old lube with new and flushing out grit and metal particles, even if it technically isn't "cleaning". Thats the great upside to hot waxing, but the downside is the associated faff. Ofc. ppl will claim its no big deal, but come on, re waxing every 200 km IS a faff.
Im betting with this test protocol any hot wax would do just fine, including completely not unrelated stuff. like carnaubawax, sunflowerwax, bikiniwax, coconut butter, etc. - as long as you can melt on some new "lube" every 200 km. Or why not get a bucket of thin oil and swish your chain in that ever 200 km. Chain would last forever.
#1212
Senior Member
This is great ´n all, if you follow the test procedure. Then some lubes come out really bad and others look like they can make a chain last forever. However, have you any idea how this is tested?
let me tell you in brief. A chain that last all 6 blocks are lubricated a total of 30 times or, on average ever 200 simulated km. Sounds reasonable. - Except, that involves removing the chain from the bike 30 times to hot wax it. Thats a lot of work that I have a hard time believing anyone would keep up.
Contrast that to how the test is performed with drip lubes. Chain is initially cleaned and lubed with the test lubricant, but every subsequent lubing is applied on top of the old lube and added sand/contamination. NO cleaning at all. Chain is simply run into the ground, caked in old lube and sand. - Imo, you have to ask yourself if that procedure was designed in good faith or a specific outcome was the objective. I dunno, I was just stunned when i finally came around to read beyond the headline.
let me tell you in brief. A chain that last all 6 blocks are lubricated a total of 30 times or, on average ever 200 simulated km. Sounds reasonable. - Except, that involves removing the chain from the bike 30 times to hot wax it. Thats a lot of work that I have a hard time believing anyone would keep up.
Contrast that to how the test is performed with drip lubes. Chain is initially cleaned and lubed with the test lubricant, but every subsequent lubing is applied on top of the old lube and added sand/contamination. NO cleaning at all. Chain is simply run into the ground, caked in old lube and sand. - Imo, you have to ask yourself if that procedure was designed in good faith or a specific outcome was the objective. I dunno, I was just stunned when i finally came around to read beyond the headline.
Firstly often in these waxing topics there are people who feel the need to disparage the effort required for waxing and give "advice" about how it's much simpler just to apply one drop of lube per roller and wipe clean. Considering how large of an undertaking cleaning an oiled dirty chain is, I doubt many do it all that often. So the method of applying lube on a not completely sterile chain is pretty common.
On the topic of effort, rewaxing every 200km isn't unheard of. I do it when the conditions are bad. But the people who do usually rotate multiple chains so the typical chain maintenance is actually just a chain swap, which doesn't take a lot of effort at all.
With wax you can't really skimp on the waxing intervals because a chain that has had its wax worn off becomes very noisy very quickly.
As to the test protocol, it is mentioned that the lubes are applied per manufacturer instructions. One would assume that if manufacturer states that add drop per roller and wipe clean, that is what is done. However if the chain is not wiped clean after drip lubes the test itself can give valuable information on how the different lubes perform. With hot melt waxes you're sorta kinda forced to dunk the chain in wax, which in turn does clean the chain. That is in fact one of the main advantages of hot melt waxes.
On that point, some drip lubes are marketed by statements like "cleans and lubes". But the ZFC protocol debunks such claims quite efficiently.
I wouldn't say the test protocol has been devised in bad faith or to favor one type of lube over the next. Wax needs frequent reapplication. That's sorta the whole point. But perhaps the ZFC has some exasperation toward A) marketing claims and B) towards people who claim wiping a chain clean is all you need.
If you read the testing protocol, you'll notice that block 1 is 1000km and has no added contamination. So there is valuable data to be gleaned from that alone. If a drip lube fares badly with in block 1 and is lubricated by manufacturer instructions, it's a bad lube. For example Muc Off nano went through 37 % of its wear allocation in 1000km with no added contamination.
However even if the test protocol isn't optimal for drip lubes, there are drip lubes which fare very well indeed. Rex Black Diamond being one of them (they also have a hot melt wax called Black Diamond. That's different stuff. The original is wet drip lube).
So even with the faults in the test protocol, if you know how to read the data you can get some pretty good conclusions out.
#1213
Senior Member
I have a few thoughts...
...
However even if the test protocol isn't optimal for drip lubes, there are drip lubes which fare very well indeed. Rex Black Diamond being one of them (they also have a hot melt wax called Black Diamond. That's different stuff. The original is wet drip lube).
So even with the faults in the test protocol, if you know how to read the data you can get some pretty good conclusions out.
...
However even if the test protocol isn't optimal for drip lubes, there are drip lubes which fare very well indeed. Rex Black Diamond being one of them (they also have a hot melt wax called Black Diamond. That's different stuff. The original is wet drip lube).
So even with the faults in the test protocol, if you know how to read the data you can get some pretty good conclusions out.
Some of the drip lubes does perform very well, despite the disadvantage. I my mind they are, by far, the most desirable option, and for that reason I have begun researching how to form wax emulsions (thats what the best drip wax lubes likely are). The ingredients seem readily available and very cheap, but to date no one has posted a diy solution, that im sure is possible.
#1214
Senior Member
Yeah sure, that sounds sort of reasonable, but repeated hot waxing perform the same function in it replacing old lube with new and flushing out grit and metal particles, even if it technically isn't "cleaning". Thats the great upside to hot waxing, but the downside is the associated faff. Ofc. ppl will claim its no big deal, but come on, re waxing every 200 km IS a faff.
Im betting with this test protocol any hot wax would do just fine, including completely not unrelated stuff. like carnaubawax, sunflowerwax, bikiniwax, coconut butter, etc. - as long as you can melt on some new "lube" every 200 km. Or why not get a bucket of thin oil and swish your chain in that ever 200 km. Chain would last forever.
Thin oil would definitely clean the chain. But then you'd have a chain dripping with oil, no matter how thin it is. Even WD40 will attract a lot of gunk if you don't carefully wipe the chain after application.
#1215
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For some reason I hit the bookmark on my browser to just drop in here. Says I chimed in on this thread. I am sure it was a while ago and I am sure I was either against waxing completely or was "waxing curious"
I started waxing using the Silca system sometime early last season. My bikes, as well as those of a few key riders who work out of here. The result were better than I thought they would be. My own wet lube performed really well but the wax is nicer in most conditions. We now wax chains for customers as well as sell the Silca system. I have 2 of his new melters on order for when they back in stock.
Perfect for road and most gravel applications. Wax really doesn't like the water or mud. I ran it through last cross season including the newsworthy mud conditions we had at the Trek UCI race. Chain ended up rusted before I got a chance to get it dried off. Same thing of another wet race we had at the end of the year.
i have done the whole pre-cleaning methods described by Josh at Silca. I also switched to their all in one cleaner last year and I have to say it works remarkably well. I really don't have much of a desire to use the Strip Chip method he has now but I do have it on order. A small ultrasonic wash with the one step striping cleaner he has would seem ideal tbh. Combined with that new melter and controller I think I will be set for our operations.
I find it to be little to no hassle to wax chains now. granted I have my own shop and I have all day to drop a chain in whenever. If I was doing this for myself at home I would also have no problem doing it. It really isn't much of a hassle. If I really didn't have time then I would probably have someone hot wax one chain then use the Super Secret for maintenance until I really had the time to hotwax it again.
IMHO - if you're commuting in all conditions and don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining the bike then I would just use a drip lube/oil. If you're racing in crap conditions then I would recommend the same. General gravel use - I would recommend waxing. General performance road usage I would absolutely recommend waxing. Fatbiking - wet lube. Mtb - if it's like here where you can't even ride the trails when it is wet out then definitely wax.
For those that do wax - I don't know how you do it but some of you really get a ton of wax on there and then it takes me way too long to clean up the rest of the drive-train. Just get it hot - let it sit so the chain comes up to temp then shake and pull.
I started waxing using the Silca system sometime early last season. My bikes, as well as those of a few key riders who work out of here. The result were better than I thought they would be. My own wet lube performed really well but the wax is nicer in most conditions. We now wax chains for customers as well as sell the Silca system. I have 2 of his new melters on order for when they back in stock.
Perfect for road and most gravel applications. Wax really doesn't like the water or mud. I ran it through last cross season including the newsworthy mud conditions we had at the Trek UCI race. Chain ended up rusted before I got a chance to get it dried off. Same thing of another wet race we had at the end of the year.
i have done the whole pre-cleaning methods described by Josh at Silca. I also switched to their all in one cleaner last year and I have to say it works remarkably well. I really don't have much of a desire to use the Strip Chip method he has now but I do have it on order. A small ultrasonic wash with the one step striping cleaner he has would seem ideal tbh. Combined with that new melter and controller I think I will be set for our operations.
I find it to be little to no hassle to wax chains now. granted I have my own shop and I have all day to drop a chain in whenever. If I was doing this for myself at home I would also have no problem doing it. It really isn't much of a hassle. If I really didn't have time then I would probably have someone hot wax one chain then use the Super Secret for maintenance until I really had the time to hotwax it again.
IMHO - if you're commuting in all conditions and don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining the bike then I would just use a drip lube/oil. If you're racing in crap conditions then I would recommend the same. General gravel use - I would recommend waxing. General performance road usage I would absolutely recommend waxing. Fatbiking - wet lube. Mtb - if it's like here where you can't even ride the trails when it is wet out then definitely wax.
For those that do wax - I don't know how you do it but some of you really get a ton of wax on there and then it takes me way too long to clean up the rest of the drive-train. Just get it hot - let it sit so the chain comes up to temp then shake and pull.
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For some reason I hit the bookmark on my browser to just drop in here. Says I chimed in on this thread. I am sure it was a while ago and I am sure I was either against waxing completely or was "waxing curious"
I started waxing using the Silca system sometime early last season. My bikes, as well as those of a few key riders who work out of here. The result were better than I thought they would be. My own wet lube performed really well but the wax is nicer in most conditions. We now wax chains for customers as well as sell the Silca system. I have 2 of his new melters on order for when they back in stock.
Perfect for road and most gravel applications. Wax really doesn't like the water or mud. I ran it through last cross season including the newsworthy mud conditions we had at the Trek UCI race. Chain ended up rusted before I got a chance to get it dried off. Same thing of another wet race we had at the end of the year.
i have done the whole pre-cleaning methods described by Josh at Silca. I also switched to their all in one cleaner last year and I have to say it works remarkably well. I really don't have much of a desire to use the Strip Chip method he has now but I do have it on order. A small ultrasonic wash with the one step striping cleaner he has would seem ideal tbh. Combined with that new melter and controller I think I will be set for our operations.
I find it to be little to no hassle to wax chains now. granted I have my own shop and I have all day to drop a chain in whenever. If I was doing this for myself at home I would also have no problem doing it. It really isn't much of a hassle. If I really didn't have time then I would probably have someone hot wax one chain then use the Super Secret for maintenance until I really had the time to hotwax it again.
IMHO - if you're commuting in all conditions and don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining the bike then I would just use a drip lube/oil. If you're racing in crap conditions then I would recommend the same. General gravel use - I would recommend waxing. General performance road usage I would absolutely recommend waxing. Fatbiking - wet lube. Mtb - if it's like here where you can't even ride the trails when it is wet out then definitely wax.
For those that do wax - I don't know how you do it but some of you really get a ton of wax on there and then it takes me way too long to clean up the rest of the drive-train. Just get it hot - let it sit so the chain comes up to temp then shake and pull.
I started waxing using the Silca system sometime early last season. My bikes, as well as those of a few key riders who work out of here. The result were better than I thought they would be. My own wet lube performed really well but the wax is nicer in most conditions. We now wax chains for customers as well as sell the Silca system. I have 2 of his new melters on order for when they back in stock.
Perfect for road and most gravel applications. Wax really doesn't like the water or mud. I ran it through last cross season including the newsworthy mud conditions we had at the Trek UCI race. Chain ended up rusted before I got a chance to get it dried off. Same thing of another wet race we had at the end of the year.
i have done the whole pre-cleaning methods described by Josh at Silca. I also switched to their all in one cleaner last year and I have to say it works remarkably well. I really don't have much of a desire to use the Strip Chip method he has now but I do have it on order. A small ultrasonic wash with the one step striping cleaner he has would seem ideal tbh. Combined with that new melter and controller I think I will be set for our operations.
I find it to be little to no hassle to wax chains now. granted I have my own shop and I have all day to drop a chain in whenever. If I was doing this for myself at home I would also have no problem doing it. It really isn't much of a hassle. If I really didn't have time then I would probably have someone hot wax one chain then use the Super Secret for maintenance until I really had the time to hotwax it again.
IMHO - if you're commuting in all conditions and don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining the bike then I would just use a drip lube/oil. If you're racing in crap conditions then I would recommend the same. General gravel use - I would recommend waxing. General performance road usage I would absolutely recommend waxing. Fatbiking - wet lube. Mtb - if it's like here where you can't even ride the trails when it is wet out then definitely wax.
For those that do wax - I don't know how you do it but some of you really get a ton of wax on there and then it takes me way too long to clean up the rest of the drive-train. Just get it hot - let it sit so the chain comes up to temp then shake and pull.
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#1217
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I can almost imagine. No.
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#1218
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Perfect for road and most gravel applications. Wax really doesn't like the water or mud. I ran it through last cross season including the newsworthy mud conditions we had at the Trek UCI race. Chain ended up rusted before I got a chance to get it dried off. Same thing of another wet race we had at the end of the year.
IMHO - if you're commuting in all conditions and don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining the bike then I would just use a drip lube/oil.
The winter before I started waxing was rough. My wife's bike gets ridden the most as she actually has to go to her workplace and let me tell you, there isn't a lube wet enough to last more than 50km when the squeaking started. Rustand rusty oil splatter everywhere!. I really did try to clean the chain, drivetrain, frame etc. but it just wasn't enough. The park tool chain cleaner is frankly a useless piece of kit. Gasoline and a jar works, but that gets old fast.
So now I wax and my wife's commuter has 4 chains in rotation that I swap out every 200km or so.
If you're racing in crap conditions then I would recommend the same. General gravel use - I would recommend waxing. General performance road usage I would absolutely recommend waxing. Fatbiking - wet lube. Mtb - if it's like here where you can't even ride the trails when it is wet out then definitely wax.
For those that do wax - I don't know how you do it but some of you really get a ton of wax on there and then it takes me way too long to clean up the rest of the drive-train. Just get it hot - let it sit so the chain comes up to temp then shake and pull.
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caking on the wax for 12 speed setups, it tends to cause poor shifting performance on the smaller diameter cogs until it's spun off. If that will bother you, then don't let the chain cool in the wax & wipe it while it's able to be smeared off.
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#1220
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I have a few thoughts...
Firstly often in these waxing topics there are people who feel the need to disparage the effort required for waxing and give "advice" about how it's much simpler just to apply one drop of lube per roller and wipe clean. Considering how large of an undertaking cleaning an oiled dirty chain is, I doubt many do it all that often. So the method of applying lube on a not completely sterile chain is pretty common.
Firstly often in these waxing topics there are people who feel the need to disparage the effort required for waxing and give "advice" about how it's much simpler just to apply one drop of lube per roller and wipe clean. Considering how large of an undertaking cleaning an oiled dirty chain is, I doubt many do it all that often. So the method of applying lube on a not completely sterile chain is pretty common.
No one is marketing dumping dirty chains in cheap wax heated in a $5 sauce pan. There's no money in that.
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My slow cooker thing was only about $12 so not sure there’s much money in that either. Plus it avoided my wife’s ire. And I’m not using their laced waxes. The normal stuff seemed to work fine and no ptfe or MoS2 all over the verges.
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My second hand slow cooker gave up the ghost so I simply use a hotplate and 2 qt kettle with a piece of screen under the wax for the dirt to fall through. Sometimes I probably get the wax a little too hot, but you don't have to bother cleaning a new chain because the heat boils that grease right into the wax. We make French fries in the same size (not the same kettle, duh) kettle on a gas range and have for years. Never burnt a house down yet and that oil gets freaken hot!
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If people just used cheap wax on uncleaned chains in pans, they wouldn't consider waxing a chore compared to oil. Even if you were to throw out the wax after ever application, it would still be incredibly cheap and convenient.
$5 a pound.
Silca: $40 a pound.
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Soaking a chain in fuel overnight and rinsing it after is not really ''more work''. I rinse and pre-wash my car before washing it - same principle apply here.
#1225
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Factory lube will contaminate it, so does road debris, dirt, grime, etc. The former is avoidable; the latter is not.
Soaking a chain in fuel overnight and rinsing it after is not really ''more work''. I rinse and pre-wash my car before washing it - same principle apply here.
Soaking a chain in fuel overnight and rinsing it after is not really ''more work''. I rinse and pre-wash my car before washing it - same principle apply here.
IF i cared to clean a chain id do it in an other "dirty" sauce pan with cheap wax. Hot wax will dissolve factory grease or melt away old wax lube. Eliminating any other cleaning product and eliminating getting the chain wet, if hot water is you preferred cleaning method.
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