Immersive waxing / it should be more popular
#26
should be more popular
Thread Starter
#27
Step 2: Immerse chain. (Optional: wipe it down with a paper towel first)
Step 3: Swirl it around and let equilibrate to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step 4: Pull it out and hang it on a nail and let it drip and cool.
Step 5: Put it on the bike.
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#28
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Here are a few dozen more threads.
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#29
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Step 1: Melt wax.
Step 2: Immerse chain. (Optional: wipe it down with a paper towel first)
Step 3: Swirl it around and let equilibrate to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step 4: Pull it out and hang it on a nail and let it drip and cool.
Step 5: Put it on the bike.
Step 2: Immerse chain. (Optional: wipe it down with a paper towel first)
Step 3: Swirl it around and let equilibrate to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step 4: Pull it out and hang it on a nail and let it drip and cool.
Step 5: Put it on the bike.
I would not even make it past the first step before it took more time than lubing my chain.
#30
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#31
Here are a few dozen more threads.
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#32
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Each person's going to have a different opinion on what is easier. works better, more convenient, etc, etc. Also, don't discount the fact that a lot of riders might think of lubing their chain as a type of pre game ritual similar to airing up one's tires.
#33
should be more popular
Thread Starter
Provided you care to maintain a reasonably efficient drivetrain, you will spend more time on cleaning it alone than a hot waxer spends waxing and swapping chains.
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And when I do, it about the same amount or work as a waxing. Throw it in some mineral spirits (which I don’t need to melt) soak, wipe off, let dry, re-lube.
My drivetrain is not sparkling clean looking, but it is not very dirty, either. If a sparking clean looking drivetrain is worth the extra work to you, have at. I’d rather spend my time on other things.
Last edited by Kapusta; 08-22-22 at 08:46 PM.
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#35
Senior Member
Let's talk about the lubing methods a little deeper. We could compare it to the options cyclists have when they want to remove body hair. They have the longer lasting products/processes such as Nair, Nads or Lazer removal. Like chain waxing, those products might do a better job and require a lot less overall time/maintenance. Then we have ordinary shaving which is similar to ordinary chain lubing. Definitely requires more maintenance than the other methods and doesn't last as long. You'd think shaving would be the least popular method, but that's not the case. I wonder why?
#36
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Step 1: Melt wax.
Step 2: Immerse chain. (Optional: wipe it down with a paper towel first)
Step 3: Swirl it around and let equilibrate to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step 4: Pull it out and hang it on a nail and let it drip and cool.
Step 5: Put it on the bike.
Step 2: Immerse chain. (Optional: wipe it down with a paper towel first)
Step 3: Swirl it around and let equilibrate to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step 4: Pull it out and hang it on a nail and let it drip and cool.
Step 5: Put it on the bike.
I see no reason to degrease a new chain. The small amount of emulsifiers disperse in a much larger quantity of wax.
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#37
Super-duper Genius
False, for me, at least. I tried waxing a chain once or twice. It involved removing the chain from my bike, finding a pan and putting it on the stove to melt the wax, submersing the chain and letting it penetrate, fishing it back out and letting it cool, then reinstalling it on the bike. Am I doing it wrong? My favorite drip lube, Boeshield T9, takes me less than five minutes to apply. (Much less when I'm not being picky about it.) There is very little mess, and my drivetrains work fine. I like the idea of waxing, but I don't see how I could possibly do it with anything comparable to the ease of a drip bottle. By the time I get to step 2 out of 5 for waxing, I could have been done with the T9.
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Whats the hardest thing about being a chain waxer who goes to Cross-Fit?
Deciding what to tell everybody about first.
Deciding what to tell everybody about first.
#39
Senior Member
Step 1: Melt wax.
Step 2: Immerse chain. (Optional: wipe it down with a paper towel first)
Step 3: Swirl it around and let equilibrate to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step 4: Pull it out and hang it on a nail and let it drip and cool.
Step 5: Put it on the bike.
Step 2: Immerse chain. (Optional: wipe it down with a paper towel first)
Step 3: Swirl it around and let equilibrate to the temperature of the melted wax.
Step 4: Pull it out and hang it on a nail and let it drip and cool.
Step 5: Put it on the bike.
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#40
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#42
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I wipe my chains with a rag. Takes a few seconds. I'm not big on maintenance, don't really care as long as it still works. I replace the drivetrain parts when they get trashed. Doing it that way for almost 40 years.
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#43
Sure, it is easier to put tri-flow or whatever on your chain. It is the mess and labor after 300 miles where this pays off. Also, my drive train lasts years rather than months now, under the gritty sandy conditions where I ride. The chain cleaner sits unused. I don't even have to use one of those brushes to clean the cassette. Even my derailleur pullys are pristine. No greasy hands when I change a chain. No chain tattoos. No sand/lube grinding paste chewing on all the cassette and chainring teeth.
I have a friend who I ride with whose white carbon Trek Domane has a brownish chain-stay from all the crap he dumps all over his chain, and there are globs of filth that accumulate in his cassette and derailleur. That's just nasty.
Of course everyone should do as they see fit. If I lived where it rains all the time, I might not want to wax my chain. But it does a disservice to tell people it is prohibitively time-consuming, or that you need to put in toxic ingredients like teflon powder or molybdenum sulfide or whatever the magic ingredient of the day might be. Pure paraffin, aka canning wax, is all you need to do this.
#44
should be more popular
Thread Starter
False, for me, at least. I tried waxing a chain once or twice. It involved removing the chain from my bike, finding a pan and putting it on the stove to melt the wax, submersing the chain and letting it penetrate, fishing it back out and letting it cool, then reinstalling it on the bike. Am I doing it wrong? My favorite drip lube, Boeshield T9, takes me less than five minutes to apply. (Much less when I'm not being picky about it.) There is very little mess, and my drivetrains work fine. I like the idea of waxing, but I don't see how I could possibly do it with anything comparable to the ease of a drip bottle. By the time I get to step 2 out of 5 for waxing, I could have been done with the T9.
In actual 'attendance time' I would say that I can wax a couple of chains, dry them, break them, store them, within the 5 minutes you do your Boeshield T9. Sure more time passes as these things soak and dry, but when it comes to ride readiness, it will take just a minute to swap an old chain with a pre-waxed one in-between batch waxing.
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#45
should be more popular
Thread Starter
The point is your drivetrain parts wouldn't get trashed as quickly on hot wax. Your friction losses would be reduced throughout your riding. So you have 40 years of accelerated part trashing and living with a less efficient drivetrain but that is not a reason to avoid an improvement if it is practical for you. Even with a money no object replace what come approach, the task to source and fit new parts, or trip to the bike shop, eats into time.
Last edited by yaw; 08-22-22 at 10:01 PM.
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#46
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OK... Ok... ok... !!!
I'll give it a try...
I'll give it a try...
__________________
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
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#47
Senior Member
I have a mini crock pot. The only ingredient you need is paraffin. There is no prep/maintenance pre/post waxing. That's the beauty of it.
Sure, it is easier to put tri-flow or whatever on your chain. It is the mess and labor after 300 miles where this pays off. Also, my drive train lasts years rather than months now, under the gritty sandy conditions where I ride. The chain cleaner sits unused. I don't even have to use one of those brushes to clean the cassette. Even my derailleur pullys are pristine. No greasy hands when I change a chain. No chain tattoos. No sand/lube grinding paste chewing on all the cassette and chainring teeth.
I have a friend who I ride with whose white carbon Trek Domane has a brownish chain-stay from all the crap he dumps all over his chain, and there are globs of filth that accumulate in his cassette and derailleur. That's just nasty.
Of course everyone should do as they see fit. If I lived where it rains all the time, I might not want to wax my chain. But it does a disservice to tell people it is prohibitively time-consuming, or that you need to put in toxic ingredients like teflon powder or molybdenum sulfide or whatever the magic ingredient of the day might be. Pure paraffin, aka canning wax, is all you need to do this.
Sure, it is easier to put tri-flow or whatever on your chain. It is the mess and labor after 300 miles where this pays off. Also, my drive train lasts years rather than months now, under the gritty sandy conditions where I ride. The chain cleaner sits unused. I don't even have to use one of those brushes to clean the cassette. Even my derailleur pullys are pristine. No greasy hands when I change a chain. No chain tattoos. No sand/lube grinding paste chewing on all the cassette and chainring teeth.
I have a friend who I ride with whose white carbon Trek Domane has a brownish chain-stay from all the crap he dumps all over his chain, and there are globs of filth that accumulate in his cassette and derailleur. That's just nasty.
Of course everyone should do as they see fit. If I lived where it rains all the time, I might not want to wax my chain. But it does a disservice to tell people it is prohibitively time-consuming, or that you need to put in toxic ingredients like teflon powder or molybdenum sulfide or whatever the magic ingredient of the day might be. Pure paraffin, aka canning wax, is all you need to do this.
#48
OK, now back to Rene Herse tires...
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#49
Senior Member
The point is your drivetrain parts wouldn't get trashed as quickly on hot wax. Your friction losses would be reduced throughout your riding. So you have 40 years of accelerated part trashing and living with a less efficient drivetrain but that is not a reason to avoid an improvement if it is practical for you. Even with a money no object replace what come approach, the task to source and fit new parts, or trip to the bike shop, eats into time.
#50
Lifetime supply of chain lube (sorry about the fuzzy photo):
Mini crockpot with solid wax waiting for the next chain waxing event:
Last edited by Polaris OBark; 08-22-22 at 10:24 PM.