Waxing Chain Just Trend or usefull?
#327
Senior Member
boeshield T9 did not do really great in this test. I have been using it but think i will move to something further up the list.
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/
#328
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it does match mine. I don't ride in wet or dirty conditions and oil with T9 every 100-200 miles and keep my chain clean but my ultegra 11 speed chains get between 1000-1800 miles before they exceed the stretch limit. I started reading how people were getting 3000-5000 miles waxing which led me to that website.
#329
Just Pedaling
I re-use the links until they don't snap firmly together any longer, sometimes more than 25 uses. I've never had one fail on the road on me yet. I also carry cheap knock-off links in my seat bag in case I have a failure, but haven't needed them yet. HTH NOTE: If you can push them open or shut with just your fingers and not much effort, use a new one.
#330
Their test method looks thorough to me. Especially in terms of comparing x,y,z products directly in different conditions. All lubes can all work reasonably well in real life, but some products are comparatively better than others in certain conditions. I find this website great for choosing lubes and currently favour Silca SS drip wax.
#331
Senior Member
You must do short tours, at least thus far in your waxing experience. On a multi month tour you pretty much have to lube, right? Some may do it, but I certainly am not going to imersion wax on tour.
I have to admit that I am confused with what folks are referring to as drip wax. Do they include the many parafin based liquid lubes? If so that includes a lot of the liquid lubes on the market. I'd imagine that most folks don't really differentiate whether a lube is parafin or oil and say they oil if using a parafin based liquid lube like prolink or boesheild.
I have to admit that I am confused with what folks are referring to as drip wax. Do they include the many parafin based liquid lubes? If so that includes a lot of the liquid lubes on the market. I'd imagine that most folks don't really differentiate whether a lube is parafin or oil and say they oil if using a parafin based liquid lube like prolink or boesheild.
Typically a drip wax is a hard wax that has been made liquid with an evaporating solvent of some sort. That way the wax can flow inside the chain and adhere to metal surfaces when applied and remain in place after the solvent has evaporated.
You get drip waxes in two main flavors. first is the water emulsified, where some dark magic has been used to emulsify hard wax with water so that the wax is in liquid form until the water evaporates. Examples of this are squirt wax and flower power. Some of these are completely biodegradable.
The second is hydrocarbon solvent waxes which use a hydrocarbon solvent capable of dissolving wax. Quicker dry times but worse for the environment. Examples are Silca super secret and white lightning clean ride.
The paraffin or wax based liquid lubes are hybrids of sorts which have significant portions of waxes mixed with oil and solvents. I'm ot sure how these work, but from wax based lubes I'd only ever use Rex Black diamond as it's relatively clean (if applied to a deep cleaned chain), it's one of the lowest friction lubes out there and it can last near 1000km per application.
#332
Their test method looks thorough to me. Especially in terms of comparing x,y,z products directly in different conditions. All lubes can all work reasonably well in real life, but some products are comparatively better than others in certain conditions. I find this website great for choosing lubes and currently favour Silca SS drip wax.
#333
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Also, FWIW, many of us do, in fact re-use the links as long as they require some effort to snap in and snap off.
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Formerly fastest rider in the grupetto, currently slowest guy in the peloton
Formerly fastest rider in the grupetto, currently slowest guy in the peloton
#334
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#335
Live not by lies.
Waxing your chain only works if it’s done Brazilian style.
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#336
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I guess i got hung up on pulling the chain every 300 miles and doing the wax treatment. Maybe I misread that. I did think it was crazy that Shimano said replace the links each time as mine always seem to be solid snapping on and off after the second use.
#337
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it is not just the shimano quick link snapping in that apparently matters. mine recently failed when removing for a wax session. one of the pins came out on one half. due to time constraints i used it anyway and lived to tell the tale. i inspected the plate and it appeared to be the same on each end, meaning there was a similar recess like the other pin would engage in. it felt ok so i took the risk. 400ish miles and it performed fine. since then it is now in the land fill.
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#338
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.... calculating the combined savings on chainrings and cassettes based on the assumption it needs to replaced every 3 chains, no matter how long said chains last. Im betting you a months pay that's flat out wrong.
....the even more terrible habit of polluting the likely/possibly good data with assumptions, leading to unsupported conclusions. .......
....the even more terrible habit of polluting the likely/possibly good data with assumptions, leading to unsupported conclusions. .......
#340
Senior Member
I notice that the KMC 11 speed MissingLinks say reusable but the 12 speed ones say non reusable. How seriously do folks take that destinction? Do other brands make the same destinction?
#341
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one common theme i keep reading is how much less gunk and easier shifting but I have no gunk build up on my chains and my shifting is excellent, my reason for thinking about is increased chain life.
#342
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#343
Senior Member
#345
Junior Member
waxing the chain
Hello,
I'm currently thinking to wax my new bike (arroves in one month). Currently I only use Lube on all of my bikes, but I have heard, that waxing is better than lubing, because of the consumption of chains. It waxing really good or is it just a new trend and don't have any advantages? What are your experiences with waxing your chain and would you recommend it? And what chain wax do you use?
I'm currently thinking to wax my new bike (arroves in one month). Currently I only use Lube on all of my bikes, but I have heard, that waxing is better than lubing, because of the consumption of chains. It waxing really good or is it just a new trend and don't have any advantages? What are your experiences with waxing your chain and would you recommend it? And what chain wax do you use?
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#346
For this reason and the faff associated with hot waxing, I tend to only hot wax before the chain go on the bike and drip wax for the duration of the chain.
#348
Senior Member
I'm just using a small $9 slow cooker and $20 ultrasonic cleaner. The initial investment in equipment and wax pays for itself in the long run. No need to buy big bottles of chain lube or do major degreasing on my drivetrain. Everything is so much cleaner nowadays. Plus I rate the difficulty less than bleeding hydraulic brakes or setting up tubeless tires. It's that easy. I'm definitely a believer now! Lol
#349
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decided to take the wax plunge..Amazon Silca Stripper $31 (they had a $5 instant coupon), Jenson USA Silca secret blend hot wax $32 (instant pop up 20% coupon) and SIlca super secret drip wax $25 so $88 total. I use shimano 11 speed chains so they are $42 and got around 1800 miles on my last one so if I can get a full season (7000-8000 miles) out of one chain I will be money ahead...or I wasted a bunch of money
#350
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jadmt At 7-8,000 miles, you'd be money ahead on 1 chain. At 4,000 miles (double-ish your current life) you'd be money ahead on 2 chains.
Welcome to the club! 🥳
Welcome to the club! 🥳
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