Immersive waxing / it should be more popular
08-24-22, 01:07 PM
#176
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I've helped a number of riders with that chain breaker.
08-24-22, 02:07 PM
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08-24-22, 09:42 PM
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Well, let's see. If you have a normal bike with horizontal or vertical dropouts you can really only end up with 2 results. 1, your hands stay clean. 2, they don't. If you had to say one was wrong and one was right, which one would be wrong? I'll wait. This isn't about me, it's about people ending up with dirty hands when they don't need to.
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08-24-22, 09:43 PM
#180
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Hence wax.
08-24-22, 09:51 PM
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And...no.
08-25-22, 04:46 AM
#182
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I was a waxing skeptic before I tried it. Thought it was “too much work,” but after doing so find it much easier than cleaning, re-lubing the chain 1-2x per week.
Each chain gets ~300 miles per wax which is 1.5-2 weeks. Once both are in need of wax, crock pot goes on, chains get thrown in and I come back in 2 hours to swish them around, pull them out and let them cool.
It’s about 6 minutes of work, including breaking the links and reinstalling the chain.
I’m sure I’m going to get over 10k per chain based on current wear, which is 3x what I was getting with other methods.
Each chain gets ~300 miles per wax which is 1.5-2 weeks. Once both are in need of wax, crock pot goes on, chains get thrown in and I come back in 2 hours to swish them around, pull them out and let them cool.
It’s about 6 minutes of work, including breaking the links and reinstalling the chain.
I’m sure I’m going to get over 10k per chain based on current wear, which is 3x what I was getting with other methods.
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08-25-22, 05:12 AM
#183
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I was a waxing skeptic before I tried it. Thought it was “too much work,” but after doing so find it much easier than cleaning, re-lubing the chain 1-2x per week.
Each chain gets ~300 miles per wax which is 1.5-2 weeks. Once both are in need of wax, crock pot goes on, chains get thrown in and I come back in 2 hours to swish them around, pull them out and let them cool.
It’s about 6 minutes of work, including breaking the links and reinstalling the chain.
I’m sure I’m going to get over 10k per chain based on current wear, which is 3x what I was getting with other methods.
Each chain gets ~300 miles per wax which is 1.5-2 weeks. Once both are in need of wax, crock pot goes on, chains get thrown in and I come back in 2 hours to swish them around, pull them out and let them cool.
It’s about 6 minutes of work, including breaking the links and reinstalling the chain.
I’m sure I’m going to get over 10k per chain based on current wear, which is 3x what I was getting with other methods.
Also a question that just came to mind, is how do you completely strip the remaining old wax? Torch or heat gun? Then I would guess once most of that is removed you can start the stripping process again?
08-25-22, 05:32 AM
#184
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Waxing my chains may be my next winter project, you say you get 300 miles per wax, I assume you do a complete rewax, vs drip wax?
Also a question that just came to mind, is how do you completely strip the remaining old wax? Torch or heat gun? Then I would guess once most of that is removed you can start the stripping process again?
Also a question that just came to mind, is how do you completely strip the remaining old wax? Torch or heat gun? Then I would guess once most of that is removed you can start the stripping process again?
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08-25-22, 07:35 AM
#186
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08-25-22, 07:59 AM
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It would be nice if it was popular enough to be a choice a cycling newbie can easily become aware of. So they can have a fast bike and the chance to preserve the as new condition of their recent purchase.
Then people can still make a choice as to whether the process is for them, ideally not based on misconceptions.
Then people can still make a choice as to whether the process is for them, ideally not based on misconceptions.
This is much easier...
https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Teflon.../dp/B00KMMFE8Y
08-25-22, 08:34 AM
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Well, let's see. If you have a normal bike with horizontal or vertical dropouts you can really only end up with 2 results. 1, your hands stay clean. 2, they don't. If you had to say one was wrong and one was right, which one would be wrong? I'll wait. This isn't about me, it's about people ending up with dirty hands when they don't need to.
08-25-22, 08:43 AM
#189
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No thanks.
There are other wax-based lubricants that perform far better and don't contain nasty ingredients. My current eco choice is made from sunflower seeds:
EFFETTO MARIPOSA FLOWERPOWER WAX CHAIN LUBE
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08-25-22, 09:50 AM
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If you want to prolong your wax, a rinse with boiling water will flush out the old wax and grit from the chain. Not necessary but still easy to do and especially useful if you rode in wet conditions and the chain was exposed to a lot of road spray.
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08-25-22, 10:09 AM
#191
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You should not necessarily take those ZFC chain lifetimes literally, they are including the fact that the chain runs through extreme contamination conditions. For dry road riding there is not much difference in chain lifetime between hot wax and one of the best drip lubes such as Silca SS. Those are the results at the end of block 3 in the table. They don't show Silca SS but its total % is 7.5% there.. almost the same as the Silca hot wax.
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08-25-22, 10:31 AM
#192
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Even the road chart includes the wet riding conditions. If you are doing dry riding only, Silca SS drip is very similar to the hot waxes as I mentioned above. Just look at column 3 in the original table, that is the wear for dry conditions. In column 4 wet is added.
I would say that road riders that are in the rain a fair amount would indeed see real benefits from hot wax. Me, I am only in the rain if I mis-read the weather forecast.
PS in looking at the original spreadsheet they in fact report the data for dry contamination only. Here it is from their spreadsheet:
I think Silca Drip Batch 2 in this table is in fact Silca SS, it has the same numbers. .5 chains reported there, beats the average of the three top hot waxes as you can see.
I would say that road riders that are in the rain a fair amount would indeed see real benefits from hot wax. Me, I am only in the rain if I mis-read the weather forecast.
PS in looking at the original spreadsheet they in fact report the data for dry contamination only. Here it is from their spreadsheet:
I think Silca Drip Batch 2 in this table is in fact Silca SS, it has the same numbers. .5 chains reported there, beats the average of the three top hot waxes as you can see.
Last edited by scottfsmith; 08-25-22 at 11:55 AM. Reason: add chart
08-25-22, 12:48 PM
#193
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Dupont Chain-Saver Aerosol Ingredients: Heptane, Propane, n-Butane, petroleum distillates.
No thanks.
There are other wax-based lubricants that perform far better and don't contain nasty ingredients. My current eco choice is made from sunflower seeds:
EFFETTO MARIPOSA FLOWERPOWER WAX CHAIN LUBE
No thanks.
There are other wax-based lubricants that perform far better and don't contain nasty ingredients. My current eco choice is made from sunflower seeds:
EFFETTO MARIPOSA FLOWERPOWER WAX CHAIN LUBE
And don't be all holier than thou and tell us that you don't use any aerosol products.
08-25-22, 01:15 PM
#194
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What dissuades me is that (at least by every description I've heard) it requires the use of a stove and cookware or some kind of crock pot, and something to store the wax in between applications, plus it seems to take more time and attention to do. In my house, the kitchen is my wife's domain, and it just seems like too much effort to buy my own stuff and find a place to put it. The tiny bottle of lube fits next to my tool box and takes seconds to apply. For the pennies it costs me in early chain wear, I guess I just don't see the point. Perhaps if I did it a few times I would like it, but nothing has motivated me to try yet.
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08-25-22, 01:23 PM
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Small crockpots are the ideal size and they're 12 bucks or so. The wax just stays in there to cool/harden between waxing sessions.
08-25-22, 01:44 PM
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Honestly, reading through the instructions always makes it sound more complicated than it is. Video for cleaning process -
Video for waxing process -
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08-25-22, 03:25 PM
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How often do you rewax?
It’s not clear to me how long the immersion lubricant lasts before developing a squeaky chain. I found with white lighting clean ride it was surprisingly short. Something like every 100-200 miles.
Finish Line dry lube has been my go to for years. I find I need to clean and reapply about every 1000-2000 miles
Finish Line dry lube has been my go to for years. I find I need to clean and reapply about every 1000-2000 miles
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08-25-22, 03:31 PM
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https://moltenspeedwax.com/pages/waxing-your-chain
Honestly, reading through the instructions always makes it sound more complicated than it is. Video for cleaning process -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI0tZqIpguk
Video for waxing process -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98thWZIYezw
Honestly, reading through the instructions always makes it sound more complicated than it is. Video for cleaning process -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI0tZqIpguk
Video for waxing process -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98thWZIYezw
I use Gatorade bottles and a piece of shirt hanger to pull the chain out. Gloves not needed.