elcruxio

What happens after? Does the wax come out of the saucepan as liquid or solid form? If solid, how do you get it out? If liquid, where do you store it and how does it come out of that container?

That's also a lot of hassle compared to just swapping a chain. And I don't want wax on my kitchen surfaces. That stuff is difficult to clean off induction stoves.

elcruxio

With wax I'm so happy I never have to do that again. Cleaning chainrings, cassettes and pulley wheels is A LOT of work. And requires some pretty nasty solvents too. Properly set black gunk doesn't come off even with pine oil detergents. Brake cleaner and gasoline had to be used. But that's wet lube for you.

smd4

Well, maybe for you.

elcruxio

Well I like to get them actually clean.

Also I ride in a place that gets weather so I can't use dry lubes with near zero lubrication properties. If I used a dry lube that's 99.5% solvent I'd have a seized chain by the time I arrived to my destination.

You seem to mean well but you lack of experience just eats away all credibility.

smd4

What's with this silly argument that I can't have an opinion about something unless I've tried the opposite of what I have an opinion about? Why on earth would I ever need to try wax lube if what I use is perfectly fine? Why would I ever need to try disc brakes if my rim brakes are perfectly fine? I've never ridden a motorcycle. Why can't I have the opinion that I don't want to ride one?

Listen...Go ahead and use a slow cooker or a food processor or an Insta-pot or whatever and heat up your wax, dip your chains and make candles. Have at it. Have you tried beeswax?

I am fine with using Triflow on my chain. My chains aren't messy. They aren't dripping or splattering black 40-weight on my chainstays and carpets and socks. I get that you cannot comprehend how this is possible, because it sounds like you've never understood how to properly lubricate a chain. But I assure you, it is. And I really don't give a damn what you think about my "credibility."

easyupbug 

Switching to a Catrike recumbent trike on bad arthritis days and finding my calf/clothes get marked by that very long bike chain, times 3 length, I switched to solvent wax and am very happy with the results. Still early but wear rate looks good to date and being retired I take the time to keep my bikes spotless and the trike was much more work with my homebrew when compared to my uprights.

elcruxio

Are you ok? I think you're imagining things. There hasn't been a single word in this thread about your opinions.

But I do find it funny that you declare your way of lubrication as the only correct one when you have no experience about riding in tough conditions. If you can get by with a lube that's essentially solvent with ptfe mixed then that's fine and you get a lot of sunshine. But the rest of the world gets weather. Where wet lubes are sometimes required.

smd4

Are you ok? I think you're imagining things.

Where did I ever say that??

GhostRider62

What is the deal with anti-waxers? Someone wants to know if it is worth the time and expense. Triflow and WD40-type zealots should stay in their own lane. It is just lube.

elcruxio

It's pretty clear from context. Otherwise why are you here? Just randomly rambling and raving about how you chains don't get dirty? Wouldn't that be something...

prj71

Because at BF we don't already have numerous threads already covering chain waxing. If only the OP knew how use the search function.

smd4

Why are you here? To explain that you need an entire "system" in order to make waxing your chains less work?

Kontact 

You put the chain in the pan outside followed by the wax. Bring inside to heat. When liquid, carry pan back outside and suspend chain above pan to drip.

When cool, mount chain. When the wax in the pan is cool, the puck pulls away from the sides of the pan and will fall out with a inverted tap.

I put a twist tie through the middle chain link to extract the chain and hang it over the pot.

Zero indoor mess. Possibly zero outdoor mess if you are careful lifting the chain out to hook it above the pot. Suspending the chain seems to leave the right amount of wax, but there will be some flaking for the first mile.

No mess, no pouring liquid wax, no planning, 15 minutes of time, not counting cooling. If I had a ride in 30 minutes I would do it - just mount the chain before riding out the door.

elcruxio

Do you know what this topic is? It's about whether waxing is worth the time or expense. Before you arrived to ruin everyone's day I was trying to expain the method I use in order for the OP to decide whether waxing indeed was worth it.

Your comments about how everyone but you is using drip lubes wrong were offtopic and just plain unhelpful. A negative contribution. Just go away. Find a topic where you can actually contribute. Though I imagine you'll find that difficult.

well biked

The chain lube/chain maintenance threads on BF are sometimes entertaining, sometimes nonsense and worthless, sometimes a little bit useful (maybe), and almost always full of disagreement.

When it comes to chain maintenance, Sheldon had a wonderful grasp of the passion the subject generates. Here's an introduction to a chain maintenance article he wrote for his website:

"Chain maintenance is one of the most controversial aspects of bicycle mechanics. Chain durability is affected by riding style, gear choice, whether the bicycle is ridden in rain or snow, type of soil in the local terrain, type of lubricant, lubrication techniques, and the sizes and condition of the bicycle's sprockets. Because there are so many variables, it has not been possible to do controlled experiments under real-world conditions. As a result, everybody's advice about chain maintenance is based on anecdotal "evidence" and experience. Experts disagree on this subject, sometimes bitterly. This is sometimes considered a "religious" matter in the bicycle community, and much vituperative invective has been uttered in this regard between different schismatic cults.

This article is based on my personal and professional experience and my own theories. If you disagree with them, I won't call you a fool or a villain, you may be right. I hope you will extend me the same courtesy." - Sheldon Brown

rbrides

Nice! That's nearly Ben Franklin-like!

rbrides

Perhaps I've not seem accomplished as simply as you describe.

Kontact 

It's just chain lube. Not making microchips in a clean room.

SkinGriz

That makes sense. My employer has a vertical bandsaw probably similar to what you are talking about. It’s in another department so I’ve never used it. It’s got a thin blade and I think it can be used almost like a stationary scroll saw. I don’t know much about it.

The band saw I used a lot was very big and was for structural steel.

LV2TNDM

I just received an order of tungsten disulfide powder to add to my bulk wax. After 45 years of cleaning chains, I'm finally giving immersion wax a try.

Rode for two weeks in France in May. Out of 20 of us, one rider had a simply IMMACULATE drive train. I quickly noticed and asked him "Are you using immersion wax?" "Oh yeah!" was his answer. He didn't lubricate his chain once, his drive train stayed immaculate and everything on his bike was quiet. This was over the span of 2 weeks and about 400 miles ridden. With only two days of rain, so it's not like our drive trains were soaked the whole time.

Ironically, I had replaced my tandem chains before the trip. I've been using Dumonde Tech for about 20 years now and their chain lube requires complete degreasing of new chains. Which I dutifully did. However, I've always been frustrated with the myriad new little squeaks that emerge after doing this the initial time.* So it's a matter of re-lubing and re-lubing until all the squeaks are gone. Well, hilariously, our chain NEVER stopped doing this for our entire ride. After every re-lubing, we'd ride a few miles and when we hit a quiet stretch, I'd hear it again and complain to my stoker, "DAMMIT! It's squeaking AGAIN!" Ha, ha, the trials & tribulations of chain care.

So I'm finally going "all-in." We'll see how things take shape. It turns out that the Shimano 10-speed DuraAce chain I removed shifted like a DREAM! But that came off and I replaced it with a KMC 10-speed. Wow, it SUCKS! We suffered crappy shifting the whole trip. I have new XTR chain to install, so it's back to Shimano and with wax. Hoping the shifting perfection returns to what it was (I was so blown away at how perfectly and flawlessly it shifted, despite the STI levers & derailleurs being over 10 years old). Still haven't decided if I'm gonna augment the immersion with some of the newer, and very expensive liquid waxes on the market. I've used 'em all since White Lightning, so not sure if I'm gonna drink the Kool Aid on Ceramic Speed, Silca or any of the other boutique liquid waxes.

Big thanks to everyone who has added their $0.02 to YET ANOTHER chain lubing thread! Informative and hilarious, as expected!

*Which is why I'm vociferously opposed to regular degreasing and overly-obsessive chain maintenance shenanigans. Especially when it involves gasoline! Don't get me started!

flangehead

Context: Mostly commuting and utility in Houston so home every day and frequent unavoidable rain.

Immersion Waxing Time: 11 minutes consisting of 3 minutes to plug in crock pot, remove chain using quick link tool, wipe chain with paper towel and set chain on top of solid wax. Go away and live life and come back 1-2 hours later. 8 minutes to swish and fish chain out of partially melted wax, wipe off excess with paper towel, air cool to touch, remount on bike and test ride. And unplug crockpot….

Frequency: When I hear squeaking or after rain exposure (because it is going to squeak). Sometimes months, sometimes days.

Cost: $15 dedicated crockpot. Canning wax and lantern oil replaced when it looks too dirty (over 2 years) so less than $10/ replacement. Biggest “cost” is dedicated space on workbench for crockpot.

Worth it? For my context the cleanliness is worth it to me.



After about 90 minutes the wax is melted enough to swish chain and pull it out. Wax is at melting temperature.

Kontact 

Lantern oil????

elcruxio

Probably paraffin oil. I hope.

Anyways going with just canning wax works better. It's unintuitive, but to a point a harder wax stays better and protects the chain better than a softer wax. The wax inside the chain does not redistribute so softening it with oil only makes it perform worse. A hard wax creates a thin layer of wax inside the chain that won't abrade off easily. A soft wax will just wipe off leaving the chain unprotected.

A soft wax is going to be more clingy and won't flake off as easily. It'll stay on the outside of the chain better, creating an illusion of better protection against moisture and rust. A hard wax will flake off the outside making the chain rust faster. But outside surface rust isn't really what we should be interested in. It's the inside that counts.

cyccommute 

Probably.

I disagree. Let’s start with the fact that factory lubricant is a soft wax, not a hard wax. If a hard wax worked better, manufacturers would use it instead. A soft wax has at least a partial chance of flowing back into the gaps which isn’t something a harder wax can do. A softer wax will also not slough off the outer surface of the chain as readily which provides at least some protection from surface rust. Paraffin oil wouldn’t be my first choice of additives to soften hard wax but it wouldn’t do any harm. Petroleum jelly would be a better choice.

Kontact 

Manufacturers have other concerns, like storage and rust.

Hard wax doesn't stay hard. Pin friction causes it to liquify and flow as needed. If not the waxed chain would squeak in 10 miles, not 300.

Solutions to non problems.