frogman

I am interested in trying this myself on my chain but am wondering about lubrication. From what I understand the
waxing gives a nice clean chain with a sort of dry film that doesn't collect dirt, nice ! But what about lubrication ?
How about cleaning the chain then apply a lube, spin the chain so the lube wicks down into the chains inner rotating surfaces, then clean the outside of the chain thoroughly and then do the waxing ?

gsa103

The wax acts as lubrication, which is why it's important to apply while hot to allow the molten wax to wick in. Lubing before waxing defeats the purpose of the wax.

For re-application while on the bike, I would imagine that wax based lubricants such as Boeshield or White Lightning would be compatible, since they are basically wax in a solvent carrier that evaporates.

For the record, Parafin Wax is one of the least durable chain lubes. It wears off quickly, unlike oil which tend to replensih themselves. But it also is clean and low drag.

canklecat

Liquid paraffin or paraffin oil is often sold as lamp oil. You can find it in many hardware stores, Walmart, anyplace that sells lamp oil.

I haven't tried mixing it with Gulf Wax bars. So far I'm satisfied with Gulf Wax as-is. I melt the bars in a Li'l Dipper small crock pot and leave the chain soaking for several hours or overnight to be sure the melted wax/paraffin seeps into the roller bearings. I hang the hot chains to drip back into the crock pot, then just put 'em on the bike and ride. Any excess comes off within a few rides or miles. The chain is dead silent at first as the excess wax dampens any noise. After awhile there's a very slight chain sound, about like a new chain with oil.

I've just finished a month and over 400 miles on a single paraffin treatment on the road bike's KMC Z72 chain. The errand bike chain has been running wax for longer, but few miles and so far none in really wet weather -- just a few puddles.

The road bike chain still moves freely, doesn't squeak, really doesn't sound like it needs to be retreated yet. But I have a second new KMC Z72 chain so I'll probably swap chains this month and examine the "old" chain more closely. I use the supplied KMC Missing Links so it's easier to do

Huge difference in terms of cleanliness. I can wipe the waxed chains with my bare fingers and barely pick up any residue -- what little there may be wipes off easily. No residue on the chain rings or cassette/freewheel either.

I keep my bikes in the living room and don't have to worry about getting chain gunk on the furniture, my legs, or the cats. My cats often walk underneath the bikes or nap under them since it's close to the window.

frogman

Thanks for the info. Learn something new all the time on this forum. I use Boshield now,
but I think I am over applying it. The chain is greasy like. I like the idea of a chain that doesn't look grimey all the time. I will try the wax treatment and maybe just a tiny
Boeshield (very sparingly) and see what happens. thanks again !

Mo06

"I keep my bikes in the living room and don't have to worry about getting chain gunk on the furniture, my legs, or the cats. My cats often walk underneath the bikes or nap under them since it's close to the window."

Yes I appreciate how clean the chain remains. My chain looks pretty good after 370km.

Mo06

Update - done just over 500 km since the treatment and the chain is still pretty quiet, probably need to re-do the process bofore long, but if I rub the chain with my fingers I can still feel the wax sticking to the links. And the sprockets & chainrings are pretty spotless.

DrIsotope

I ride five or six days a week, with Tuesday being my "always rest" day. I have 2 chains that I rotate on my cross bike, and two chains for the road bikes, so I wax 2 chains every Tuesday, regardless of mileage. Initial testing showed a good waxing (with PTFE added) good for 300-350 miles without issue, and I average ~230 a week, so the chains are always still clean when they go back in the pot.

I wouldn't even consider going back to traditional wet lube. If waxing is a hassle-- and I don't think it is at all-- then it is absolutely worth the hassle just for the cleanliness of the drivetrain alone. I turn on the tiny crock pot early in the day, wait for it to heat up the wax, drop in a chain, set a timer for 30 minutes, and go about my business. Then repeat. The actual amount of time spent with the chains is virtually nothing. Chain goes in, chain comes out. No wiping, no cleaning, no fuss.

Also damn cheap.

canklecat

I just removed the waxed KMC Z72 from my road bike after roughly 500 miles on the chain (new as of June) treated with plain Gulf Wax, no additives (lamp oil, PTFE or moly). Mostly I was curious to compare it with a brand new KMC Z72 chain.

I happened to need to replace a tube and rim strip anyway (the soft rubber rim strips are useless with double wall rims -- the rim strip and tubes extrude through the nipple holes). Seemed like a good opportunity to check the chains.

After cutting the new chain (10 links), wiping off the excess oil/grease and comparing the two... darned if I could tell any difference. The new chain with the original KMC oil/grease felt very slightly tacky on the external plates. Otherwise I couldn't tell that the waxed chain I'd been riding for about 500 miles even needed any attention.

But I went ahead and put on the new chain as-is, with the KMC lube. And I did a rough cleaning of the "old" chain by swishing it around in mineral spirits, followed by isopropyl alcohol, just to minimize dirt getting into the Li'l Dipper crock pot of melted paraffin. It's still soaking -- I usually leave it overnight.

Today I rode the new chain. Sounded exactly the same. No difference in drivetrain noise, shifting, etc.

Seems like the Gulf Wax alone should be good for a lot of miles, assuming dry conditions. We didn't get much rain until the past week, and I avoid riding the road bike in the rain or on wet roads -- I take the hybrid for that.

So I'll probably go with swapping the chains once a month. I'll use solvents to strip the new chain and wax it so it'll be ready for the next month.

Pretty pleased with the paraffin treatment. Much less cleanup -- all I had to do was wipe the chain rings and freewheel with a used napkin left over from dinner. Barely a few smudges.

Abe_Froman

I started waxing my chain this year. I started with plain gulf wax, then added in the 5g of PTFE. Did not notice a big difference though.

Also....my chain becomes noticeably noisy after ~100 miles. Yours goes 200+ no problem?

DrIsotope

First few of chains I left on the bike to see how long before they started squeaking. Each time, it was 300-350 miles. I was adding a little moly early on, but as of now it's just the wax and the PTFE powder. As I'm only now doing 200-250 miles per chain, they're still quiet when they go back in the wax.

Abe_Froman

Hrmm. I should be clear...my chain doesn't 'squeak', like an old dry chain would. It just gets audible after about 100 miles.

even still....I do like the benefits....nice and clean chain, less frequent maintenance. I should probably get the second chain thing going on though.

Sasquatch16

Are you guys that wax chain using any particular chain? I know in Friction Facts they are using Wipperman chains. $69.99 seems a little steep.

Abe_Froman

$15 KMC chain...

scott967

I agree that 300 mi seems about a good point (haven't measured it scientifically at all). That's on KMC X10SL.

scott s.
.

ColonelSanders

Why don't you try his formula for a drip lube that is wax based and is applied to the chain in situ?


In a few months time, I will be going the wax route too and am undecided if I will just use Squirt, or do a wax dip initially and then apply Squirt on an ongoing basis, or even the wax based drip lube that Oz Cycle used.

Mo06

ColonelSanders, I'm starting to wish I had:

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...-my-chain.html

canklecat

My first KMC Z72 chain in paraffin was dead silent for the first 100-200 miles. Gradually I began to hear some slight chain sound, about like a brand new Z72 chain in the factory lube.

When I removed the waxed chain after about 500 miles I could hear some drivetrain noise, but it was still no noisier than a brand new identical chain.

However I'm not sure these KMC Z72 chains are using what can be called a lubricant. It feels more like light grease, like RIG grease for rust prevention. Even with this brand new chain I'm hearing very slight squeaking now and then after just wiping down the external surfaces. It's not silent like my other KMC chains using Tri-Flow spray.

The KMC Z72 chains, either waxed or with the original lube/grease, are not as silent as other less expensive KMC chains I've used -- Z33, Z50, Z51 -- or Shimano chains with similar plain head rivets.

My best guess is the mushroom head Z72 may rub slightly against the outside link plates for awhile, causing the slight squeak. It seems to happen mainly with the chain away from the middle cogs on the freewheel -- not in extreme cross chaining positions, but not optimally centered. This seems to confirm my theory that the peened mushroom head rivets can rub the external link plates slightly when angled away from center.

Also, I'm using the Z72 chains on a Centurion Ironman with 42/52 front, 13-24 Suntour freewheel. The Ironman seemed to have been optimized for a fairly narrow type of riding -- time trials or triathlons over fairly flat or undulating courses, but not mountain climbs. The chain line appears straightest in the big ring and toward the smallest freewheel cogs. Almost any combination of the 42T chain ring and freewheel runs the chain line at a slight angle, so it's silent only in the middle cogs and quite audible in the largest cogs. No amount of tweaking the derailer makes the chain line completely silent.

So as the paraffin wears after 100-200 miles, some of the sound damping effect is gone and I can hear the chain, but it's not squeaking. Just enough mechanical noise to remind me it's there.

That's quite different from my errand bike with waxed Z33 chain on a low end Shimano MegaRange 14-34 freewheel and entry level triple chain ring. That bike is eerily silent. And the Univega with Shimano Uniglide cassette and Exage triple chain ring is nearly silent with a new Z50 chain using Tri-Flow.

Cyclist0108

I did an initial hot wax application, and because I don't want to remove the chain (an 11-speed Shimano without a quicklink), I've been re-lubing it with Squirt once every 200 miles. Seems to work ok.

ColonelSanders

This is how I plan to start off too.

Abe_Froman

Man, getting a quicklink sure makes any drivetrain related work a lot simpler/easier. And they're only a few bucks a piece. I think I got a bag of 6 for ~$10.

canklecat

Just a follow up now that I've finished 9 months using paraffin (Gulf wax) on two of my three bikes: the comfort hybrid/errand bike, that gets very little use anymore; and my road bike, which is ridden 200-500 miles a month.

I haven't converted the old Univega hybrid to wax yet, but will soon -- just waiting for the old KMC chain to wear out. It's been 15 months, on Tri-Flow, still going strong. Good lube, smells pleasantly fruity if you must apply it indoors. Only drawbacks: it doesn't last as long as some wet oil lubes; the usual problem with all wet lubes -- the chain stays pretty black and gunky no matter how often I wipe it down.

Since I keep my bikes indoors, in the living room, the wax really helps avoid chain tattoos on clothing and the cats.

Yesterday, March 28th, was only the second time I've been caught in a pretty good soaking rain on the road bike with waxed chain. The first time it had no effect on the chain. Back then I dipped the chain in melted paraffin, let it soak for a few hours, let it drip dry, stuck it on the bike and rode it as-is to let the wax chips fall where they may outdoors.

But at the beginning of this month (when I usually swap between two waxed chains) I wiped down the chain with a blue paper shop towel dampened in mineral spirits to get rid of the excess. Just curious to see the effect.

First thing I noticed was the chain wasn't dead silent as it usually is with wax for the first few rides. As some folks have noted about various dry lubes, there is more chain noise.

Second thing I noticed was less friction. When I spun the crank backward it traveled more than a full revolution. Before it wouldn't quite make a full revolution. Did this translate to less felt effort pedaling? Nope. My average speed is about the same. I'm faster on some Strava segments, but I'll chalk that up to improved conditioning. I tend to loaf between hard efforts, so my overall average is about the same as last year. I'm just faster when I really try.

Third thing I noticed -- the residual wax washes out much more easily. Today it was squeaky and a bit of light surface rust.

So wiping down the excess wax with mineral spirits may not be the best way to go for longevity between waxing in rainy environments. Maybe just a dry rag wipe before the wax cools and hardens.

Either way, I'll stick with the wax because it's cleaner indoors. And the maintenance is cleaner. I can disassemble the chain via a Missing Link with my hands and have only a little bit of smudging, no persistent greasy black stuff.

It seems to last well enough in Texas since we don't get that much rain in summer, and I usually avoid riding in rain even when it's not cold out. Last time I rode in rain was the end of February and that was on the Univega with Tri-Flow on the chain. It held up fine in a long ride in steady rain.

DrIsotope

I put the chain on straight out of the crockpot, while it's still too hot to touch-- I have an old pair of leather gloves that are caked in paraffin. I've found that putting the chain on hot, and running through the gears before it cools, significantly extends the amount of time a wax dip will last. Also, less flaking.

The only additive I have in my wax pot now is spearmint candle scent-- when I walk in my shop and it smells like 200 packs of gum, it reminds me to turn the pot off.

Cyclist0108

I'm seriously considering this now, and even bought the pliers. I just need to agonize over this lifestyle change a bit more.

GrainBrain

Do it, I saw your other thread as well. I'm a convert as well, and bought an sram 870 chain for my road bike this year. I'm looking forward to easy maintenance. I run a quick link on my mtb 1x11 with no problems, and that has ample opportunity to get crud wedged between the side plates.

Now for wax, still not sold I just bought an 8oz bottle of finish line dry and run Triflow on the mtb for winter.

Cyclist0108

Finish line no good.

Squirt works WAY better.

But of course molten paraffin is what you want. When I bought it off Amazon, a subset of the reviewers were buying it to recreate some sort of BD/S&M scene. I'm with you on that.

(Another user tip: Do not google the single word "Squirt!")