Chain Wax Discussion thread

Ryan.P said:
I've been using these 2 with great results, applying on clean chain at the end of rides so it's set up for future ride . Easily get 3 or 4 rides before sounding dry . Jockey wheels and chainring even staying clean . I know the dry conditions are probably swaying this outcome a lil but with some of the new lubes when applied correctly idk how much better waxing is .

View attachment 249654View attachment 249655
Click to expand...
Ive been using that stuff on the right for awhile now. Easy clean up is a plus
 
asm said:
The amount of squeeze required to get the right amount on the chain takes some practice but it works well for me.
Click to expand...

Aye, most of the thin wax lubes are like this. You'll lose a squirt or two flipping the bottle upside down, but then just run the chain through a couple of times holding it.

You don't need to spend a ton of time on it, minimal overspill, etc.
 
stb222 said:
Additional long term use comments.

This dust has been rough on the wax. While I do keep track of when I replace parts (by mileage value in the strava app by bike, I wish they had hours), I don't have a much level of detail below that other than "in general", so take these comments for what they are worth.

The dust has been rough on wax. I mtb most days in the week and it has obviously been really dry. The rides are between 1-2 hours, 7-18 miles. While the chain doesn't look dirty and always wipes clean, it seems that it gets really noisy on the 3rd ride after drip reapplication. Hot waxing it extends that but not by much. So I am reapplying after every 3rd ride, which seems like a lot. Anyone else experiencing this?
Click to expand...
Do you think oil based would do better though? Id think the oil is picking up a bunch of dust and just packing it in the rollers. It may stay quieter but I don’t know if that’s the best way to judge.
 
jShort said:
Do you think oil based would do better though? Id think the oil is picking up a bunch of dust and just packing it in the rollers. It may stay quieter but I don’t know if that’s the best way to judge.
Click to expand...
I agree, i dont think oil is better and the maintenance in dusty conditions of probably a wash between the two.
 
This is definitely quicker…
IMG_7275.jpeg

Note to self for future reference, the black handle gets f’ing HOT!

*edit: photo taken on the way down from 125c to 75c.
 
Hair Face said:
I do like the idea of upgrading to the crockpotinator. It's likely in my future. Maybe once my crockpot finally gets low on wax?
Click to expand...

Sooo, here are some unsolicited observations.

I was using molten speed-wax in a crockpot before (smallest one). Took an hour+ to heat up on low. (High gets too hot, damages wax…allegedly). Full disclosure, I was using more than half a bag of the stuff so I’m sure the melting time was unnecessarily elongated. In contrast… using the C.W.S. at the proscribed fill level (worked out to about half a bag) it took 20 minutes 4 seconds in a 50° basement to melt the wax and strip chip. 10 min @125c and 13 min flat to get down to the magic waxing temp of 75c. So… it’s quicker and no more multiple rounds of shake shake shake in the nasty juice prepping the chain makes it waaaaay less annoying.

Down side(s) over the crock/insta-pot method? No room for multiple chains at the same time and you can really only strip one maybe two chains per strip chip and I’m not clear if you need all new wax after using second/third strip chip. Just re-waxing is of course, a non issue.

The one glaring issue with waxing (full submersion) is the process of breaking the links free afterwards. This part suck. Doing it by hand manually is annoying if you have strong callused fingers. When you have pre arthritic fingers… it sucks. To save myself some pain, I pull it back and forth bent around a pipe-clamp. Gets it about 85-90% there. Any quick break in suggestions (other than ride it to break it in)?
 
Juggernaut said:
To save myself some pain, I pull it back and forth bent around a pipe-clamp. Gets it about 85-90% there. Any quick break in suggestions (other than ride it to break it in)?
Click to expand...

On the geek warning (escape collective) podcast, they had a question on when to pull the chain. Some people do it while the wax is still pretty hot, and others wait till the last second. Depending on when you do pull, you’ll have more or less work on breaking the links afterwards.

Dave Rome or Brad Copeland mentioned they have been pulling the chain sooner when the wax was still pretty hot and this makes it easier to break up. He said it still has a sufficient layer of wax even when you pull it still hot.
I tried this approach and was surprised how much I ago had to break up the links, but it made much less of a mess.
 
jShort said:
On the geek warning (escape collective) podcast, they had a question on when to pull the chain. Some people do it while the wax is still pretty hot, and others wait till the last second. Depending on when you do pull, you’ll have more or less work on breaking the links afterwards.

Dave Rome or Brad Copeland mentioned they have been pulling the chain sooner when the wax was still pretty hot and this makes it easier to break up. He said it still has a sufficient layer of wax even when you pull it still hot.
I tried this approach and was surprised how much I ago had to break up the links, but it made much less of a mess.
Click to expand...
I experimented with this yesterday. At about 110c and a 10 min soak in the Silca crockpot, I hung and lightly shook the chain until the wax started to harden. The chain was very easy to break the wax when compared to removing at 75c. I don’t know (at this point) if that will decrease the time between applications, though, since I’ve only started waxing.

Also tried 95c without lightly shaking, and didn’t notice a huge difference between that and breaking the chain at 75c.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom