I am not going to wax my chain.

Jack,

Come on. Aren't you a slave to every last watt?? This should be cat-nip for you.

Really disappointed to hear! :)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

bit of a necropost -

Styrrell, where does one buy paraffin? I'm on Amazon and I'm not sure that I'm looking at the right stuff (unless I want my chain to smell like lavender).

On a side note, double blind implies that there are two people being 'blinded'. Most of these tests would just be 'blind' because the researcher is the only person who can affect placebo.

No offense, but your Amazon search skills leave a bit to be desired. Here you go. Also available in pretty much any hardware store.

Any grocery store sells it in the canning jars section, it's often called "Gulfwax" and is used on top of jelly, which is a better place for it than a bike chain. It's good for cleaning off klister also and lubricating sliding patio doors. Just sucks for a bike lube.

I don't understand why you say that, especially if it was applied maybe 48 hours before a race?

Kinda like my race wheels, not an every day piece of equipment

It's OK I guess, just kind of a messy affair. It used to be popular with bike tourists to dunk the chain in melted wax and then bore people at the snack stop with tales of how great it works. I can't imagine having the time or basic organizational skills to use a special chain lube for a race, I'm happy to show up with the correct shoes and some Wolf's head 30 weight mixed with paint thinner dripping off my chain.

So no, nothing wrong with it at all I guess. Just don't ignite your garage melting that stuff, it's petroleum based.

So I hear - thanks for the warning.

You're not too impressed with Velo's test that rated paraffin as the fastest lube?

    I used to do the wax thing, 25+ years ago. Not critical enough for the hassle in my case, I mostly race off-road now, and if conditions are bad enough in a trail race, I take my Spot belt drive SS. ;) On the Rock n Roll lubes, I had a couple of bottles that I got at a race when the stuff was a new product, and the wax would clot and not even mix if the ambient temp was less than about 80! This was both a Gold and a Blue version, so I hope they've adjusted. I just keep the drive-train's cleanish and Pro-link gold, or Boeshield T-9.

I did not read it, but really who cares I assume it's just a smidgen of difference. I have so much more power to gain by just putting more effort into my training, chain lube is the least of my worries.

 
>I don't think I'd recommend giving that a try...

Damn, I was hoping you'd bite, and was looking forward to a picture of your oh-so-precious S5 in a Dali melted-clock-like state.

That would make it a Pinarello.

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Styrrell

If you keep a bike chain clean, lubricate it with light oil and wipe off the excess and replace it before it wrecks the cogs, it's really all you need to worry about. It's a drive system borrowed from farm machinery, it's not real elegant.

That is the same argument that people use to justify racing with Gatorskins... It takes a little bit of effort to switch and you go faster.

I guess everyone is different

Couple watts maybe? At my current herculean output that would be just over half a percent. Maybe 20 seconds for a 40k, if everything is all simple and linear and I got the decimal right. So, I guess maybe that is a fair bit.

Gatorskins are just unpleasant. I'd quit the sport if I had to use them all summer.

It will be funny when everyone's bikes are covered in wax bits. Unless you are in the Olympics, training effect will give you the edge. Keep your regular lube. ProGold may suck, but it extends the life of chains.

Not double blind (because natural interactions aren't subject to the placebo effect), but there are LOTS of instances in physics where the researchers do blind analyses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/...xperiment#In_physics

Jason Smith incorporated Friction Facts in June 2012. Friction Facts sells waxed chains. Velonews hired Jason Smith to perform the test. If anything other than wax won the test, Jason Smith is out of business, so there's incentive to find specific results.

He isn't a hack. I've bought his full test results (a bargain at $10, but I don't think the Velo test is in there) and he appears to be very thorough. He intends to make a living doing objective friction testing of bike components... not selling chains.

He makes very little money on the chains and he even gives you the formula and procedure if you want to do it yourself.

It seemed to me that if you are going to bite the bullet and wax, swapping 2 chains would be the only reasonable way to do it.

Actually makes more sense to do 4 at once and rotate them. Swap the chain weekly, and rewax them all monthly. When your chains are worn out, then replace the cassette also.

How do your chains look after coating them in wax?

I have experimented with waxing chains for some time, and it operates fine. However it does not resemble the UFO chains seen on pro bikes. The UFO chains looks white with a rough surface, almost as if someone used sanding paper on them. My chains look more like there is a 'layer of candle wax on them' , and looks more transparant. Maybe this has to do with the wax not being 100% paraffin? (it was taken from candles).

I am curious to your experiences.

Not rruff here but I've been following his method. It's my understanding that the UFO folks sprinkle PTFE powder on the exterior of chains once they are waxed hence the white roughened surface. Rruff is using straight paraffin at 220*F or so and with that method if you give the hot chain a wipe down it will be as you say transparent. I've just gone through my third cycle of paraffin waxing on 3 different bikes and am very happy with the results. The chains have been run 400+ miles between treatments and still showed good lubrication at the time of re-treatment. I use paper towel and 99% isopropyl alcohol to wipe them down carefully before the re-treatment process. It's so nice to handle and transport a bike without a messy chain.

YMMV,

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Thanks for the reply Hugh!

I'v got some specific questions, I hope you can help me with this:

- At what temperature do you remove the chains from the paraffin? I assume this is at 220F as well. However, to me it would seem that the wax is so thin at that temperature, it would immediately 'stream out' of the chain. I experimented with letting the wax cool down a bit before removing the chain. However, considering your good mileage your method might be better ;)

- How is the sound of your chain? For me, the chain sounded very smooth and practically noiseless. Ater about 150km (100miles) it started sounding a bit 'dry'. It is definetely different than a 'traditional dry chain', and it still moved very smoothly. I thought the sound meant it needed re-waxing, but I heard some people state that waxed chains always sound a bit 'dry'. Just wondering, how do your chains sound? And at what point do you consider re-waxing?

It is indeed very nice to get rid of the hassle of dirty chains!

They look clean like there is nothing on them. If there is a visible coating I think it will just leave a mess.

I get the wax and chain pretty hot, ~200F, then let if drip and wipe.

The wax does stream out of the chain, but that's good. All you want left is a thin coat. I've never tried it any other way, but if there is excess wax on the chain won't it just end up all over?

The chain does sound progressively drier, but it never squeaks like an unlubricated chain would. I've been rotating 3 chains on one bike for 10k miles now and none of them are indicating any wear (checked with a digital caliper). On average I run then 150-200 miles between treatment. I've heard of people stretching that to 500 miles, but I think the longest I've gone is 300 something. No squeaks even after riding in the rain.

The first couple of treatments I heated to 220*F with the expressed intent to make certain to boil out any water that might be capillaried into the chain. Yesterday, by accident the paraffin made it to 245*F before I checked its temperature. Be careful it heats up very quickly once melted. I went ahead and treated the 2 chains at the higher temperature with not problems. It's the paraffin inside the chain that does the lubrication. Capillary forces will hold that molten wax in the pin/bushing spaces as the chain cools.



I notice the chain getting louder within 50k but then it has been consistent all the way to 400+ miles. I suspect I could keep running past 500miles but rather than "push it" I've just done it the first time it was convenient once over 400 miles. So far once at 450 and once at 420 on my bike and a bit less on my wife's and a gal we coach. My wife's and the other gal's chains sat out in a solid heavy rain in transition for the Muskoka 70.3 and were fine for the race and several hundred miles afterwards. No rust, squeaks or other problems.



quote Timmetje]It is indeed very nice to get rid of the hassle of dirty chains![/quote]
It's actually my favorite feature of using paraffin. Tire changes, cassette changes and transport are all so much cleaner operations and say goodbye to "novice marks" on your calves;)


Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Thanks a lot for the help sciguy and rruff, I will definitely try your method again.

One final question, I was wondering how you clean the chain before re-waxing?

Although very clean, there is always some dirt/road debris sticking to the chain (at least in my experience). I tried to clean this off using a brush and some water, but it did not clear all. You can see the dirt in the wax after waxing; it sinks to the bottom leaving a grey layer in the wax. I guess because it sinks to the bottom it is not that problematic. However the wax will inevitably become dirtier. Do you have a special cleaning ritual before re-waxing as well?