People won’t do it themselves, they’ll take it to the bike shop or book Velofix/mobile shop.

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Group Eleven – Websites for Athletes / mikael.racing / @mstaer

It wouldn't be worth it for me. While FFT showed that the best wax saves about 3 watts over WD40 and a rag, which if I am not mistaken is about the same power a brake cable is in aerodynamic drag, I'd rather not go through the whole process of buying everything needed, all of the steps required to get the packing grease off (or previous coat of wax) and applying the next coat, then storing all of that stuff somewhere until I need it again. I get it that those are acceptable and even a kind of therapy for some people, but not for me. Granted my riding conditions are quite pristine allowing me to get over 20,000km out of a chain, and I rarely get flats so that helps keep my fingers from getting grimy.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

If you use a Connex link, you don't need a tool.

They come apart with your fingers.

You don't need to remove the previous coat of wax.

Just drop the chain in the crockpot.

You mean "if the original manufacturer used a link" because I'm guessing a lot of factory bikes don't, and will need a chain breaker tool.

It's still too much. I just spray on WD40, wrap a cloth around the bottom of the chain and rotate it backwards until it is almost spotless. Repeat every 300-500km.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

You could use a chain tool to take the chain apart.

Then install a Connex link, or a complete Wippermann chain with Connex link, and you will never need the tool again.

My connex does it, in the smallest cog under load, if the link isn’t perfectly “seated”. Usually there’s a tiny bit of wax in between one of the pins / slide plates

Not, I connect the two masterlinks together right after wax dries... basically try to rub them together a bit, to run some of the wax out. BThat stops skipping 100% of the time for me

I felt the Same. But Now, after riding with a clean drive train for a year - I notice a dirty one immediately. It’s the little things that I enjoy about clean chain - it rolls better when pedaling and the silence are subtle improvements... and not ever getting grease on my hands is invaluable. Extra watts is just a bonus

I used to basically do what you did

I’d say it is a little annoying to have to wax ... but ride quality makes it worth it. I do 3 chains at a time (almost all my riding is indoor) so it’s pretty infrequent too

To the OP - do it!

Here’s how I thought about it
- no capital to start (just start a website on BigCommerce.com for $30, and buy 5 chains)
- huge margins (figure you can be ROI positive after 3 “uses” of a single chain and maybe you can get 10+ from a single chain)
- low daily work. You’d spend 2ish hours measuring chain wear. cleaning all the chains, getting them ready to ship out, customer service, etc. if you batch everything, you wouldn’t do that much more even if you had 100 chains / night
- low OpEx (people are basically prepaying you before you go buy more cleaning supplies)
- you could create a “get started package” w chain cutter tool rental to make it simpler

Spend $400 to get started and see how you go!!!

Nothing wrong with having a chain that is as silky smooth as possible. I know as a ballpark figure waxes are good for 300-500km, but it would be nice to see a video of just how long the wax actually stays on the important parts of the chain. Machining makes them very smooth already, so I guess I am wondering what kind of power losses to expect with a bare chain vs wax.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

My point was if you can figure out how to do that, you can probably figure out how to shake the chain in a bottle of solvents a few times and put it into a slow cooker of wax yourself. I mean, the price of a small cooker and a plastic bottle probably totals $20, and the solvents maybe $5-10. The wire hook made from a bent coathanger is basically free. I'm not paying a subcription for that.

You are correct.

There is no reason to pay someone to wax your chain when it is so simple.

This!!

Stripping a new chain of factory grease is the hardest part, and also the one where even small errors can lead to a significant decline in wax treatment effectiveness.

out of interest are you sure you used the connex link correctly and not upside down.

 
I would not subscribe to a service like this as waxing a chain is a pretty easy job and I would also be concerned about receiving a chain that wasn't new, how much use it had had etc. No doubt you have already factored this in but as everyone need chains of different lengths depending on their gearing/frame size that would would need a huge stock of varying length chains or you would end up sending someone a 110 ink chain and getting a 104 link chain back. I have started using the Squirt liquid wax lube and really rate it.

A few places offer a third party chain waxing service in the UK - granted they are using something more than just bog standard paraffin wax and putting PTFE powder or whatever it is on them as well (what good that does I have no idea?) - but there is a market for this and as you would have no chain costs to take into account could be offered cheaper... or just with a greater profit margin for you!

Now, if someone was to offer a service of selling new Dura Ace chains that had been properly cleaned and weren't full of grease out of the packet - then I would be all ears and would pay a premium. That job - done properly - before the first application of wax takes far longer - and is far more annoying - than anything other part of the process. I have considered buying one of the Wattshop chains as my race chain just to avoid needing to degrease a new chain, I would retreat it myself though. You can see their prices here: https://www.shopforwatts.co.uk/collections/cratus.

I've reused Sram, KMC, and now Shimano quick links for the life of the chain. Since 2005 I think? Close to 100k miles.

I had an early Sram link come apart one time, but that's it. Zero issues otherwise. I use Shimano 11spd now and they are very tight.

Yeah once I had identified that the quick link was the issue I uninstalled and reinstalled it at least 10 times, making sure it was installed correctly, and then after being sure it was, installing it how I thought was incorrect. Couldn't get it to not skip no matter what I did. And I'm also sure there was no wax gunking up the small cogs which is where it would skip (bottom 4-5 usually).

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
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SRAM recommends one NOT strip a new chain. Rather, they recommend using he chain right out of the box as it is treated a high quality wax. I know this is the case with every new SRAM chain I buy. I got 1k miles on my last new chain before I re-waxed it.

As far as a subscription service: I don't see myself as a customer. Like others have said: it's just too easy to do myself. Once you're set up with a clean drivetrain and a couple of waxed chains, keeping it all clean is far easier than using oils or even Squirt ('wet' wax).

I'd say give it a shot. Most you will be out if it doesn't work is a couple hundred bucks.

I'm assuming you were already thinking this but for each customer they would get their own 2 chains that they re-use. Then as they send back to re-wax they are always receiving their own clean chain back so the length/type is correct for their bike. Plus then you would know how many miles are on each customers chain and when they need to be replaced.

While I think there are a lot of people here who wax their chains, I'm sure there are plenty more who can't be bothered and might use the service. I don't think you should quit your day job but give it a go, hopefully you'll make some nice cash on the side.