Hey, wondering if anyone has experience with alkanechains.com I’ve always wanted to buy a waxed chain but ceramicspeed is too expensive and companies like wattshop and zerofriction cycling charge too much to send to the states. This company seems like its what I want but I wanted to check if anyones used it first? Looks like you can send in 5 chains to be waxed for 20? Im not sure
Get a Premier Tactical and be done with it. /thread
The selling point for me was that I could get 5 chains rewaxed for $20. Then I could send in the chains from all my bikes every few weeks. Does’t look like that premier bike will do that
You can rewax your chains yourself for practically nothing.
Yeah I did that for years but stopped a few month ago cause I don’t really have time anymore
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Looks like it’s actually $28 for 5 chains, once you make the selection.
That seems like a pain, and expensive. The cost would be $8 per lube. Let’s say you would want to lube a chain every 3 weeks. You are spending $140/year on lube alone, plus the cost of the chains, so around $200/yr for lube and chain.
Buy a $135 premier chain plus a $20 bottle of wax lube, and you are money ahead and it is easier.
Looks like it’s actually $28 for 5 chains, once you make the selection.
It’s actually $40 for 5 chains with the shipping in both directions.
Good catch. For some reason I assumed the outbound shipping was included in the price because of the shipping label mention in the product description.
Initial prep aside, the first $40 is enough to cover a basic crockpot and wax, then the successive orders are just to save… what, no more than 30 minutes of effort, likely less? I can see how that might shake out for some, but at that point it seems effective to just do it yourself. Cut the price down to half as it was originally presented and things seem a bit more attractive.
The outbound shipping is covered in the price. My math was: 4 chains = $26 + $6 shipping. I already have 2 chains for 2 bikes. Each chain lasts 3 weeks so I’d rewax every 6 weeks. I ride these bikes 8 months out of the year so I’d rewax ~5 times. =$128. $64 per bike per year.
no more than 30 minutes of effort, likely less?
Definitely less. You don’t have to sit there and watch it simmer…
When I waxed my own chain I did three mineral spirits baths (as molten speedwax suggests) to clean. The time and money started to add up
A gallon of mineral spirits is what, $10? Plus the same for a gallon of alcohol. You buy a little crock pot for $15. A little wire mesh basket is nice and maybe another $5. So that stuff costs $40 and should be good for 10 years.
Buy Cliff Wax at Wally for $2.50/lb. Good for ~25 waxed chains? Say 250 miles between waxings. 6250 miles or about a years worth for most people.
So it totals to $65 for 10 years, 62,500 miles. Compare that cost to your scenario.
no more than 30 minutes of effort, likely less?
Definitely less. You don’t have to sit there and watch it simmer…
Of course not. Just a generous upper bound if you’re being very meticulous and doing five chains individually. I haven’t needed to try it yet, but if you have enough volume you can probably get away with doing more than one at a time.
I never reused mineral spirits though I guess I could have. Went through a $15 container of mineral spirits and a $10 container of denatured alcohol in three waxes of one chain. So with two chains it would be much more than $64 per chain per year.
Are you attempting to market for them? This is your first post here, and your economics are way off. Revisit your math. It’s $8/lube. Net annual chain cost is $200 for a ~5K/year rider. So, the cost exceeds faster and easier options.
I was just wondering if anyone has used them so I could ask about turnaround times, etc. And my math is solid. I have waxed my own chain for years and have loved it, but my living situation right now makes it impractical and I don’t have the time. The reusing mineral spirits is a good point though. Can you really get years out of one gallon? I’d assume it would become way too dirty after a few cleans.
And to answer your question, yes I made this account to ask this question. I honestly don’t mean to market for them
I never reused mineral spirits though I guess I could have. Went through a $15 container of mineral spirits and a $10 container of denatured alcohol in three waxes of one chain. So with two chains it would be much more than $64 per chain per year.
You only need to clean a new chain. Once it’s waxed, no more cleaning. Well, I usually wipe it off with a paper towel and some alcohol before it’s next waxing, but that’s all. You don’t need a lot of solvent either, just enough to submerge the chain.
You only need to clean a new chain. Once it’s waxed, no more cleaning. Well, I usually wipe it off with a paper towel and some alcohol before it’s next waxing, but that’s all. You don’t need a lot of solvent either, just enough to submerge the chain.
I still do a complete recycling of the wax every couple of months by melting off the old stuff in a heated ultrasonic cleaner. I don’t know if I need to, but every time I do there’s a satisfying layer of dirty wax in the cleaner.
I use “squirt”. Strip the new chain of the manufacturing grease and let the chain sit in it overnight. Take it out let it dry and attach it to your bike. Done. Check the results of squirt with the google machine. Its up there.
PS I do add some graphite powder to the squirt for the overnight soak. Don’t tell anyone else.