Hello,
I have a new SRAM AXS Red 12speed chain. I need to clean it before I apply the wax.
Question 1:
What product do I use best? I live in Belgium so any good European products? What do I use first, and what do I use second?
Question 2:
What wax do u recommend and do u also recommend powder finishing?
Thanks!
SRAM chains have hideous packing grease on them but luckily it melts off relatively easily. I use 3 x white spirit baths to clean, leaving the last one overnight. I used paraffin candle wax to wax chain and have done for 5 years now, additives doesn’t make an appreciable difference in my experience.
You must do your best to make sure the rollers have no residual grease on them. Success is all in the cleaning phase. I haven’t tried the new silca products yet.
White spirit I have here at home. So no need to use something to remove the white spirit after?
Oh yeah - I put denatured alcohol on it for like 15 minutes to clear the white spirit before waxing. Available from camping shops etc
Methylated Spirits works after White Spirit and is cheap.
White spirit I have here at home. So no need to use something to remove the white spirit after?
I do a rinse in acetone.
Anyone prefers a certain wax? Moltenspeedwax, Silca, … ? And should we go for the powder also ?
Both Silca and ceramicspeed have a product for chain stripping / cleaning if you don’t want to go full DIY.
Silca chain stripper and CS UFO drivetrain cleaner.
Zero friction cycling has a lot of very detailed guides and how to.
I buy plain Gulf paraffin wax at Walmart for around $4 per pound.
While Gulf Wax works better than most lubes, it’s also independently tested to be less efficient than SILCA hot melt by roughly the equivalent of a CeramicSpeed OSPW upgrade and roughly more than 2x the efficiency gain of a ceramic bearing wheelset upgrade, so if you’re after ultimate speed/efficiency, the extra few $$ for a top rated wax represent a pretty good value.
For the OP, SILCA Chain Stripper is an environmentally friendly(er) way of stripping that chain that takes about 10-15 minutes on a SRAM chain compared to 24-48 hours for most other methods. You can find it and our waxes delivered within the EU from Rotterdam here: https://silcavelo.eu/
Ceramicspeed and Effetto Mariposa also have environmentally friendly cleaners that work pretty well if you don’t want to buy from us.
If I’d known you were doing a chian stripper, I’d have bought that - really appreciate what you’re doing!
I assume that the stripping instructions off bike are same as/similar to UFO chain cleaner? Did that yesterday, then hotwater rinse, then heat gun to dry, and then wax. Cleanest, quietests, one I have ever had. The race chain is coming off to be done the same way, but with SS chain wax…
Josh, I have MSW & have been very happy with it. I’m almost to the bottom of my crock pot though with not a lot of if left–maybe will be needing a new bag of wax by spring. Is it a problem with just adding in a bag of Silica Wax into the crock pot? It’s only got clean chains going into it–so not contaminated. Likely shouldn’t be a problem eh?
I highly recommend the Silca chain stripper for the chain prep (Yes you can do it with Mineral spirits and denatured alcohol but it takes much longer) And for the wax the Silca super secret is also great. You want super detail comparisons and instructions check out www.zerofrictioncycling.com.au but trust me the Silca Stripper + Wax is the best and easiest way to get into waxing.
The Silca drip wax is also a good start if you don’t want to go balls deep into hot waxing.
Picked up some UFO drivetrain cleaner from my LBS.
Cleaned up my new chain perfectly.
It’s probably 98% as good as any of the more involved methods.
Can’t recommend the UFO clean from Ceramic Speed highly enough. This comes from someone who was done the multiple stage cleaning process with a good ultrasonic cleaner before - the UFO cleaner just makes it easy and not a pain in the ass anymore. I recommend pre-cleaning Sram chains in a plastic freezer bag with just a small amount of UFO cleaner to get the majority of the Sram grease off. I then use the Tupperware with UFO cleaner for multiple chains. Greatly saves on the cleaner and is easy to do.
UFO cleaner is half the price of the Silca cleaner in Europe, never thought in would say a Ceramic Speed product is the much better value…
I use Silca hot wax as it’s independently tested to be the least wear (check zero friction cycling) and thus probably least friction. Lidl had 15€ crock pots online, not sure if they ship to Belgium from their online shop.
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/
Ceramic Speed claims Force chains are slightly faster than Red, which is why they sell them and not Red btw. I tend to believe that.
You can definitely mix them without risk to performance as long as the old wax is clean.
You can definitely mix them without risk to performance as long as the old wax is clean.
You can also mix them if the old wax isn’t clean.
Whatever hydrocarbon goo comes with the chain dissolves very readily in hot paraffin. Swirl aggressively. Any dirt/grit sinks to the bottom of the paraffin and forms a sediment layer at the bottom.
These chain waxing threads recur a few times a year over the last few decades. A few years ago, an ingenious contributor (wish I knew who it was, or what decade it was in, or whether it was on Slowtwitch or Bentrider) suggested putting a bit of water in the brew. Being heavier than the paraffin, it’ll sink to the bottom. And the accumulated bottomdwelling grit will sink out of the paraffin into the water. When it cools, excavate the water/sludge. Brilliant.
putting a bit of water in the brew. Being heavier than the paraffin, it’ll sink to the bottom. And the accumulated bottomdwelling grit will sink out of the paraffin into the water. When it cools, excavate the water/sludge.
I’ve tried this a couple of times with minimal success. It seems like the crud still collects in the bottom of the wax, so I just scrape it off and toss it in the trash every now and then. Every year or so when I prep an A-race chain, I’ll toss everything and start with fresh wax. When you’re giving up 1w using plain paraffin, it doesn’t’ really hurt the wallet to start over.
putting a bit of water in the brew. Being heavier than the paraffin, it’ll sink to the bottom. And the accumulated bottomdwelling grit will sink out of the paraffin into the water. When it cools, excavate the water/sludge.
I’ve tried this a couple of times with minimal success. It seems like the crud still collects in the bottom of the wax, so I just scrape it off and toss it in the trash every now and then. Every year or so when I prep an A-race chain, I’ll toss everything and start with fresh wax. When you’re giving up 1w using plain paraffin, it doesn’t’ really hurt the wallet to start over.
I’m also using just high quality paraffin, and don’t care at all about 1 or 2 watts. In fact, like many people, I’m not hot waxing for the watts, but for the longevity of equipment and a clean drivetrain. The question I can’t seem to find a response on is the effectiveness of just high quality paraffin compared to say Silca hot wax in terms of drivetrain wear. Zero Friction Cycling doesn’t seem to have tested just paraffin, unless I missed it?
The question I can’t seem to find a response on is the effectiveness of just high quality paraffin compared to say Silca hot wax in terms of drivetrain wear. Zero Friction Cycling doesn’t seem to have tested just paraffin, unless I missed it?
Friction/watts is a very good corollary for longevity. Maybe not at the tree level (i.e. is silca wax better than MSW), but certainly at the forest level (waxes vs oil based lubes). In the end, it’s probably not worth worrying about or even measurable in practice given the variations in real world conditions (i.e. i’m going to get 5 miles more out of my chain with wax A vs wax B).