i love how clean waxed chains stay and as a good slowtwitcher i wax the chains on all of my bikes. for the gravel bike though, however, it seems like it’s more trouble than it’s worth since i have to remove the chain before hosing the bike down. if it was particularly muddy i feel like i have to rewax anyways to make sure that the chain doesn’t rust.
should i just give up and go with more traditional chain lubes for gravel?
for the gravel bike though, however, it seems like it’s more trouble than it’s worth since i have to remove the chain before hosing the bike down.
Why do you have to remove the chain before washing the bike? Rinse off the chain and dry it. Good for more rides.
wax washes away rather easily
.
wax washes away rather easily
I haven’t found that to be the case using Squirt lube. I wish the old wax did wash off a little better.
wax washes away rather easily
I haven’t found that to be the case using Squirt lube. I wish the old wax did wash off a little better.
at least with traditional waxing, if i don’t rewax a chain after riding it in the rain, it starts squeaking real fast. i hate how messy squirt is but will use it in a pinch
I haven’t found that to be the case with Molten Speed Wax across my MTB, CX, road, and TT bike.
Just use Dupont Chain Lube, in the spray can. Cheap and wax based (with teflon).
I believe Molten Speed Wax contains a special ingredient to make it stick better to chains, based on my observation. Molten Speed Wax also doesn’t seem to be as brittle as ordinary candle wax as it doesn’t crumble easily into tiny bits.
My waxed chain was screaming like a box of crickets sighing the first 70 miles of Dirty Kanza.
For a dry gravel race, I will continue to use wax. If it’s
Muddy or has water crossings, I’ll use the muc off nano chain
I believe Molten Speed Wax contains a special ingredient to make it stick better to chains, based on my observation. Molten Speed Wax also doesn’t seem to be as brittle as ordinary candle wax as it doesn’t crumble easily into tiny bits.
My waxed chains don’t have crumbly bits, they are just straight parrafin and hold up to puddles wet rides and cleaning well.
A few hours in total wet will require a rewax afterwards, but no chain lube stands up to that anyways.
I suspect that he never cleaned the chain adequately in the first instance.
Like everything it probably depends on your local conditions. I live where dust is a major issue and cleaning my drivetrain is a pretty regular thing, even if just to rinse the harsh dust off. That demands lots of lube. Ride. Rinse. Lube. Repeat. Waxing would be too much trouble.
I suspect that he never cleaned the chain adequately in the first instance.
I follow the MSW instructions to the tee…
For me, depends on use. If there’s a chance of rain or I’m crossing a creek, on goes the Mucoff wet lube.
If it’s not rained for a few days and I don’t plan on getting wet crossing the creek that day, dry lube.
In between lube type changes, I use Simple Green inside of the Park Tool chain cleaning gadget. That thing is a dream. Chain looks like it came out of the box new. Then I wash it with soap/water to get rid of simple green and dry with the leaf blower. Then apply the new lube.
With that I haven’t had problems.
If you ONLY want to ride it when you KNOW it won’t rain and it is dry…by all means wax that bad boy.
Same goes for the road and tri bikes. If you don’t ride in the wet, by all means dry wax or fully waxed chain.
Like everything it probably depends on your local conditions. I live where dust is a major issue and cleaning my drivetrain is a pretty regular thing, even if just to rinse the harsh dust off. That demands lots of lube. Ride. Rinse. Lube. Repeat. Waxing would be too much trouble.
No, that is where waxing is at it’s best.
Dirt doesn’t stick, remove chain, quick wipe or not, chuck it in the wax, refit.
Never clean the cogs again.
Don’t get me wrong, I used to love the whole process of waxing a chain, but in the decomposed granite dust of the southwest, it just doesnt work as well. Dirt does stick, but more importantly, it just doesn’t last.
I come from granite soils. any sort of wet lube just grinds the drivetrain away.
We used to run the original finishline wax which was very clean and dry but had to reapply during the ride.
But that was better than replacing drivetrains all the time.
I currently ride in a predominately dry rocky area, waxing still rules.
Try straight paraffin, dirt does not stick.
Try straight paraffin, dirt does not stick.
Some of it does, at least for me. I have to re-ultrasonic clean once per month or so (straight paraffin). I have the layer of dirt on the bottom of my ultrasonic cleaner each time to prove it.
Try straight paraffin, dirt does not stick.
Some of it does, at least for me. I have to re-ultrasonic clean once per month or so (straight paraffin). I have the layer of dirt on the bottom of my ultrasonic cleaner each time to prove it.
Trail,
What solvent are you running in your ultrasonic cleaner and are you running it with heat?
Thanks,
Hugh
What solvent are you running in your ultrasonic cleaner and are you running it with heat?
Diluted Simple Green with lots of heat. 1) Clean in ultrasonic cleaner 2) rinse and dry, 3) drop in vat of melted paraffin and stir around 4) wipe down.
To be clear, this is a chain that has already been stripped of factory grease with denatured alcohol. This is just the cleaning process, not chain prep.
I can’t speak to the waxed thing but I can speak to never considering doing it after getting a Premier Bike Ultra Optimized Chain. It’s a complete game-changer: it sounds different, it stays cleaner longer, I cleans easier/faster. I’m gonna put 'em on all my bikes https://www.premierbike.com/products/optimized-chain
Ian