Apparently this has blown up in popularity enough to warrant Silca to create a whole product line that allows you to do it in one fell swoop.
I got a couple of questions for people that know:
Any other anecdotes would be appreciated. Thanks.
I wouldn’t use a wax chain indoors unless you have a surface below your bike that is easy to clean the wax off.
A well waxed chain can go 400km. I usually top up with some wax lubricant after about 150-200km thought.
Longevity… meh. I replace my chains every 4000-5000km regardless.
I wouldn’t use a wax chain indoors unless you have a surface below your bike that is easy to clean the wax off.
Don’t be a caker! Proper waxed chain has no gunk on it to fall off. I have never noticed any wax underneath my Zwift setup.
I’ve been pretty lazy about redoing the full wax process, so I’ve reapplied drip wax every week or so since the first thorough wax cleaning and dipping process.
It has now been about two years with around 3000-6000 miles on road and tt bike chains and I finally decided to redo the melted wax process (it was much easier than the first time, so I will do it more frequently). But, when I checked for chain stretch there was basically none, and no visible rust either. I live in SoCal and hardly ever see rain, so your mileage may vary, but it does seem this lazy approach is more than good enough.
To me, the cleanliness of a waxed chain is one of the biggest lifestyle improvements in cycling. I really appreciate it whenever I have to remove a wheel or touch the drivetrain for any reason.
I sometimes forget drivetrains can be so dirty, so when I help friends with their bikes I get so surprised and how effing black and greasy everything gets.
Don’t be a caker! Proper waxed chain has no gunk on it to fall off. I have never noticed any wax underneath my Zwift setup.
It depends what you’re going for. When I have tested this, chains that are allowed to stay in the pot until the wax has partially solidified have a small but significant increase in the lifespan of the lubrication. When done this way, though, they’re definitely going to shed a fair bit of wax during the run in process. It is fairly easy to simply remove the chains earlier for use indoors, but I can’t agree with the “proper” part.
YMMV, but I do know that others who have tested this have had similar results.
so when I help friends with their bikes I get so surprised and how effing black and greasy everything gets.
That’s also poor practice. I use petroleum lube on my MTB, and a properly lubed petro chain is harder to keep as clean as wax, but if you’re getting “Fred tattoos” are on your calves from brushing against the chain you’re “doing it wrong.” Wipe the chain down after applying lube, wipe it down after rides. Periodically do a thorough cleaning. Pretty dang clean, no tattoos.
Don’t be a caker! Proper waxed chain has no gunk on it to fall off. I have never noticed any wax underneath my Zwift setup.
It depends what you’re going for. When I have tested this, chains that are allowed to stay in the pot until the wax has partially solidified have a small but significant increase in the lifespan of the lubrication. When done this way, though, they’re definitely going to shed a fair bit of wax during the run in process. It is fairly easy to simply remove the chains earlier for use indoors, but I can’t agree with the “proper” part.
YMMV, but I do know that others who have tested this have had similar results.
I didn’t know that. But I would easily trade a small loss in lifespan for not having to floss wax cake off the jockey wheels. There was a time when for absolute A-race I’d have a bit of cake to get the external PTFE dusting that was the fashion at the time. Though I didn’t test that myself (don’t have good enough test equipment for sub-Watt stuff), and have stopped doing it. Now I just use the mixed-in PTFE. My tub of it is apparently going to last forever - the only reason I still homebrew the stuff.
How long are your rides? How much do you sweat on your chain? How much time do you spend riding with a bad chainline?
There are a lot of variables involved in this.
Having said that, longevity is better than with most conventional lubes, but the drivetrain will get noisy more quickly than with a non-wax lube, because there isn’t any gunk to tamp down the noise. Rewax with drip wax when this starts to happen.
A LOT. It’s actually rather shocking how much, IME. The chain on my dedicated trainer bike lasted longer than the drive belt on the trainer, and the chain on my gravel bike was still measuring in the acceptable range after a full year on the bike, ridden pretty consistently in PNW weather conditions. Both cassettes are still going strong.
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That’s also poor practice. I use petroleum lube on my MTB, and a properly lubed petro chain is harder to keep as clean as wax, but if you’re getting “Fred tattoos” are on your calves from brushing against the chain you’re “doing it wrong.” Wipe the chain down after applying lube, wipe it down after rides. Periodically do a thorough cleaning. Pretty dang clean, no tattoos.
I dunno - before I went to waxing the chain, I did a sort of deep dive into cleaning my lubed road bike chains. Tried a bunch of stuff, chain machine, scrubbing, etc. No matter what I did, chain tattoos would always happen after the first ride and even after cleaning the chain if I just used paper towels to wipe down the cleaned chain. That was a big reason I went to waxing - seemed I could NEVER get the black tattoo lube off the chain sufficiently (at least compared to wax, which is awesome.)
That was a big reason I went to waxing - seemed I could NEVER get the black tattoo lube off the chain sufficiently (at least compared to wax, which is awesome.)
Yeah, you’re probably correct. I’m more extreme, as I take off and ultrasonic clean my petro-lubed chain more often than most people wipe theirs. So the lube is usually clean. So I may be projecting.
Agree that wax is far more forgiving.
I would easily trade a small loss in lifespan for not having to floss wax cake off the jockey wheels.
Horses for courses, right? It’s all about use case. IME, “small increase” here, when tested on the trainer, is an hour +. Conservatively. For something like a long gravel race, that could be fairly significant.
FWIW, I just wasn’t able to match the longevity numbers of the Silca stuff with my homebrew, and the wax caking on the jockey wheels was also significantly worse with homebrew. I think I could probably get longevity close if I could source the WS2 in the same small particle size I’m guessing they use, but the .6 micron stuff I tried just doesn’t work as well. The excess caking probably comes down to wax hardness/oil content issue, and I will admit to not spending too much time trying to sort this out. It was actually a conversation with Josh that prompted me to start playing around with homebrew waxes, and when his stuff came out and trumped what I had put together, I switched.
Because I’m using this on an indoor bike, I exercise an abundance of caution and stay away from all the PFAS products.
That was a big reason I went to waxing - seemed I could NEVER get the black tattoo lube off the chain sufficiently (at least compared to wax, which is awesome.)
Yeah, you’re probably correct. I’m more extreme, as I take off and ultrasonic clean my petro-lubed chain more often than most people wipe theirs. So the lube is usually clean. So I may be projecting.
Agree that wax is far more forgiving.
I even got a small (not pricey though) ultrasonic cleaner during my non-wax days, and it STILL didn’t get all that black gunk out. (Granted, it wasn’t a big powerful one with special hot solvent.) I was so po’d when I promptly got a small chain tattoo after US cleaning my chain once!
I really hated the solvents or even the dirty water that resulted from the US cleaner as well.
Wax was an absolute game-changer - got rid of ALL that chain cleaning stuff, and it actually stays really, really clean, even after multiple rides.
Yeah, you’re probably correct. I’m more extreme, as I take off and ultrasonic clean my petro-lubed chain more often than most people wipe theirs. So the lube is usually clean. So I may be projecting.
Agree that wax is far more forgiving.
One of the biggest selling points of waxing the indoor bike chain, for me, was… dogs. I’ve got two of them, and they love to rub up against a sweaty bike. Fred marks on me are one thing, but…
Because I’m using this on an indoor bike, I exercise an abundance of caution and stay away from all the PFAS products.
That’s not a bad plan overall, but just for reference, normal room temperature PTFE (as in the lubes we use on chains for Speedplay pedal interface) is thought to be completely safe. You can snort it. The chemicals used in the manufacturing of PTFE or destruction-by-incineration are a whole other deal, and that’s why it may be properly “woke” for cyclists to cut down on its use. Even melted wax temp isn’t close to the temperature necessary to break down into PFAS. That said, I still wear a mask and have good ventliation when doing wax melting just for all the off-gassed volatiles possible with just paraffin - particularly if you accidentally burn it.
Recently had this discussion with my wife, as she’s getting into ski waxing. Which I’ve since learned that we in the cycling world are way behind in exploring wax properties compard to skiers. I knew vaguely about ski wax, but no idea it was a complete science with all kinds of additives for different properties.
That’s not a bad plan overall, but just for reference, normal room temperature PTFE (as in the lubes we use on chains for Speedplay pedal interface) is thought to be completely safe. You can snort it.
Yup, all true. As mentioned previously though… dogs. Them literally eating anything I put on my bike is always a possibility. Should still be fine, but If I know I’m going to be sprinkling tiny bits of wax on the floor, I’m taking extra care. Honestly, though, It’s more just a combination of getting ahead of these products no longer being available, and not supporting them as a consumer so that happens more quickly.
Ex XC skier, co-sign. The battle in that industry over PFAS products started right around the time I stopped skiing. Now it’s our turn, looks like!
John - I’ve been waxing my chains for several years now. Mainly for 2 reasons: 1. It’s faster and 2. It keeps the chain, cranks, and cassette cleaner.
I re-wax about once every 1-2 months. If I’m in a pinch, I use the super secret drip to get me through a few rides until I can re-wax. One bag of the silca wax has lasted me well over a year.
The only pain for me has been stripping a brand new chain from the factory grease. Only takes 30-45 minutes in total but you do have to do it over a 2 day evolution. It’s not horrible but it is tedious. Silca has now solved that with their chain stripper solution and now strip chip.
The initial wax flaking of a freshly waxed chain can be annoying but I make sure to run it through all the gears for a few minutes with the bike in the stand in my garage to get most of the flakes off. And my next ride is almost always outside (I usually do waxing on Fridays).
I currently use a dedicated instant pot and probably will get the new silca device at some point for the PID temperature control.
It’s definitely the way to go. I would never take care of my chain properly before and now it kind of A. Forces me to. But B. Not really because everything is cleaner and doesn’t wear as fast.
Exception to this is riding outside in the wet. I’d have a backup chain waxed and ready to swap afterwards if/when that happens. And yes, it will leave wax under the rear of the bike when ridden on a trainer.
Ideally, the chain should be taken out between 140-160 degrees. If taken out when it’s hotter, you can wipe down the chain a little and avoid some of the flaking but the chain will not have nearly the same amount of protection. I use them for 300 miles and then swap them out. Save them all up and rewax at one time.
I wax a decent amount off chains and will not go back to lubes. As far as getting the wax off, before I put the chain on the bike I take the waxed chain and run it across either a wooden dowel, or PVC pipe in a vice. That breaks up the chain and get much of the initial wax dump off so once mounted the wax thrown off is very minimal.
I wax a decent amount off chains and will not go back to lubes. As far as getting the wax off, before I put the chain on the bike I take the waxed chain and run it across either a wooden dowel, or PVC pipe in a vice. That breaks up the chain and get much of the initial wax dump off so once mounted the wax thrown off is very minimal.
I also use a hair drier or heat gun to allow the wax to melt into the chain a bit. The wax thrown off is easy to clean up because t is just wax dust, use a vacuum and presto gone on smooth surfaces. The easier alternative is the super secret drip wax. It will do what you need for in doors if you follow the chain cleaning protocol first. As for longevity check out zero friction cycling. He has all sorts of comparisons that should hold true for indoor cycling, ie block one should show the situation for comparison of clean environments.
I’ll be curious to see where a wax chain prepped with the strip chip ends up on ZFC’s list of tested lubes.