Find an old coat hanger.
Chain Wax Discussion thread
- Thread starter jShort
- Start date
Sorry dude. No wire hangers in my house.
1 hour 15 to melt the Wax 15 minutes to wax three chains.
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I'm officially all in, as all 4 bikes are now running a wax chain. I really can't believe how much smoother the drivetrain is. You can feel the difference almost immediately. .
Definitely a breaking in period of a mile or two. Worth the time involved for sure. š
Definitely a breaking in period of a mile or two. Worth the time involved for sure. š
rosceaux
Well-Known Member
I love my waxed chain. I used the crockpot method. I am due for a refresh now. Have you guys been doing the boiling water pour-over? The last Silca video I watched showed them boiling the chain in the water to get all the old wax and dirt off before re-waxing. I don't mind spending the time on it, but just wanted to hear about anyone's experiences.
krink
Eddie Munster
Yes I do. I got a $20 electric kettle from Amazon and keep it in the garage. When Iām ready to do my re-waxing I pour the boiling water over them. I let them dry and then dunk them in the crockpot.
Not needed with the water,just wipe it down with a microfiber cloth and dip
Away
carvegybe
Well-Known Member
I put old waxed chains in hot water to get the wax off and then wipe off with microfiber cloth. The chains look so clean after that - like new.
ekuhn
Well-Known Member
Following some greasy fingers this weekend from a dropped chain, I've now taken a trip down this rabbit hole, this entire thread, YouTube, podcasts, etc. I am considering this at least for my road bike. Regardless I've been wanting an ultrasonic cleaner so its really just the balance. Everything is cued up to purchase.
A few short questions.
1) If the bike is on a bike rack, and it rains while driving should I be expecting rust the next day? Or will the wax shed some water?
2) If the chain does rust cause I forgot to maintain, can you just start the whole process over again and throw it in the ultrasonic to remove the rust?
3) The Simple Green Aircraft cleaner or the Chemical Bros stuff. Any positives or negatives to either?
4) I should just buck up and get a second chain to have one in the ready? How do you store once its waxed?
A few short questions.
1) If the bike is on a bike rack, and it rains while driving should I be expecting rust the next day? Or will the wax shed some water?
2) If the chain does rust cause I forgot to maintain, can you just start the whole process over again and throw it in the ultrasonic to remove the rust?
3) The Simple Green Aircraft cleaner or the Chemical Bros stuff. Any positives or negatives to either?
4) I should just buck up and get a second chain to have one in the ready? How do you store once its waxed?
yes. store it wherever, baggie, old food container, hang it in the garage..
I drove home from vacation on Sunday with a bike with waxed chain on the back of the car getting blasted with rain for a lot of the drive. Wiped down the chain when I got home and no signs of surface rust. Suspect that it will vary depending on which chain it is and how recently it was waxed but I haven't found it to be a big issue.
krink
Eddie Munster
Agree with this. A full day riding in soaking, muddy conditions with constant drivetrain motion and the chain will lose a lot of wax. A drive home in the rain has never been an issue.
Cole
Well-Known Member
Thanks for asking, I had similar questions. I think I will get a second chain also. I currently have rice, carrots and wax cooking away on the stove...
So I've beein using boiling water to clean used chains before re-applying wax. Do people do multiple rounds of this? I find that the water is usually quite dirty and a single boiling water flush definitely does not get the chain fully clean, which means that the wax gets pretty dirty after only a couple of re-applications.
TommyF
Well-Known Member
I just use the park tool chain cleaner with some MucOff bike wash and the chain & cassette come out nice and clean. I've been using Silca drip wax for a little over 2 months, riding 2 or 3 times per week, so not hot waxing. This is only the 2nd time I've had to wash the chain, so aside from wipe downs and re-applications, everything stays pretty clean. Prior to using the drip wax I was using MucOff dry lube and washing my chain weekly to get the grime off of it. Not sure I'd even need to boil it, perhaps to get deeper into the rollers, but honestly the chain stays so clean I highly doubt there's that much more grime to clean out.
carvegybe
Well-Known Member
Weird. My used chains come out sparking clean after a single prolonged dip in boiling water and wipe with cloth. The one thing that might explain this is that i never top-up wax via drip application. I ride fewer miles between rewaxing instead. I take the view that drip application is never as good as dipping entire chain in wax.
Iād stay away from this stuff.
After a couple applications it seems to break down and turn to sticky slop. May as well use regular chain lube.
After a couple applications it seems to break down and turn to sticky slop. May as well use regular chain lube.