Adventures in OCD: Today's Chain Waxing

[wafter]

Funny how the one manufacturer represented is arguing for replacement at the greatest elongation; almost like they have something to gain from you wearing out the adjacent components prematurely...

 

[srshultz]

I’ve been using a 10 to 1 paraffin to ptfe combo. Very happy with it. Smooth, quiet and clean. I wipe the chain with a steaming hot rag out of the microwave after each ride. Works well for me.

 

[AlanW]

I'm using Silca Hot Melt. It's pretty cheap given that it seems to not be disappearing from the Crockpot at any discernible rate, and it's certainly a really small cost compared to the expected savings on chains, cassettes and chain wheels.

Whilst I'm 'here', writing on this thread, my latest wear figures are, for @Ajax Bay 's interest if no-one else:
8,000km covered and an elongation of slightly over 0.2%.
So, that's just over 40% of my target wear for replacement of chains (0.5% elongated being when I retire chains). That rate suggests 20,000km for this chain, ultimately. I was going to be happy with the chain lasting 10,000km (normal for me being 5,000km), so I'm already happy with this. As I've said above though, the sheer cleanliness of everything is very comfortably worth it.

I'm just about to go down the exact same route, my 500g packet of Silca Super-Secret hot wax granules arrived today, and two chains were degreased and washed earlier in the week and have been hanging in the airing cupboard drying since then.

I've made three chain hangers using some old spokes, so it's looking good so far.

So, most probably over the weekend I'll be giving it a go, but as I don't have a suitable crock pot, so it will be a saucepan and hot water.

Question, do you "top up" the chain wax up at all with the bottled Silca Super-Secret wax, as per their recommendations?

 

[AlanW]

Note to self: don't leave chains soaking in a water-soluble degreaser overnight, this is what greeted me when I pulled them out of the jar.....

 

[wafter]

Note to self: don't leave chains soaking in a water-soluble degreaser overnight, this what greeted me when I pulled them out of the jar.....
View attachment 721796

Paraffin is good for degreasing - soak the chain in a jar; the contents of which can be periodically decanted / filtered and re-used


I found myself having to give the underside of my wax puck a good scraping last weekend; due to a visible amount of metallic contamination and a less visible (but very evident, by the scratchy channels left in the wax during scraping) non-metallic contam.

Not sure if the metallic contamination is that which escaped the last scraping after I ill-advisedly waxed some pre-worn chains, or whether it's the result of damage to other chains that have only ever been run with wax. I guess the gritty component is probably the result of running various utility bikes in sub-optimal conditions that I'd otherwise not have subjected my gear to under fair-weather, leisure activities.

I can't be arsed / don't see the need to meticulously degrease my chains pre-waxing, although in light of this development I will give them a good dry-brushing before going into the pan in an attempt to remove any grit that might be present from wet rides.

I've also noticed that post-scraping (which has probably removed a disproportionate amount of the moly powder I'd added) the mixture looks very graduated when set, with the upper half showing a distinct lack of moly. I think I'll keep adding wax and paraffin oil to top it up as it gets used, with a goal of ultimately phasing out the use of additives as I think they have limited benefit and potentially reduce the value of the process given their disproportionate cost compared to the wax alone.

 

[alex_cycles]

Paraffin is good for degreasing - soak the chain in a jar; the contents of which can be periodically decanted / filtered and re-used


I found myself having to give the underside of my wax puck a good scraping last weekend; due to a visible amount of metallic contamination and a less visible (but very evident, by the scratchy channels left in the wax during scraping) non-metallic contam.

Not sure if the metallic contamination is that which escaped the last scraping after I ill-advisedly waxed some pre-worn chains, or whether it's the result of damage to other chains that have only ever been run with wax. I guess the gritty component is probably the result of running various utility bikes in sub-optimal conditions that I'd otherwise not have subjected my gear to under fair-weather, leisure activities.

I can't be arsed / don't see the need to meticulously degrease my chains pre-waxing, although in light of this development I will give them a good dry-brushing before going into the pan in an attempt to remove any grit that might be present from wet rides.

I've also noticed that post-scraping (which has probably removed a disproportionate amount of the moly powder I'd added) the mixture looks very graduated when set, with the upper half showing a distinct lack of moly. I think I'll keep adding wax and paraffin oil to top it up as it gets used, with a goal of ultimately phasing out the use of additives as I think they have limited benefit and potentially reduce the value of the process given their disproportionate cost compared to the wax alone.

I did the initial degrease, but thereafter I only air clean chains. Usually straight after a wet ride, which I rarely do since I have Zwift I don't need to ride outside when it's wet unless I get caught out by the weather.

I haven't seen any visible signs of contamination in my wax at all. Perhaps I'm just blissfully ignorant, but I'm not going to go looking for trouble either

Still on my original batch of wax. My indoor chains are getting quite a lot of use at the moment. I rotate them at around 200-250 miles. So the three chains have all had about 9 or 10 waxings since I got started. Every now and then I will measure them before removal for rewaxing. They've still got loads of life left in them - particularly since they're 9-speed so 0.75% is the replacement threshold.

 

[wafter]

I did the initial degrease, but thereafter I only air clean chains. Usually straight after a wet ride, which I rarely do since I have Zwift I don't need to ride outside when it's wet unless I get caught out by the weather.

I haven't seen any visible signs of contamination in my wax at all. Perhaps I'm just blissfully ignorant, but I'm not going to go looking for trouble either

Still on my original batch of wax. My indoor chains are getting quite a lot of use at the moment. I rotate them at around 200-250 miles. So the three chains have all had about 9 or 10 waxings since I got started. Every now and then I will measure them before removal for rewaxing. They've still got loads of life left in them - particularly since they're 9-speed so 0.75% is the replacement threshold.

Cool - I've degreased new ones in the past although now tend to just sling them in the pan as received. Air sounds like a great idea if they get wet; although sadly not a facility I have currently.

It's probably worth inspecting the underside of your puck after a few months; even if they are shedding metallic particulates getting them out into the wax and subsequently removing them is still probably better than just leaving them on the chain in an oil solution.

I'd expect them to last very well in indoor applications due to the total lack of possible contamination

 

[Sea of vapours]

Question, do you "top up" the chain wax up at all with the bottled Silca Super-Secret wax, as per their recommendations?

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: whilst I did buy a bottle of the SS drip wax and used it initially, once I'd started immersive waxing I just stuck with it. For me, it's quicker to immerseively wax the chain than it is to apply the SS drip as the latter is a link by link process and thus slow, not to mention potentially messy. Plus, immersive is more effective. The time I'd use the drip wax is if I was away from the Crockpot, on a mutli-day trip for example. My partner did that on LEJOG this summer, using the SS drip every other day and swapping the chain for a ready-waxed one half way. That worked very well and she certainly had no issues.

 

[rydabent]

Wax makes great candles. Wax is not a lube.

 

[alex_cycles]

Wax makes great candles. Wax is not a lube.

Yeah it's crap. Only an idiot would use it.

 

[Sea of vapours]

[Final] Update on my first waxed chain's wear rate.

It's reached marginally under 0.5% wear after marginally over 15,000km. I shall retire it very shortly, once I've stripped a new chain of factory grease. The wear rate has increased over the last 5,000km, which I'm going to attribute to a distressingly high percentage of the time being spent riding in some degree of wetness, either merely very wet roads or combined with rain.

Definitely happy with that bonus longevity, my primary reasons for liking wax being cleanliness and quietness.

 

[alex_cycles]

[Final] Update on my first waxed chain's wear rate.

It's reached marginally under 0.5% wear after marginally over 15,000km. I shall retire it very shortly, once I've stripped a new chain of factory grease. The wear rate has increased over the last 5,000km, which I'm going to attribute to a distressingly high percentage of the time being spent riding in some degree of wetness, either merely very wet roads or combined with rain.

Definitely happy with that bonus longevity, my primary reasons for liking wax being cleanliness and quietness.

So it's not crap then?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

So it's not crap then?

Yes it is.