Adventures in OCD: Today's Chain Waxing

[chriswoody]

I think you're right about the 9-speed chains; which would figure as I think they're a fair bit wider than the 11-speed offerings so consequently have more bearing area and take longer to wear as a result. Still no reason not to treat them to a wax if you get on with it though - even my old 2x5 speed shopping shed gets waxed; something I was very glad of when it uncharacteristically threw it's chain recently.

Funny you should say that, I was only reading an article the other day about that:

"How long your drivetrain lasts depends on a number of factors including the number of speeds, the quality of the components, and how well you maintain it. Generally, 1x drivetrains last longer than 2x. In this section, I’ll explain why.

Chain Longevity
You may assume that the wider chains used on 8, 9, 10, and 11 speed drivetrains would be more durable than the narrow chains used on 12 speed drivetrains. After all, they have more material and feel more substantial. Surprisingly, this isn’t the case. For this reason, 1x drivetrains tend to last longer than 2x drivetrains.

Zero Friction Cycling performed extensive testing to find the longevity of various chains and found that 12 speed chains are the most durable and long-lasting chains in use today. In fact, 12 speed chains last substantially longer than 8, 9, 10, and 11 speed chains. Strangely, the more gears, the longer a chain lasts. For example, during tests, 12 speed chains lasted up from 3800km to 6800km. 11 speed chains lasted around 3000km on average. 9 Speed Shimano chains lasted around 2000km."

The article was about that old favourite 1X versus 2X, Link here: https://wheretheroadforks.com/1x-vs-2x-drivetrain-pros-and-cons/

It certainly bears out my own real world experiences of an 11 speed chain that doesn't receive any where near the love and care it should do!

By the way, good to see you back Wafter, great to hear you're doing OK.

 

[mpemburn]

I think it worthwhile to give some attention to the chain on a relatively frequent basis. After all, those chainrings and cogs ain’t cheap, and I’d just as soon put off replacing them for a while. The latest chain lube is BananaSlip, and it seems to ward off the grit pretty well.

 

[wafter]

I got my road bike in June 2019 and have just put the 8th replacement chain on. In that time I've done 14684 miles. Until this year I was using the bike all year round. I try not to go out when it's raining, but there has been a fair amount of wet road riding.
I think, at first I didn't know how to look after a chain. Nowadays it gets a wipe after every ride. Most recent one lasted 2577 which is the best so far (fitted 12th July - so summer riding mostly). I ride about 600-800 miles a month.

I replace the 11 speed when it reaches 0.5% wear (as per instructions) which is meant to avoid the need to replace cassettes and chain rings too often. I have gone through a set of chain rings though in the first two years (why aren't they made of steel?),



I changed one set of chainrings at 9047 miles. Fitted one new cassette as well, but I have two different wheelsets so the wear life on cassette is not quite as clearcut. I think, initially I was ignorant of the causes of chain wear. Bit better now, but if waxing can make them last even longer, it'll be worth it. (Wax and MoS2 has arrived - awaiting PTFE now).

Apologies for only just getting back to you on this one - really sounds like you're smashing through those parts and 2.5k miles of summer use before binning a chain seems pretty low to me. You evidently cycle a lot though so maybe you're a significantly stronger rider than I am; if you're wet-lubing I'd expect the rain / water to be less of an issue..

How did you get on with the waxing in the end?

Funny you should say that, I was only reading an article the other day about that:

"How long your drivetrain lasts depends on a number of factors including the number of speeds, the quality of the components, and how well you maintain it. Generally, 1x drivetrains last longer than 2x. In this section, I’ll explain why.

Chain Longevity
You may assume that the wider chains used on 8, 9, 10, and 11 speed drivetrains would be more durable than the narrow chains used on 12 speed drivetrains. After all, they have more material and feel more substantial. Surprisingly, this isn’t the case. For this reason, 1x drivetrains tend to last longer than 2x drivetrains.

Zero Friction Cycling performed extensive testing to find the longevity of various chains and found that 12 speed chains are the most durable and long-lasting chains in use today. In fact, 12 speed chains last substantially longer than 8, 9, 10, and 11 speed chains. Strangely, the more gears, the longer a chain lasts. For example, during tests, 12 speed chains lasted up from 3800km to 6800km. 11 speed chains lasted around 3000km on average. 9 Speed Shimano chains lasted around 2000km."

The article was about that old favourite 1X versus 2X, Link here: https://wheretheroadforks.com/1x-vs-2x-drivetrain-pros-and-cons/

It certainly bears out my own real world experiences of an 11 speed chain that doesn't receive any where near the love and care it should do!

By the way, good to see you back Wafter, great to hear you're doing OK.

Thanks - for both the source material and warm welcome back

That makes some interesting reading, however from an engineering perspective smaller chains with less bearing area lasting longer makes no sense; while tbh the sample size for the sub-11-speed chains is tiny and seems to include more budget offerings. Also, the 12 speed figures seem heavily skewed by the two SRAM offerings; whose performance I'd guess is probably due to a lot more than just the fact that they're 12 speed.

FWIW I totally agree with the findings of the 1x / 2x comparison though - that piece does a great job of breaking down the difference between the two

 

[alex_cycles]

Apologies for only just getting back to you on this one - really sounds like you're smashing through those parts and 2.5k miles of summer use before binning a chain seems pretty low to me. You evidently cycle a lot though so maybe you're a significantly stronger rider than I am; if you're wet-lubing I'd expect the rain / water to be less of an issue..

How did you get on with the waxing in the end?

I bought all the wax, additives, ultrasonic bath and a crock-pot around December. Then I had pretty much 2-3 months of mostly indoor, but I did use the sonicator to clean a chain, which it's really good at. Since then I've done a fair bit outside but keeping my best bike for almost exclusively dry rides and being able to clean it really well (sonicator) I'm finding it lasts really quite well (wet lube). Still 2-3 thousand miles, but I've found some slightly less expensive KMC chains which seem more durable than the EL the bike came with. Still want to try waxing, but not tried it yet.

 

[wafter]

I bought all the wax, additives, ultrasonic bath and a crock-pot around December. Then I had pretty much 2-3 months of mostly indoor, but I did use the sonicator to clean a chain, which it's really good at. Since then I've done a fair bit outside but keeping my best bike for almost exclusively dry rides and being able to clean it really well (sonicator) I'm finding it lasts really quite well (wet lube). Still 2-3 thousand miles, but I've found some slightly less expensive KMC chains which seem more durable than the EL the bike came with. Still want to try waxing, but not tried it yet.

Good stuff - it's all still to play for then!

FWIW I'm using KMC chains almost exclusively and they seem to offer very good value. If you're saving your "best" bike for dry use, it sounds like an ideal testbed for your waxing gear tbh

 

[Sallar55]

I am with Dave r here, 8 weeks away and the bike just kept going

putting some good Shimano chain lube it's dirty but well lubed

 

[alex_cycles]

Good stuff - it's all still to play for then!

FWIW I'm using KMC chains almost exclusively and they seem to offer very good value. If you're saving your "best" bike for dry use, it sounds like an ideal testbed for your waxing gear tbh

So I've now waxed 6 chains, which I hope will last me a while. Rather tedious, but if you're going to the trouble, might as well do a supply to rotate. Three 9-speed and three 11-speed. The actual waxing isn't too bad, but very tedious degreasing 6 chains. Thankfully, once done, that shouldn't need doing until the next round of new chains.

I have yet to install or use any, but they are now ready and waiting for next chain replacement, which will be quite soon on the 11-speed summer bike. Happily all of the chains came with reusable quicklinks.

I used the MoS2 and PTFE additives and now hoping this will prove to be clean and durable. My main motivation is chain longevity and cleanliness, rather than potential efficiency marginal gains (as if that would make any difference at my level )

 

[alex_cycles]

Finally it came time to replace the chain on my Roubaix, so I gave the chain rings, jockey wheels and cassette a thorough clean and installed waxed chain #1 of 3 - a series to cut out and collect use and rewax in batches. Only a short 15 mile evening bimble to check it was OK.

Seems absolutely fine. Didn't feel or sound different to fitting a brand new chain. Quiet and smooth. Hoping it lasts longer than 2000 miles (longevity). But also looking forward to no oily marks on the bike, me or anything else. Quite interested to see how long before it needs rewaxing, but I gather it will tell you by the sound when it needs it.

 

[wafter]

Excellent work @alex_cycles

Looks like I'll be cracking out the wax pan soon as the Genesis has just ticked over 300 miles since the last treatment, and while I could rotate another ready-waxed chain onto it I really want to hammer this one to see how it lasts - since it's on about 3500 miles with practically no detectable wear.

I'll try and post up some pics to trigger the haters

 

[alex_cycles]

Excellent work @alex_cycles

Looks like I'll be cracking out the wax pan soon as the Genesis has just ticked over 300 miles since the last treatment, and while I could rotate another ready-waxed chain onto it I really want to hammer this one to see how it lasts - since it's on about 3500 miles with practically no detectable wear.

I'll try and post up some pics to trigger the haters

I did 3 chains - imaginatively named #1, #2 and #3 - because I ride about 200 miles per week (but not all/always on the same bike) so I don't want to have to be rewaxing more than a couple of times a month, really. But they will all be tracked and logged and analysed to within an inch of their lives.

[17th July update]
A week on, I have 108 miles on the chain and it's performing flawlessly. After the first ride I blew some compressed air on it to blow away any dust, but nothing seemed to come off, so haven't bothered on subsequent rides. It's nice having a clean drivetrain.

 

[mad despot]

I'm a recent convert to chain waxing; it's a complete game changer as far as cleanliness goes, and I hope that it will also reduce drive train wear in the long run. I'm rotating 3 chains, changing them every 200 miles. The only negative is that they become noisier after quite a short time; I wonder if I've added a bit much paraffin oil to the wax.

In one of the comments I saw a mention of adding PTFE to the wax; can I suggest not doing this. PTFE does not biodegrade in the environment, it's probably similar to using those washing products that had plastic granules in them, which I believe have now rightly been banned.

There's no real benefit anyway, check out this link:

https://moltenspeedwax.com/pages/velo-lube-test-2

The Molten Speed Wax with PTFE was just 0.14 watts better than untreated paraffin wax; surely not worth the financial or environmental cost. Looking at their test results, there's no point adding anything to the wax actually.

 

[alex_cycles]

In one of the comments I saw a mention of adding PTFE to the wax; can I suggest not doing this. PTFE does not biodegrade in the environment, it's probably similar to using those washing products that had plastic granules in them, which I believe have now rightly been banned.

You may.
The 1g of PTFE that went into my 500g of wax will be dispersed into the environment over the next few years as it flakes off 30-50 chains. To be perfectly honest, I think a MUCH bigger problem is the blue wheelie-bin full of non-biodegradable plastic food packaging that most households fling out every couple of weeks. OK some of it will be recycled, but a lot of recycling is "greenwashing". Most recycled plastics are only about 30% recycled anyway.
Great big red herring/straw man. In my opinion, but you are welcome to yours. (A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.)
I'm quite sure that the deposits from our bike/car tyres are a much more significant issue than 1g of PTFE every 2-3 years. Perhaps you should give up your car and stop cycling? (Just trying to put it in perspective).

Back on topic.
Having done about 200 miles, it's time for me to swap to chain #2 and put #1 in the rewaxing queue. I have enjoyed the first 200 miles of waxed chain. Works really well and lovely mess-free operation.

 

[12boy]

There is a balance between a wax only chain which will soon have all the wax flake off or a chain with too much oil added which makes it greasy and gritty. My crockpot of stuff has over time gotten to a good place and will last for quite a while as a chain waxing does not use up a lot of wax.

 

[alex_cycles]

Chain #3 went on and #1 & #2 got rewaxed today. Very straightforward and routine, having done all the hard bits up-front.

 

[Wooger]

Thanks for your support.

Besides, when you factor in the time and effort required to properly clean a chain on-bike (if that's possible) plus all the mess and filth involved, I don't think it's much more work to remove the chain periodically and sling it in a pan of wax for a few minutes.

Shame on me for taking pride in looking after my gear and having the gaul to do something differently to everyone else, I guess

If you read and believe the zerofrictioncycling site, if you want to have a clean chain that lasts well, it's both:

• Far less work to wax vs anything else, especially if you're able to buy a chain that isn't factory coated in horrible thick grease from the factory (YBN).
• Saves significant money on replacement cassettes, chainrings as well as obviously on chains - much more for Ultegra and above.

Everything else will needs a full off the bike degrease cycle in turps, alcohol regularly, especially if you ride in the wet.