waxing my chain (bicycle)

the Idea is that it is less messy, once applied, and it lasts longer.  

I have 7 bikes at home, so I got three pounds of the wax.

I've done the bike on the trainer indoors, but haven't ridden it yet.  My 29 mountain bike chain is in the was right now.

I'll let ya know how it goes.

In reply to EricM :

I have a cheap Amazon ultrasonic cleaner & a heat gun that I use to wax mine. I'm not sure if the ultrasonic vibrations help the wax penetrate further, but it's stainless so it also holds the heat for a while after I turn off the heat gun. 

Motorcycles have oil less chains available  (O Ring chain?), but bicycles don't?

Did we need to make oiling a chain complicated?

I've ridden bicycles since forever and never found the need to go beyond the "one drop of oil on each roller, whenever you remember" method.

I'm curious to see if this is an improvement. 

Does it have the "electric banana" smell that my beloved Tri-Flow does?

No oil less chains for bicycles.

Once you wax, you never go back. So much less dirt on drivetrain parts.

I've tried it, decades ago. Used straight paraffin iirc. Ended up moving to White Lightning because it's a lot easier to apply :) But I like waxed chains especially in dry conditions because they don't pick up as much grit. 

I was a chain waxer back when I was riding. Would have been easier if chains had master links.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Definitely! It would be a lot easier today. 

Not nearly as messy as I thought and the wax cools way faster than I thought too.

I have done 5 bikes today.  Qucklinks were key, as mentioned. 

The bike on the trainer is leaving flecks on the floor, I suspect that will subside over time.

Tomorrow will be my fist outside ride as I commute to work and home.  Weather says drizzling rain in the afternoon,  should be telling if the wax resist water.

My brother rides ~8k-12k miles/yr and has been doing this for a few months -- he won't go back to other methods. He rotates a couple chains every 300 miles, give or take, and is hardly having to do any drive train cleaning. 

I'm lazy and do what Keith does: wax-based lube in a bottle (Squirt lube). 

Back in the 80s, chain wax in a spray can came out for motorcycles. I was hooked on PJ1 chain oil - tried the wax. Quickly went back to PJ1. But O-ring chains were just starting to get popular.

TLDR:

chain wax in a spray can is available from motorcycle shops. 

I wipe down the bicycle chain with a rag and use non-chlorinated brake clean as a solvent to get things cleaned up.  Then I use WD-40 bike chain lube to lubricate/protect the chain and rag off the excess.  I wouldn't use motorcycle chain lube as it is pretty heavy and sticky and gunk won't fling off due to the lower chain and sprocket speeds of a bicycle.  I want to move to a kerosene-based home brew for chain and sprocket cleaner for both the bicycle and motorcycle.  I used to use Royal Purple Sychro-Max for bicycle chain lube but felt it was a little thick as well (also I have a bunch of Synchro-Max left over from previous ownership of a T-5).

Cooking a chain in a pot of chain wax sounds thorough but a hassle and like it would leave a lot of excess wax behind.

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

Makes sense. Haven't used a bicycle enough since the '70s to oil a chain. Well, I guess a couple times to get a rusty one unstuck... but strictly wd-40   For the Les than mile ride, in a blue moon, I'm not a high stress rider! 

pres589 (djronnebaum) said:

Cooking a chain in a pot of chain wax sounds thorough but a hassle and like it would leave a lot of excess wax behind.

You just reheat it and use it for the next time. Very little wax is actually consumed as part of this.

got back into cycling recently... I'm planning on going this route "soon" I remember 10 or so years back people talking about waxing chains but never got around to it.

the wattage/drivetrain efficency is amazing and by all accounts how well it stays clean is as well... which mean the entire drivetrain lasts a lot longer.... 

 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

EricM says the freshly waxed chain is leaving flecks of wax on the floor when ridden inside as a trainer so it has to be excessively waxed.  And that's nothing against EricM; I don't see how that's avoidable.

In reply to 03Panther:  

Note that I was speaking of a specific WD-40 branded product, if you're inclined; WD-40 Dry Bike Chain Lube

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

Agreed that it's a bit excessive but unavoidable. Still, it's not THAT much so the big block of wax doesn't decrease much. 

I like it. I like it alot.

I have waxed 6 chains with a single 1/2 lbs block of wax.  There is still plenty of wax.

I'm not sure there's much of a downside if you're a serious rider. The quicklinks make changing out the chain quick and easy. And if you've got the medium for heating the wax, re-waxing takes just a minute or two. Apparently it's more efficient as far as drivetrain loss and WAY, WAY cleaner. I started doing this decades ago, stopped at the urging of my son about 20 years back and went back to wax a few months ago.

Silca sells an adulterated wax that is supposed to be even better as far as friction and it lasts longer. I won't be going back to an oil-based lube in the foreseeable future.

In reply to rdcyclist :

I love the Silca wax. I batch-clean and wax all 7 of the household's chains twice a year. I'm a ~5k a year rider between my 4. The MTB gets topoffs with Silca's liquid wax.