Chain wax - yay or nay?

[Thoglette]

There is a bit on ZFC about home made wax. Not very complimentary about the results.

Not surprising, as they’ve got product to sell to you.

But the basic concepts are OK: use a mix of waxes that matches your climate & add a little PFTE if you want to be fancy.

This isn’t rocket science.

[warthog1]

There is a bit on ZFC about home made wax. Not very complimentary about the results.

Not surprising, as they’ve got product to sell to you.

But the basic concepts are OK: use a mix of waxes that matches your climate & add a little PFTE if you want to be fancy.

This isn’t rocket science.

Perhaps have a read of his site and reassess

[blizzard]

To be fair, ZFC recently tested pure candle wax and it faired pretty well, not as good as the Silca or MSW but still better than some wax lubes.

[warthog1]

I'll have a look, but I read this and yep he has done the testing.

Lastly – beware of the countless home formula wax formulas and wax methods on internet forums and you tube. Many think bah, im not paying that for a bag of wax and buy some cheap paraffin which will have a high mineral oil content = dirty and gunky wax quickly, and also many of these waxes (especially candles) can contain soy or palm oil, and many also get duped into adding paraffin oil which whilst it extends treatment lifespan, it destroys the unassailable advantages of running solid chain coating lubricant. Whilst a lot of home blend waxes may beat many drip lubes sold at LBS (this is a very low bar mind…), vs the highest grade paraffin in the world that is the base in msw, they fall well well short. You get what you pay for

Sure you can buy waxes from him but you can buy them elsewhere too. I'll avoid "the high mineral oil content = dirty and gunky wax quickly"

[warthog1]

To be fair, ZFC recently tested pure candle wax and it faired pretty well, not as good as the Silca or MSW but still better than some wax lubes.

I had a look from 20min in starting at results.



Fair enough. It wasn't that bad. Better than he expected. Wore at twice the rate of the top immersive waxes though. Still more expensive to run unless you run the cheapest drivetrain components you can find.
The wax isn't a high cost compared to rings, cassettes and chains on my 11speed stuff.

[Thoglette]

The wax isn't a high cost compared to rings, cassettes and chains on my 11speed stuff.

Now, I run 8sp not exotica but based on the last decade's costs my bicycle running costs (tyres, chains, cassettes, are about 6c per KM. Or $600 per 10,000 km.

At 6l/100km and $2/l driving 10Kkm costs twice that. Never mind insurance, servicing, tyres, or rego.

[warthog1]

The wax isn't a high cost compared to rings, cassettes and chains on my 11speed stuff.

Now, I run 8sp not exotica but based on the last decade's costs my bicycle running costs (tyres, chains, cassettes, are about 6c per KM. Or $600 per 10,000 km.

At 6l/100km and $2/l driving 10Kkm costs twice that. Never mind insurance, servicing, tyres, or rego.

Now let's talk depreciation. My bike (ok frame) cost $50.

Fair enough. I waste more money than I should on bikes.
Life is short and I enjoy them though.
Politicking for a new roadie at the moment

[2wheels_mond]

The wax isn't a high cost compared to rings, cassettes and chains on my 11speed stuff.

Now, I run 8sp not exotica but based on the last decade's costs my bicycle running costs (tyres, chains, cassettes, are about 6c per KM. Or $600 per 10,000 km.

At 6l/100km and $2/l driving 10Kkm costs twice that. Never mind insurance, servicing, tyres, or rego.

$600 per 10,000km? On 8 speed? That seems like a lot - back of the envelope calcs seems like my costs (of consumables) are about half that using 12-speed and high-end tyres (2x M6100 chains, $40 each, 1.5 Pirelli P Zero Race TLR tyres, $100 each, 0.5 105 R7100 cassettes, $70).

[MichaelB]

I find the discussion of the waxing/drip lube quite interesting at times.

Yep, I was a drip lube person for a while, and initially thought waxing was a real faff and beyond what I needed as a casual rider.

Then one day, got to a bit of reading, mainly on WW Forum, as I thought I'd love to do a home brew wax, but that seemed like faff and plenty of argy bargy re actual results, much similar to the above. Many opinions, and many conflicts.

Then time passed and I finally got sick of the greasy chains, crappy chain cleaner tools and filthy hands. With some spare money, bought the 1st load of MSW and a $19 K-Mart slow cooker only to leave it in the shed, as I got stuck in the 'sunk cost fallacy' as I still had some Smoove to use up

Eventually (actually almost 11 months later ), and partially triggered by the arrival of the Llewellyn, I finally did the inevitable - cleaned 6 new chains (3 for each bike) and waxed away.

Why o why did I wait so long

If nothing changed (same chain longevity), just the CLEANLINESS difference is worth it alone

I now don't need to spend time and effort to clean the cassette, cranks, chainrings or F&R RD's. Chains are changed in <5min, and I only re-wax the chains when I've used the last one (i.e. 4 at a time). The re-waxing involves getting the crackpot out & plugging it in. Do other jobs, swish the chains every now and then, and 30-40 min later, hang them up, let it all cool down, and put them away.

I can understand some peoples reticence to change practices, and some of the 'bundle options' are way overpriced, but the ZFC page is 100% on the money, he's a great guy and like GPLama, holds no punches, and unlike many others, has the data and evidence to back it up.

Even picked up another bag of MSW for $30 (from a facebook seller) - don't need it yet, but it was priced right

[MichaelB]

ZFC's latest news re Rex Black Diamond Wax - brief blurb link is below + image of initial results compared to other top wax performers.


https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/late ... nd-launch/

It's interesting that the Rex seems to be heaps better on the road condition, but performs worse for gravel/extreme condition ??

[biker jk]

I use Rex Black Diamond (11+1 blend) and easlily get 500km between re-waxing in dry road conditions. Rex says over 500km between re-waxings and this is accurate in my experience. I chose Rex Black Diamond over the others for its longevity. I'm using waxed chains on three bikes (one gravel, two road bikes) and would never go back to the oily mess.

[Arbuckle23]

So if I was to weaken and try wax, how do I do it when I want to go away in my caravan for a few months and take a bike (usually gravel) ?

[jasonc]

So if I was to weaken and try wax, how do I do it when I want to go away in my caravan for a few months and take a bike (usually gravel) ?

take your wax slow cooker with you. they don't take up much room

[MichaelB]

So if I was to weaken and try wax, how do I do it when I want to go away in my caravan for a few months and take a bike (usually gravel) ?

take your wax slow cooker with you. they don't take up much room

^^ This

[Mr Purple]

Alternatively you could realise the decision to wax your chain is not an irreversible decision, and use normal lubricant for that period.

Mind you it could also be like the decision to go tubeless. You think you can change your mind later, but it's so much better you don't!

[warthog1]

Gone the silca hot melt. It seems pretty good when it's dirty. On the gravelllo so that'll do

[warthog1]

So if I was to weaken and try wax, how do I do it when I want to go away in my caravan for a few months and take a bike (usually gravel) ?

I would say just take a few waxed chains in snap lock bags.
You can get drip lubes that are compatible with hot melt too.

[blizzard]

So if I was to weaken and try wax, how do I do it when I want to go away in my caravan for a few months and take a bike (usually gravel) ?

Either take the slow cooker with you, or do the hot wax at home before you leave and top up with Silca drip wax while you're away.

Biggest faff will be any proper wet rides to clean the chain in boiling water and then reapply the wax.

[Duck!]

Getting sick of the slight squeak eminating from chain/jockey wheel/back end someplace that chain lubes are not solving. =

That means that the chain lube is not the problem. Most probably the jockey wheel bushings are telling you that they want a lick of grease, or are too worn and new pulleys are needed.

[kilroy]

Quick couple of questions. How many times do you use the wax in your pot?

I see some people talk about boiling the chain before rewaxing but the ZF vid shows him putting it into the wax pot without any sort of cleaning. What do most people do?

[Arbuckle23]

[Biggest faff will be any proper wet rides to clean the chain in boiling water and then reapply the wax.

On holiday, riding in the rain doesn't happen

[Arbuckle23]

Alternatively you could realise the decision to wax your chain is not an irreversible decision, and use normal lubricant for that period.

Mind you it could also be like the decision to go tubeless. You think you can change your mind later, but it's so much better you don't!

Tubeless forever, 4 punctures when I was just away, all sealed up

[blizzard]

Quick couple of questions. How many times do you use the wax in your pot?

I see some people talk about boiling the chain before rewaxing but the ZF vid shows him putting it into the wax pot without any sort of cleaning. What do most people do?

Depends on how dirty it gets, probably about 10000km.

For dry riding no need to use boiling water, I just give it a wipe with isopropyl alcohol or method whilst on the bike to get ride of surface dust and then pop off and wax.

It's only wet riding really needs a boiling water bath, out the chain in a tub of boiling water wait a couple minutes then agitate then dump the water, do it, 3x and then dry the chain and re-wax. I have found adding a dash of laundry liquid to the first bath sems to clean better.

[Thoglette]

Quick couple of questions. How many times do you use the wax in your pot?

Forever!
I occasionally slice off the bottom layer of crap or filter the hot wax through some kitchen paper but that’s about it.

I see some people talk about boiling the chain before rewaxing but the ZF vid shows him putting it into the wax pot without any sort of cleaning. What do most people do?

Wipe it down with some turps and that’s about it,

[goanna]

Novice question - does anyone wax with a Campagnolo drivetrain? The quick links for an Ekar chain are marked for one use. And a replacement C link is nearly $30(!). Do people reuse the C-link?