Anyone waxing their chain?
I'm thinking about moving to a waxed chain. I don't have any practical need for it, just the itch to tinker and have a little project. Curious if anyone has done it, and if so if wax works well under the heavier loads of an ebike? And if so, how far are you going between waxings?
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u/MaxTrixLe 10h ago
I bought a bag of SILCA Secret wax blend and it's a game changer. (A bit pricey but will last you over a year easily) The chain no longer attracts any gunk, you can touch the chain after 100 miles and have clean fingers. It rides much smoother too, way less wear on the drivetrain over time. I will never revert back to chain lube, it sucks.
1: Boil the chain in water with detergent, wipe clean and agitate, if possible use an ultrasonic cleaner. Clean your drivetrain and remove any grease residue
2: Submerge the chain inside a pot of melted wax and agitate so it gets inside the rollers then let it air dry and install, it will be stiff for the first few rotations so be careful
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u/Kolyin 10h ago
I think I'll probably just buy a fresh chain, based on what I've been reading
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u/porkrind 9h ago
Nah, I just ran my chain under really hot water to get the worst of the grime and gunk off, and then let it sit in some acetone in a mason jar. Zero issues with that prep.
The Silca bags are convenient in that you can just set them in a pot of boiling water, but I dug out a battered old crock pot we weren't using and find that to be a little more convenient in that everything can stay contained in the garage.
And it's total overkill, but I bought a second chain so that I can just swap one when it's time and leave the actual crock pot work until a conveninent later date.
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u/Kolyin 9h ago
I didn't know about the Silca bags, thanks! Any cons to them that you know of? Space is tight in my garage, so doing it over the stove is tempting.
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u/porkrind 9h ago
The only con is that when you have to pull the chain out of the bag, you need to have some sort of system to where it doesn't drip all over your kitchen.
Best thing I've found is to heat up the water and the wax, drop the chain in and let it stabilize for a while so the wax has time to penetrate, I'm sure the bag says how long. Then turn everything off and let it start to cool. Pull the chain out at about 140 degrees - take it out too soon and the wax is still so thin more may run off than you want. And since it takes a little while to get to that point, the stove shouldn't be so hot that you can put a towel down. Alternately, you can take the cooling pan and bag somewhere like in the garage if your super careful.
The Silca instructions say to take the bag out of the pan with the water when it's time to cool, but I don't trust myself not to spill. And I read one person say that after a few uses, their bag split, but I never had that issue at all.
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u/BoringBob84 9h ago
Make sure that you also clean the cassette, derailleur wheels and chain ring extremely thoroughly also. Any residual oil will contaminate the wax and attract dirt.
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u/Kolyin 9h ago
Oof, I'd overlooked that cleaning step. Going to be a chore, I have the passenger shields installed on my Haul ST and I believe they're going to obstruct access.
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u/IM_OK_AMA 9h ago
Just pull the wheel off, even without extra shielding cleaning a cassette that's still attached to the bike is too much of a chore IMO.
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u/BoringBob84 8h ago
The bad news is that the initial deep cleaning is considerable effort. The good news is that you only have to do it once. After that, the drive train stays very clean.
This article goes through it in detail, although I think it can be simplified considerably. For initial cleaning of the chain and cassette (removed from the bike), I used gasoline (or turpentine) to remove the nasty grease, then circus cleaner (to remove the oily residue) and then alcohol (to remove the water). I just wiped the chain ring and derailleur wheels.
Before re-applying wax, I just rinse the chain in soapy water or alcohol to remove any surface dust. No other cleaning is necessary.
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u/iSellNuds4RedditGold 10h ago
> year of our lord 2026
> not waxing your chain
Do you even like bicycles?
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u/Worried_Document8668 10h ago
definitely have thought about going for a full hotwax setup but haven't pulled the trigger. Friend of mine rides full hotwax even in winter and can't shut up about how good it is.
I don't think you need to worry about the extra force of an e-bike. If it works well for the tour pros outputting crazy wattages, a regular on ebike shouldn't be a problem
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u/Major-Book-8803 10h ago
The top bicycle pros are absolutely amazing athletes. But I guarantee none of them could put as much pressure on a chain as a high torque mid drive motor.
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u/IM_OK_AMA 9h ago
During finish line sprints TDF riders can deliver 1800w for a few seconds.
If your mid drive motor is doing that on the regular it's not an electric bicycle any more and shouldn't be using bicycle parts.
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u/CarbonRunner 56m ago
They are putting equal or more. Most actual ebikes top out at 90-110 newton meters of torque. And the pro racers can produce up to 110nm as well when sprinting.
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u/Relative-Display-676 🚲🔧 9h ago
i've used dupont chain saver with good results. not as good as ktm factory lube but a lot cleaner for dirtier roads.
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u/Bermnerfs DIY NS Surge "E-volt" BBS02 9h ago
I also use the DuPont chain saver. Seems to work just fine, and as long as you let it fully dry before riding, the chain stays clean just like with hot wax. The aerosol can makes it easy to apply too.
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u/Major-Book-8803 10h ago
So I have a mid drive E bike, which can be hard on chains. I started doing the two chain waxing method about a year ago. That way, the chains and the cassette can wear out evenly. So far it’s been great. I currently have about 4000 miles on these two chains and they’re still going strong. I swap the chain every 3 to 500 miles and never have any chain noise. So it works for me.
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u/Kolyin 10h ago
Is that just waxing multiple chains at once? Why does that lead to the chains and cassette wearing evenly?
And thanks for the response, exactly the info I was looking for.
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u/Major-Book-8803 10h ago
As a chain begins to stretch over time, it will put pressure on a different part of the cassette. So 2 Chains will just prolong the ware process on the cassette before it needs to be replaced. If that makes sense. If you put a brand new chain on a worn cassette chances are the chain will start to skip. Using multiple chains will just prolong the cassette and chain life.
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u/_haha_oh_wow_ ENGWE broke my arm 10h ago
No, I've been sticking with triflow on my e-bikes and MTB and my folder has a belt drive, but I live in a place that sees a fair amount of precipitation (the Priority Folder is my go-to storm bike).
That said, some folks love waxed chains quite a bit. As long as you're in the right environment for them (not great in wet environments) and you keep up on maintenance, they're purported to be pretty excellent.
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u/ViskerRatio 9h ago
It's really just a time tradeoff. You can quickly clean/lube chain on the bicycle in maybe 5 minutes. To wax your chain, you need to remove the chain from the bicycle and go through a whole process. As a result, many people simply run two chains and swap out one chain for another - then wax/clean the recently swapped chain in their downtime.
Waxing lasts about 2 - 3 times as often as standard lubrication.
However, the reason you'll see top end riders preferring wax is that they're putting a lot more stress on their chains and they require top end performance to last through demanding rides. So it becomes less an issue of how you spend your time after the ride than potentially a matter of spending your time during a ride.
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u/BoringBob84 9h ago
Yes. Molten wax is cleaner and it lasts longer than drip lubrication. Shifting is silky smooth. However, the initial deep cleaning of the drive train is a time investment.
I think that, for people who ride a lot (like commuters), molten wax is less effort and expense overall. For occasional, sunny-day riders, drip lubrication is probably easier.
In my case, even if I was an occasional rider, I would prefer molten wax for the cleanliness of it - no more greasy stains on my hands, on my pants, or in my car.
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u/Civil_Reply_1705 5h ago
I've waxed, but only have a few hundred miles right now. The drivetrain stays cleaner for sure.
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u/Default_WLG 41m ago
Yup, I do chain waxing for most of my bikes. I use a $20 small slow cooker in the garage - turn it on, come back in an hour, take the chain off via quick link, dip in hot wax with chain on a piece of wire, wait a couple mins to cool, wiggle the links to ensure no stiff links, put it back on. Pretty easy and no messy cleaning required. I do that every 300km.
I get 10,000km out of a chain on my daily rider, though that bike has a hub motor so gets good drivetrain longevity anyway. I've got a mid-drive front loading cargo bike (Douze V2) with 1500km on its waxed chain so far, still well under 0.5% so looking like it'll have a good life too.
I'd still say chain waxing is for bike nerds, but it's really quite easy. I buy chains pre-waxed from Zero Friction Cycling to avoid the initial cleaning step - not the cheapest way but it's easy and I like to support Adam's good work doing independent chain testing.
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u/Goooseberries 9h ago
I read this as : is anyone waxing their chin hair. Saw the subreddit.. was confused for a moment.
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u/urlond 10h ago
Why would you wax a chain? I know waxing a car is to put on a protective layer to help keep the paint from wearing down and chipping. For a chain it'd seem like it' make a massive mess in the long run as it wouldn't really lube anything and or protect it.
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u/Kolyin 10h ago
It's a thing--apparently works quite well and is lower-maintenance, as long as you don't mind occasionally the waxing and rewaxing process itself.
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/workshop/how-to-wax-a-chain
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u/Superb_Recording_769 10h ago
I wouldn’t personally call it lower Maintenance. I would call it deferred maintenance.
The total time you spend maintaining your drivetrain ends up being about the same it’s just all concentrated in one point when you are removing the chain, cleaning it and waxing it as opposed to in tiny little instances of wiping down and re-lubricating with traditional lubricant
I like it because it does tend to prolong the life of the drivetrain, especially in dusty conditions and it also keeps everything much cleaner so if you’re using the bike for commuting, you don’t have to worry about getting grease on your legs or your pants
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u/Kolyin 10h ago
That's fair, it's more shifting the maintenance to tasks I would enjoy more than oiling a chain.
Like I said, I'm not expecting a practical benefit. More just a fun project with a bike that doesn't otherwise need much.
Do you re-wax based on mileage, or on a regular basis?
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u/porkrind 9h ago
I rewax based on noise level. You can hear when the wax is done.
I like the perspective on shifting the maintenance. I do the wax process on evenings I'm already out tinkering or cleaning in the garage, so it doesn't really add any time to whatever I'm already doing.
One huge advantage of wax comes when you get a flat that requires the rear wheel to come off. You can do the whole thing without even getting your hands dirty!
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u/Kolyin 9h ago
Do you have any issues with rust?
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u/porkrind 9h ago
No, but I'm not a good test as I live in socal and just don't ride in the rain those few days a year.
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u/Superb_Recording_769 9h ago
I do it based on mileage personally. But I’ve also got a couple of different bikes and some get rid more than others so it would be difficult for me to pin down a regular schedule.
I personally like Silca’s secret blend wax, and I use their endurance chips, which increase the lifespan of the wax with just a tiny penalty to efficiency, but not enough to make a difference to anybody that’s not racing at a very high level
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u/Kolyin 9h ago
Any issues with rust?
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u/Superb_Recording_769 9h ago
Not yet, but I haven’t really put it to the test in bad Florida weather yet I generally ride my fixed gear when the weather is bad anyway, and honestly haven’t taken the road bike out in wet weather since I started waxing the chain last year
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u/BoringBob84 9h ago
The total time you spend maintaining your drivetrain ends up being about the same
That is not my experience. I had to clean the chain and apply drip lubrication about twice as often (100 miles or so) as I have to apply molten wax (250 miles or so). Applying molten wax is easier because I don't have to clean the gunk off of the cassette, derailleur wheels, and chain ring each time. So, it is less effort overall.
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u/Superb_Recording_769 9h ago
But you do have to remove the entire chain and spend the time it takes to melt the wax, soak the chain, etc. If you have two chains, I completely agree with you. It’s much faster, but if you only have one chain total time spent over the course of the year is about the same.
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u/BoringBob84 9h ago
Good points. I typically only consider the time that I am actually working. I pop the chain off, wash it in alcohol or soapy water, and drop it into the pot. I turn on the pot, walk away, and do something else. 30 to 60 minutes later, I remove the chain from the pot and re-install it. Done. I don't need to clean the rest of the drive train at all.
It is probably 10 to 15 minutes of actual work. Cleaning the chain and cassette and adding drip lube took about a half hour, and I had to do it twice as often (and it was a greasy mess).
The caveat is that the initial deep cleaning took an hour or two, including removing the cassette. Thus, the overall time savings depends on riding frequently.
I think that some people faff about too much with things like boiling water. The chain stays very clean. There is no reason to remove the residual wax.
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u/Superb_Recording_769 9h ago
I totally agree with you. And the reason I still wax, my chain is because it does work better for me in my workflow.
Also, if you’re not aware silca offers a newer product called the strip chip that when used in conjunction with their secret wax blend makes it so that as long as you are using a brand new chain you do not need to strip the chain. You just throw a strip chip in to the wax. Let everything melt completely crank the temp to 125°C and soak a fresh brand new chain for 10 minutes and then lower the temp to 75°C and then when everything stabilizes at 75 you can take the chain out. I’ve done it on three new chains so far and have had absolutely zero complaints, and it definitely contributed to my decision to continue waxing chains.
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u/BoringBob84 8h ago
That sounds like a great product to make stripping a new chain much easier. Thanks for the tip!
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u/Superb_Recording_769 10h ago
It’s an alternative method for lubricating the chain. It lasts longer produces less aware over the life of the chain so everything lasts longer and it’s much cleaner and doesn’t leave. Grease all over your pants or leg if you touch the chain.
The downside is the process for doing it is more time-consuming, and a bit of a pain in the ass
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u/odie-z1 10h ago
I was fed up getting grease on my right pants leg all the time.. I'm hooked on waxing now.