I run X2 SRAM chains for mtb. One has rainbow QL, one silver, for tracking use. I’ll do 5-8 uses for each QL, swap after 8th or if noticeably looser to open/close. Never had a failure, but carry a spare QL.
Cleaning wise-
Isoprop wipe chain/mech/ring after every ride
No boiling water
Run X2 wax pots
The ‘2 pot technique’ (see ZFC) makes it a trivial exercise to keep a clean and lubricated chain/drivetrain and I think makes waxing doable for MTB/ dirt-only riding
After 5000km through pot 2, it becomes pot 1 and new bag for pot 2
Additional cost is c. $35 for extra supermarket slow cooker and initial outlay of second bag of wax of choice
Tldr- skip the boiling water and do 2 pot
The added cost is relatively trivial
Cleaning becomes comically easy
Adding a 2nd chain to the rotation is more expensive but very convenient - optional however
I don’t think it does negate it, removing the chain doesn’t make the process feel difficult to me personally. It’s a very quick step.
However, ease of chain removal aside, I wouldn’t completely strip my wax with boiling water unless I’m rewaxing, which requires removal anyway.
I use drip on wax as a top up sometimes, but not on a naked chain. I think many waxers are the same, so many of us have simply not had the need to completely clean the chain while on the bike because a clean will only ever be done with an immersive rewax.
I’m on drip wax at the moment so the kettle pour helps a lot. With 2 drip wax applications, 1 after the first has cooled with a cross chain application gives 99% of the coverage that an immersion wax does according to Josh at Silca. Also lets you use Squirt/smoove on bikes from the winter.
I’m sure immersion is better and I’m looking to change over. Great tips from people here, especially for MTB use.
Once set up immersion waxing is great I’m sure but many people don’t have the time or space to do it. It’s a procedure you need to follow and quick links can be reused but after 3 times they are loose to click into place (so added expenses). As Suvi said in the recent favourite lube piece, not everyone want to go to immersion wax, no matter how great and easy it is once set up. I have friends that ride their bikes and do very little maintenance, I’d never suggest immersion wax to them because they just don’t have time or don’t care. Squirt or an alternative is a great option for them. That’s what the OP was asking about.
For those pouring boiling water over their waxed chain in the sink, are you not worried the wax can potentially clog up the drain pipes? I stopped pouring the wax/water mixture from my ultrasonic cleaner directly into the sink not too long along and instead, I put a few pieces of paper towel in the sink to hopefully filter out as much of the wax as possible.
I don’t think it negates it either. As others have said, firstly you don’t actually need to do a boiling water clean very often - a quick wipe with a microfibre cloth whilst on the bike is normally good enough.
And secondly, whilst taking off the chain to do a boiling water clean and hot wax is not zero effort, it’s really not too hard, especially if you consider the results. Sure, it might be more effort than running a wet lubed chain through one of those little chain cleaner devices. But how clean does that actually get the chain? Before I started waxing, I would often “clean” the chain, but if you ran a finger along it, it would still come off covered in a black oily mess. A single rinse with nothing more than boiling water, and a waxed chain comes out pretty damn clean. How many rounds of scrubbing and chemical degreasers would you need to get a wet lubed chain even remotely comparably clean? And how much more effort would that be?
I am rotating 6 chains over two bikes and basically I am never cleaning the chain (except for jet washing my gravel bike when it’s too muddy). When I take a chain off a bike, I run it under a tap with soapy hands and let it dry. That’s all, then I throw it right into the pot. I’ve been doing this for over a 1 and a half, still on the original wax and I don’t see any degradation in the wax nor longevity of a waxed chain.
I find pouring boiling water over the chain isn’t very efficient, it doesn’t remove the old wax/contamination completely. At least not for chains ridden on dirt roads. Heating the kettle twice and repeat the procedure is already time consuming.
Instead I put the chain in the ultrasonic cleaner with a generous splash of washing up liquid at 70-75 deg Celsius. Then shake it again in water or ethanol and let it dry. Usually do 4 chains at once. It’s a minimal amount of work.
No need for boiling water for normal cleaning: just buy a proper thin-trim microfibre cloth (like Silca’s) and wipe the chain, use another one with some isopropyl alcohol for a more thorough clean. When totally clogged with mud, flush with water as much as possible (pressure) dry full drive train and use mf cloth as above + re-drip wax thoroughly. Once or twice a year, depending on use, break the chain apart and wash in hotwater, small soft brushes will help you get rid of any stubborn gunk, proper dry, reassemble (sram links are good for up to 3 times) and re-dripwax.
A good 10k kms on my last Sram Force chain with all sorts of riding, racing, bikepacking. 1 link used 2/3 times.
Don’t do blindly, use good aim. I always do this outside and have the boiling water land on weeds sticking up between my paving bricks. Two birds with one stone!
If doing it with the chain on the bike (as shown in a Josh Poertner/Silca vid), put it in the big ring, turn pedals backward and poor the water on the chain as it passes past the front of the chain ring.
But as others have been saying, it’s not clear why you’d want to use boiling water to remove all the wax if you’re not planing to take the chain off for an immersion wax. If keeping the chain on the bike and applying extra drip wax, then I think it would make sense just to clean the chain with some soapy water or even just a dry microfiber cloth.
Largely just because I feel it’s an extra step without any clear benefit. The goal is to get the dirt off the outside of the chain, not to fully flush it of all wax (that’ll happen in the pot).
If i have a particularly muddy chain I blast it off with the garden hose. Then I bounce the bike a few times to knock some of the water off of it. Then the chain comes off and goes into the crock pot to cook while I do other things (maybe clean the rest of the bike, maybe not).
I’ve simply been throwing all my waxed chains into a pot of boiling water pulling them out, wiping them off with a towel, and then reaubmerging in silca wax.
Wouldn’t skipping this mean that when you submerge the chain you’ll simply contaminate your wax over multiple applications?
Wiping the chain down with a microfiber cloth or something similar before chucking the chain in the wax is gonna remove the overwhelming majority of any contaminants, IMHO. If the chain is so dirty that wiping it down isn’t cut it, then the chain definitely will need cleaned before going in the wax.
It’s worth noting that the companies making immersion waxes generally specify how many wax jobs you can do before you should replace the wax.
You inevitably introduce “some” contamination into your wax pot whenever you rewax. It’s kind of up to you to balance how much contamination you are introducing versus how much effort you put into cleaning the chain. ZFC’s advice is basically unless the chain is particularly grimey, a wipe gets off most of the contamination and it’s not worth the time/effort/money to do the boiling water flush.