All set up with new chain to replace worn one and will wax the chain before installing. However do I change the length of the new chain to the right size before or after waxing? What is the recommended approach to simplify hassle, ease installation and avoid any mess.
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My preference is to shorten a waxed chain because I hate to touch the greased one.
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I do it after I have removed the factory grease from the chain.
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It’s a bit of a waste to degrease and wax links that you’re just going to cut off and toss, but I tend to wax chains in batches and will keep new ones long in case I end up using one for a different bike or drivetrain setup.
I shorten a new chain to length after degreasing it in an ultrasonic cleaner and before waxing it.
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Disposable nitrile gloves (cheap) to shorten the chains fresh out of the box. A little wasteful (imo) to shorten chains that have been waxed, since the excess links (with wax on them) would likely be discarded.
Also, for lower cost chains, I’ve found that they oxidise (rust) pretty quickly when removed from an ultrasonic cleaner, so the standard protocol now is to soak the chains in methylated spirit for an hour (with a minute or so of shaking the glass jar every 15 minutes or so). After half an hour or so, I’d turn the wax pot on, so that the wax is about halfway through melting, so I can chuck the chain in as soon as it’s clean (to minimise exposure to the ambient air).
The methylated spirit removes the bulk of factory grease, but if there’s still any residual grease (felt by hand), I’d throw the chain into the ultrasonic cleaner for 2 or 3 minutes on a very low setting, before drying the chain and moving it directly into the wax pot.
Thanks for all the comments and guidance provided. I will go with the shorten first approach and hope all goes to plan!. Much appreciated input.
I agree with clean, then shorten, then wax.
Clean first to avoid getting factory grease everywhere, particularly chainrings and cassette, assuming you are putting the chain on to measure length. Even if you’re shortening without putting it on the bike (e.g. to match the length of an existing chain) the factory grease has a habitat of getting everywhere.
But shorten before waxing, partly to avoid wasting wax, but also because I imagine it would be hard to get the length right on a freshly wax chain. You’d want it to be properly broken in as any stiffness would get in the way of measuring the length properly, but obviously you don’t want to be riding it until it’s the right length!
You summarised all the benefits nicely - thanks for the guidance