Let’s start working on a community-driven source of truth for the art of chain waxing.
Firstly - here’s some backstory as to why Chain Waxing is increasing in popularity:
Benefits of Chain Waxing
- Significantly less chainwear resulting in longer drivetrain component lifespan
- Better drivetrain efficiency
- Significantly cleaner experience - no oil/grease stains everywhere
Considerations
- Chains must be stripped of all grease (factory or otherwise) before waxing
- Chain is more prone to rusting after a wet ride if not attended to within a relatively short time
Waxing Basics
Methods
Immersion Waxing
This involves melting a puck/blocks/pellets of wax in a pot and fully immersing a chain in the melted wax, allowing the wax to fully penetrate the chain while also coating the chain’s exterior.
Pros
- Once setup this is a simple process to execute
- Provides the best coverage of wax across the chain
- Somewhat “set and forget”, especially if you have multiple chains in rotation for a bike
- Additives can be added to the wax to tailor it to your preference (endurance vs performance)
Cons
- There’s an initial setup overhead as it’s necessary to obtain a suitable vessel and heating method (a slow cooker is a popular method for achieving both these requirements in one unit)
- It’s necessary to remove the chain from the bike each time it is waxed. This requires regular use of quicklinks which are wear items (unless you get a Connex quicklink)
- There’s a small margin for error when routing the chain back onto the bike through the derailleur
- If you’re taking your bike away for an extended period of riding it’s necessary to bring additional pre-waxed chains or use immersion waxing topups.
Things to be aware of
- In addition to a wax pot it’s necessary to use some sort of hanger to put the chain on before dipping it in the wax, mostly so you can pull it back out again!
- The wax in the pot can be used many times over but will eventually need replacing
- It’s possible to unintentionally overcook the wax, at which point it’s unusable and will need replacing
- The wax sets hard - you will need to “break” the chain to install it, and even after installation for the first few km’s of riding you may find the chain a bit noisier and clunkier gear changes than usual until it is fully broken in. This is also something to be aware of before a race (although if you do a on-bike warm up anyway, that should be adequate).
Drip Waxing
Similar to oil-based lube, drip waxing involves applying a wax-based lube directly onto the chain while it’s on the bike. One drop per chainlink as you rotate the chain using the pedals.
Pros
- Quick and convenient
- A familar process for most people
Cons
- Likely more expensive that immersion waxing as bottles of drip wax cost more than buying a puck of wax that is reused many times
Things to be aware of
- Wax takes a while to penetrate and set into the chain links. As a result it’s not advisable to drip wax your chain right before you ride it. A better bet is to clean your bike and rewax after a ride so your bike is ready for the next ride.
Hybrid
You can mix immersion waxing with drip waxing, for example doing a full immersion wax every fifth time, with four lots of drip wax top-ups in between. This gets much of the benefit of full immersion waxing, but saves time and quick links.
The ratio of immersion:drip is up to you and you may wish to vary it based on riding conditions, how much time you have, length of ride planned etc. (e.g. full immersion after wet rides, or before long endurance events).
How to chain wax
Chain Prep
Generally you want a chain to be completely clean and devoid of any oil/grease prior to waxing (the exception is if using a Strip Chip, discussed below). It is generally better to start with a brand new chain, as cleaning off the factory grease is much easier than trying to clean off the accumulated contamination from riding.
If you want to skip this step, it is now possible to buy pre-prepared chains, although typically at significant mark up.
Methods
Mineral Turpentine + Methylated Spirits
With brand new chain:
- Soak (~15 minutes) in tub of mineral turps (~250ml per chain). Swish around a bit.
- Pour out turps.
- Repeat 2-3x
- Soak (~15 minutes) in tub of methylated spirits (~250ml per chain). Swish around a bit. *
- Pour out methys.
- Repeat 1-2x
- Dry chain (hairdryer)
- Alternatively, swish chain in volatile, ethanol miscible solvent such as acetone or ethyl acetate and allow to dry at room temperature.
- Chain is clean and ready to use.
With used/dirty chain, same method but increase the number of mineral turp repeats until discarded mineral turps look clean. This may require a significant number (10+) of repeats - hence preference for starting with new chain.
Note: Isopropyl alcohol may be used in place of methylated spirits.
Note 2: A medium chain alkyl ester (eg methyl oleate, the principal ingredient in many biodiesels) may be used in place of turps: it works better (eg far less repeats needed when cleaning a used chain) and is much more environmentally friendly. It is also non volatile so can be safely used in an ultrasonic bath at 50 oC. If mixed with 5-10% of compatible detergent, it can be washed out with water. Compatible detergents at 100% concentration are sold as wetting agents at your local Ag supply (eg “Wetter 1000”)
Ultrasonic
Molten Speed Wax maintains an excellent guide on cleaning chains with ultrasonic cleaners, and is recommended for step-by-step directions.
Ultrasonic cleaners have the benefits of speed and the use of less expensive and less noxious water-based solutions. Because it is not recommended to use flammable solvents in ultrasonic cleaners, they may not be nearly as efficient at removing factory grease as the turpentine/methylated spirit method. Because of this, best practice is to use the turp/spirit method for factory grease removal, and the ultrasonic cleaner for subsequent cleaning (though cleaning is often rarely required for a waxed chain ridden in relatively clean conditions). That said, the ultrasonic cleaner will remove factory grease reasonably well if having perfect wax performance for the first wax cycle is not critically important.
Care should be taken in the selection of water-based cleaning solutions. Some, such as standard (non-HD) Simple Green and many citrus-based chain cleaners are quite acidic. The acidity - when combined with the cavitation from an ultrasonic cleaner - can increase risk of hydrogen embrittlement. Alkaline degreasers, such as most household dish soaps, should be safe when diluted according to the label. Still, it is a best practice for all degreasers to rinse thoroughly after cleaning.
Silca Chain Stripper Fluid / CeramicSpeed UFO Drivetrain Cleaner
These fluids are thought to be more effective than mineral turpentine, and they also don’t need alcohol to remove any residue. This shortens the cleaning process.
With brand new chain:
- Soak (~5 minutes) in tub of fluid (~100ml per chain). Swish around a bit.
- Pour out fluid.
** Fluid can be reused for four chains. Afterwards, it is considered hazardous waste and should be disposed of properly (ie, not down the drain). - Rinse with hot water until water runs clear.
- Repeat as necessary if significant factory grease remains.
- Dry chain (hairdryer, if available).
- Option: dip and shake chain in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and hang to dry (IPA replaces cleaner and evaporates afterwards. Also boils off at significantly lower temp)
- Chain is clean and ready to use.
With used/dirty chain, same method but likely to require repeating 2-3x until chain looks clean. Recommended to use new chain.
Strip Chip
Rather than stripping factory grease off in advance, Silca have developed a “Strip Chip” that can be added to a pot of wax along with a new chain. The chip should chemically react with the factory grease to turn it into wax. Silca claim the pot of wax can then be used as normal, with no impact on performance.
Instructions (according to Silca):
- Break off a single Strip Chip
- Add Strip Chip and new chain to pot with your preferred wax
- Heat to 125C. Hold at this temperature for 10 minutes
- Lower temperature to 75C
- Remove chain
Things to note:
- Silca says this requires precise temperature control. If using your own slow cooker, you should probably get a thermometer and monitor temperatures. Otherwise, Silca’s own wax pot is claimed to have proper temperature control.
- You can use this method for multiple new chains - add one Strip Chip per new chain, up to a maximum of one Strip Chip per 100g of wax (a standard retail pack of wax from Silca/Rex/MSW is around 500g, so you can do five chains)
- Don’t use this method for used/dirty chains
Immersion Wax how to
Types of immersion Wax
Various brands sell chain wax products. The most popular are:
- Silca Secret Chain Blend Hot Wax Melt
- Molten Speed Wax MSPEEDWAX
- Rex Black Diamond Hot Wax
- Optimize Chain Wax
- Cyclowax
- (Other brands are available)
Chain waxing was long the domain of hobbyists, and some people make DIY wax blends using generic shop-bought paraffin/candle wax and adding additives. Hobby blends are unlikely to match the performance of branded proprietary blends, particularly in longevity per application and performance in the wet. However, DIY waxing can still produce good results, and can be a rewarding experience.
DIY waxes can be formulated with non- petrochemical materials such as carnauba, jojoba esters, soy tallow (sold as soy wax) and cetyl alcohol. Performance can be superior to paraffin but at higher cost.
Additives
Endurance Chip etc
Graphite (the eco-friendly alternative to PTFE)
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) powder - safe and relatively non-toxic.
Equipment Required
At a minimum:
- Pot - A vessel that can fit a puck of wax while fully immersing a chain.
- Heating - A way to heat the pot - a slow cooker combines these two things, for example.
- Hanger - Something to hang the chain on in order to dip it in the wax
- Master links (that match your chain),
- Master link pliers to disconnect the master link (and optionally for reattaching it)
Optionally:
- Paper clips - For both ends of the chain so the last little rollers don’t fall our in the wax when the chain is heated up
Process
Regular Waxes
There are a few approaches to cleaning the chain before re-immersing:
- Do nothing, just drop the chain in.
- Wipe down with a lint-free towel (eg microfiber).
- Pour boiling water over the chain. This can be done while it is still on the bike, and removes most of the residual wax, but the chain should be dried off before immersion, either letting it air-dry over time or using a blower.
- The two-pot method uses a slow cooker filled with plain paraffin for the first dip to clean the chain, and a second one with the fancy lubricant-infused wax for the second dip.
The more meticulous you are about cleaning the chain, the longer it will last, and the longer the wax will stay good, but you need to weigh whether the time invested in chain upkeep is worth the payoff.
The process is as follows:
- Move your drivetrain into the smallest chainring and cassette cog to remove tension from the chain
- Remove the chain from the bike
- Drape the chain on your hanger, with bends that ensure the lengths of chain can fit into the pot
- Put the chain on top of the wax in the pot and turn the pot on
- Put the lid on, leaving the hanger draped over the side
- Set a timer. The appropriate length will depend on how fast your pot can melt the wax. (A small slow cooker can take around 1.5 hours)
- When the timer goes off, remove the lid and swish the hanger around to allow the melted wax to penetrate the chain
- Return the lid and wait a few more minutes
- Remove the chain from the pot and let the excess wax drip into the pot
- Hang up the chain to dry/set - ideally over the pot so further excess wax can drip back into the pot
- Once the wax has hardened, the chain will be stiff - around 15 minutes
- “Break” the chain by bending the links - leaving some stiffness in the chain can help with re-routing on the bike.
- Reroute the chain onto the bike, ensuring that you route it behind the derailleur tab below the top jockey wheel
- Partially connect the master link at the bottom of the chain’s rotation, below the chainstay.
- Rotate the pedals to position the master link at the top of the chain’s rotation, above the chainstay.
- Hold the rear wheel and apply forward-pressure on the pedals to fully engage the master link
- Rotate the cranks a few times to further break in the chain - watch the wax flakes fly.
Notes
- Because you will be removing your chain regularly, you need to pay attention to the master link, and how firmly it snaps into place. Officially, Shimano’s master link and SRAM’s Flattop link are not supposed to be reused. Other brands will have limits on the number of open/close cycles their master links should be subjected to. There is one brand, Connex, whose connector does not have any stated limit on reuse (it also doesn’t require a tool to open/close).
- Some chains need to be installed in a specific way to function correctly. For example, Shimano chains must have the stamped sides of the link facing outward. Ensure you’re aware of your chain’s requirements.
- It is not necessary to wax the master link but it’s worth giving them a clean each time you re-wax the chain
- Some people may leave the chain immersed in the wax after turning off the pot. Leaving the wax to cool a bit can help it adhere to the chain (details).
- After the initial immersion wax wears away, you can re-immerse the chain or apply drip wax. Many people will use a few drip-wax cycles before re-immersing.
Changing the wax
The easiest way to change wax is to turn on your wax pot and flip it upside down. The wax inside will melt slightly then fall out.
Drip Wax how to
Types of Drip Wax
- TBC - Ceramic Speed, Silca etc
Equipment Required
Nothing!
Process
- Cross chain from the big ring to the big cog on the cassette
- Start at the quick link
- Pedalling backwards, Apply the wax on the top of the chain just before it goes onto the cassette
- Drip the wax onto each connection in your chain
- Move the chain backwards
- Repeat until all connections are waxed
- Spin the cranks backwards a couple of times
- Move forwards and change through your gears
- Leave the bike to sit overnight / for several hours before riding
Other Considerations
- TBC - things like - dual pot immersion technique or other variations