I have a waxing question that I haven’t yet found the answer to among the other thousands of similar topics on the internet!
So I’ve been using the SILCA strip chip and their wax to dip my chains and I’ve been very impressed with the performance. I assume I was doing a bad job of stripping my chains before because now the waxing lasts soooo much longer. I’ve done a 1000km ultra ride and had no noise out of the chain….
However I can’t find much advice on what to do when I re-wax. I currently have a pot of wax with a strip chip dissolved in it. Can I keep using that when I re-dip this chain? Or do I need a clean pot every time for ‘non-stripping’ dips?
Then secondly, if I want to strip a new chain, do I put another strip chip into that same pot of wax, or do I need to start a fresh and throw out the old pot first?
Eliminate the need for any harsh cleaners or degreasers to wax your chain. Drop a single StripChip square into your hot wax, let your chain wax for 10 minutes, and hang to dry. Reuse the same pot of wax for future waxings
So to answer your first question, yes you can keep using it for subsequent waxings.
The page also says:
Use one chip per new chain with factory grease
So I think next time you have a new chain to strip you can use the same pot but drop in another strip chip.
Yeah my understanding is x1 chip per new chain but no need to empty or clean out. If you wanted to “reset” your current waxed chain then use boiling water to get the OG wax off then just rewax (no need for a chip if that chain has already had that treatment once)
Cerrently, i have apuck of wax in a ziploc bag that is my strip chip puck, so only for new chains. When I have to rewax the chain, I wipe it down with a clean microfiber, then use the other puck of wax with an endurance chip. Im getting ready to start a third puck with 2 speedchips in it for a TT race, then I will swap chains back to the endurance chip waxed chain.
Yeah, you can just use the same pot to keep waxing normally after using a strip chip.
However, there’s a limit on the number of strip chips you can use in a pot of wax. I believe that you’re not supposed to use more than six chips per pot (convenient, since the chips come in packs of six). Josh talked about it in one of the YouTube videos they put out about the strip chips.
I’m on my 4th strip chip in the same wax.
There’s a you tube video from Josh P where he mentions you can use up to 6 strip chips before cleaning out the wax and starting over.:
I am having the opposite experience. I started waxing my chains in January, and even started a fresh chain on my Lauf and the Silca hot melt wax with endurance chip. The performance is great for the first few rides, but when I need to do a quick “top-off” with their super secret chain lube I only get like half a gravel ride before the shifting suffers and it starts making noise.
I followed their top-off procedure, and make sure to do it the night before a ride - still doesn’t last which means I do the full stripping and re-wax with the hot melt to get back to good performance.
Last night I stripped the chain and am going back to an oil based wax.
Do you use boiling water to strip the original wax as well @Luke_Falk ? Or just the microfiber?
I’m getting to the point where I need to rewax some of my chains for the first time, and I’m trying to figure out if I can just wipe them with a microfiber cloth or if I should do a different treatment (like @Chris_Newman said above - clear wax using boiling water).
One chain is an XC MTB chain, the other is a gravel bike chain.
I microfibre may chains after every ride. When rewaxing I put the chain in a sieve and pour 2 lots of boiling water over it. I then put in a bottle with some isopropyl alcohol and shake it. Take it out and wipe it before putting in the hot wax
I’m also using Silca for an 11sp Shimano Ultegra chain. When I rewax, I just drop it into a hot pot of wax, let it sit for 10 minutes to come up to temp, shake it around, pop it out, let it set. If the chain looks dirty I will wipe down with a microfiber cloth before putting into the wax pot.
Every 4-5 times rewaxing, I do first put the chain into boiling water and agitate to get out the old wax plus whatever junk has accumulated in there. Wipe the chain off, and into the hot wax.
I also recommend checking out https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/ for information on waxing/rewaxing. I emailed him a question and he replied very quickly too. I’ll put one note of caution - it’s a deep rabbit hole you can spend a LOT of time reading about all the various things about waxing/lubing your chain here and it might be too much information for some! All very interesting, well thought out, and helpful though.
Chain cleaning: I’ll wipe the chain down with a rag if there’s been any wetness or significant dustiness in a ride. I generally won’t bother after a dry road ride. As for the boiling water treatment, I don’t bother with it unless I feel like the chain might have taken on some gunk from somewhere. More often than not it goes straight in the wax off the bike.
I’m aware there’s a chance of the wax getting contaminated this way but after 5 years of waxing it hasn’t been a problem yet.
I had the same experience - also on a Lauf - with the Silca drip wax and I think I figured it out. It takes way more drip wax than I thought. Its not like the little drops of oil in the old days. I end up putting a bunch of drip wax on the chain, running it both directions for a minute and then do it again for a 2nd coat. Not as convenient as it could be, but ends up being 90% as good as a hot wax.
Another vote for nothing more than a wipe down. The only reason to use boiling water is if you’ve got gunk build up from topping off with a drip wax (which I don’t bother with). Every 150-200 miles the chain starts making noise, so I swap it for the second one and relax the first.
I haven’t had a great experience with the super secret for top ups either. I switched to Ceramicspeed UFO Drip for my top ups and the results have been a lot better.
How many hours were you getting? In dry conditions on rolling gravel terrain I got around 8-10 hours with Silca Drip (similar to Squirt that used before for years and a bit less than Effetto Mariposa), about half compared to hot melt + 2x endurance chip.
