So i wax my chain(s) since a while now and i thoroughly cleaned them before (re)waxing. I use an ultrasonic cleaner as well. Also i clean the drivetrain regularly.
But i still have a LOT of grime building up. Can‘t figure out why!
The picture is after one ride(!) with a newly cleaned chain and a semi-thorough cleaned drivetrain. Admitedly the ride was through a gravel-section and some rain in between – still, this looks like it is a standard chainlube grime buildup
Any guesses?
by swiss-hiker
14 Comments
Did you strip the chain completely when you first waxed it?
describe your cleaning process. what solvent are you using in your ultrasonic cleaner?
factory grease is pretty difficult to get rid of. I would leave the chain in a pickle jar with solvent for a couple of days to make sure the grease is completely losened up by the solvent, and then I would rinse the chain several times with fresh mineral spirits to get rid of the grease completely, and only then would I put it in the hot wax. any oil contamination in the cleaning/waxing process pretty much negates the entire effort. This goes for the sprockets too to some extent.
What are you using to strip the chain?
Normal degreaser is not enough, at least for used chains. Did you also degrease the rest of the drivetrain?
Put your chain in regular gasoline for a day in a jar/yoghurt container. Shake a few times. Then clean with demineralized spirits.
My guess is you put lube too much. Was it dip or drip in?
I use drip in and leaving it on side of chain does nothing, meaning you can remove from chain walls excess after you let it dry.
My hungry ass thought that was roast beef. Tbf I did just finish a 10 hour bar shift
I think there is some oil or grease left inside the chain links.
It should be less grime after a while. Next time clean the chain several times until you hear like a metallic rattling noise when you shake the dry chain. That means, there is no more grease left, which dampens the parts when hitting each other.
You can do a deeper clean of a waxed chain using boiling water. Then apply drip on as you normally would.
Don’t listen to all the comments that you haven’t cleaned it enough. I use Smoove wax for a two years already and it’s exactly the same. It’s much cleaner when I remove all the excessive lube after a few hours after applying it
Do you ride on roads? I notice that after my weekend rides on the local rail-to-trail network, my chain is clean as a whistle after hundreds of kilometers. After a week of commuting on the roads, it’s pretty grimey, especially if the weather’s been wet.
My hypothesis is that oily grime from the cars gets kicked up onto the drive chain.
I usually just rotate between two chains on a weekly basis. On Friday I put that week’s chain in the dishwasher and the clean one on. I also kind of gave up on immersion wax; the drip on stuff seems to be good enough for daily use.
Did you clean the rest of your drivetrain after switching from oil lube? The cassette and pulley wheels are like gunk reservoirs, and some of the stuff will get back on your chain if it is not thoroughly cleaned first. Once those places are clean and you are only using wax, further gunk buildup will be reduced though not completely arrested.
You still do get some small amount of black staining even with wax, how much also depends on the conditions you ride in. Some road grime will still catch the outside of the chain. After a few hundred kilometers, I can grab my chain with my hand and I will get some slight staining, though those stains are MUCH easier to remove than oil gunk stains (wax is easily removable with just water, unlike oil).
Are you using wax that’s solid at room temperature and nothing else?
Some waxes use graphite additives. Sure it’s actually road grime? Was the chain clean of all oils before waxing? Molten speed wax and Silca both have good guides on how to do this in a variety of ways. I’ve use mineral spirits in a mason jar shaker for a few days (repeated several times replacing with clean spirits) followed by denatured alcohol. It worked very well.
The silca cleaner is also excellent and less nasty.
Changing bicycles might not be an option for you at the moment, but after my old traditional chain/derailleur hybrid bike died when the aluminum frame cracked in half, I bought a bicycle with a carbon belt drive & IGH from a company called Priority. I really don’t miss the messy traditional chain at all. The carbon belt is buttery smooth, quiet & clean!