Count your motherfuckin days, always-black drivetrain! (I hope)
Tonight I’ll be degreasing the shit out of my drivetrain and current chain, plus degreasing the two new chains I bought for this chain rotation scheme.
Tomorrow the real fun begins. Accepting any tips/tricks/things you knew before you got started. Would appreciate some wisdom.
by hecderp1213
11 Comments
Use some coffee filters to clean the chain stripper for reuse.
Don’t wax the quick links.
Useful video from Silca: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8BbR-Py02o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8BbR-Py02o%E2%80%9D)
I find the chain stripper to be absolute garbage, but have had great success with the strip chips.
Also, re: filtering the stripper — I’ve tried several different coffee filters and it’s just not practical IMO. It takes forever, needs to be monitored to clear clogs, a lot gets absorbed by the filter itself.
Wax is great though and best of luck!
Make sure you lay paper on the floor around the area where you’re pulling the chains out of the hot wax – it drips all over. Hang your hot chains either on a nail or over a horizontal dowel or similar with something underneath as well.
Break the links individual after cooling and before using. All it takes is one sticky link to be a pain. It can be hard on your hands so I use a pair of old work gloves to break the links after cooling. They’re all waxed up now so they’re nice and slippery.
Prolong the chain line between hot waxings by dripping a liquid wax on it after every 50-100 km or so (it’s usually dry here, if wet where you are you might need it after after ride and wash). Make sure you wipe it clean well first though. I prefer Squirt – I heat it for 5 seconds in the microwave first to soften it better and shake for a minute before applying. I’ve tried “Flower Power”, it came highly recommended, but I hate it. It lubes well but stays too soft/oily and will absorb a lot more dust and dirt.
When you need to rewax, I boil the chain in some water and use an old toothbrush to help clean. It shouldn’t need much work before going back in the hot wax. In addition to a dedicated crockpot I have a dedicated old saucepan for cleaning chains, as the wax is hard to clean off entirely.
What are you using to melt the wax?
I invested $5 in a smaller crock pot, and i have a spot to hang the chain above it when I pull it out so the excess wax drips back in. Waxing is the greatest thing I’ve ever done for my drivetrain!
Rode my first ride with a waxed chain today, and damn what a difference! It was a wet 50k gravel ride.
I came home, hosed down the bike, and dried the chain with a towel. Zero grime, it’s like I never went anywhere.
I do wax (with those products), and I do like it. The bike mechanic that I do tune ups with didn’t believe how much I ride so it does help with wear I think.
That being said, there is not a massive difference in regular use in dry weather in not too dirty conditions.
Silca also do a stripchip. No degreasing your chain! Just add your chain with factory grease in your hot pot with silca wax and the stripchip!
https://silca.cc/en-gb/products/strip-chip
Three mason jars: 1 for the degreaser, 1 for the warm water rinse, 1 for the rubbing alcohol. Use a cut and bent piece of hanger to fish the chain out of the degreaser and rubbing alcohol. The warm water you’ll dump and refill a couple times, but it’s nice to retain the degreaser and rubbing alcohol in the jars when doing multiple chains.
Use a small space heater in the room with the wax kit so that the chain cools in air more slowly and the excess has a chance to drip off the chain. Reduces both waste and mess.
Don’t bother trying to filter the degreaser, just pour it back into the bottle and it’ll separate with the gunk sinking to the bottom. The next time you use it, just pour slowly and leave that junk in the bottom of the bottle.
Ditch the old chain, not worth keeping. Start with the new chain. Use their liquid wax periodically. Every once in a while clean the chain with a cloth, then rubbing alcohol, then re-hot wax.
Find some horizontal rounded surface to get the links broken free after it cools and before trying to instal it on the bike, it makes the process easier, although it will still be messy with wax flakes as it breaks in.
Pro tip: get a second chain, wax them both and rotate according to the Silca Schedule.
Wax is the way. You’ll feel a noticable performance improvement right away. Your chain will just gliiiiiiide.
Just make sure you seriously clean your chain first. Even with the chain stripper once isn’t enough. I know they claim it’s one step before waxing but it wasn’t enough when I tried it.
Degrease it a few times and flush it out with a shake in alcohol. If you have any doubts about all of your old lube still being in the chain than degrease again. It’s a hassle but you’ll never need to do it again. Absolutely smooth sailing after that initial cleaning.