I am new to chain waxing but I'm trying it out as I really like the idea of not getting oil all over my clothes, legs, hands, face, eyeballs, etc.
So far it's worked great. I have maybe 700 miles on a waxed drivetrain and switched to a freshly waxed chain maybe 100 miles ago. However – the weather did not realize that I live in California and I got absolutely drenched on a 4 hour ride recently. It pretty much didn't stop pouring for the whole ride. I noticed what looks like rust a few days after on the chain and the cassette.
Oddly enough – I seem to be able to rub the rust off with my fingers. Which makes me wonder if it's not rust and something else?
So – questions:
-
What should I have done after my wet bike ride? I'm thinking I should have blasted my bike dry with compressed air or something. I just let it drip dry in my garage.
-
What should I do to clean up the cassette and chain?
-
And is this actually rust?
Thank you in advance!
by uoficowboy
19 Comments
If you have an air compressor, great use that. If not, put the bike in the fastest gear and spin the cranks really fast and then use a microfiber cloth. This is just superficial rust and itll wipe off straight away.
You must wipe down the drivetrain and brake surfaces after a wet ride at a minimum. Your air compressor is a funny idea but I would just use a rag. After a 4 hour wet ride I would re-wax.
It’s surface level rust so yes it can just be cleaned right off with simple cleaners. Hopefully there’s not too much inside, but I would thoroughly clean it with a brush and a couple gatorade bottle shakes before re-waxing now. If you have an ultrasonic cleaner it would be much easier. If the rust doesn’t come off, try soaking and shaking for a while in vinegar, then baking soda to neutralize the solution!!! (very important as otherwise the vinegar’s low pH will promote further rusting), then thoroughly rinse and dry.
Yeah, that happens – wax isn’t as good at protecting the chain.
However, it’s not a big deal – just give the chain a quick wipe if it gets wet and that makes it less likely. A boiling water rinse and rewax should fix that anyway – mine gets like that sometimes and that’s always solved it.
Surface rust, that chain need a good cleaning from the look of it and after 4h ride in the rain you need to redo it anyway
It’s surface rust and normal when the chain isn’t fully tried off. Riding in the wet removes wax, that’s why waxed chains are not recommended for wet riding. Best thing you can do after a wet ride is just putting the bike away in a dry area, wiping down the chain, and even shaking the chain to get any water off it. After you could use a drip wax to freshen up the chain. However I find drip wax never gets as hard as immersive hot wax, thus it will pickup dirt and will start to buildup on your jockey wheels. Now at 100 miles you are anywhere between a third and half way before you had to re-wax anyways. If this was a long ride especially in the wet and or with a lot of grit I would just consider re-waxing early. This having a rotation of waxed chains makes sense
I went through this. I gave it a couple rounds of silca drip wax and it was fine. Lesson learned- after riding in rain, dry chain quick!!!!!!
Pretty much take the chain off and dry it when you get in, dry the cassette as best you can.. Water and wax don’t mix, I’ve found that out
If you can, store your bike indoors where it’s dry and warm.
If its decent steel from the US/Japan, the rust is so shallow it really wont have done much damage. Just oil and wipe it down.
This is completely normal just rewax it. That’s what I did and I was all set. It’s just surface.
Clean it off, relube it, and ride
Yeah, wax actually performs well in the rain, but doesn’t do well afterward with preventing rust.
Softening up the wax with a bit of a paraffin oil like lamp oil or kerosene can make it a bit more tenacious without losing much cleanliness. 10-25% gets to tea light or soy candle hardness instead of crayon. Some people do 50/50.
Plated or stainless chains are definitely a lot more trouble free in regard to rust. Any waxed chain will need at least some drip wax after a rainy ride, but it doesn’t need to be immediately with a plated chain.
Ideally you should wipe the chain with a microfiber cloth and apply the drip wax (or do the hot waxing again) after every wet ride.
What you have is a surface rust, it’s nothing, use a cloth and some isopropyl alcohol to clean it and it will be good as new.
lol you used wax instead of Lucas Chain Oil.
After a rainy ride (or after I wash my bike), I’ll rinse the bike then blow the bike dry with my leaf blower, followed by getting the nooks/crannys with the compressor (using rubber tipped blow gun).
Of everyone that I know who waxes chains – it seems like SRAM chains are made of a better alloy and tend to never surface rust where Shimano will rust easily.
I only wax my fixed gear chain – it’s a KMC – and I have never had issues with rust and it’s generally my rainy day bike.
Whether you use wax or lube, it’s usually a pretty good idea to dry your bike after a wet ride. Just use a towel or old shirt, or you could use a leaf blower. As of right now, just do your drive train cleaning routine, and you should be fine. And this looks like surface rust, which isn’t a big deal. Just clean it, and it should mostly go away.
Strip off the wax and use a wet lube. Gets in all those places that the wax didn’t. Generally won’t get surface rust with a wet lube.
That is why I use Finish-line dry lube.
It gets washed off in rain, but I lube the chain when there is noise from the chain.