Hi,
So I bought a bike with waxed chains, what I did not knew.
I put oil on it rode around and saw that there was no oil on it, touched the chain, felt waxed.
I got home, cleaned the bike, Chan and gears, dried it and put liquid wax overnight.
Now I turned the pedal to brake the wax, and now it crumbles around. What’s was the mistake?
Was it not cleaned enaught? Or am I overthinking?
by SashAustrianBull
7 Comments
It’s fine, just ride and once the wax wears off lube with what you want as needed. Chain waxing is for dry weather perfectionists with too much time on their hands.
Hot dip wax will crumble and shed bits for a few rides. Bike is fine, enjoy!
First of all, if you are going to wax, the chain needs to be completely cleaned to remove all oil. So if you oiled, but then added wax, not good. Start over with a clean chain.
Second, I am not a fan of liquid waxes. They still pick up dirt/grime. I recommend getting a wax pot and properly waxing.
Third, when you properly wax a chain, the wax gets down inside the links, between all the parts that are touching each other. This is what you want and what prevents wear and keeps it quiet. The wax on the surface isn’t doing anything and will flake off. That’s normal.
Wax crumbles homie! It’s all good. Is it silent or does it make noise? Like a loud dry metal clanking sound? You can put more liquid wax on it and ride directly. Also, highly suggest getting the wax dip bag and use it. It’s easy to heat up without a crock pot!
Waxed chains flake like that. But since you oiled it you essentially ruined the wax. If you are not planning on waxing the chain again and just using oil, you should degrease the chain and go back to oil. If ur looking at rewaxing, you have to start all over again and strip the chain from scratch.
It definitely was not clean enough. Cleaning oil off a chain is quite the hassle. If your chain is still contaminated with oil, the wax can’t properly stick and will shed off.
I don’r think any of the answers read your description.
You put oil on your waxed chain. After you rode with it, there’s oil inside of the chain rollers and it’s going to prevent the wax from working properly, you’ll have to add some constantly.
If you want to continue using wax, you need to clean the chain with a proper solvent to get rid of 100% if the oil.
If you want to use oil, just put your chain in boiling water for a few minutes while you move it arround. Let it dry, it will not have any way left, you can then oil it like usual.