TLDR: First ride on my waxed drive train 😂
Is this worth it? It's COVERED in dust
Can I wipe off the dust some how? Or even just pour water on it?
Spent a solid hour waxing three brand new chains yesterday
Used paraffin wax and added stearic acid and ptfe
Cleaned the hell out of my drive train with rags paper towels and chain degreaser
Have yet to swap the chains on my ebike and my son's ebike it's just so labor intensive the first time.
Was surprised there's no dedicated reddit for chain waxing, seems the practice has a bit of a cult following
by Background-Size-9414
22 Comments
Personally on MTB, unless really dry rides planned. NO.
I wax my Road and Gravel bikes (No mud/wet). But for MTB I am not sold.
From my experience, they are good in the beginning. But after 50 miles or so of “real” riding (Dirt, Mud, Creeks, etc.) the chain will start to squeak.
MTB and dirt Gravel Rides I have been using Rock n Roll Gold lube! Awesome and clean!
Also have found that Silca Super Secret Sauce is good for “cheating” on a full wax job! 😉
Yeah you just wipe the dust off using a microfiber cloth after every ride. You can wash your bike first with a hose if you want but avoid getting much water directly on the chain. Dry well with said microfiber cloth.
All the dust you kicked up would have stuck to your oiled chain and formed a paste. Does the chain feel dry after you waxed it? Like no gumminess or tackiness?
I haven’t made my own wax blend so maybe someone else can comment on your wax mix but seems fine. You really need to degrease and remove the factory grease by soaking in degreaser or something like Silcas chain stripper.
I havent washed my bike in 6 years, though i dont ride in mud
My old ass bike chain that I barely put oil on is cleaner than that chain after days riding at DustStar.
Did you use too much perhaps? I’m not familiar with waxing very much.
I live in a very dusty place so I only worry about dirty when it’s affecting mechanicals or making noises.
I use drip wax so it’s essentially the same process as regular lube, and my chain stays infinitely cleaner. It needs to be done fairly frequently because I wash my bike fairly often (3-4 rides)
Yes
Im honestly not convinced by wax for now. Silca hot wax already needed refreshing on my GF road bike after not even 450km, drive train was less than 1k km old. 300km on my emtb and its already “dry” AF again. Sunny weather riding only. For these kinds of numbers i dont need wax. Ill use the second, completely new chain on my bike and see if it improves. The drive train was cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner with nitro thinner, chain multiple times.
I bought Silca’s hot wax system, then used strip chip and endurance chip, then bought waxed, and installed new chains on all our full-sus MtBikes and gravel bikes. It works amazing.
I’m sold.
I do it on all my mtbs and imo, its toooootally worth it.
There is a father/coach and son on my local NICA team that wax their chains. The dad swears by it, the kid is indifferent 😂
Yes. Your chains will last at least 3-4x as long in my experience
I’ve used squirt wax on mine for a good few years. There are others. Ride the UK Peak district so loads of mud, dust and grit to deal with.
Probably top it up for every third ride if riding in mud / rain and when I remember in the dry however probably should be similar or every fourth.
Don’t tend to clean it much at all. Sometimes when everything is dry I brush the cassette, chain and chainrings with a dish washing type cleaning brush to get the worst off and scrape any accumulated crap off my derailleur jockey wheels and that’s about it. Chain seems to last ok. I check it fairly often and change as required.
I hated using wet lube or ceramic type stuff. The paste it forms seems to migrate into the chain or with ceramic harden and be a nightmare to clean off. The wax isn’t perfect however it averages out better for me.
I also hate de greasing and bike cleaning in general. The only clean bits on my bike are the shocks, grips and saddle!
I switched to Squirt drip wax and it’s absolutely a game changer. For dry conditions, it’s infinitely better than oil based lube for me. Quiet, clean and lasts a super long time. Just make sure you really clean the chain and let the wax fully dry (~24hr) before using it for the first time.
I’d blast the whole drivetrain thoroughly with compressed air, then wipe the chain with a clean dry towel.
Optional: take a moment to savor how the towel and your hand are not stained with black grease.
In dry conditions yes. I just hit it with compressed air and get 90% of the dust off. Touch up with dry wax lube and wipe off the excess. That gets the rest of the dirt.
I think you might have used the wrong chain lube, you are supposed to do different lubes based on conditions on the ground. “Supposed to” is doing the heavy lifting here, I don’t know anyone who does. It’s like skis and snowboards, all temp all the time
Ragley
Definitely wax unless you like replacing your drivetrain 4x more often. I’d use silica wax for the additives and avoid PTFE for the environment and my health.
So forget wax and adding PTFE. Every dry lubricant that involves wax is just using it as the method of application. The magic ingredient is Tungsten disulphide. All the top rated lubricants all use that as the chemical to provide dry lubrication.
I’m in the UK and use one of these on my chains and it works great in all weathers. I tend to buy Tension All weather as it’s cheap and local to me.
Rock & Roll Gold goes on wet, rides dry, doesn’t pick up dust/dry dirt, easier than wax. If you follow their instructions. FYI i ride in a dry, dusty climate
> Is this worth it?
For mountain biking, I’m not sure. For my fair-weather road bike, 100%. It’s smooth, quiet, and stays really clean, and I’ve worked out a process and mix that lets me go well past 150 miles if it stays dry. I always have a clean chain ready
My mountain bikes get wet even if it’s not raining. The chain doesn’t get too wet, but the rest of the bike gets at least a little muddy/dirty every ride, so that negates most of the advantages of waxing.
The two advantages of I’ve found waxing my mountain bike chains is more waxed chains means I’m usually not heating up the crock pot for just one chain and my time with all of it is more efficient. The other one is that the bikes clean up nicer after I wash the mud off. I’ll keep experimenting for a while but I haven’t decided yet if I think it’s worth it.
I know zero people that do this in the local enduro scene. It’s a roadie thing. If I have an hour to spend on bike maintenance, I’m doing more needed and critical things like bleeding brakes or servicing suspension, or changing a tire. There is nothing wrong with cleaning your chain more often with a chain device, and also washing your bike more regularly.
Waxing is for serious nerds and in conditions where you don’t need to wash your bike often. We have maybe 4-6 weeks tops of dust season here, where it’s dry enough to maybe make a difference, so I’m not going to bother. It’s a weird niche hobby within a hobby.