Apparently I wasn’t attentive enough with my post-ride bike maintenance routine after being out on salty winter roads.
Should I just pretend it never happened and dunk it in hot wax again, or do I need to do something about the rust? Is it even worth it vs. just getting a new chain?
by tapered_elephant
11 Comments
Drop the chain in some CRC Evaporust from harbor freight. Leave it in for 12 hrs the wash it off. Then properly rewax it. Done.
Yea run it.. but buy a spare now
Wax is not suitable for winter. Use something like motorcycle chain oil
its good just wax it. a chain is good until its stretched past .5% wear. rust or dirt contamination has negligible effect on performance of a chain.
GCN tested it, and a dirty chain was only 1 watt loss compared to a fresh waxed chain. and rust can only be less than that.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFwkW0CY7qA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFwkW0CY7qA)
Just rewax and keep an eye on wear.
As others have commented, rust isn’t really an issue. It mostly is esthetic. This is because inside the rollers the fiction produced prevents rust from forming. The rust on the outside doesn’t play in the rolling resistance of the chain.
If your chain still runs smooth, don’t worry about it. Just check for that 0.5% wear. If it gets stuck or isn’t as smooth as it should, rust might have formed, and you’ll need to address that.
Where are you from? The wax brand I’m using has a specific additive which helps preventing rust in winter conditions, but this chain should be good to use.
You can scrub the chain with some vinegar and a steel wool scrubber. Then just wax again like nothing happened.
I posted recently about a similar issue.
I’ve cleaned the rust off – by gentle scrubbing, no chemicals involved and rewaxed. I’m lucky enough to have a new drier place to keep my bike since the post.
I was using Dynamics Wax which was really easily washed off, I’ve started topping off with Silca drip wax which is holding up much better.
Thats chain waxing for you. Wax is not ideal in wet conditions as you need to reapply it in a similar rate as oil and oil is better at preventing rust.
When you get home, dry the chain if you want it to stay rust free. For winter riding i recommend getting the cheapest feasible cassette and chain as winter wears them away far faster than summer riding. So that means deore, cues, tiagra or 105 chain and cassette at best for shimano parts.
Not cooked. Scrape the rust off, wax it again and keep riding. This happened to me a few weeks ago, I gave it a fresh bath in hot wax and yah, all G. I usually give it a light rinse, if possible (to get the salt off) then do some spins with a microfiber cloth to dry it when riding in this winter shit.