8/12/23 1:42 PM

Anyone do it? I've currently got the new SRAM chain soaking in the crockpot. Heard good things but this will be the first time trying it.

8/12/23 2:10 PM

meh... ;)

8/13/23 8:34 AM

Thanks for the thoughtful and insightful reply :P

8/13/23 8:58 AM

To me, this is like vaping and no sock wearing... no sock wearing.... dunno how to say that with out breaking Thumper doctrine.

You got thick skin as I recall.

I've been using Dumonde Tech for like 10 years. Yellow for cold, blue for warm. If I go to put it on and the RD pulleys have cake, I get a rag and a stick and remove cake, then put on more Dumonde.

I will say this, it stinks. I put it on after I take bike outta the van...

Here: read this thread maybe... And put some socks on! ;)

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=3241134&postcount=1

8/13/23 9:18 AM

Oh, I'm not doing it for the watts. If there is a measurable difference I'm sure that's only going to be in the lab and would be completely muted by environmental variables on the road. I just like the idea of a cleaner chain without all the gunk on it. Dunking it in a wax bath every 2 weeks seems a low price to pay. $20 for a dedicated crock pot and about the same for some wax that will likely last a long time.

But yeah, I don't wear the tall socks on training rides because cycling tan lines are already bad but I definitely have a couple pair for events.

8/13/23 11:42 AM

I do have a pickup potting rig. I use paraffin and beeswax to make electric guitar pickups less subject to feedback when played with lots of gain. I guess a little chain residual in the was shouldn't hurt.

I will wait until your trials conclude. Interested to hear your opinion. Contrary to how it might seem above. All that waxing poetic against, et al.

8/13/23 2:54 PM

quote:

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Dunking it in a wax bath every 2 weeks

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8/13/23 2:56 PM

yeah, probably. i will tell you that today's ride was the quietest I ever had, though. ZERO drivetrain noise. Admittedly there is a confounding variable in that it's the first ride with the new group on....

8/13/23 2:59 PM

My drivetrain is always dead quiet. I lube the chain with the home brew mix of 3 parts odorless mineral spirits to one part oil. As I work through my supply, my oil right now is 90w gear lube that I have left over from needing it to maintain a 1969 Toyota stick shift Corolla. I hear the drive trains of people I ride with, but I don't hear mine. Superior maintenance skills, I guess :)

8/13/23 4:14 PM

How do you like the SRAM Groupon?

8/13/23 5:35 PM

Tom, only got 1 ride, ~50mi on it but yes so far. I mean, for one thing, it works so it's already better than the EPS. ;)

It is definitely going to be a learning curve, the muscle memory around left hand shifting the front and right hand shifting the rear will take some time to reprogram. Made a few mis-shifts but quickly corrected. The EPS was LOUD, I definitely got a bum group but I can't believe the difference with the SRAM. I never heard the chain except when shifting under load, shifts were buttery smooth and crisp, etc.

Kerry, no contest with superior maintenance skills. I am a lazy [bleep] when it comes to that. My gravel bike is starting to shift poorly and I'm sure it's because I haven't attended to it in a while. Going to try to get better at this stuff now that I'm really starting to get back in the game of riding seriously.

8/15/23 2:59 PM

I tried waxing chains back in the '70's and as Kerry said, plain paraffin lasted no more than 100 miles, which made it worthless since I was training more than double that every week. It wore out even faster if it got wet and it offered no rust protection on the surfaces that matter. I've never gone back to it.

I've seen riders from dry areas out west expound about how easy it is to wax chains, and perhaps it is under those conditions, but I don't live there. I live in NH where we're getting inundated with rain this summer. I would have to clean the chain thoroughly between wax applications, so that's a non starter.

Granted, today's wax lubes are much improved and are allegedly the lowest friction lubes on the market, but we're talking about the difference between a 98% efficient drivetrain and 99%, or even less than that compared to the best oil-based lubes.

Like Kerry, I make a home brew drip lube, though I tell myself it's more sophisticated than plain oil because I add PTFE, MSO2 and ZDDP as friction reducers. All I know is that it goes on easy, it's relatively clean, and it will last up 800 miles in dry conditions on our road bikes. Our drivetrains are quiet and feel really slick, plus we get great chain life. That's good enough.

I use the same home brew on our off-pavement bikes, but since they get dirtier and sometimes wet, muddy or slushy, I apply it more often. We're now using KMC's EPT rustproof chains on all of them and they hold up quite well.

8/20/23 4:37 PM

Dunno...so far I'm a fan. Modern wax is designed to last longer it seems. Got about 250miles on one dunking so far, loving the quiet, and no more cat4 tattoos on my leg!

8/20/23 6:31 PM

Definately keep us posted...

8/27/23 11:18 PM

Absent for the most part here, but I still check in once in a while, and still do some rail trail riding (no more road for my poor damaged brainstem). Anyway, I do still wax my chain. Long ago I scored several huge hunks of paraffin so I always have some around. I cook the chain in melted wax with a little (not scientifically measured out) added heavy oil, so that it dries a little bit soft. Lasts a few hundred miles, stays quiet and chain longevity is ok It's especially nice if you ride in dirty and dusty conditions, since it doesn't attract dirt.

8/29/23 11:34 AM

Been waxing for 10 years or so, and wouldn't go back. Its so nice having a drivetrain that doesn't leave its mark anywhere.
I get 250-300 mi between waxings in the dry. If its an issue for anyone, I'd just have 2-3 chains in rotation and ready to go. But its no hassle, less time than drip lube, to pop the link, pull the chain and throw in a cold crock. Come back a couple hours later or next am and pull it out, let cool, and install.
I don't ever clean a chain after initial strip, just throw it in the pot.

8/29/23 11:45 AM

Initial strip process details appreciated...


EDIT: Thanks.

Last edited by Sparky on 8/29/23 4:52 PM; edited 1 time in total

8/29/23 12:38 PM

I'm not really over the top about it... a couple baths in oms then into an ultrasonic with a couple drops of Dawn. You could just do the oms baths probably. Silca and zero friction both have detailed methods if y'all are anal and want to have a grand tour chain. I don't care about watts savings, just a clean and durable drivetrain.
Whatever you do, don't try to strip and then wax a chain that has been used with petro lube...

9/1/23 4:01 PM

I've never had an issue with chains that were previously oiled, since the plain paraffin wax is petroleum based and I mix in a little heavy oil anyway. Maybe it depends on the wax. This is the generic stuff. If the chain has been oiled before and is dirty I'll flush it well to get all the grit off, but I've never bothered to strip a new chain.

9/2/23 3:28 PM

quote:

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Whatever you do, don't try to strip and then wax a chain that has been used with petro lube...

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9/8/23 2:54 PM

Everyone in the waxing world, from Ceramic Speed to Josh Portner at Silca ad nauseam will tell you that wax will shed from areas of a chain with grease and oil on them. I'm not a chemist, but I'll take their advice that the chain must be pristine. And nothing will get a chain that has been lubed with dry lube and run so that its deep in the nooks and crannies etc. truly clean. That's their experience as well as mine.
Given that the experts in the field all recommend against it, there's really no reason to not wait til you need a new chain to switch over.
I'm using plain paraffin with a little mso2 thrown in.

9/8/23 2:57 PM

https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/waxing-how-to-zen-master-guide-v4.pdf

9/8/23 2:59 PM

So what of new chains that all have some lube/coating etc? Ultra sonic or high flash point solvent bath before inaugural waxing?

9/8/23 7:24 PM

Mineral spirit bath

9/8/23 7:37 PM

So low flash point solvent good?

I am going to try it in the name of empiricism.

I have Naphtha, Fuel alcohol, and acetone.

I'd say the Fuel alcohol stronger than the mineral spirits and leave less behind. I say that because I tried a lacquer wet sanding with it once. It worked well but took weeks to gas out the smell of the stuff.