JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
I know I've waited too long if the chain is noisy. Swapping out the used chain with a freshly waxed chain makes the drivetrain work silently again. So, normally, I'll swap chains before the drivetrain becomes noisy.
Chain WAXing (yes it's that easy) - and other mysteries of this art!
- Thread starter LarryOz
- Start date
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
I run it till is starts to make noise. It's start. Making more noise progressively so you have to get a feel for how much noise you feel is still ok. I wax my chain on Fridays at work before the weekends which is ether every 1-2 weeks. So it usually ends up being every 300-500 miles. You can't wax a chain too often so just play around with it and get a feel for it.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
I will stay alert for the sound made by the chain, especially after about 300 miles. Looks like my next step is to get a second chain ready.
How long do waxed chains last typically? I got 4,700 miles out of my stock chain dousing it with chain juice when it looked dry. I'm wondering if the main advantage to waxing is the chain and related cogs and sprockets, and operator's hands, stay much cleaner, but not to expect the chain to last any longer.
How long do waxed chains last typically? I got 4,700 miles out of my stock chain dousing it with chain juice when it looked dry. I'm wondering if the main advantage to waxing is the chain and related cogs and sprockets, and operator's hands, stay much cleaner, but not to expect the chain to last any longer.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Well when ridden in generally fair weather conditions it seems you can expect at least the same life to twice the life when using wax dip. if your using the same chainrings and cassette then you can expect those to wear in your chain faster for a bit to match their wear then wear should slow to what you can generally expect from waxing. Chains and sprockets wear together with the chain or alloy sprockets wearing slightly faster then the rest of the drivetrain. If you wear a chain totally out to its wear limit then as the chain was reaching the end of its life it was eating away at the rest of the system to match its wear. When you drop on a new chain it'll take a few hundred miles in general to wear in and match the rest of the system. This is why is you wait to long to swap out a used chain your new chain won't play well and skip over the cassette teeth. If you expect to get 2-3 chains of life out of your cassette then have 2-3 chains in rotation. This will maximize the total life of the system and delay the accelerated wear rate at the end of each chains life till all 2-3 chains are there together. Yes it's more work and generally not needed for anyone riding less than 5000 miles a year but if your logging to big miles then put in the little extra effort.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Great point Jason, and another really good reason not to have a RWD recumbent that requires 3 regular chains just for one setup!
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
True but then again because a rwd recumbent uses more then two chains worth of length that long chain will last 2-3 times longer because each link is only used 30-40% as often as ours. You could argue that a rwd recumbent benefits from the 2-3 chains in rotation method without you actually needing to rotate the chains.
Fwd still has the advantage of being exposed to less road grit being kicked up from the tires.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
My 3 chains in rotation method was thought of when I switched to single speed on the Mtb. Chainrings are almost always aluminum and quick to wear on a SS setup vs the hardened steel cog in the rear. Because I was racing the SS against the multi geared open class I needed to run taller then normal gearing to keep up on the flats when the group would regularly do over 22mph. This meant my hearing was crazy tall for the punchy climbs on course so extremely short burst of torque were needed. What was happening was I was eating a chainring and chain within 600 miles. I called up the chainring manufacturer and explained what was happening and they said I was simply pedaling too hard to expect a long life from alloy rings. My solution to maintaining a quite and smooth running system that would last as long as my hard steel rear cog was 2 rings and 3 chains in rotation. I'd run each chain up to about 100 miles on the first ring then clean everything and run them all again 100 miles on the second ring then repeat the process on the first ring again. This meant I had a system that would smoothly wear out together over 2000 miles instead of only getting 1200 miles with the latter half of those miles dealing with a noisy chain not happy with the cogs. Yes it was a ton of work and thinking back an ultrasonic cleaner would have made thing much easier but I didn't realize they were so cheap to buy at the time.
When I get back into MTBing I'll try waxing the chain but I kind of wonder if the results will be as nice with sand and grit everywhere. Certainly not an option for my 24mtb races where applying more chain wax mid race it's an option.
When I get back into MTBing I'll try waxing the chain but I kind of wonder if the results will be as nice with sand and grit everywhere. Certainly not an option for my 24mtb races where applying more chain wax mid race it's an option.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
Got to ride the newly waxed chain today. The chain is silent, the only steady state noise is the wind and tires. It was a sweet ride.
In a month or so I will be riding indoors on Kreitler Rollers because it will be too cold outside. By then I will have two more waxed chains queued up.
In a month or so I will be riding indoors on Kreitler Rollers because it will be too cold outside. By then I will have two more waxed chains queued up.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Hmmm, that might pose a problem. A Lot of wax pile up below the axe on our stationary trainers. That might be a problem for rollers you might get lumpy wax deposits; or they might become slippery... Proceed with caution the first couple of times, or put a mattress on the far wall.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
Heh! Been there, done that. Learning how to on rollers has been my biggest bike challenge. I've done it with my Birdy and my USS Azub Origami. I have also learned how to watch video while riding, and only fall off occasionally.
Cruzbike once again provides me with an opportunity to learn. Thanks for the heads up. I will keep a watch on the rollers.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Spoke with the guys at Molten Speed Wax as well as ordered some of their wax. I've been using my own how brew stuff so far and figured I'd try and compare what they've got. I told him about the 24hr race next weekend and asked for any additional tip and tricks but nothing really new beyond what I'm already doing. When wax longevity was brought he mentioned they had a recumbent rider back east that has gone as far as 1200 miles between waxing, Hmmmmm I wonder who that could be 
.
Anyways something was brought up that I noticed during my first few waxings. He meantioned the wax chain will get noisy after a few hundred miles but it's squeaking that you want to watch out for. He said the roller noise that appears after 2-300 miles is just the roller making contact with the chainring and cog valleys and doesn't mean anything as far as friction is concerned. He also if your in the habit got ahead and wax the chain as often as you want. He recommended it as a way to keep the chain more free of collected grit since waxing also removes foreign stuff as well.
I have a dedicated race chain for the 24hr that only has last weekends 5hr test on it so it broken in but still fresh. It'll get a new coat of molten speed and bagged for next week.
. Anyways something was brought up that I noticed during my first few waxings. He meantioned the wax chain will get noisy after a few hundred miles but it's squeaking that you want to watch out for. He said the roller noise that appears after 2-300 miles is just the roller making contact with the chainring and cog valleys and doesn't mean anything as far as friction is concerned. He also if your in the habit got ahead and wax the chain as often as you want. He recommended it as a way to keep the chain more free of collected grit since waxing also removes foreign stuff as well.
I have a dedicated race chain for the 24hr that only has last weekends 5hr test on it so it broken in but still fresh. It'll get a new coat of molten speed and bagged for next week.
DavidJL
Well-Known Member
Got a hold of some Molten Speed Wax, melted it in a slow cooker and did five chains today. Had previously cleaned the chains as best as I could. As much as Molten Speed Wax costs, I'm not about to get it dirty. An old spoke makes a nice dunking tool. The spoke head catches the chain. I'm going to be much more scientific about waxing chains and hope I don't have to do it as often as I used to. I used to have to clean the excess wax from the cassette.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
Maybe your not getting the wax all the way up to 190 degs? It melt fairly low around 140-150 but at 190 it a bit less viscous so you'll end up dragging less wax up on the outside of the chain when you pull it out. For the last two months I've been wiping the chain off right after hanging it to dry which didn't seem to create any issues. The last couple times I haven't wiped off the chain per moltens instructions but I haven't noticed any excessive buildup as of yet.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Another thing to mention; if you get it all the way to temperature; it does steam a little; best to be wearing eye protection to keep wax steam out of the eyes..... And of course never be the guy the falls asleep while the wax is cooking in the garage. That doesn't make any sort of mess on the cars and the walls
super slim
Zen MBB Master
What is the best temperature of the wax, for getting into the chain?
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
They claim 190degs per their testing.
super slim
Zen MBB Master
So if I used a large shallow tray of water and floated the shallow pot of wax + chains in it, and put both on the BBQ, the wax would only reach a max. of 100 C (212 F for the uninformed) wax temperature.
Would I then wait until the wax temp dropped to 88 C(190 F), using a meat probe temp. gauge, then remove the chain?
Should I buy a new meat temp probe, so the next ROO steak is not a bit waxy tasting?
Would I then wait until the wax temp dropped to 88 C(190 F), using a meat probe temp. gauge, then remove the chain?
Should I buy a new meat temp probe, so the next ROO steak is not a bit waxy tasting?
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ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
I use a turkey probe cause everything tastes like chicken.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
I boil water and dip the chain in a glass jar with the wax inside. I bring the water up to between 150 and boiling then let it melt the wax. Once the wax it totally melted I mix the wax, drop in the chain, and bring the water to a boil. Several mins of boiling should bring the wax up to 190, it'll struggle to reach over 200 because it's not being heated directly. Use a simple temp probe to check the temp. As long as the wax is melted completely and the chain is fully up to temp inside the wax when you agitate the chain the exact temperature isn't really a big deal. It's only a matter of splitting hairs if you want to spend the time going the extra mile.
