wax emulsion lubricants. how to use them?

[goixiz]

YMMV

I strongly encourage that you NOT strip chains with hot water. You are simultaneously removing the protective coating from the chain AND penetrating the chain with water. Unless you get ALL that water back out of the chain links you are inviting rust.

If you insist on hot water, consider using an old toaster oven to bake the chains and drive all the water out before waxing.

I strip chains with solvents in a hot ultrasonic bath, hang them to evaporate with a fan, and then immerse them in wax in a hot ultrasonic bath to ensure all the links are REALLY penetrated with wax. This works exceptionally well. I do multiple chains at a time and then ziplock bag them for later use. Most of the work is the setup and cleanup so might as well do as many chains as possible.

Yes thats my current process but stripping the initial grease/oil from new chain is pita with solvents and i dont like to use solvents in ultrasonic tank even though my ultrasonic tank is stainless. and last ultrasonic warm wash with dawn and then rinse with rubbing alcohol and dry in front of fan at least 30 minutes

[tireheb]

I strip chains with solvents in a hot ultrasonic bath, hang them to evaporate with a fan, and then immerse them in wax in a hot ultrasonic bath to ensure all the links are REALLY penetrated with wax. This works exceptionally well. I do multiple chains at a time and then ziplock bag them for later use. Most of the work is the setup and cleanup so might as well do as many chains as possible.

cool!, how do you roll with maintainance? aprox how much does a chain like this last before cleaning/rewaxing? how do you do this cleaning/rewaxing? thanks!

[AJS914]

I strongly encourage that you NOT strip chains with hot water. You are simultaneously removing the protective coating from the chain AND penetrating the chain with water. Unless you get ALL that water back out of the chain links you are inviting rust.

Isn't removing the protective coating the whole point when going to wax?

I will continue to do the boil in water step. It removed a lot more gunk than you would think. Also, I do an alcohol rinse after boiling.

My chains seem to last forever now. 2 years and 10k miles with no measurable stretch on my chain checker.

[goixiz]

I strongly encourage that you NOT strip chains with hot water. You are simultaneously removing the protective coating from the chain AND penetrating the chain with water. Unless you get ALL that water back out of the chain links you are inviting rust.

Isn't removing the protective coating the whole point when going to wax?

I will continue to do the boil in water step. It removed a lot more gunk than you would think. Also, I do an alcohol rinse after boiling.

My chains seem to last forever now. 2 years and 10k miles with no measurable stretch on my chain checker.

Yes the main goal is to remove any coating or lube or grease so the melt wax has a better surface to hold onto and last longer. thats why anodized chains are not the best for waxing..

[goixiz]

I strip chains with solvents in a hot ultrasonic bath, hang them to evaporate with a fan, and then immerse them in wax in a hot ultrasonic bath to ensure all the links are REALLY penetrated with wax. This works exceptionally well. I do multiple chains at a time and then ziplock bag them for later use. Most of the work is the setup and cleanup so might as well do as many chains as possible.

cool!, how do you roll with maintainance? aprox how much does a chain like this last before cleaning/rewaxing? how do you do this cleaning/rewaxing? thanks!

visit zerofrictioncycling for best "howto" and then modified it for your own purpose..... How clean and how rewaxing is not a perfect science since riding conditions difer and quality of wax and chains also varies

[pushpush]

Yes thats my current process but stripping the initial grease/oil from new chain is pita with solvents and i dont like to use solvents in ultrasonic tank even though my ultrasonic tank is stainless. and last ultrasonic warm wash with dawn and then rinse with rubbing alcohol and dry in front of fan at least 30 minutes

I don't put anything other than water in my US tank. Hot water in the US tank.

I hang small stainless kitchen bowls with a lid that contain solvent in the main US tank. This minimizes the amount of solvent required and essentially eliminates cleanup of the US tank which would be a pain. Before anyone asks, yes I do this outside. I'm not trying to blow up my garage with solvent vapor.

Hang hot chains with a fan. I use the big fan that I point at my face when riding the trainer.

Then I do the same thing with a different stainless bowl with melted wax in it. Again suspending the metal bowl in the US tank that is full of hot water.

Again, YMMV. This is just what I do. It is probably total overkill.

[usr]

This thread is specifically about emulsion (drip) wax. Could we try keeping melt wax war stories to hot waxing threads?

Not that I believe that a degreasing step that is good for melt wax would be bad for drip wax, but drip wax people tend to aim for noticeably different effort/effect compromises.

To that topic: when I'm not doing a surprise chain installation, i like to leave the new chain in a tight fitting plastic bag filled with degreaser for a day or two, ideally not bigger than the plastic bag the chain came in (which is far too greasy to get directly repurposed). I've also started using a chain pig on new chains, but I'm not fully convinced that this is really better than a more manual approach.

[Jaisen]

YMMV

I strongly encourage that you NOT strip chains with hot water. You are simultaneously removing the protective coating from the chain AND penetrating the chain with water. Unless you get ALL that water back out of the chain links you are inviting rust.

If you insist on hot water, consider using an old toaster oven to bake the chains and drive all the water out before waxing.

I strip chains with solvents in a hot ultrasonic bath, hang them to evaporate with a fan, and then immerse them in wax in a hot ultrasonic bath to ensure all the links are REALLY penetrated with wax. This works exceptionally well. I do multiple chains at a time and then ziplock bag them for later use. Most of the work is the setup and cleanup so might as well do as many chains as possible.

If the wax is heated above 100 celcius and the chain is left in there for a while, there will be no water left, it will have fully evaporated.

[tireheb]

This thread is specifically about emulsion (drip) wax. Could we try keeping melt wax war stories to hot waxing threads?

Not that I believe that a degreasing step that is good for melt wax would be bad for drip wax, but drip wax people tend to aim for noticeably different effort/effect compromises.

op here, thanks, you nailed it. in my case im trying drip wax but i dont want to go into crazy efforts, ive had a life of using traditional lubes and they work but im a bit tired of degreasing/regreasing process.

anyway! i have a lot on info on the initial degreasing for drip wax and initial waxing. but no clue on maintainance. any tips?
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-c ... ide-v5.pdf
was just checking that, if i understand correctly the maintenance on dry road riding should be around each 2000km (sounds good, with normal lube i change chain at 4000-5000km with cleaning around 500-800km depending on the circunstances (i do mostly dry riding).

but what i dont understand is that the maintenance seems to be very similar to the initial degreasing/wax application? i am comprehending incorrectly? how do you guys do it? or any other resource? thanks!

[Slagter]

Just out of curiosity, you seem to be pretty thorough with your maintenance. Why don't go all in on immersive waxing? When you get a hang of it, it's actually not that much work. I'm aware, it's not what you're asking for. But did you consider it?

[usr]

anyway! i have a lot on info on the initial degreasing for drip wax and initial waxing. but no clue on maintainance. any tips?
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-c ... ide-v5.pdf
was just checking that, if i understand correctly the maintenance on dry road riding should be around each 2000km (sounds good, with normal lube i change chain at 4000-5000km with cleaning around 500-800km depending on the circunstances (i do mostly dry riding).

but what i dont understand is that the maintenance seems to be very similar to the initial degreasing/wax application? i am comprehending incorrectly? how do you guys do it? or any other resource? thanks!

I'd say that in this document, ZFC has completely failed to get into that drip wax mindset. He's a perfectionist, that's what he's good at and that's what we love him for, but an off bike routine with drip wax? I use drip wax to avoid any off bike chain maintenance (other than the initial strip). I ride my chain riveted, with the properly deformed Campagnolo pins squished in a Rohloff Revolver 3 and I have no intentions of changing that. My drip wax application is mostly additive, occasionally I'll make the outer links nice and shiny with a rug. That's it. That has given me lifetimes of 14000 km before reaching the 132.60 (other chain gauges would still say "almost new"). On the fair weather bike, it's not *that* good, but dragging a 85+ kg body up the hills at occasionally absurdly low cadence.

[AJS914]

but no clue on maintainance. any tips?

snip

but what i dont understand is that the maintenance seems to be very similar to the initial degreasing/wax application? i am comprehending incorrectly? how do you guys do it? or any other resource? thanks!

My maintenance is similar to usr's described above.

Since you were talking about Smoove, just follow their advice. I posted above that it worked for me. Spray the drivetrain with biodegradable degreaser, wipe down / dry, and then reapply Smoove. (You can buy the Smoove branded degreaser if you want.) I bought a generic degreaser at Home Depot and it has worked fine.

Really, you can just keep adding Smoove to your chain when it gets a little noisy. That is what Smoove recommends. After you've done this a bunch of times, your chain won't get noisy very often. The insides of the links are packed with wax and that is what prevents wear anyway.

[6fu]

I strip chains with solvents in a hot ultrasonic bath, hang them to evaporate with a fan, and then immerse them in wax in a hot ultrasonic bath to ensure all the links are REALLY penetrated with wax. This works exceptionally well. I do multiple chains at a time and then ziplock bag them for later use. Most of the work is the setup and cleanup so might as well do as many chains as possible.

cool!, how do you roll with maintainance? aprox how much does a chain like this last before cleaning/rewaxing? how do you do this cleaning/rewaxing? thanks!

I've used drip wax lubes exclusively for the past 5+ years so I'll drop my 0.02$.

You're overthinking it . Wax drip lube is the most convenient method. The only hard part is initial degreasing of the factory grease, and that should ideally be the last time you touch solvents/degreasers.

For maintenance it's sufficient to just use a dry rag (old T-shirts work great) and scrub off the dirt, old wax from chain surface. Then you reapply the drip wax. You have to do it every 200-300 km, depends on the drip wax in question, you will hear the chain get excessively noisy at some point - check on manufacturers instructions. Besides scrubbing and reapplying the wax there is not much more to do.

You can clean the chain and cassette more thoroughly with a sponge and cleaner when you are washing the bike then rinsing it out, wiping the chain dry after it and waiting a bit for it to dry before reapplying the drip wax.

This method has worked great for me with chains lasting well over 10k km. I change them just out of precaution even though they are far from stretched.

Here this guy explained it in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO7TtJpcn0

[Kubackjeee]

I use petrol and effetto maripossa alpine to strip the chain.
For waxxing I use BIKE7 pro wax and it's the best lub wax I've used. On pair with ufo for me but much cheaper.

[AJS914]

Jesse Coyle video - that sums it up. Almost exactly what I stumbled upon by myself.

I do think my sous-vide Smooved chain in a plastic baggie (dip in hot water to get Smoove to flow) trick is something I never seen anyone else do. This solves one of the issues with drip on wax.

If you read Zero Friction's reports, drip on waxes can perform poorly in their first test block as the wax takes some time to work into the links. Then it performs really well on subsequent blocks - on par with a wax dip.

Another option is to first dip the chain in wax and then after that use a drip on wax for re-waxing and also never take the chain off the bike.