ZFC/chain waxing

[toxin]

Yes

[MikeD]

People saying "Why isn't Wax used in industry then", well:

1) Rewaxing requires disassembly, which is too much downtime for industrial equipment.
2) Where efficiency is needed, relatively thin wet lubes are an option coupled with splash lubrication, oil pumps/jets etc to keep the lube on the lubricated surfaces that would otherwise fling off/squeeze out in 3 rotations.
3) Where efficiency isn't needed, but longevity is, heavy greases are an option, because no one cares about the efficiency loss.

and

4) industry simply avoids exposing the lubricated things to dust and mud. If cycling had at one point started to use fully enclosed chainguards for performance bikes (perhaps through some weird UCI rule) nobody would talk about wax-based lubrication.

I agree, but I wasn't raising that point because it confuses the issue a bit.

Industry does indeed run dirty things on occasion though, I just went down to our production floor and stuck my fingers in some moving machinery for you guys.

lube condition 1.png

lube condition 2.png

But they're still not gonna wax this, because they don't need the efficiency, and it would be insane to try to pull this thing apart and immersively wax it. just run a stupid-heavy grease and try and wipe off the old and replace with new every thousand hours or whatever. You wanna do that on your bike, have at it. Probably won't even shift with the buildup you would get.

Ever watch Fantom Works, where they restore old cars? Dan Short pulls a finger out from under the headliner or something where there was a rodent infestation and shows it to the camera and says, "That's an amazing degree of filth!"

[LedZeppelin007]

I tried the new SILCA solution using their pot, the Strip Chip, and Super Secret Hot Melt (or whatever it’s called).

I have not ridden the bike yet.

Whole process with a factory chain took less than 30 minutes (about what it took before using a pressure cooker and SILCA chain stripper). The main difference is it took almost no effort other than a couple of agitations and stringing the chain up on the holder.

The chain looks good (normal for a waxed chain) and seems normal. The riding experience and durability of the wax will determine the success I guess. But, so far, so good.

You use the same pot for up to six factory chains (using one Strip Chip for every new factory chain) and like 60-70 rewaxes per my understanding (so maybe 30-40 practically). If it works (big if), it kind of is a game changer for those of us with a couple of bikes who rotate a couple of chains.


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This question may be dumb but do you use the same wax (with the strip chip) for the 60 rewaxes?

Let's say I have 2 new chains, I use a strip chip and wax them. I get one of them dirty, rinse it with boiling water. Do I put that chain back in the wax that had the strip chip?

Yes. You just don’t put more than 6 total strip chips in for each pot of wax. You only use a strip chip for when you have a factory chain. The rest of the time, it’s 75C and 10 minutes with some agitation at the start and at the end of the 10 minutes.

It’s rare that you actually need to “clean” the chain with boiling water IMHO. If it’s really dirty with mud and stuff, then I guess. Otherwise, just use a microfiber and wipe it off and drop it in.


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