Tell me about chain wax

[R3awak3n]

In particular this new chain wax that is all over instagram. Goes on easy and according to them its the best thing since sliced bread

https://wendperformance.com/buy-online/chain-wax-kit


Seems interesting

[John H.]

I used this stuff for a bit on my cross and hardtail- Worked pretty well.
Regular lube just dries out or turns to sludge offroad.

I am currently using Molten Speed wax- Takes some initial setup (and a small crock pot)- But one up and running it is easier to keep going.
It is easier to do the Molten Speed wax thing on a new chain- It was kind of a pain to get all of the Wendwax off of my pulleys, chainrings and cassette.

I still use Prolink gold for road use-

[Dave]

Seems ridiculous to me. You need lube to flow between the roller and pin to reduce wear that creates elongation. That stuff isn't going to flow, unless it's the wax-off product that really has the lube in it. Even then, you've got an expensive product being applied in a manner where a great deal of the product soaks into a rag and gets wasted. That stick of wax will break off at some point and waste a lot of product, too.

Liquid dry lubes like clean ride show the application of a large amount to the chain, right by the cogs, while spinning the cranks. Seems like a good way to make big mess and use up a 4-ounce bottle in about 4 applications. They also recommend applying it at 50-75 mile intervals.

http://www.whitelightningco.com/prod...nts/clean-ride

I've been using my home made dry lube for several months now and it seems to be working well, but I do apply it often. I apply it to the lower section of chain and use a paper shop towel to catch the excess and wipe the chain. I don't bother to carefully apply one drop to each roller, since it only costs pennies per ounce. I suspect that most people would never clean a chain using this product, but the chain will still collect grit between the plates, so occasional chain cleaning is still a good idea.

[R3awak3n]

I love what I use right now, NFS, but it is messy stuff (just like any wet lube). This wax stuff looks amazing on paper but something feels weird to me.

Pretty much I would love a cleaner solution. I don't care if I have to redo ever few hundred miles but you bring good points Dave.

@John H. - I have heard about the Molten Wax. I have a friend that uses it and really does like it. Seems tried and true but the hole pot setup system is not something I want to do

[Tony]

Who uses a black rag to clean their chain.
If rub on wax is your thing maybe try some Burts Beeswax lip balm. Most likely will get you the same results.

https://thrivemarket.com/p/burts-bee...oaArZrEALw_wcB

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Dave

Seems ridiculous to me. You need lube to flow between the roller and pin to reduce wear that creates elongation. That stuff isn't going to flow, unless it's the wax-off product that really has the lube in it. Even then, you've got an expensive product being applied in a manner where a great deal of the product soaks into a rag and gets wasted. That stick of wax will break off at some point and waste a lot of product, too.

Wax has consistently shown to be a low friction chain lube in multiple tests. Perhaps that is due to the fact that it doesn't flow, so there is no viscous drag. But there have been questions about durability and chain wear when using wax. Here's an article about a lube endurance test, performed by an Australian company Zero Friction Cycling:

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/fast...ves-you-money/

Interestingly, in this test Wend Wax had one of the fastest chain wear rates, whereas Molten Speed Wax had the slowest chain wear.

[redir]

IMHO wax chain lubes suck but they are the best thing for dirt and cyclocross

They suck because you have to apply it all the time but nothing sheds mud better.

[PSJoyce]

On a road bike, I was initially excited by Wend -- it did keep the drive line visibly clean. But, it didn't seem to last, gummed up pulleys and chain wheels and worst of all, flaked off leaving impossible to clean flakes and blobs of wax on my basement floor. A grubby basement floor is not an acceptable trade off for a clean chain.

I'm back to NFS applied as recommended with frequent chain wipes.

[bart998]

I'm pretty happy with White Lightning wax chain lube. Chain has to be very clean to begin with. Now use it on all my bikes... on and off road. https://www.amazon.com/White-Lightni...ain+lube&psc=1

[JStonebarger]

I've been using straight paraffin wax for several months now and it works very well. After the initial set up it takes very little time, and the entire drive train stays nice and clean. Wax also has to be the cheapest chain lube out there.

Not sure what the advantage is to rub-on wax. Heat and dip is the way to go.

[ultraman6970]

Ultra has a bag with chain wax moving around if somebody wants it for a fee...

[Joxster]

I remember the days of cleaning my chain with petrol (gas), rinsing and drying then melting wax and putting the fresh chain in and shaking to get the wax into every roller. That was 34 years ago, I thought we had moved on since then.

[ultraman6970]

Some guys are still using it, not me tho, no time to do that

[Lanternrouge]

Wend is a local company here and a lot of guys use it and are really happy with it. Some people have tried it and gone back to using something else, but it seems a majority of the people who try it out here stick with it. Personally, I still use NFS and just bought two new bottles.

[Ken Robb]

My uneducated opinion is that wax is dandy for preventing rust but it's not a very effective lubricant.