I've become a waxer

[biker72]

I converted one of my bikes to a waxed drive train. New 11sp dura ace chain and almost new cassette.

I'm a fair weather pavement rider so no water or large amount of dust problems. The bike rider weight is about 190 pounds. I currently have about 120 miles on the drivetrain and it still looks great.

How many miles should I expect to get before re-applying the wax.

[Jdm]

300km. It’s why many people who wax rotate through multiple chains and then wax them all together.

[makoti]

Try the Drip wax between full waxes. Makes life better
I can go 200 miles or so before I should re-apply

[GregL]

I use the recommendation that Josh from Silca posted in this thread. For generally dry road riding, I hot wax at 1200-1500km intervals with drip wax every 200-300km in between.

Greg

[biker72]

Thanks for all the responses. I've used Rock n Roll Gold for years and relubed about every 100 miles. Worked fine but wound up with a rather dirty chain and had to periodically degrease.

I'm really liking this clean waxed chain.

[weaponsgrade]

I rewax at 200 miles for the road bike. I've found that any kind of wet ride requires an immediate rewax. I'll get maybe 150 miles on the gravel bike and under 100 miles on the mtn bike. I've got a 1x setup on the mtn bike and lately I've taken to rewaxing with the chain still attached. I pull the wheel off, undo the chain from the chain ring, and set the slow cooker up on a bucket flipped upside down and underneath the RD. It takes a few passes to get the entire chain, but it saves having to undo the master link.

[ocslick]

Originally Posted by GregL

I use the recommendation that Josh from Silca posted in this thread. For generally dry road riding, I hot wax at 1200-1500km intervals with drip wax every 200-300km in between.

Greg

Silca's drip top up wax is great, it also helps to wipe down the chain right after every ride to reduce dust and dirt build up that the drip wax will move into the rollers.

[rogerspam]

If dry, just use the Silca drip wax at that 200km-ish interval or hearing any drivetrain noise and when you are not feeling lazy do the pot wax. Rotating chains is the way to go for doing pot wax. No down time for biking that way.

[biker72]

Thanks again for the responses. I'm in the process of getting more chains.

[Louis]

[biker72]

Hilarious Louis. Thanks...

[GregL]

Originally Posted by ocslick

Silca's drip top up wax is great, it also helps to wipe down the chain right after every ride to reduce dust and dirt build up that the drip wax will move into the rollers.

Good point. I agree and I wipe my waxed chains with a microfiber cloth after each ride. Since I switched to chain wax, my chains last longer and bike cleaning is faster/easier. Any efficiency gains are just a bonus.

Greg

[redir]

What wax are you using? Times may have changed but when I was racing cross a lot I loved wax for it's mud shedding abilities. I tried to apply that to road and found that my drive train was squeaky after about 100 miles. I gave up on it. I can't right now remember what I was using. For dirt wax seems great because it not only sheds mud really well but you tend to not ride as many miles on dirt. But for road I found it lacking.

[biker72]

Originally Posted by redir

What wax are you using? Times may have changed but when I was racing cross a lot I loved wax for it's mud shedding abilities. I tried to apply that to road and found that my drive train was squeaky after about 100 miles. I gave up on it. I can't right now remember what I was using. For dirt wax seems great because it not only sheds mud really well but you tend to not ride as many miles on dirt. But for road I found it lacking.

Silca Secret hot wax.

[BdaGhisallo]

Originally Posted by GregL

Since I switched to chain wax, my chains last longer and bike cleaning is faster/easier. Any efficiency gains are just a bonus.

Greg

I think this the most underappreciated benefit to chain waxing.

Without an oily chain flinging an oily grunge on the lower half of the bike, things simply don't get anywhere near as dirty with a waxed chain.