Silca Chain Stripper

[bshell]

Chicks and Dudes not interested in chain waxing --nobody is making you!

So many feel compelled to comment, especially when they haven't done it

I don't enjoy maintenance but I do all of my own (on nearly everything) because in my experience, only a scant few are great at what they do.

I spend exponentially less time on my bikes now and I'm pissed I didn't know about this 30+ years ago.

$5 sauce pot on stove top. $7 pound of paraffin. Tungsten disulfide powder.

NEVER going back

And the # of folks waxing is absolutely minuscule so you won't be seeing factory prewaxed chains any time soon.

[r_mutt]

Originally Posted by .RJ

has nothing to do with age

Not a Boomer either but Boomer refers to a specific generation, and the overused "OK Boomer" response is a dig at that generation's characteristics. How is that not offensive, and not aimed at Boomers?

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by r_mutt

Not a Boomer either but Boomer refers to a specific generation, and the overused "OK Boomer" response is a dig at that generation's characteristics. How is that not offensive, and not aimed at Boomers?

Stereotype? Yes. Offensive? C'mon, let's not blow it out of proportion.

[fourflys]

so I will say this, I just had a fantastic interaction with Silca Customer Service (Zach specifically).

I had ordered a couple of shirts, specifically the VW van with bikes on the top/back as I had seen Josh wearing to on the GCN Tech show and really like it.. well the shirts came today, one was fine and one, while the same fabric color, was not the VW van shirt, but the Pista Hour record shirt.. a quick email to customer service and not even 10 minutes later I had an shipping alert email that the new one was on the way (and a follow-up email from Zach)! I replied to see if they wanted the Pista shirt back and was told to keep it..

Again, whatever Silca is or isn't (and I think they are an awesome company with awesome products), they are certainly fantastic at customer service!

Kudos to you all at Silca!

[fredd]

Originally Posted by BRad704

I've always thought of the factory coating as more of a long-term rust inhibitor than an actual lubricating grease. Chains are something that's going to sit on a shelf or in a LBS drawer for years (maybe) and still needs to look brand new coming out of the package.

That is their purpose, I just assume wax could do a similar job.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by bshell

Chicks and Dudes not interested in chain waxing --nobody is making you!

So many feel compelled to comment, especially when they haven't done it

I don't enjoy maintenance but I do all of my own (on nearly everything) because in my experience, only a scant few are great at what they do.

I spend exponentially less time on my bikes now and I'm pissed I didn't know about this 30+ years ago.

$5 sauce pot on stove top. $7 pound of paraffin. Tungsten disulfide powder.

NEVER going back

And the # of folks waxing is absolutely minuscule so you won't be seeing factory prewaxed chains any time soon.

What steps are you taking to clean a new chain?

[bshell]

I've used leftover Finish Line degreaser and paint thinner in a big, shakeable container(that leaked, as mentioned earlier). Followed by Dawn and hot water in another BSC.

I tried a used drivetrain to dip my toes in this (meaning wax) and it was kind of a bear to get super clean. But I liked the results.

No need for ultrasonic cleaners or letting it sit for days. Just shake the crap out of it and change solution when nec.

A few months later I switched everything over because the timing was perfect. I needed 3 new cassettes/1 SS cog on all 4 of my bikes. + 12 chains/12 connex links. + a couple of inner chain rings. I cleaned the jockey pulleys and big rings then too.

It was expensive but inevitable.

[LegendRider]

I ordered the Super Secret Wax Starter Pack to give it a try. $36 plus shipping and tax is more than I spend in a couple of years on traditional degreaser and lube, but I want to give it a try.

I'll report on how it goes.

[CAAD]

Waxing is easier and faster to reapply than traditional lubes once you get swapped over. The drivetrain stays sparkly clean. Cassettes, chains, and chainrings last MUCH longer. I can pack, unpack, and build up my travel bike without any gloves now that I wax. No more grease all over my bag or packing materials. Travel with a small bottle of super secret to top up while on vacation.

A real-time suck is cleaning an oil-based chain, then reapplying an oil-based lubricant.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by r_mutt

Not a Boomer either but Boomer refers to a specific generation, and the overused "OK Boomer" response is a dig at that generation's characteristics. How is that not offensive, and not aimed at Boomers?

Its coming into this thread with both the complete dismissal of anything new while ****ting on it - notably after the silca owner came in to share some more info.

If stripping/waxing chains arent your thing - cool no problem just move along - I'm with you I havent tried it either. But It looks neat and I see the benefits of this and the more ways to make this easier to get into the better.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by .RJ

Its coming into this thread with both the complete dismissal of anything new while ****ting on it - notably after the silca owner came in to share some more info.

If stripping/waxing chains arent your thing - cool no problem just move along - I'm with you I havent tried it either. But It looks neat and I see the benefits of this and the more ways to make this easier to get into the better.

In all fairness, the Josh from Silca described a product that addresses a real deterrent to chain waxing. Why is it that other posters should not mention this same problem?

[meyatt]

Originally Posted by benb

Yes totally. If this is so great, and I'm sure Shimano/SRAM/Campy have pretty serious testing, why are they not pre-selling chains setup this way?

If it’s so great why isn’t Big Bike™ selling it is an amusing take, it presumes that those companies are selling you only things off performance and never off of marketing bull****. There just isn’t a market share for waxed chains for them yet, I mean look at the skepticism here amongst people who are diehard cyclists.

Personally I was very reluctant to wax, and the stripping was my biggest hurdle. That said after doing it, the upkeep is super easy. I would tell people generally to buy a pre waxed chain.

The biggest benefit to me is not the performance, but how clean things are. The bike on my trainer is always clean, when I travel with my bike it’s so much easier to pack and fly with, and if it’s been a wet ride I can just unclip the chain and wipe off the bike with a rag, no grease anywhere.

That all said while I like it, it may not be for everyone. If you were bikepacking it’s not really realistic to believe you’d carry waxed chains to rotate.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by benb

Since when does anyone need to spend much time on this?

There are lots of products that you just occasionally dribble some lube onto the chain and then wipe off the dirt.

Not everyone is the type that goes and cleans the bike to TdF standards after every ride and sits there for an hour with q-tips cleaning all the nooks and crannies in the cogs & derailleurs.

Don't know but I'll bet that the TdF/pro wreches just slap a new chain on outta the wrapping/can/box, whatever. No clean, no prep, no wax...just toss the 'old' one(I'll bet maybe as little as one stage), and new one on...I'll bet

[fa63]

I bet the teams that pay attention to details don't just slap chains on straight out of the box. They may not use wax or what not, but they must have seen enough data to know how inefficient the factory coatings are.

That said, Ineos still uses Muc-Off lubes which do awful in independent tests, so maybe I am giving pro teams too much credit

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Don't know but I'll bet that the TdF/pro wreches just slap a new chain on outta the wrapping/can/box, whatever. No clean, no prep, no wax...just toss the 'old' one(I'll bet maybe as little as one stage), and new one on...I'll bet

[RoosterCogset]

I'm just surprised I guess that Silca found some miracle chemistry that in 5-10 minutes and 1 minute of agitation, strips a chain of factory boiled in grease, using bio-friendly stuff, versus previous requirement to to use pretty unfriendly, and what we considered were pretty harsh products using multiple baths and overnight soaking.