Hot melt wax - the journey begins

[BikeBert]

In my 25-year "bike career," I've tried many different chain lubes: wet, dry, graphene infused, drip wax, etc. However, in the end, all of them, more or less, led to a dirty and gunky drivetrain. So, I finally decided to join the Hot Wax gang. At the same time I upgraded the cassette and chain(s) to SRAM X01, as my SRAM GX chain disintegrated after 500 km (see below).

Preparation of the new chain (stripping the factory grease) is a royal pain in the neck. Five baths in white/mineral spirit, followed by two baths in denatured alcohol, did the job. It's crucial the chain is as clean as possible for the wax to properly bond with bare metal and do its job.

(4th bath on the left, 1st bath on the right)

After extensive research, I have decided to opt for the Silca Secret Chain blend, which utilizes highly refined paraffin and a high concentration of three specific sizes of nano-scale Tungsten Disulfide to provide chain protection and coating.

The Immersive waxing process is straightforward: put your wax of choice in a slow cooker, throw in the chain, wait until the wax melts, swish the chain a couple of times, remove, and hang to dry. Done.

I'm looking forward to the first ride and the durability of the hot melt wax. I will try to keep a log and share my experience after a few rides and in the long term.

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

I started hot waxing last year. I will never go back to anything wet. I rewax around every 500 miles or so. One thing you have to make sure of is keeping the chain dry. After washing the bike or riding in the rain I always take my air compressor and blow the drivetrain off to make sure its dry. If not the chain will rust. I had one rust on me, but then riding wore the rust off.

One thing I've learned to make things easier is to have 2 chains and rotate them. That way you can take your time waxing the new one and getting it ready.

 

[Rickster]

In my 25-year "bike career," I've tried many different chain lubes: wet, dry, graphene infused, drip wax, etc. However, in the end, all of them, more or less, led to a dirty and gunky drivetrain. So, I finally decided to join the Hot Wax gang. At the same time I upgraded the cassette and chain(s) to SRAM X01, as my SRAM GX chain disintegrated after 500 km (see below).

View attachment 134669

Preparation of the new chain (stripping the factory grease) is a royal pain in the neck. Five baths in white/mineral spirit, followed by two baths in denatured alcohol, did the job. It's crucial the chain is as clean as possible for the wax to properly bond with bare metal and do its job.

View attachment 134672
(4th bath on the right, 1st bath on the left)

After extensive research, I have decided to opt for the Silca Secret Chain blend, which utilizes highly refined paraffin and a high concentration of three specific sizes of nano-scale Tungsten Disulfide to provide chain protection and coating.

The Immersive waxing process is straightforward: put your wax of choice in a slow cooker, throw in the chain, wait until the wax melts, swish the chain a couple of times, remove, and hang to dry. Done.


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I'm looking forward to the first ride and the durability of the hot melt wax. I will try to keep a log and share my experience after a few rides and in the long term.

Not sure where your skis are but that's WAY too much work for a chain... I have tried everything as well and currently have muck Off. Seems to work ok and only a two minute job but the directions state to apply 3 hrs before riding which doesn't usually happen... oh and the smell, it's absolutely wonderful! Makes me want to drink it !! Next to that I have used my usual moto lube Maxima Chain wax. It does buildup over time but if I want to ride Now , this is what I'm currently using.

View attachment 134819

 

[big_scot_nanny]

As hot wax user (Putoline) for 6 years now, my experience was not good with sram xx1 or xo1 chains.

Could be putoline, could be something I do wrong, but with those sram chains after a ride or 2 I would get multiple ride-endingly stiff links. Made pedalling impossible. Re-lubing with normal lube would cure..

a chat with some other folks suggested that as these chains are famously long lasting, it may be the case that the tolerances are so fine the wax is not able to penetrate the links and rollers properly.

I stopped using those chains and went happily back to XT. Just a heads up, ymmv etc, but Something to be aware of

 

[Hobo Mikey]

Ride bike, wash bike, GT85 chain. Repeat.

 

[aarfeldt]

I'm also on the wax-chain-thing...

I start by cleaning the chain in a ultrasonic cleaner - 15 minuttes and it's VERY clean.
Then I dry the chain (compressed air/old hand towel) and continue with the slow cooker with wax in it - same process as OP.

Very happy with the result - and rotating 3 chains on 1 LG casette.

 

[Bones]

The X01 chain is one of the best chains out there for not rusting and long life.
Do exactly what Hobo Mikey does. Gt85 and replace it around 3k miles and stop being a slave to the chain!

 

[vertrkr]

I switched to Molten Speed Wax (MSpeedWax) and could not be happier. I'm at 300 miles now and it still feels like a freshly lubed chain. The best part is the whole drive drain looks brand new, no build up of any grit or grime, haven't washed my bike yet as I typically don't ride in mud.

For stripping factory grease off a new chain Silca made it any easy 10 minute job with their Chain Stripper.

Chain Stripper

Far and away, the largest hurdle for people converting to a waxed drivetrain has always been the need to completely strip the factory lubricant from the chain in order for the wax to properly adhere. Traditional methods have involved using 2-3 different solvents and rinse steps, moving from...

silca.cc

 

[Ou812]

Not sure where your skis are but that's WAY too much work for a chain... I have tried everything as well and have settled on muck Off. Seems to work for me and only a two minute job... oh and the smell, it's absolutely wonderful! Makes me want to drink it !!

View attachment 134694 View attachment 134695

Muc-Off is some of the worst lube you can use! All of their lubes ranked at the bottom of Zero Friction Cycling’s testing, they have a huge marketing budget so their stuff is everywhere.

 

[Suns_PSD]

Been on the same batch of molten speed wax since I nearly started riding 9 years ago.
It's so simple, reliable, effective & clean.
I don't spend nearly the effort you guys do stripping a new chain. 2 mineral spirit soaks more than does it.
I'm a total tire killer and generally really damage any tire within about 10-20 rides. However my drivetrains last years. It's pretty amazing.

 

[Rickster]

Muc-Off is some of the worst lube you can use! All of their lubes ranked at the bottom of Zero Friction Cycling’s testing, they have a huge marketing budget so their stuff is everywhere.

It's interesting that they never tested either of the two MO lubes I use. Test seems to be wax oriented, but what do I know. My experience with waxes hasn't been that impressive for the amount of work unless it's just a spray type like Maxima . But as they say do whatever sinks your boat

Here's another lube test and there's plenty out there to pick from

What’s the best chain lube?

55 oil, wax and dry chain lubes lab tested

www.bennetts.co.uk

 

[Polar]

Rock'n Roll gold is what I use all year round - clean and lube at the same time.

Rock N Roll Lubrication

The formulation goes deep down into the chain and traps any dirt. Then, with the energy of the chain freewheeling backwards, the dirt and grit floats to the surface so you can wipe it all off, leaving a new and clean application of lube inside the chain

www.rocklube.com

 

[Sander23]

I will be watching your experience.
I curious on how it will perform.
I hesitated to switch to this wax method because of the high maintenance
. but in the end I bought effetto mariposa flower power wax.

Flower power wax Is fast applicable, very low maintenance and has very noticeable less wear so far.

 

[Ou812]

I was doing the hot waxing thing but it got to be too much of a pain in the ass. I found the easiest thing to do was to keep 4 chains in rotation, when one would start to get too noisy I’d swap it out with a fresh one and throw the dirty one back in the wax.

I’ve swapped my main bikes over to the transmission now and keeping 4 XO t-type chains just isn’t cost effective. I ended up going back to a traditional lube. I was using Rex Black Diamond but switched over to Silca Synergetic after watching ZFC’s testing. It’s probably the best traditional lube I’ve used so far, I’d say wear and noise wise it’s about 99% of what you get from hot waxing.

 

[Z3nD3n]

I intend to follow this topic.
I find it extremely interesting.

 

[Superses]

I switched to Molten Speed Wax (MSpeedWax) and could not be happier. I'm at 300 miles now and it still feels like a freshly lubed chain. The best part is the whole drive drain looks brand new, no build up of any grit or grime, haven't washed my bike yet as I typically don't ride in mud.

For stripping factory grease off a new chain Silca made it any easy 10 minute job with their Chain Stripper.

Chain Stripper

Far and away, the largest hurdle for people converting to a waxed drivetrain has always been the need to completely strip the factory lubricant from the chain in order for the wax to properly adhere. Traditional methods have involved using 2-3 different solvents and rinse steps, moving from...

silca.cc

"as I typically don't ride in mud."
Bit of a waste of time then in the UK

 

[jeanmarc]

Really looking forward to the evolution of your test, thanks for sharing.
That being said, I honestly don’t see the day I’ll actually to do this, let alone being allowed to use the slow cooker…

 

[Onetime]

I switched to Molten Speed Wax (MSpeedWax) and could not be happier. I'm at 300 miles now and it still feels like a freshly lubed chain. The best part is the whole drive drain looks brand new, no build up of any grit or grime, haven't washed my bike yet as I typically don't ride in mud.

For stripping factory grease off a new chain Silca made it any easy 10 minute job with their Chain Stripper.

Chain Stripper

Far and away, the largest hurdle for people converting to a waxed drivetrain has always been the need to completely strip the factory lubricant from the chain in order for the wax to properly adhere. Traditional methods have involved using 2-3 different solvents and rinse steps, moving from...

silca.cc

I also have also been using Molten Speed Wax on all of my bikes for several years now, rotating 2 to 3 chains. I use Finishline citrus degreaser to strip off the factory grease before waxing. Super easy 5min job. Drivetrain stays nice and clean and lasts at least 3 times longer than with traditional chain lubes. It’s actually much less time consuming too when you are not having to clean and lube the chain before every ride and you never have to clean old drivetrain gunk off the bike because it doesn't get dirty.

 

[John-E]

I am on MoltenSpeedWax for a couple years, rotate chains, love the cleanliness of the drive train and never having to degrease anything. Always have a waxed chain ready to go. I just throw the next one into the cooker when working in the garage. Its so easy. I have a gravel bike that I use too and sometimes on the trainer in the living room and the clean drivetrain keeps my rugs clean no problem.

 

[ReadyShreddy]

After reading this thread I got the molten speed wax on order a few days ago, £25 for two pucks. Picked up a slow cooker today. How long do you leave the chain before putting it back on the bike?

 

[John-E]

As soon as the chain cools down all the way you can run it back and forth over something round I use the arm on my Park work stand. I like to work the links in both directions so its not to stiff then mount it up.

 

[E-MAD MALC]

In my 25-year "bike career," I've tried many different chain lubes: wet, dry, graphene infused, drip wax, etc. However, in the end, all of them, more or less, led to a dirty and gunky drivetrain. So, I finally decided to join the Hot Wax gang. At the same time I upgraded the cassette and chain(s) to SRAM X01, as my SRAM GX chain disintegrated after 500 km (see below).

View attachment 134669

Preparation of the new chain (stripping the factory grease) is a royal pain in the neck. Five baths in white/mineral spirit, followed by two baths in denatured alcohol, did the job. It's crucial the chain is as clean as possible for the wax to properly bond with bare metal and do its job.

View attachment 134672
(4th bath on the left, 1st bath on the right)

After extensive research, I have decided to opt for the Silca Secret Chain blend, which utilizes highly refined paraffin and a high concentration of three specific sizes of nano-scale Tungsten Disulfide to provide chain protection and coating.

The Immersive waxing process is straightforward: put your wax of choice in a slow cooker, throw in the chain, wait until the wax melts, swish the chain a couple of times, remove, and hang to dry. Done.


View attachment 134671

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View attachment 134674

View attachment 134675

View attachment 134676

View attachment 134677

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I'm looking forward to the first ride and the durability of the hot melt wax. I will try to keep a log and share my experience after a few rides and in the long term.

I've been doing this since I see Oz cycles take on this
I mix the wax and ptfe myself
It's the way to go
Russell Hobs nice bite of kit matey

 

[SwampNut]

I love the Rock and Roll Lube Gold, takes 30 seconds to apply, dirt never sticks to it at all. I no longer need to clean the chain.

 

[YZDude]

All you peoples calling chain wax high maintenance clearly never had Nordic skis - it’s equal hours waxing to skiing! Haven’t tried hot waxing a chain, but once every 3-500 miles sounds pretty good!

 

[SwampNut]

Just because there is something worse doesn’t make a terrible and laborious process any better.

 

[YZDude]

Just because there is something worse doesn’t make a terrible and laborious process any better.

This hardly sounds terrible or laborious.

 

[SwampNut]

Sure because you’re used to spending two days waxing your skis.

 

[YZDude]

Sure because you’re used to spending two days waxing your skis.

I got it down to half a day, ha! And ditched them for a fat bike years ago…

 

[G-Sport]

Thanks for the write up and I look forward to follow ups.

I've been very happy with the Squirt liquid wax. I fully degrease the chain in brake cleaner a couple of times then allow to fully dry and then absolutely slather on the Squirt.
Seems to work really well including in our horrendously muddy conditions at the moment. After a ride I wash the bike then dry the chain on the bike with rags and then hot-air gun; then re-apply another dose of the Squirt.
Seems to work really well.

 

[cappuccino34]

I hot wax my chains but I need to go to a lower temperature formula for winter because in really cold weather the rollers 'freeze' and skid on the cassette teeth, rather than rolling as they should.

I won't be going back to oil though, for sure.