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Home made wax lube for chains


hagar

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1 hour ago, Paulst12 said:

Thanks very much. I have merrily been boiling it on a gas stove. Makes sense now why it wasnt having the desired results I was hoping for... Big Doh moment for me. 

Low heat . It just needs to melt not create flammable vapours 

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I have ditched the wax pot from takealot. Took 60min to melt the wax. I took out the inner of that pot and just use it in a double boiler fashion now. (Submerged in bigger pot with boiling water). Melts the wax in 6 minutes.

 

I must say the drivetrain feels super smooth the first 40km. Still trying to figure out exactly when to re wax. On the trainer it sounds dry, but not squeeking dry after about 150km. 
 

MTB is still quiet after about 90km, will push it further.

 

When do you guys re wax the chain?

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On 12/6/2019 at 2:29 PM, 100Tours said:

I use actual wax, from a candle, in a beautician-style wax melter, as a base layer. Works well, and if i redo every 10-12 weeks it seems to be just fine. It does need a bit of bedding in on the first ride thoguh before it settles. we have a lot of bikes and this is a good way to minimise the time spent cleaning and waxing chains. Can top-up with a commercial wax in a pinch too.

 

Making your own way. hmm... Even when I ride a lot I use maybe 1/2 bottle a year 

I actually saw this "hot waxing" technique on Evans MTB Saga last week, was wondering how well it works.

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1 hour ago, W@nted said:

I have ditched the wax pot from takealot. Took 60min to melt the wax. I took out the inner of that pot and just use it in a double boiler fashion now. (Submerged in bigger pot with boiling water). Melts the wax in 6 minutes.

 

I must say the drivetrain feels super smooth the first 40km. Still trying to figure out exactly when to re wax. On the trainer it sounds dry, but not squeeking dry after about 150km. 
 

MTB is still quiet after about 90km, will push it further.

 

When do you guys re wax the chain?

I’m on about 400km on my trainer bike and it’s still running nicely , no residue on the cassette but reckon the chain could do with a wipe down. 
 
have not done much riding on MTB yet and it’s still good. 

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It should be done often.

100Km is ballpark.

I did it properly last week on MTB and After 1 wet ride (35km) had to do it again.

Properly Means.

Washed Chain with Alcohol.

Heat the wax until it just Melts,

Add 15% by Volume Paraffin OIL and Beat the 2 together,

Put in Chain

Wait Until wax starts to set.

Remove Chain.

Wait 2 hours before reinstalling.

It Does Work as Good as Squirt but I don't think that I can Manage the Schlep.

The First 10Km you can Actually Feel the Difference.

Edited by dasilvarsa
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  • 3 months later...

Guys, did 70km today on a newly waxed chain and near end of ride, chain was not as silent as I'd like it, reckon I need to add some wax to my mixture? 

OR

should I leave chain in pot while the wax cools? I am thinking probably both?

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27 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

Guys, did 70km today on a newly waxed chain and near end of ride, chain was not as silent as I'd like it, reckon I need to add some wax to my mixture? 

OR

should I leave chain in pot while the wax cools? I am thinking probably both?

How Much Liquid Paraffin are you putting in the wax ?

Leave it to cool until it just starts to go milky.

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17 minutes ago, dasilvarsa said:

How Much Liquid Paraffin are you putting in the wax ?

Leave it to cool until it just starts to go milky.

my ratio is about 10% Paraffin oil to wax, I actually added a bit more wax a few weeks ago.

I suspect the chain needs to remain in until it cools. 

It didn't have that "stiff" feel to it dried completely

Edited by cadenceblur
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On 5/9/2023 at 8:10 AM, dasilvarsa said:

It should be done often.

100Km is ballpark.

I did it properly last week on MTB and After 1 wet ride (35km) had to do it again.

Properly Means.

Washed Chain with Alcohol.

Heat the wax until it just Melts,

Add 15% by Volume Paraffin OIL and Beat the 2 together,

Put in Chain

Wait Until wax starts to set.

Remove Chain.

Wait 2 hours before reinstalling.

It Does Work as Good as Squirt but I don't think that I can Manage the Schlep.

The First 10Km you can Actually Feel the Difference.

Serious? Every 100km?

I’ll stay with Squirt and clean and lube my chain when needed.

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YMMV, I reckon 100kmnis really worse case scenario or had that been your general experience @dasilvarsa

i actually made some lube as well, works well, similar to rocknroll

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I am getting around 230km per wax treatment. I must say, it is a bit of a hassle, but I enjoy the absence of any chain degreaser and scrubbing the chain when washing the bike. I just remove the chain, pour boiling water over it and dunk it in the melted wax.

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10 minutes ago, W@nted said:

I am getting around 230km per wax treatment. I must say, it is a bit of a hassle, but I enjoy the absence of any chain degreaser and scrubbing the chain when washing the bike. I just remove the chain, pour boiling water over it and dunk it in the melted wax.

Road or MTB?

i found the my trainer bike chain got about 400+

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11 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

Road or MTB?

i found the my trainer bike chain got about 400+

250km on the MTB. Road bike (mix of trainer and road) I get about 300km before the drivetrain gets a bit noisy. Note the mtb km are dry and dusty, no mud.

Edited by W@nted
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Yeah no you should get 2 to 300k. If the chain isn't stiff after treatment (I mean, a few hours post treatment) you likely have too much oil in.

I don't wait for the Wax to settle before taking the chain out, because it takes a long time, and I'm doing several chains at a time.

I usually do chains about every 2 weeks, so that's around 700km spread mostly between two bikes, sometimes a third. So I would say about 250 to 300km per bike.

Rain does though throw a spanner in the works. This winter I've decided to use Squirt on the MTB, which is now my wet weather bike.

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