Wax your chain or die tryin

[Greenred]

Jokes aside,

the hype of chain wax seems interesting for dry climate riding and there are many resources, among the infamous oz cycle formula with wax + teflon particles.
However, like many probably, I am put off by the higher maintenance need, initial investment and not lastly the actual work- and storage space you need for this.

Potentially Squirt is a good alternative, according to this ceramicspeed article:
https://www.ceramicspeed.com/media/3505/velonews-friction-facts-chain-lube-tests-combined.pdf

Smoove also got very good reviews.
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Smoove-Advanced-Guide.pdf

Any opinions or experience with chiner parts?
I will be using the YBN chain and a SROAD cassette on my roady.

[zilcho]

In my experience, you can put in as much or as little effort as you want and the results are marginally different but still better than traditional oils. I started out using the Oz + teflon, and still have teflon that I add to the batches, but the studies I've seen don't show it being necessary. MSW with their brushed powder might make a difference for professional riders wanting marginal gains but I don't think this forum has many of those.

I think it is less maintenance overall, especially for dry climate. I run two chains on both mountain and road. You turn on the crockpot and go about your business, come back when the wax is liquid and drop in two chains at a time. I opt to boil the chains before so I wait for any water to bubble out but this can be skipped if you're lazy. Pull the chains and wipe down. Swap them out on the bike when they get squeaky or noticeably slack. After that its a couple of hours every few weeks or less depending on your riding habits. Compare that to dealing with oil every few rides and the mess that comes with that and I'll stick with wax. And the investment really isn't much, just an old or used crockpot, cheap paraffin, something to strip the grease/oil and an old jar to clean in.

My mountain bike is going on 4,000 miles across two GX Eagle chains. The drivetrain shows no signs of wear with just a bit of wax build up and both chains have minimal stretch. My road back has one Rival 11 speed chain and one SROAD 11 speed chain. The drivetrain overall looks fine but the SROAD shows considerable stretch compared to the Rival chain, like .5cm.

I stopped keeping up with the commercial products after seeing no real benefit for my riding when considering the price. At that time none of the liquid based products were as clean as melted wax and the brand with all of the colors (forget the name) is just wasting the product on the outside without penetrating the rollers.

That's my take, I'll be sticking with cheap paraffin.

[ChrisB]

I degrease new chains completely and apply Squirt two times after installation. Perfect for indoor training and dry outdoor rides. Never going back to oils on my chains.

I ride road and gravel bikes only. 

[poyo]

I also use wax on my chains and have stuck with the Oz + Teflon method so far.
I have previously tried squirt wax and smooth but in my opinion the chain is cleanest with the Oz + Teflon formula. The effort is greater but is also kept within limits when multiple chains are used.I have 6 chains each 3 per bike I use.

[hazzer19]

I degrease new chains completely and apply Squirt two times after installation. Perfect for indoor training and dry outdoor rides. Never going back to oils on my chains.

I ride road and gravel bikes only. 

What do you use to decrease your new chains? Looking to do exactly that and apply Squirt on a new chain I need to install!

[Schumo]

I'm also doing my chains the OZ way.

I'm using industrial cleaner/degreaser for my chains, works great.
https://www.werkstatt-produkte.de/chemie/reiniger/flaschen-kanister/1l/32934/mw99-industriereiniger-werkstattreiniger?c=178

[Greenred]

Great to hear there are already some waxers here!

After some more reading I decided to give Smoove a first try, incl. their chain cleaner. Let’s see!

[1Sigma]

I think it is less maintenance overall, especially for dry climate…

Exactly this. 
I run a waxed chain precisely because oil is so much friggin work.
Unless you have OCD levels of maintenance, an oiled chain is going to get black grime eventually.
And cleaning is such a hassle - using a chain cleaning tool or brushes, with detergents and degreasers only to still have the rag come away black when you wipe it off.

No so for wax.  At least not in my experience.
The initial set up is a pain, and that is about it.  I don’t use a crock pot or instapot. Just a sauce pan on the stove (electric)
Paraffin + sketchy looking AliX PTFE. 

Once waxed, to maintain. Basically rinse off the surface wax with boiling water from a kettle. Then re-soak in wax again. 

Downside of wax is all the dandruff it creates.  But I’d take that over black calves and hands any day.

Incidentally, lazy maintenance is why I switched to hybrid disc brakes as well.
Cleaning a rotor is infinitely less time consuming than cleaning a rim, for me.

[Bajker]

I'm using Oz cycle's method as well. Degreasing the new chain is the most important step (and probably the biggest reason why some people don't have success with waxing). I do petrol bath for 12+ hour > degreaser 12+ h > boiling water rinse > isopropanol alcohol 1+ h> done, the petrol will be the most important step as it takes away pretty much 99% of grease and don't forget to shake/stir the container every now and then.

[TidyDinosaur]

I switched to waxing about 6 months ago and I love it. I ruined my first cassette and chain on my new bike after 1000km because of heavy wear of the oiled chain. Cassette was beyond saving so had to replace that one too.
That was when I decided to go for the waxing. I got a new cassette and 3 new chains. Degreased a with white spirit and alcohol and waxed in a cheap crockpot. I love it. I have a gravel bike so do some offroading and you have to rewax a little more often. 200km I gues.. But I just swap out the chain with a clean one and when all 3 are used I rewax all at once. Going strong for 1700km now.

The big plus is that is indeed A LOT cleaner. Before waxing I had to use degreaser on my bike to get everyhing clean. Now soapy water is enough.