Try it, you’ll be surprised.
Has anyone applied a traditional wet lube over a waxed chain as an “emergency” lube during a very long ride?
I’m hoping to make it through a 140 mile gravel race on a freshly waxed chain, and not have to re-lube mid ride.
But what if I need to re-lube? Drip wax lubes aren’t effective unless they have time to dry - which they won’t mid ride.
I can’t see any downside of applying a traditional wet lube on a waxed chain - other than having to re clean the chain before the next waxing. Has anyone done this, and have any insights to share?
I’ve left plain wax in the crockpot on accident for a day or 2 once. It does outgas something (some smell, and some waxy condensation on the interior of the lid), so there is some decomposition occurring in the wax, but I’m not sure it’s actually a big deal. Not sure if the additives in MSW would be a problem, but it’s what, teflon powder and a molybdenum salt? My guess is they’re fine.
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I waxed my chain yesterday evening, totally forgot about it until this morning! Whoops… I think it will be okay 
@gcarver Now I’m second guessing myself. 
I don’t really care about drivetrain efficiency or the slippery-est chain on earth. My reasons for waxing with Gulf Wax is simply that everything stays nice and clean. Having said that… I’ve been using the same 2 blocks of melted wax for nearly a year. They live in the crock-pot and get melted each time I wax/re-waxing a chain. The stuff is still clean, and hardens back to a normal white color.
… I have never removed it from the crock-pot. Does repeated melting/cooling somehow make it less effective? Honestly, I never though to empty the crock-pot when I was done waxing (as long as the wax was nice and clean),
I’m all ears… am I doing it wrong?
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[quote=“DaveQB, post:153, topic:2633, full:true”]
Take a read of this. Everything you need to know.
See page 3.
Partial quote:
“Smoove / squirt is often used for long extreme events like 24hr mtb racing or mtb stage races over top of msw as that works brilliantly, but cleaning prior to re waxing after is required to keep wax in pot clean and ensure good wax bonding to chain metal.”
Sounds like something I would do. This is precisely why I plug mine into an extra smart plug I have laying around and set the timer for 1.5 hours. That way if I space out completely it will still shut itself off.
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I watched silica video on waxing. I had been pulling my chain after the wax heated up prob 160-180 this time I let it cool down around 140 hoping for more longevity
He recommends smoove and squirt for those events assuming you’re not going to relube. He mentions this in the “single application longevity” section of the Squirt review.
Page 20 in this doc.
These wax drip lubes need to dry to be effective, so are not ideal for relubing mid ride. That’s why I’m thinking of needing to use wet lube - in the event a relube is needed.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear… My wax also lives in the crock pot, I just usually turn it off when I’m done. In this case I left the crock pot ON for like 24 or 48 hours 
. I suspect it degraded the wax a bit (ie, the condensate on the lid), but it still hardened up after I shut it off. I,m prety sure I even used it for another round of waxing (probably had to add some fresh wax to top it up as I keep barely enough to wax a few chains).
That’s a good idea, I’m gonna get one of those. I normally set a timer on my phone and of course got distracted and forgot to do that. Thanks for the tip.
BlockquoteThat’s a good idea, I’m gonna get one of those. I normally set a timer on my phone and of course got distracted and forgot to do that. Thanks for the tip.
I have several around the house and love them for scheduling, automation and remote control of devices. They are my cheap and feeble entry into the smart home arena 
I think the general guide is that if the wax is discolored (yellowish), it’s been damaged. I’d expect damage more from exceeding a temperature limit rather than length of time. Problem with some wax blends is that it looks like it might be hard to see if the base wax goes yellow - Silca’s blend is pretty black due to the friction modifiers, and it could be difficult to see on this one.
I get around 300-500 miles depending on riding conditions (road or gravel). MTB I go by hours - usually around 10-15 hours.
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I have 4 chains in rotation. When the last clean one goes on the other three get a quick douse with boiling water and then into the crock pot. I do need to get a 120v potentiometer for my crockpot though as I suspect low is too high. Going to have to check that next time I have it on to be sure.
I think people wax their chains, and then top it up with squirt during the event, without letting it dry. I haven’t tried that, but I think the theory is that the liquid stuff will go into the gaps where the harder wax has worn away, but as you don’t need to re-coat the whole chain, adherance is a bit better.
The wax is probably not actually “hard” while your riding the bike anyway. I would think the friction heat in the chain would keep it relatively soft, so it will probably mix with the new liquid stuff quite well. And riding it will also make it dry.
That being said, I’ve done all my longer events on new chains with factory grease to avoid any problems.
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I have also started to run the new UFO Drip, and really like it!
One thing I have noticed though is that its not super quite, so you can definitely hear a little bit of “metal” noise of the drivetrain… At least with my GRX system!
On my Venge on the other hand its suuuuper silent usually. Or there is just too much wind noise 
How often do you top it up if you ride gravel?
And do you clean it with just warm water or with something else?
Around every 200k on Gravel an dirty, with a complete deep cleaning around every 1000k
A little noise isn’t even that bad. Oil based lubricants are usually more silent as they dampen the chain „better“. While this may sound very fast, this is apparently one of the main culprits in slowing down the chain/ i.e. creating friction.
Therefore, a louder chain does not necessarily mean a slower chain.
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Anyone had issues with a YBN Quick Link sticking? I seem to have great results from using Molten speed wax but had to change to a different quick link after the first one would just not stop skipping. I did dip them in the wax. The 2nd quick link worked well for a single z2 session but then started acting up again today. I had to stop my ride 4 times to bend it around and try to free it up as it was causing noise and sometimes would skip off the cassette.
I coated it in a wax drip lube after the ride to see if it will improve next time.
Any tips?
I used to use them on my 11 spd Shimano drivetrains because they were reusable which really helped keep the cost down. I never had any problem with them in dozens of chain changes. Maybe a bad batch?
I’ve since switched to the Connex Link just because they last a long, long time and can be joined/unjoined in seconds with no tools.
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