Chain Waxing Tutorial

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

@MI-XC

so best not to obsess over it.

That’s a hard sell for me! (said self-satirically, but also seriously)

Not for my bikes. But for my wife who trains 15-30h/wk. And I’m about as inquisitive as it gets. (to a fault, but also advantageous sometimes)

For MTB, for now, you’re totally right for us. Could care less about a watt here or there and just want to preserve drive train longevity. I’m using squirt on MTB. It’s awesome.

But for my wife’s road & TT bikes competing a nationals, would you have a different answer? (using NFS lube in the past, and concerned primarily with race performance).

@splash

Agree it’s superficial, but I’ve had a chain rust in less than two hours,

Have had a similar experience. Left a wet bike on a car roof overnight (~40 deg F & >90% humidity) and the chain looked like it had been rusting for months.

The rookie mistake the next week after the same late evening race was leaving the bike & chain in front of a heater indoor to avoid rust. Rear tube popped from overinflation. You can imagine my chagrin after thinking “okay, I’m going to be prudent and take care of my bike this time!”

@gcarver

Right, not sure if there’s a point in rinsing

Okay cool. No rinse after mineral spirits stripping.

How do I get the mineral spirits out/off the stripped chain before applying lube or wax? I left it overnight in a warm well-ventilated garage and it looked like this:

Looks dry

But if picked up and dropped, clearly is not:

I think I remember reading something about a final bath with rubbing alcohol, but can’t remember and can’t find it.

Maybe this?

@kurt.braeckel

One of the steps that Jonathon’s tutorial did not include but which was included in the Zero Friction Cycling guide is rinsing with methylated spirits, (a.k.a. denatured alcohol) twice, followed by the blow dryer. The purpose of this step is to ensure all of the Mineral Spirits are removed by a solvent that evaporates extremely quickly. Mineral Spirits, on the other hand, do not evaporate quickly at all.

Would 70% rubbing alcohol work the same as denatured alcohol / methylated spirits? I have the former but not the latter.

[TheOtherOne]

I do a final rinse in 91% Isopropanol and then let it dry out in the sun or hang it up in the garage overnight. If I had 70% on hand I wouldn’t hesitate to use it that but I always keep a couple of bottles of the high test stuff around.

Just picked up a MTB last week with a Sram GX drivetrain an have been debating whether to wax the chain on it. I’ve really become accustomed to the not getting tattoos on my calves and being able to change a flat with only getting my hands slightly dirty. It never rains around here and if it does I’m not riding so it wouldn’t have to deal with any wet conditions. Might try it on the chain that came on the bike and if I like it I’ll pick up a couple more chains to put into rotation.

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

@redlude97

You reuse the mineral spirits. Only need like 3 baths but you use 4-5 jars. Let them settle between cleanings and decant the top into another jar and repeat for each jar. Then only use new OMS for the very last jar. This the old last rinse liquid becomes the 2nd to last etc and the first wash gets discarded or collected. I have a “dirty” container of oms for soaking cassettes and bearings etc for cleaning.

Chemical engineer for the win! Thank you!

@redlude97

While gas is cheap as someone suggested above it’s extremely volatile, I wouldn’t recommend using it even in an enclosed garage or storing I jars. Not worth the fire/explosion risk.

Especially since my garage rolls down the road. Will stick with OMS (which I had to google). As soon as chemistry leaves organic/biochem, I’m utterly useless.

I used 70% isopropyl alcohol. Does that work??

Hope I’m doing this right!

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

Turns out that using 70% isopropyl alcohol in 2 sequential baths with 1-min agitation, no wipe-down between did not get all OMS off the chains. Almost all of it but there was still a very small amount in the rollers, which came out only when I quickly ran the chain through the hole in that table.

Good news! I found a quart of denatured alcohol and one bath of that did the trick.

Okay I’m the worst, I know. I have more questions.

@redlude97

don’t let it sit in it too long or dry with air wax right away

Did you mean “don’t let it sit in the 70% too long, or dry with air OR wax right away?”

Is it safe to let chain sit in denatured alcohol for a while?

Really naive question here: is rust possible/likely on chains when being hung in open air in a dry climate?
(Assume denatured alcohol was the final bath and they truly become dry, outside of the moisture in the air. Humidity is 37% in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho right now).

[Joe]

I think part of the “other 30%” of 70% isopropyl is at least part water so I don’t think you want to let it sit in 70% isopropyl. Just a quick rinse or two then right into the wax, the alcohol and water (or whatever the “other 30%” is) will boil right off and not even make a mess.

You pay for surface treatment in your race chains, I see no reason to tempt rust. Strip, rinse, and right into wax I think is the best. Short on time? Leave it in mineral spirits until you can get it into the wax.

Joe

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

@Joe

Short on time? Leave it in mineral spirits until you can get it into the wax.

Roger that! Helpful, thank you.

[Turboenterprise]

Now put the chains in the oven for 15 mins at 350 deg and then put it in the wax. Now you only have to put in the oven before each wax.

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

How many miles or how long at what average power does a new chain need to be ridden for proper break-in? Looking for peak race day performance.

Ballpark answers helpful!

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

Follow up:

I cleaned and dried 2 new chains. They were indeed very clean and dry. 6 washes mineral spirits, 2 washes 70% isopropyl alcohol, 1 wash denatured alcohol.

Hung dry in 75 degree low humidity environment for 12 hrs.

I mounted on bike with freshly cleaned drivetrain.

I applied squirt per Squirt directions.

Chain A, I wiped off excess.
Chain B, I did not wipe off excess. (Forgot!)

I let dry for 36 hrs in high air flow, 70-85 degree environment (inside RV, high cfm fan running, windows open, dry climate).

Both chains had that post-wax feel of needing to break apart links. (Cool maybe i did it right!)

I rode chain B for 30min at 220W 90rpm on kickr and shifted maybe 20 times. I did not sweat on chain. It never got better than a “gummy” feel and once taken off the bike still has a bit of a tactile resistance to articulation about each pin/roller.

This seems like serious power eating inefficiency for an A race. Is it something I should expect to get better if it’s ridden for another X amount of time?

(I have since wiped off excess on outside of chain)

Chain A, I rode for 40min at AP 230W, NP 255W, about 100rpm and shifted upwards of 300 times, most under load.

It now has a much less, but still slightly gummy feel. Is this something that I should expect to get better with more ride time?

Certainly this can’t be the feel of the ultra low friction Squirt lube when it’s working properly… right?!?

Help!

Context… my wife races the USAC Pro National TT tomorrow, the crit Friday, and RR Sunday. Both her bikes have used chains on them. The TT bike chain is under 500 miles was never degreased, just wiped and had NFS lube applied during routine maintenance. The road bike is closer to 1000 miles on the chain and similar maintenance. I have Squirt and NFS at my disposal in my motel. I would need to purchase any solvent and jars if needed. What would you do?

[MikeMckinney]

hmmmm i never had a great experience with Squirt (personally did not like, will never use again)

I am in the hot wax dip camp 1000% or (wet and muddy riding) Rock and Roll Gold

If I was in your shoes, I would clean the chains on the bikes with a towel and use NFS Lube for Friday and Sunday (nothing new in races)

[splash]

Can’t help with the squirt problem, my squirt always dries properly, and it never feels like there is extra friction in the chain. No idea. Maybe they sell different stuff in different countries? Which squirt is it, think there’s more than one type now?

…in any case, I’d relube the old chains with the lube that’s already on them, and use the old ones. I wouldn’t really put a new chain on just before a race, unless the old one was damaged or anything. Even with 1000 miles on it, the chain should last another race, and you know it won’t jump gears or anything.

[DaveWh]

@Dr_Alex_Harrison

It never got better than a “gummy” feel

@splash

my squirt always dries properly, and it never feels like there is extra friction in the chain. No idea. Maybe they sell different stuff in different countries?

@Dr_Alex_Harrison Possible you have a bad batch of Squirt.

Below is an email exchange I had with Squirt in March of this year.

The replacement bottle they sent me is less sticky.

My email:

“Hi there:

In my most recent application of Squirt lube from a new bottle, it leaves a sticky residue when dried.

I have not noticed this in past applications with other bottles.

The most recent bottle of Squirt that I bought had different consistency vs the previous two bottles. The lube was more viscous, and also a darker color (caramel vs. light cream).

Is there something wrong with this bottle of lube?”

Email between Squirt employees on resolution:

“ Hi Brad,

Can you please send David a new replacement bottle Squirt Lube 120ml together with 2 x 15ml samples for his backpack and 4 x 6g Squirt BarrierBalm.

David, we have had similar feedback on the specific batch your bottle came from. Although it was tested to be compliant with the endurance and lubricity laboratory specification, it is slightly darker and more viscous as you mentioned. We would rather you have a fresh bottle of lube that you and we feel comfortable with. You are welcome to add a bit (about 2-3%) of hot water (80degC) to the “bad” bottle and shake it up. It should return to the acceptable viscosity and you will be good to go.”

And, FWIW, I’ve since started using Silca Hot Melt wax, and topping up between waxes with their SS drip lube. The hot melt is awesome. Although does not last as long on my SRAM Eagle MTB chain vs Shimano on my gravel bike.

[splash]

That is interesting, if a bit of hot water fixes the bad batch, I wonder if wrong storage could make a bottle go “off”? For example, if some of the water (thats evidently in there) evaporates in hot conditions, would it condense down and become too sticky?

(Also, so much for the panic of drying a chain fully before lubing etc.)

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

@redlude97

Take a splash of clean mineral spirits

If it weren’t the night before the TT, I’d do this for sure. Thank you for popping in here!

@DaveWh

Possible you have a bad batch of Squirt.

Below is an email exchange I had with Squirt in March of this year.

The replacement bottle they sent me is less sticky.

Very interesting. Not going to take any chances then. I don’t think there is a caramel color to it. Perhaps I applied too much…?

@splash

I wonder if wrong storage could make a bottle go “off”? For example, if some of the water (thats evidently in there) evaporates in hot conditions, would it condense down and become too sticky?

Yeah, with them recommending a 2-3% addition of water to fix the problem… it makes me think that if you dry it too quickly it could act differently too. If that is a possibility then I probably have done it because I intended on getting it very dry!

@splash

Can’t help with the squirt problem, my squirt always dries properly, and it never feels like there is extra friction in the chain.

When you allow yours to dry, how long does it take?

How much squirt do you apply? A drop on each roller? More? I have a feeling I may have just applied too much. On new chain they recommend 2 applications, 5 minutes apart.

@redlude97 I may try your recommendation tomorrow morning for the chain for the crit & road race and if it works out, I’ll test it thoroughly under load before deciding to have her run that chain for the Friday crit.

I have spare quick links and tools with me so can swap back to the slightly worn chain if it doesn’t work out.

As always, thanks all!

[Klaw]

Is there any verdict on using connecting pins vs quick links? Is it safe to insert new pins into the same joint multiple times (taking a chain on and off)?

[splash]

@Dr_Alex_Harrison

When you allow yours to dry, how long does it take?

How much squirt do you apply? A drop on each roller? More? I have a feeling I may have just applied too much. On new chain they recommend 2 applications, 5 minutes apart.

Honestly…I don’t do anything as complicated as others here.

I leave the chain on the bike, I wash it down with hot soapy water (normal dish washing liquid). Let it dry (outdoors) until I can’t see any water. Sometimes I just wipe it dry and spin the cranks until no more drops are coming out (chain will still be wet inside). I’ve found if it’s too wet, the squirt will mix with the water and run off, and I need two applications - but it doesn’t make it go bad. Apply a big drop to each roller (inside, from the top on the bottom part of the chain). Spin cranks a few dozen times. Never wipe anything off. Let bike dry outside until it’s stopped dripping, then take inside and let dry overnight.

Sometimes, I do two applications, eg after using degreaser (bike stuff). I let it dry several hours in between (before/after work, or overnight). Don’t see the point of applying 5min apart, you could just apply more the first time.

I have to say that I only use squurt on my off road bikes - they get washed a re-squirted after every ride (unless it was dry, which is rare). I tried using it on my roadbike, but after about 60 miles, the chain started to sound very dry, which isn’t enough for my rides. I use another drip wax lube now on the road that is more sticky, but lasts longer (but not in the wet).

[ABG]

Shimano calls for links rather then pins is my understanding

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

Dear @redlude97, @splash @DaveWh, & @MikeMckinney,
Your advice was very helpful and inspired confidence most of all. Thank you all again.

I wiped down the current chain on her TT bike until my fingers bled and then lubed with NFS. Spent all night tweaking positions swapping tires and tubes. Tuning shifting. Installing viewspeed skewers, swapping cassette, rerouting wires at the front end and cleaning it up with countless micro zip ties and electrical tape.

She got 5th. Results here. That result is as good as we could have hoped for. Super pumped.

I still have those Squirt chains and might play with one of them later tonight after I do some of my actual work.

Seriously can’t thank you all on this forum enough.

[ABG]

She beat some fast women

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

So, I took the still very slightly “gummy” Squirt-lubed Chain A (see project notes in prior posts) out for a spin last night at ~5pm in Knoxville, TN. ~80 degrees and very high humidity. Felt great riding it (on my wife’s bike, thank goodness she’s 5’9"), and it shifted great.

I wiped the exterior of the chain down thoroughly before riding. I did not use mineral spirits (see: up all night working on TT bike).

I was hoping I would come back from the ride to find the gumminess reduced/improved but it was dramatically worse! Strikingly tacky.

My rookie conclusions:

1. I applied too much squirt lube. This caused gumminess even with extended drying time. Maybe bad batch too… not sure, possible but don’t think so, based on color.
2. Riding Squirt lube in hot/humid conditions made problem #1 worse. It felt like it absorbed the moisture and turned it to glue.
3. It’s remarkable that I could not feel that tackiness while riding, a testament to how little we can actually feel when we’re losing watts or when something is 1-5 watts faster or slower. There’s lots of placebo going around these parts!
4. I love how clean the chain is.
5. The chain was loud and I hated the loudness of it, especially when mildly cross-chaining.
6. NFS on an aggressively-wiped-down, lightly used but never-degreased chain is at least reasonably fast. I may just clean a new chain and break it in for an hour or two with NFS in the future. If waxing only saves a single watt over NFS, then I’ll probably continue to use NFS, Synergetic, or Rock & Roll in the future.

Is the general consensus that waxing is roughly 1 watt faster than the best drip lube, assuming a broken-in new degreased chain with each treatment applied appropriately?