I have never gotten more then what I am getting now, just in the winter I only ride outside 1-2 times a week so i have to do it way less
Is it worth waxing a chain with maybe 500 miles on it? I bought a new bike about a month ago and it probably has 500 miles (not counting trainer time). I know the tutorial mentions additional steps for used chains but would love any input.
I’d like to give waxing a shot, but if I should start with a new chain what would I do with the current? Maybe just keep it clean as a back u
I would - 500 miles likely still has plenty of life left
The initial cleaning is the hard part, the waxing is simple, you might need to spend a bit more time deep cleaning this chain than a brand new one IMO, but the best way to start it to dive in an do it!
When I first started I waxed all my chains (4 bikes) in various stages of life. The older chains seemed to retain some oil/grey material even after multiple cleanings/waxings. I didn’t have this experience with new chains.
1 Like
Awesome thanks!! I’ll give it a shot.
A couple of quick questions before i embark on this road of no return…
1 - Can anyone suggest a suitable degreaser I can get in the UK? I am on AMAZON.CO.UK and have a crock pot, cheap kettle and 2 x jars ready in the basket. Just not sure what degreaser I should add in.
2 - Do you not end up going through liters and liters of degreaser? So i guess something super cheap is the option, rather than a bike specific product like Finish Line degreaser?
3 - In the UK, methylated spirits = mineral spirits right?
4 - How do i explain this to my wife?
Thanks folks.
Mineral turps (per ZFC) = White spirit. Cheap as chips. Follow that up with methylated spirits. Any DIY shop should cater for your needs.
For now I’m only using drip-on wax, although I try to avoid riding in the rain, which has meant a lot of indoor riding this summer!
1 Like
- White Spirit from Screwfix - about £4 for 2 litres that should last a while and do a load of chains.
- Not massively - white spirit will strip the chain pretty quickly following the process at the top of this thread.
- Correct - about £3 from Screwfix for a bottle that should do a few chains too.
- Best not breached - my GF occasionally comes home to the entire flat stinking of white spirit and barely raises an eyebrow now.
3 Likes
Wife: Oh you’ve bought a slow cooker, what are you going to cook?
Me: Bike chains
Wife: Silence
6 Likes
literally picked up my bike chain slow cooker this afternoon and my wife didn’t shake her head, roll her eyes, kust said ‘ok’… its a real testament to how we can wear down someone’s expectations of ‘normal’ behavior. 
5 Likes
How do people go about maintaining their waxed chain after riding in the rain?
I’m not sure I can be bothered doing a full molten wax every time it gets wet - i’m in the UK so that will be often. Does anyone just top up with drip wax? If so is there a particular one that plays well with molten wax?
I just re-wax - takes seconds to take it off the bike, put it in the slow cooker and switch it on. By the time I’m showered, changed and fed its about time to take it out and just hang it up to dry. Really only takes me a couple of minutes around wet rides.
It’s not just the time I’m worried about… I don’t really want to be re-using quick links every week. Or worse actually only using them once 
In that situation if its not coming up to time to change anyway, I’ll wipe the chain down when I get in to dry it as best as I can them apply some squirt. Leaving the bike /chain will end up with it going rusty
Links to Silca YouTube videos on cleaning / waxing chains. Plus in the notes, there are links to recommended products
1 Like
Hi forum,
Just got on the wax train but have some trouble shooting. when I’m swishing the chain in the wax I’ve been getting this cloudy residue, any thoughts? Is this contamination from the cleaning process? Brand new wax and pot was cleaned prior to this
Any advice or experience would be much appreciated!!!
What’s your cleaning regime prior to dipping the chain in the wax? Knowing this would help point to possible causes.
yeap sure.
3 x mineral turpentine baths + shake
3 x boiling water rinse
3 x methylated spirits rinse
Are you soaking and agitating the chain in the methylated spirits? If not, try that and if it fixes the residue problem
1 Like
do you think the residue in the wax is left over turpentine or factory grease? is the wax spoiled or can I try and skim off the clouds?
I’m guessing turpentine. But it’s only a guess.
If the residue is floating on top, then you can probably skim it off and the remaining wax should be okay. One way to test would be to skim the residue, and then re-melt the wax and see if anymore residue shows up. If so, rinse repeat until no more residue shows up.