Chain Waxing Tutorial

Shimano’s HG+ wont work with any chain but a shimano chain.

I use an old cycling bidon (aka water bottle). I fill it about 1/3 full with Simple Green’s Aircraft Formula, and drop the chain in. Wide mouth makes chain removal easy.

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Years ago. I think I found it messy and not as robust and went back to finish line ceramic wet lube. However the last year and a bit Ive been using a similar sort of wax Review: Tru-Tension Bananaslip Tungsten All Weather Lube | road.cc

It’ll drop wet wax a few times but nothing too messy but If it’s dry I can leave it a few weeks between lubes, the drive is silent and the chain is lasting much longer. When the drive starts to become gritty it just needs a degrease. The downside if it its particularly wet it needs treated straight away or ugly surface rust appears. Nothing to worry about but ugly. I could imagine it happening a lot up north, which is probably why I ditched it then.

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From: Latest Zero Friction Cycling News - Ceramic Test one = Fail, Bike shop waxing done perfectly - Zero Friction Cycling

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If someone did a mail order waxing service would people use it?

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maybe if it also comes with a bride?

but in all seriousness…i don’t know, once you’ve done the initial waxing, it’s pretty “effortless” to re-wax if you have the system in place

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Coming with a bride might keep people from using it.

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Just taken chain off indoor bike, poured boiling water on it to clean and when it had dried it was stiff so presume some wax still there. It had done 337km indoor so perhaps I can get more out of them indoor??

Is it stretched?

Mine has been on trainer bike for 4 years and has no stretch, I also never shift

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The wax may still be inside the rollers but the outside that touches your sprockets and chain rings might be a bit dry. This could cause some wear.

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Are you using Shimano Quick Links? I thought they were one use only. Also if you are using Shimano, where do you find the 10 pack. I have only seen 2 packs.

Shimano quick links say one use but I have found that as long as they snap into place and I can’t remove them with my hand they are good for a few uses.

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I’m using whatever’s lying around, but a pair of whatever make they are. if I can get the chain together with no effort, I’ll take them off again and throw them. I have the luxury of working with bikes, so most that have a worn out chain have a quick link that’s been used once - to install the chain years ago - so I just clean them up and throw them in the rotation.

There are places you can buy 10, I’ve seen these on Amazon. Not sure I’d trust them even as much as a worn one I was sure was legit though!

One easy way to spot a fake chain from shimano is by where the quick link is located within the packaging. A real chain will have the quick link in a separate package from the chain itself while a fake one the quick link will be fitted within the chain with all that factory grease.

In hindsight I think the chain was legit. Even the new XT chain was a little sticky when it got dirty. I think the chainring was out of tolerance. I switched to a Wolftooth dropstop ring (for shimano 12 spd) and both chains are super smooth on it.

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All the recent ones I’ve got, the link is in a plastic bag, taped to the plastic bag the chain is in. I assume too many jumped out of the box when people opened them (been there, spent 10 minutes looking for that!)

Anyone got experience with Morgan Blue Dry Wax drip on lube?

I’m toying with the idea of doing a hot melt wax for my race day chain, though I may have left it too late.

I have been using Squirt for a long time with great results, but I wash my bike after (almost) every ride and reapply. It occurs to me based on comments above and from ZFC that Squirt isn’t the best option for my XCM racing with creek crossings due to it’s “gumminess”. I have a small amount of Smoove, but not enough for a full application to a stripped chain and reapplication between races/stages.

I’ve never worn a chain faster than when I used that product.
It was on a 9s Campy drivetrain, so yeah a rather expensive experience from a while back.

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That sounds like British winter road riding, which is what I’ve been using Tru Tension Tungsten for - in real life use I actually prefer it to even MSW, which sounds dry and starts to squeak very quickly.

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