I’ve jumped on the wax bandwagon, for both my bikes and my wife’s. So far 4 bikes, but be 6 soon enough.
I want a good way to organise the chains that aren’t currently on the bikes, so I know what goes with what. Both during storage, and also while in the crock pot, so I can wax more than one at a time.
In theory a combination of chain brand/model and chain length could maybe be enough information, but it’s hassle and easily prone to mistakes, and no doubt at least two of the bikes WILL end up the same. (Side question - in this case maybe it’s better TO mix them up. Or at worst, unimportant… I can see pros & cons to both)
Anyway though, I digress. I want a nice easy system.
My first thought is reusable coloured zip ties, and have a colour assigned to each bike, but I know there will be plenty of people here who have years of experience - what’s your setup like?
I just put them in labelled ziplock bags once waxed.
I’ve never found waxing multiple chains to be enormously quicker and I never usually need to do more than 2 or 3 (2 chains for each of 6 bikes and another two turbo trainer chains).
Out of interest roughly what kind of mileage are you getting before swapping and how are you determining when you need to change for a newly waxed chain?
Am just starting out on the waxing journey, loving how clean everything stays but feel like it’s quite haphazard as to when I swap chains. Am not very fastidious about taking mileage, I’ve been tending to just put a newly waxed chain on ahead of any big bike things like a weekend away or a race.
I happened to have some peg board where I planned to setup my bike work bench, plans changed but still use that area for waxing. So I just have hooks with each bike labeled via a p touch label. 1 hook right over the waxing pot where they hang to let any residual drips fall back in and then I take my hanger tool out of the chain (piece of bent stainless welding rod) and just hang the chain from the correct hook.
I’m going by noise, but also extending the life on the bike with drip wax if I don’t want to swap just yet. I’ll measure my chains when I put them on and take them off (park tool) Since I’ve started waxing in 2020, I’ve only had one wear out and that was the one I was using Wend rub on wax. (which was a mistake) I suspect the ones I started using the Absolute Black hot wax on will be next, but I think I only used it for a few chains before swapping to Silca.
I keep all my chains on a dowel with dividers for 11 spd, and 12 spd with the latter getting another divider for road/Mtb.
I just rewax when I remember and can be bothered, and enough chains have stacked up a bit dirty and ready to go. None of it really matters that much unless it’s a race chain.
Long answer:
I tend to have 3-4 chains for my main bikes - a training chain and one to two race chains, and then a turbo chain for the bike on the Kickr. This may sound stupid or OTT, but realistically this is actually cheaper - why put a Dura Ace chain on your turbo for a winter season when you could just have a Tiagra one you swap off.
The turbo chain gets ridden until I notice power drop for the same effort and it gets drip waxed. It generally keeps getting drip waxed until it gets gunky (Tru Tungsten over MSW), then it gets stripped and redone. I have no idea how many KM this is but it’s probably like a week or two between drips.
The training chain usually does about 4-500km then gets dripped every second ride then gets rewaxed at like 1000km. But no, I don’t measure this. I just sort it when it feels noisy or looks dirty when I wipe it after a ride. If the weather is shit I usually just use a kettle of boiling water then drip wax until I cba.
The race chains usually get treated like baby and will be hot water / rewaxed every race unless it’s a stage race, in which it usually gets Stage>Drip>Swap>Drip etc.
I’m probably going to die from a quicklink breaking but I use the reusable KMC ones and I’ve only ever broken one quicklink in about 5 years.
Agreed on the labeled ziplocks - has worked great for me. I’ll also toss a quick link in the bag with the chain so I know I always have one with it (especially in the case of packing up and heading to a race).
As for keeping the separated or identified if you’re waxing multiple together - assuming they’re different lengths you can weight them and it should differentiate. I have 12spd Eagle on both MTB and Gravel bikes and the chains are like 2 links different and it’s apparent on a scale ( I suppose if the shorter were waxed and the longer dry they could be close…)
ziplocks here as well. I tend to swap chainrings and drivetrains quite a bit, so the bag labeling includes bike/drivetrain/chainring combo(s) that it will work with.
Another vote for large Ziploc bags with bike, cassette size (if you have multiple chain lengths), date, and clean/dirty written in sharpie. Never an issue with rust, once it is waxed, there should be no moisture left.
I use labeled bags for used chains. Each of my bikes also has a repurposed plastic container where I store waxed chains. Next chain to be used is always on top. They’re the Tupperware like packaging that lunch meat comes in.
I don’t have any combos similar enough to need zip ties but that sounds good if you had say two different lengths of sram flat top chains to keep straight.
Actually tbh the biggest problem here is when you have different chains for the same bike but in different configurations.
E.g. I have a chain for my 1x gravel bike for road (sized to a 50t front) and for training (sized to a 42t front). Put the wrong one on and forget to shift up to check and you’re breaking your derailleur.