The used slow cookers at Goodwill presented a dilemma. Should I go with the two-quart Crock-Pot for name-brand reliability and size? Would the small Babycakes Chocolatier听get hot enough? Was a rice cooker like a slow cooker?
Had I been looking for a vessel to听actually make听food, the choice would have been clear. But I needed one for bicycle chains, which complicated things. Ultimately, I went with the safe choice听and brought home the used Crock-Pot.听I was ready to experiment with switching from conventional lube to chain wax.听
For most of the history of chain-drive technology, bicycle or otherwise, we鈥檝e used some kind of lightweight, free-flowing oil for lubrication. Oil penetrates deep into the chain internals to reduce metal-on-metal friction between the bushings and rollers as they articulate against each other. It also forms a protective barrier against corrosion. But because the oil is wet, it attracts dirt and grime, which forms a paste that essentially acts like sandpaper, grinding away at the听mechanisms.
The result of that process is what we call chain stretch. The metal doesn鈥檛 physically elongate; rather, the tolerances between the chain鈥檚 individual parts increase听as material wears away. As the chain 鈥渟tretches,鈥 it doe sn鈥檛 neatly mesh with the teeth on the gears and听progressively wears down those parts, too.
This is the cyclist鈥檚 eternal dilemma. We oil chains to reduce friction, but the act of oiling them invites contamination that ultimately increases friction. For decades, the only effective mitigation was to regularly clean and relubricate听chains every few hundred miles听or after every ride in wet, sloppy conditions.
Waxing, a technique developed around a decade ago, changes that. In place of a wet, oil-based lube, you submerge the chain in a heated paraffin bath that penetrates into the chain just like oil does. But as it cools, it hardens and completely dries out, leaving behind a microscopic lubricant (typically Teflon or some kind of metal disulfide). You get the benefits of lube without the dirt.
Chain wax has long been the province of obsessives in pursuit of a few free watts of power鈥攇ains that are far too minimal for most riders to bother with. But six months of riding on waxed chains converted me. Why is it worthwhile? A waxed chain听produces听the cleanest,听easiest-to-care-for drivetrain you鈥檒l ever ride. My bikes stay cleaner with half the maintenance, my drivetrains now run and shift more quietly, and I鈥檓 saving money on replacement parts. I鈥檒l never go back to oil lubes again.
There鈥檚 a persistent perception that chain waxing is a difficult, arcane process that takes a lot of work. Like many听myths, there is a grain of truth: the initial cleaning does take some time. But it鈥檚 not hard, and it only needs to be repeated when you replace the chain, which you鈥檒l do far less frequently than with oil-based lubes. Think of waxing as the bike-maintenance equivalent of no-knead bread. All you need is some basic ingredients and time.
The Process
Switching from oil lube to wax works best with a brand-new chain. You can clean old chains, but it takes more effort. The first time you clean and wax your chain, make sure to thoroughly wash and scrub your bike鈥檚 drivetrain. This part is time-consuming, because you鈥檝e got to do your best to get all the caked-on gunk off the cassette, chainrings, and rear-derailleur pulley wheels. A works great on metal parts like cassette and chainring teeth; a rag is best for plastic derailleur pulley wheels.
Cleaning Your Chain
You鈥檒l Need:听
- A new chain (go midrange, like听 for 11-speed听drivetrains)
- A
- Two clean rags
- Rubber work gloves
- A heavy-duty degreaser or mineral spirits
- Denatured or isopropyl alcohol
Step 1
Remove the chain from its package and, using听a chain tool, cut it to the appropriate length. (Just match it to your old chain.)
Step 2
Fold the chain into the plastic jar, add degreaser or mineral spirits to cover, tighten the lid, and then shake it like a maraca for two minutes. (Why must you do this to a new chain? It鈥檚 explained in the Frequently Asked Questions section, below.)听Drain the degreaser into a waste container鈥攜ou鈥檒l notice听some oily residue and metal shavings from the manufacturing process in the degreaser and coating the jar. Lift the chain out, and use a rag to wipe down both it and the jar. (You can also rinse the chain with water.)
Step 3
Repeat step two, except instead of draining the degreaser immediately, let it sit for 15 minutes. Then drain it, and wipe or rinse as you did in听step two.
Step 4
Do one more shake-cleanse with a final bath of degreaser. This round of degreaser should look pretty clean. If it doesn鈥檛 look almost as good as new, do another shake-cleanse round. Thoroughly wipe or rinse the chain and the jar.
Step 5听
Repeat the same process as step two鈥攂ut use the denatured alcohol this time (the alcohol strips the degreaser, and any water from rinsing, and it speeds up drying). Use your听other clean rag to wipe the jar and chain, which should be entirely free of any residue. Repeat again, then wipe out the jar, thoroughly wipe down the chain, and leave the chain听in a sunny location to dry for an hour.
FAQs
Why am I cleaning a new chain?听
Chains are packed in a thick grease meant to prevent corrosion, but this lubricant is terrible for actual riding. It鈥檚 like a magnet for grit. Flushing out every bit of it means there鈥檚 nothing to attract dirt, and it also makes room for the wax to penetrate and bond to the chain. The heavy oil is stubborn. If you don鈥檛 remove all of it, the wax won鈥檛 fully seep into the chain internals. And if you don鈥檛 rinse听off the degreaser with alcohol after cleaning your chain, it鈥檒l prevent the wax from bonding to the chain.
What should a clean chain look like?
There should be no oily residue to the touch, and the links should move freely, with a clean-sounding click as they articulate.
Why rubber gloves?
Alcohol is readily absorbed through skin and can cause alcohol poisoning. Denatured alcohol contains methanol, which can lead to serious health issues with enough exposure. Citrus degreasers and mineral spirits are a bit less toxic听but still hard on skin. So work outside or in a well-ventilated area, like a garage with the door open.
I read on a forum that I need an ultrasonic cleaner. Is that true?
The true bike nerds among us who won鈥檛 settle for less than microscopically clean chains use ultrasonic cleaners, which use heat, solvent, and vibration to clean metal parts. They鈥檙e more thorough than the shake method, but they also cost upward of $150听and get widely varying reviews for reliability. There鈥檚 no reason not听to use one, but you don鈥檛 have to.
Some people say to just leave the chain overnight in degreaser. Is it OK to听do that?
Please don鈥檛. Citrus degreasers are great cleaners, but they鈥檙e water-based acids, which means that as they work on the chain, they can lead to a chemical reaction with metals called . This essentially creates microscopic cracks in the chain metal that could result in a sudden, catastrophic failure while pedaling. The shake and quick-soak method outlined here is a safer approach.
Waxing Your Chain
You鈥檒l need:听
- Chain听wax听(I use听听but also plan to try )
- A听 (two quarts or smaller) that you鈥檙e prepared to ruin with wax听
- A section of wire coat hanger with one end bent into a J shape
Step 1
Fill the pot of your slow cooker听with enough wax to generously cover the chain. Lay chain in the pot, on top of the wax, as flat as possible. Turn the slow cooker听on low. It may take 30 minutes or more for the wax to fully melt. In the meantime, sweep out your garage, clean a bike鈥攚hatever you need to do to pass time.
Step 2
Once the wax has听liquified, use your coat-hanger tool to agitate the chain (make sure the chain stays听fully submerged). Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Swish the chain around again, then hook a chain link in the J bend of your modified coat hanger and carefully lift it out of the wax bath. Once the chain stops dripping, hang it to cool. Thread the chain-connector听quick link听on your chain tool (use pliers for a connecting pin), and swish in the听liquid wax bath for a minute, then set it aside to cool. (There鈥檚 no need to clean the slow cooker;听just unplug it and cover it. The wax will simply remain there and听melt again the next time you need to wax a chain.)
Step 4
Once cool, the chain will be stiff. Loosen the links by pulling the chain over your index finger or a metal rod of some kind (I use an old ski pole). You may see听some minimal wax residue on the outside of the chain; this will flake off on the first ride.
Step 5
Install the newly waxed chain on a clean drivetrain, using the dedicated connecting pin or quick link that comes with the chain鈥攖he one you swished in the wax.
The Benefits to Waxing
It Will Save You Time
This entails a lot of work up front. But once you鈥檝e cleaned and waxed a chain, maintenance mostly consists of listening for the drivetrain to get noisy again and then removing it and plopping it back in the wax bath for an hour or so.听
The drivetrain itself will stay听far cleaner. Since March, I鈥檝e ridden exclusively on waxed chains for road, gravel, and mountain biking. Wax lube doesn鈥檛 last longer than conventional lube: I can get about 300 miles out of either in optimal conditions. But at that point, the waxed drivetrain is still dry and largely free of dirt, while an oiled drivetrain would be packed with grit and gunk,听requiring听more frequent, involved bike washes.
It Will Save You Money听
The dirtier items like chains and cassettes are, the faster they wear out. Data from听Zero Friction Cycling, an Australian boutique that does chain testing, suggests that wax can offer a听 for chains compared to conventional lubes.听
Chains cost听$35 and up. With conventional oil-based lubes, I go through three a year on my daily-driver gravel bike, plus at least one each year for my road and mountain bikes, which I ride a bit less. That鈥檚 $150 to $200 a year in chains. Now that I wax, one chain will last me a full year or more on the gravel bike and multiple seasons for my road and mountain bikes. (Use a to tell you when it鈥檚听time for a new one.)听
Cassettes will set you back at least $75, and high-end versions can be听as much as $400. With regular bike washes, I used to get three to four听seasons out of a cassette听but expect to at least double that life span with wax. It literally pays to keep things clean.
Caveats and Tips
Drip-on wax lube isn鈥檛 as good, but it鈥檚 still better than oil lubes.
For my gravel bike, I experimented with a kind of wax lube that you apply by dripping it onto the chain, like an oil-based lube. The wax is suspended in a liquid carrier that evaporates after you apply it. I tried two:听, a longtime favorite, and a听听called Super Secret. The idea with this is that you get the benefits of wax without the slow-cooker step. Both kept my drivetrain much cleaner than oil-based lube听but left slightly more residue than a conventional hot wax. You still have to do the initial chain-cleaning process. Drip wax is a fine option; just don鈥檛 expect quite the same cleanliness as a hot wax. You can even combine the two methods, starting with听an initial hot wax and then 鈥渢opping off鈥 with drip lubes instead of another hot wax about every 200 miles (though you鈥檒l still need to re-wax around every 1,000 miles听for dry conditions). Apply a single drop to each link, then let it dry overnight. A clean rag can wipe off any excess residue. For hot wax, I鈥檝e been using but plan to try , which uses a different metal disulfide that the company claims听results in听lower friction than any other lubricant and lasts longer.听
Hot wax may not be the best option for cyclists听who live in rainy climates.
Wax still forms a barrier against water corrosion, but in wet conditions, it鈥檚 less effective at repelling grit. If you live in a rainy area, you鈥檒l need to fully reclean your chains more often, especially on听gravel and mountain bikes. Hot wax also isn鈥檛 the best choice for situations where you鈥檙e washing your bike a lot, like cyclocross racing. The repeated washes will strip wax just as they will oil, and hot waxing takes听longer to redo. You can use oil-based lube or a drip-based wax lube here. Either way, the best approach in this situation听is just to wash your bike regularly.
You can wax multiple chains at a time.听
If you want to maximize your efforts, clean and hot-wax multiple chains in the same jar and slow cooker. I started with two, so I鈥檝e always got a clean, waxed chain ready to swap onto the bike. I set the other aside to wax听on weekends when I have time.
Waxed chains can still get dirty but don鈥檛 usually need to be听fully recleaned.
Waxed chains aren鈥檛 impervious to collecting dust and dirt. If yours is a little dirty but doesn鈥檛 merit a full recleaning, put it in an old metal pan, pour boiling water on it, and swish it with your chain tool. The hot water will lift off the surface wax, and听with it, most of the dirt. Repeat once or twice, then dry completely overnight before waxing again.
Buy spare chain pins or links.
Chains come with attachments: either special pins or two-piece links that snap together. I prefer links to the pins. Either way, buy a couple听extra.听Nine-speed chains have reusable links, but 10-, 11-, and 12-speed chains are narrower, and the links are single use. If you reuse these single-use snap links,听they may not fit together securely, which means听they could snap. Yes, people can and do reuse them safely and yammer on about it on forums, but they鈥檙e not paying for your post-crash surgery. Spare听 cost $5 to $15 each,听 are $16, and these 听cost between $10 and $23. Dental implants cost $1,500 and up鈥攑er tooth.听
A note on waste disposal: be safe and think of the environment.听
Whether you鈥檙e using mineral spirits or a citrus degreaser (my pick was Zep Heavy Duty, which is best purchased at your local hardware store), neither are things you just dump into the gutter or pour down a sink. The same goes for denatured alcohol, which contains methanol. Set aside a couple of empty laundry-detergent bottles,听fill听them听with your used cleaners, and then take them to a hazardous-waste facility when they鈥檙e full. To create less waste, use this trick from Josh Poertner, Silca鈥檚 CEO: line a funnel with a fresh coffee filter, and strain the used degreaser or alcohol back into the main container. It鈥檚 best to discard the initial batch of degreaser and alcohol, but the ones from subsequent steps should be clean enough that, if filtered, they can be reused.