this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2023
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The idea of waxing my chains sounds really appealing, especially since I absolutely hate how dirty my chains get no matter how thorough, or often I clean them.

But I've heard that chains should be waxed often... like every 100 miles, which seems like a lot of work for not a lot of riding.

Is this true, assuming dry, clean riding conditions?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I just waxed a chain on my road bike for the first time, on the weekend. The instructions were to top up using drip on wax after 150-200mi. Full immersion, if needed, doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult as you don’t need to fully degrease, just heat the wax and drop the chain in. Went for a quick 30 min ride and the drivetrain was super quiet, smooth shifting. So liking it so far.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I wax in a slow cooker (Molten Speedwax) every ~1000 miles, and every ~200 miles with Squirt lube. I actually started with just squirt and it was fine, and lower maintenance than wet/dry lube -- I would spend so much time cleaning/degreasing my chain, now it's so easy.

Also, now with Silcas chain prepper stuff it's a no-brainer because new chains are so easy now too. Although with the high adoption of wax recently I wouldn't be surprised if more major manufacturers offered pre waxed chains

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wax in a slow cooker (Molten Speedwax) every ~1000 miles

Holy smokes, does it last that long?? Are you riding in only dry conditions or is this pretty typical?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I do it every thousand in combination with every 200 using Squirt. Doing it in the slow cooker essentially cleans the chain and makes it feel great. I would do it with Molten Speedwax every time, but its just too much effort for me.

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