Mountain Biking - Home made wax lube

Has anyone else tried this? I ride dusty tracks, so wet lubes are out. I am told that wax lubes need constant replenishment...but NOT before I clean the chain!

In the end I find I am spending more time and money on cleaners than the chain is worth. I am not a throwaway freak at all, but spending many hours and twice the price to get a chain and cassette to last 25% longer seems crazy.

Not to mention that I feel we are being ripped off. The drive train is terribly important to a pleasant ride, and there is an obsession with it. This is being cashed in upon, I feel.

This also applies to cleaners. Diesel/white spirit does a magic job. Then with a tiny bit of care and magnets you recycle 80% of it. The amount you use each month would run a Rec Veh for maybe 100 yards.

So. I took some Johnson's Traffic wax (no abrasive version!) and pulpled it into some paint thinners. I made a smooth paste then added the thinners until it was...well...thin.

I apply this to my chain with a toothbrush, after cleaning in (recycled) diesel. I am thinking that it was so cheap and easy that I may look at actually soaking my chain (in both cleaner and lube) every couple of weeks. Better penetration.

I leave the wax _on the chain_. I was wiping off the $100/litre stuff onto a rag! So far I have noticed no dirt buildup, and can hear no grit noise after several rides in dirty/wet conditions. Shifts are Ok. Not as good as a really oily chain, but that gets dirt.

So. Guys have recpies for wet lubes made up from thinners and oil. This one is wax and oil. it seems to be a dry lube at a cheap price.

Anyone else?

i once made a telephone out of two coffee cans and a length of string.

:eek:

i once made a telephone out of two coffee cans and a length of string.

Me too, go get yours and call me.

Has anyone used Maxima Chainwax? Intended for use on streetbike and dirtbike chains I used some on my MTB chain and it worked killer.

Has anyone else tried this? I ride dusty tracks, so wet lubes are out. I am told that wax lubes need constant replenishment...but NOT before I clean the chain!

In the end I find I am spending more time and money on cleaners than the chain is worth. I am not a throwaway freak at all, but spending many hours and twice the price to get a chain and cassette to last 25% longer seems crazy.

Not to mention that I feel we are being ripped off. The drive train is terribly important to a pleasant ride, and there is an obsession with it. This is being cashed in upon, I feel.

This also applies to cleaners. Diesel/white spirit does a magic job. Then with a tiny bit of care and magnets you recycle 80% of it. The amount you use each month would run a Rec Veh for maybe 100 yards.

So. I took some Johnson's Traffic wax (no abrasive version!) and pulpled it into some paint thinners. I made a smooth paste then added the thinners until it was...well...thin.

I apply this to my chain with a toothbrush, after cleaning in (recycled) diesel. I am thinking that it was so cheap and easy that I may look at actually soaking my chain (in both cleaner and lube) every couple of weeks. Better penetration.

I leave the wax _on the chain_. I was wiping off the $100/litre stuff onto a rag! So far I have noticed no dirt buildup, and can hear no grit noise after several rides in dirty/wet conditions. Shifts are Ok. Not as good as a really oily chain, but that gets dirt.

So. Guys have recpies for wet lubes made up from thinners and oil. This one is wax and oil. it seems to be a dry lube at a cheap price.

Anyone else?
gosh, that looks like a lot of work! i am sure it was fun and a good learning experience as well. i am pleased with my wd40...it doesn't attract too much grime either. it is pretty cheap as well.

Has anyone used Maxima Chainwax? Intended for use on streetbike and dirtbike chains I used some on my MTB chain and it worked killer.
no....but i was thinking about getting some next time i ran into it. i used it quite a bit in 93 or so

gosh, that looks like a lot of work! i am sure it was fun and a good learning experience as well. i am pleased with my wd40...it doesn't attract too much grime either. it is pretty cheap as well.

Yeah it really broke my back. It took about as long as cleaning and lubing a chain!

WD40 has been said to have very little if any lubricating properties and does not last. It does attract dirt; the really fine stuff that gets right in there in particular...........

i once made a telephone out of two coffee cans and a length of string.


I once made an alpha male out of a fart.

WD40 has been said...does attract dirt; the really fine stuff that gets right in there in particular...........

my perfectly waxed car attracts dirt...and so does the grande piano in the den.

Well _that_ was a productive and interactive little session.

Have _fun_ babies

Well _that_ was a productive and interactive little session.

Have _fun_ babies
:D

While probably more work and effort that most (likely myself included) are willing to do, thanks a lot for sharing your idea. The prices really are extreme but the whole supply/demand thing is a nasty driving force to overcome. To take the time to pass on your ideas to help others is what forums like this are for in my opinion, and every little bit helps.

Hell, with the price of deisel climbing it won't be long before your cleaner is more expensive! (just kidding I hope!)

Homemade pour on wax lubes are doable, but don't work as well as say, white lightning, which has surfucants that give it the "dirt shedding" action.
If you're dead set on being cheap (not a bad thing), and want a dry but lubricated chain, do the old school hot wax dip.
Either DIY or buy a pre formulated tin of paraffin chain wax. It's a solid block of wax until you heat it up in a pan of hot water. Take off your chain, clean it a bit, then dunk it in the melted wax for a few minutes. The melted wax will flow into the links and bushing of your chain. Take the chain off and scrape the excess wax back into the tin. Once you install the chain, the hardened wax will mush it's way out of the chain, carrying all the dirt and grime that was once in there.
It won't attract new dirt like a wet lube, is cheap, almost self cleaning, and is probably a little less work than your current routine. One tin probably lasts seven dippings, and can be replenished with bars of canning wax (2 dollars per pound), albiet, with a little less lubing power each time.

Its the route I would go if I were you, but I just discovered prolink a few months ago and just use my shop's bottle. That shyats expensive.

I once made an alpha male out of a fart.

well, that was uncalled for. i just thought we were sharing. if you want to get nasty, i'm game. i heard your girlfriend was upset that the only time you mentioned "lube" and "better penetration" was in reference to your bike.

well, that was uncalled for. i just thought we were sharing. if you want to get nasty, i'm game. i heard your girlfriend was upset that the only time you mentioned "lube" and "better penetration" was in reference to your bike.

Ya know, I was just saying to myself the other day.. "What these forums need is another a-hole that partially reads posts and throws an ignorant comment in for good measure". Thanks for filling that void!

Personally, I see this thread as a joke. A guy posted a suggestion that while extreme for some, was simply his attempt to help other people out. The responses, including some from people that I normally would call respectable participants, were nothing short of poking fun at his efforts. I don't blame him for striking back. But what really helps this entire thread is you, who joined about, oh, yesterday, insulting him too.

WD40 is not a lube.

Ya know, I was just saying to myself the other day.. "What these forums need is another a-hole that partially reads posts and throws an ignorant comment in for good measure". Thanks for filling that void!

Personally, I see this thread as a joke. A guy posted a suggestion that while extreme for some, was simply his attempt to help other people out. The responses, including some from people that I normally would call respectable participants, were nothing short of poking fun at his efforts. I don't blame him for striking back. But what really helps this entire thread is you, who joined about, oh, yesterday, insulting him too.
i hope you're not refering to me....i never made fun of his efforts

Ya know, I was just saying to myself the other day.. "What these forums need is another a-hole that partially reads posts and throws an ignorant comment in for good measure". Thanks for filling that void!

Personally, I see this thread as a joke. A guy posted a suggestion that while extreme for some, was simply his attempt to help other people out. The responses, including some from people that I normally would call respectable participants, were nothing short of poking fun at his efforts. I don't blame him for striking back. But what really helps this entire thread is you, who joined about, oh, yesterday, insulting him too.

i agree. if you have nothing useful to say, don't bother posting.

I havn't tried making a bike wax ever, but I do make "stuff" (soaps, candles, body care, etc) as well as work on bikes. My guess is that it would be much more expensive to try making something yourself. When you buy waxes in small quantaties like we'd be talking for bike lube, it winds up being expensive. You'd need some form of emulsifier as well, spray pumps (again really expensive if you're not buying 6 dozen at a time). You would probably want to buy many different types of waxes as well to find one you're happy with, which is likely to be a blend of different waxes (off the cuff I'd guess start with an %85 paraffin, add some bees at %2 at a time).

I'm all for it, if you don't care about the cost and time involved. More power to you, and please share with us your results.

I could totally be wrong, but if I were estimating doing this project myself, it would come with a BIG red light on cost/time value. (Which wouldn't necissarily stop me.)

In the early 90's Toko made a hand-pump spray-on wax for skis that I used to lube a chain once. Not only did it reduce noise and friction, but I rode that chain the whole winter without any sign of it rusting, or gumming up with road spray / grime. Prevented freeze-ups too.

I don't think that they make it anymore though. Pledge was a suitable replacement for the skis, but I have not tried it on bike chains.

Go Habs,

A.