Originally Posted by
cyccommute
You are not wrong but oil’s ability to flow is also a problem. There’s no solution to bicycle chain wear that doesn’t have problems. Wax starves the metal-to-metal contact points and leads to wear. Oil carries contaminants that are harder than the steel of the chain to the metal-to-metal contact points and leads to wear. Wax gets shoved away from those same contact points and result in water exposure that leads to rust. Oil mixes with water (and anything the water is carrying) and allows the water to get deposited at those same contact points which leads to rust.
The result with both lubricants…and notice I said “lubricants”…chain wear at about the same rate. I don’t believe the wild claims of extended chain wear life with wax. People don’t really track chain wear and overestimate the distance that they ride with a chain. Claims by people who measure wear are extrapolations that I doubt. The best that can be expected is to get about the same life out of a chain no matter what you use on the chain. The choice comes down to how much of a mess that needs to be dealt with. A oiled chain is much more messy than a waxed chain. Since they both last about the same amount of time, I choose wax…not hot wax, however.
I've been using Scottoiler for my motorcycle chain for over a decade now.
It keeps dripping thin (low viscosity) oil onto the chain as you ride (the flow is controlled by the carburators on my old motorbike).
The chain life is prolonged by about 5 times compared to even rigorous cleaning and re-lubing done "manually" - and on a road (paved) motorcycle.
The lubricant is thin enough to get flung off the chain along with any dirt stuck to it, so the chain is always clean, lubed, and rust-free.
Bicycle chains don't spin nearly fast enough to achieve that, and adding the extra weight and complexity of a tube, lube cannister etc. would be a hassle (chain shifting over different chainrings doesn't help eiither).
So, for bicycles, wax could be the least bad solution.
However, in my experience, at least in my climate and road conditions, I would only use wax if chain cleanliness was really my top priority - because thin oil is not too dirty either, and it saves a lot of time and hassle.
I am running my commuter and my gravel bike on wax, have been for the past two years, just to test and see how it compares (I can confirm your state that chain life is not extended with wax - even in mostly dry conditions with a lot of sand - I was surprised with that).
White Lightning is crazily expensive to get in Serbia, but I've tried other brands.
Based on that experience, to me (your opinion and experience may differ), wax is a fad, and good for people who enjoy spending a lot of time with their chain.
I prefer to just spray some lube and go riding.
Relja