Originally Posted by cyccommute

There really is no difference between hot wax, solvent wax, and water suspension wax. They are all wax and will all perform pretty much the same way. Each has some limitations in application, however. Hot wax needs a way to make it hot…not the most convenient thing to do at a campsite…and a lot of paraphernalia to do it. It takes time as well.

Water suspension waxes have the problem of long dry times and are likely longer in humid conditions. Applying it the night before would be best so that it can dry. And, as I pointed out above, if you have something to make the wax compatible with water, once it is reexposed to water, there is nothing keeping it from resuspending. The wax would wash off.

Solvent wax is in a solvent. That wigs out some people and can be problematic if someone in authority decides that a little bit of solvent is worse than entire gas tanks full of a similar solvent. But it is easy to apply and dries quickly.

Just finished a ride with a chain that has been 490+ miles since my last application of White Lightning. I could hear the tires on the bike (slightly knobby Gravel Kings) but not a sound out of the chain. Shifts are as crisp as ever. I’ve been using White Lightning since the late 90s and I may be used to the noise that it makes but there is nothing noticeable that I can hear. No squeaks, no rattling, no sounds over what is normal.