Originally Posted by
elcruxio
The tinkerer in me is immediately thinking of solutions, like carrying a disposable aluminum oven tray (the kind you can use as a single use grill) on which do the burns. But honestly there's still too many issues even though it could be done safely. The first and foremost being that solvent wax is like solvent based dry lube: You go through it crazy fast. Water emulsion wax is more lasting as you use it far less per waxing. The second issue is that I don't know whether the very yellow sooty flame introduces contaminants inside the chain. That could be counter-productive.
Setting your bike on fire is generally not a good idea. I fail to see the reason in the first place. It’s an unnecessary step. Solvent wax may take some time to dry but even if it isn’t “hard”, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t doing its job. Even if you have to ride right after applying it, the solvent will dry reasonably quickly. No need for heat or flame or anything. Water emulsion wax, by the way, will dry even slower than solvents.
As to your claim that solvent wax has a shorter duty cycle than water wax, I doubt that claim. As I’ve stated above, I’m currently doing a tracking experiment. In 1960 miles, I’ve lubricated the chain 4 times since installation. The average mileage between applications is 450 miles. The highest mileage is 680 miles and the lowest is 265 miles. The bike that I am using for tracking is my main/commuter bike and the rides I do are around 20 each. At 450 miles average, that is around 22 rides between application of lubricant. Personally I’m not looking for anything that is longer lasting.