Chain Waxing is Sublime
02-15-24 | 01:27 PM
#26
Facts just confuse people
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 19,278
Likes: 7,031
From: Mississippi
Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020
The real (non-hyperbole) reason I am asking is that I just got a new mountain bike with a12-speed GX Eagle transmission drive train, and I want it to last a long time. Waxing my chain on my gravel bike has greatly extended my cassette (and chains) lifetime. Given the price-tag of this SRAM stuff, and how I already heard and felt grinding after my first couple of rides, I decided to try wax on this one too. It got me wondering why this hasn't caught on with mountain bikers so much. Is it just because the drivetrain gets wet or muddy more easily, or is it bad for 12-speed drivetrains, or is it just custom?
I only road bike, but even then I don't see the need to wax other than for the clean looks it gives to any that follow on your wheel. I don't feel it gives any materially longer life to the chain that for me and possibly others isn't more trouble over the life of the chain than just replacing them and the cassettes or rings when it's time. I've over 6000 miles on a 11 speed chain that still shows being no where close to replacement.. There might be other reasons than waxing your chain that you also started doing about the same time that gave you a longer chain life than before.
Last edited by Iride01; 02-15-24 at 01:31 PM.
02-15-24 | 01:40 PM
#28
Mad bike riding scientist
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,137
Likes: 6,188
From: Denver, CO
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
IMG_1155 by Stuart Black, on FlickrI don’t hot wax…too much bother…but solvent wax is effective and clean.
__________________
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
02-15-24 | 02:08 PM
#29
Thread Starter
ignominious poltroon
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 6,027
Likes: 5,377
Since mountain biking is a more extreme case of this, the case for waxing (at least with my local conditions) seems more compelling.
02-15-24 | 05:10 PM
#31
Mad bike riding scientist
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,137
Likes: 6,188
From: Denver, CO
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Go learn a bit of chemistry and, perhaps, a bit of language. A lubricant is any substance that helps reduce friction between two surfaces. Water can be a lubricant. Oil can be a lubricant. Wax can be a lubricant too. Does something that is solid or semisolid not lubricate? Grease is a solid. Is it not a lubricant?
Yes, wax is a lubricant, both chemically and physically.
Yes, wax is a lubricant, both chemically and physically.
__________________
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
