yaw

Yeah those are silly prices, but hopefully there are more reasonable suppliers in the US. If not, there's a viable side business for someone.

(I ordered from an Australian supplier, ultrasonic cleaned and MSW waxed Dura Ace chain costs under USD90 for 12 speed and USD75 for 11 speed)

Polaris OBark

My kid had to have steroids a couple of times.

big john

I believe it is. I don't recall saying anything negative about waxing. I said I'm sure it is a fine method. The only negative thing I said was I don't believe your shpiel.

big john

Poor kid.

sshakari

Been waxing for a while now and here is what I learned:
Likes:

• clean drivetrain
• less expensive compared to wet lubes
• easy to swap chains
• I use an oven cake pan from .99 cent store & heat the wax on a stove. I know its a petroleum product and can cause fires.
• my chains/cassette last longer
• I don't have to clean my drive train after a ride. Just a quick wipe
• KMC missing link is $13 for 2 reusable links and fits any brand

What I don't like

• the initial chain clean takes a while. I use the Oz Cycle method so an 8-hour soak
• quick links... I've had some issues where the quick link is fine, but the chain link next to it breaks
• my drivetrain gets noisy around 150-mile mark and for me that is about a week to a week 1/2 to re-wax. Just got some Tru-Tension wax-based lube for when I don't have time or don't feel like re-waxing or taking a trip with the bike
• most of all -- on wippermann chains I keep losing the roller next to the quick link, but no big deal. Also, just switched to shimano chains and they are so much less noisy.

tomato coupe

You've gone from "paying double is just uninformed and deceiving rubbish" to "hopefully there are more reasonable suppliers." I think you just gave a lot of people whiplash with that rapid backtracking.

WhyFi

I wouldn't be terribly incentivized to front-load maintenance at these kinds of mileages, either. Then again, it might be kind of nice to only have to clean a new pair of chains once every 5 years or so.

yaw

Try YBN quick links, 6 pack for $20 or so and each is reusable at least 5 times, I think they work well with all correct-speed chains.
Apparently the YBN chain coatings also play well with waxing, I vaguely remember that KMC performed least well with wax but I haven't used them myself yet, only DuraAce, Ultegra and YBN.

Broctoon

No, really just sarcastic. Fun and snarky would be if I included a link to an old SNL video that comes to mind as I read about how quick and easy it is to wax a chain:

Polaris OBark

A box of wax at the hardware store costs about $3.

Silca caters to people with lots of money, or morons like me who should know better. (I am guilty. I bought their frame-pump and a couple of Ti water bottle cages for my wife, as well as two instances of their $50 handlebar tape). But I still wouldn't buy their wax or pre-waxed chains. There is a limit to my idiocy.

yaw

I provided the much more reasonable prices I purchased at which are far lower than the suppliers you quoted.
It's like you saying engine oil is cheap and I quote you the Ferrari service department charge for the oil used to refute it.

Broctoon

Silca's stuff is expensive, but it's sooo nice. I am another moron who fell for one of their products. I have a little multitool from them that has been my favorite one for years. It's no more functional than one from Park or any number of other brands. But it was sparkly and elegant looking, and it spoke to me at the bike shop. 25 or 30 bucks, I seem to recall. It's a little gem, and I love having it.

tomato coupe

Your "reasonable" prices are from an unnamed overseas supplier. I posted current prices from specific suppliers that anyone can verify.

yaw

Overseas for you and here you go (Australian dollars). And things in this county are routinely much more expensive than in the US.

https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/p...1-speed-chain/
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/p...2-speed-chain/

tomato coupe

The second link lists pre-waxed 12-spd YBN, 12-spd SRAM Force AXS, and 12-spd Dura Ace chains for $130. So, we're still talking roughly double the normal $70 price.

scottfsmith

Yes hot waxing is clearly the best for friction, chain wear, etc. But it takes more time to maintain, and the gains can be marginal. The Zero Friction tests of Silca SS drip lube showed it is actually beating a top hot wax lube in dry conditions. Maybe if I was a cyclocross racer I'd get into hot wax, but for a dry road non-racer its not worth the extra time investment.

BTW ZFC also shows that throwing money at Silca is a good investment here, you will overall save money due to fewer chains and cassettes needing replacement. See https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/w...-drip-v1.1.pdf for the gory details. This is for the drip lube but a similar thing holds for the hot wax.. if you have the time for it.

yaw

I wrote Australian Dollars there to alert you to the currency exchange step you will have to consider. 12 speed DA chain AUD 130 = USD 90, 11 speed DA chain AUD 109 = USD 75.

tomato coupe

The final price for a pre-waxed 12-spd Dura Ace chain, delivered to the U.S. from your source is US$132.80. So, again, we're talking roughly double the price of an un-waxed chain. It's great if you can get it for less, but for most people on this forum, it will cost them double to buy a pre-waxed chain.

sshakari

To be quite honest all the negatives I listed are making rethink chain waxing. Im seriously considering going back to wet lube like NFS or even the Tru-Tension BananaSlip and just buying a new chain every 2k or so miles. Mainly because Im feeling like Im a slave to the bike instead the bike being my slave. These thoughts include disk brakes, a different discussion thread.

BCDrums

Nope. For you, maybe. While your wax is melting, I will have wet-lubed and been out the door for 10 minutes. But if you love it, wax on!

Other notes:

• Why does no one feel the need to evangelize for wet lube? Why do some waxers need to persuade riders who aren't interested?
• I doubt that waxing is less expensive in any substantial way than wet-lubing. And if it is, I'd rather spend a few extra bucks than have three chains in rotation and a crock pot. Waxing is certainly more time-consuming.
• I don't care if I can't eat off my drivetrain. If my hands get dirty once in a while, I'll be okay.
• I replace my chain at around 3500 miles, and it's not worn out yet, but I can afford it. Are waxers getting double that? If not, why bother to have three chains in rotation and a little crock pot? Everyone likes a ritual, but I'd rather be riding than tracking my chain/cassette/chainring wear. Is there an Excel template for all of that?

Good luck, waxers.

sshakari

Silca saddle bag & frame pump are worth every penny and I would have paid more. Had a floor pump from Silca for 7 years and finally gave up on it and got a cheap pump just as good if not better.

Polaris OBark

I haven't been able to say to my wife "honey, I dropped $175 on a frame pump". But in addition to everything else, the color scheme exactly matches that of my bike (black with anodized red trim), much as my 1987 Silca pump matches my Bianchi.

So you like the saddle bag? I had my eye on it.

yaw

Immersion hot waxing gets 4-5 times that lifespan out of a chain.

cxwrench

There is no way in hell you can guarantee that. Not possible. We know you like wax, that's fine. Don't promise people that they'll be faster and have their chains last 12-15k miles. Just stop w/ that ****.

yaw

Go take it up with https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/

Looks like he runs a pretty standardised rig and has wordy enough documentation at the bottom of that page for you to go through and point out how it cannot be.

Refer to column on the far right: