oldacura

Each year when I do a complete tear-down & cleanup of the drivetrain, I come up with a new favorite way to de-grease the drive-train.

Last night I took off both chains, all 5 chain rings & the cassette. I got an old large soup pot, put the components in it, added water & Simple Green & put it on the stove to boil. After letting it heat up for a while, I got a couple of old brushes and some pliers (to reach into the hot broth), pulled each piece out, scrubbed it & then rinsed each off. This worked great at getting all of the old lube & grit off. The chains were a bit more work to agitate because the old lube & grit gets inside the plates & rollers. This took a bit more elbow grease but I was able to get them new-looking clean as well.

This was pretty quick & easy & I didn't have any petroleum based solvents to get rid of.

Now I just have to hot wax the chains & re-assemble.

zonatandem

Hot wax the chains??? You betcha!

chainedtogether

When I bring bike parts into the kitchen, I get stoker-induced steering. "Hey outta here with that stuff".
I usually put the chain in an old taster's choice bottle and shake it with degreaser.
I remember the first time I did the timing chain it came out of the bottle with a bunch of kinks in it.
When I tried to get rid of a kink it would appear somewhere else on the chain.
Eventually I figured out they all cancel out, kind of like a puzzle toy. Maybe they should be called
noobie-lubie-loops. I never was good with puzzles.

I just did a complete cleaning before packing our S&S Speedster for NWTR in Yakima. It's the first
time we've traveled with the bike in the cases. I'll lube it when we get there.

zonatandem

Enjoy NWTR! We've done NWTRs in Eugene and Boise a few years back. A fun event!
Oh, the kinky timing chain issue . . . if you really get frustrated with that, use a chaintool next time . . . easier to get the kinks out of a straight piece of chain than a looped one! And we do agree, keep that stuff out of 'her' kitchen!

oldacura

I often take the opportunity to do a major cleaning when I take the bike apart for travelling. If you hot wax the chains, they don't get other stuff dirty and they're ready to go when you arrive at the start of your ride.

rmac

I got tired of scrubbing components, getting degresser on my hands even though I wore gloves and the time involved. So, I bought a cheap ultra-sonic cleaner. I put in 1/3 Simple Green and 2/3 water, chains and rings and turn on the timer. (The large chainring does not fit in all of the way but I usually do not take them off.) The cleaner heats the solution. I come back when its done and repeat with water. All of the parts are perfectly clean.

Xanti Andia

Gone are the simple days of kerosene to degrease and automotive oil diluted with kerosene to lube. I read Sheldon Brown and these posts and I am more confused, then I look at my new SRAM 10 speed chain and I don't even know how to brake it.....What is hot wax and how is it applied?, what is Simple Green.....?

Someday when I have learned it will change again.

zonatandem

Simple Green is a brandname fo a non-toxic/environmentally friendly citrus-type degreaser sold in places like Home Depot etc.
Hot waxing method: Remove chain(s), degrease and let dry. We use a one burner electric camp stove (outside . . . not in the house!) put an empty 3 lbs coffee can on the burner in which you put a couple blocks of old fashioned canning wax (some folks add a bit of graphite or other stuff) . Gently drop in the chain after wax is melted (use long handled pliers). Let chain in mixture for several minutes (3 to 5). Remove chain with long handled pliers. Hang chain up to drip-dry or lay it down on newspaper. Wipe down chain with rag after it cools. Re-install chain.
You may get some dried wax flakes on chainstay/boob tube for the first couple rides, but they just wipe off. Result: a very clean and well lubricated chain. Melted wax gets in and around chain pins and there is no gooy mess of lubricant to get hands dirty or a chain tattoo.
Wax is re-usable . . .
Been using this method for 30+ years and works fine for us.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Xanti Andia

how many miles between waxings?

do you use any other lubricant in between waxings?

Xanti Andia

Wife does not have a clue where canning wax is available in Buenos Aires, but wonders if hair removal wax would work just as well, how about that?

RickinFl

I got to talking with TandemGeek once about hot waxing, and since have been experimenting with adding various lubricants to the wax, usually whatever I have around- right now it's some left over synthetic motor oil that I have from my motorcycle days. Doesn't really seem to matter what you use though- TG uses mineral oil, vaseline, or something.

The trick is to melt your paraffin wax and then stir in about the same amount of whatever lube you want to use. Test the mix by dropping a spot of it on a cool metal surface (I use the anvil on my bench vise) so it'll solidify. Then test it with a finger- when it's right, it'll just smear rather than fragmenting like straight wax will. Add more wax or lube until you get it the way you like it. Sounds like a lot of trouble, but it's not really hard.

Adding a small amount of beeswax to the mix will make it much more tenacious. Take my word for it that using straight beeswax is a bad mistake. Or try it if you just have to see for yourself

Adding lube to the wax makes it a little dirtier to handle the chain in the field than using straight wax, but not too much. And, using this method, I can go much longer between waxings than with straight wax, mostly because it doesn't flake off. Waxing is indeed more trouble than lubing the chain on the bike with a petrol based lube, but the beauty of the method becomes apparent when you realize how much time you're saving in not having to clean that same lube and all the crap it attracts off the chain, frame, rim and wherever else it gets slung.

Rick

zonatandem

Xanti:
We normally get 2 to 3 thousand miles off a waxed chain before redoing it. Must say we do live in a very arid climate (Sonoran Desert in Arizona). When derailling chain becomes a bit noisy or might give a little squeak, it's time to re-wax.
Don't know your shopping situation in B/A, but if anyone deals in canning supplies/natural foods or a drug store may handle canning wax.Suggest googling parafin wax in Spanish . . . Don't know about your stoker's hair removal wax.
Have a friend, who years ago, actually used a product called Crisco, a vegetable based solid shortening for cooking . . . seems to have worked but did not last as long as the canning wax.
We do not us any other lubricants between waxings.
Have added some extra fine powdered graphite (about 1/2 teaspoon) to wax but does not seem to make an appreciable difference. Don't toss out that partially filled can of wax, as you can re-use it multiple time. Cheap/efficient/clean.
The process of waxing is less time consuming/expensive in the long run than having to wipe down chain and drip on some costly fancy-named lubricant on a regular basis . . . and it's clean and environmentally friendly too.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

R900

No wax here, but I use Pro-Link, best lube ever IMO, and keep my chain very clean. I reapply about every 100 - 150 miles. I've used wax based lubes, but they always seemed to pick up lots of junk. Dipping sounds interesting.

rjberner

I have to laugh at this thread because it was just about a year ago when this same thread appeared and about half of the respondents giggled about using wax to lube chains. Deja vu all over again, apparently without the laughter.

We went back to the wax this spring after using commercial lubes during the winter because wax doesn't work very well below about 45 deg. F. After getting tattooed just looking at the bike and leaving grease stains in the car, the wax technique is blessed relief.

Couple of points:

1. I usually rewax every 250 to 300 miles, when I begin to notice a degradation in shifting response. If you add up the time required to clean and relube chains (and clean hands, chain rings, derailleurs and clothes) with commercial lubes, I think it's a wash with waxing.
   
2. I've experimented with many different kinds of wax including beeswax and some of the lower melting point waxes available that are engineered to adhere to glass better. I've also experimented with lubricant additives. I came back to straight parafin canning wax available here as Gulf Wax.
   
3. If you can't find canning wax at a local hardware store, try a major hobby store where they offer many different waxes for candle making. But look for a wax with a melting point around 130 - 140 deg. F.

Good luck

Xanti Andia

Wife had a good laugh with the "stoker steering" analogy. She now knows what she does whenever I show up with bicycle parts in the kitchen, except we live in an apartment now, no garage for me to play in, only underground parking where I can keep the bikes, but cannot work on them joyfully. I'll look for a parafin wax and try it. Thanks.

Thigh Master

What's the "boob tube?"

TandemGeek

Semantics:
Boob Tube - Tandem Lore
Boom Tube - PC Version of Boob Tube
Keel Tube - Nautical Reference
Bottom Tube - The tube running parallel to the top tube at the "bottom" of the frame


The history, according to:

Now you know, well... at least one version of the history. I'm sure there are others. Tandems have been around since the late 1800's: they had to call it something before the mid-1960's.

AndyH

Having never done any maintenance on a bike chain, I've noticed that some of the manufacturer websites say something about removing the chain as being a bad idea. It appears obvious that you have to remove the chain to hot-wax it. Why would they tell you not to remove the chain?

oldacura

If you have a standard (e.g. Shimano) chain, you have to use a chain tool to remove a rivet to get the chain off. Once the rivet is pushed out, the steel is deformed and the pin will not re-press at tightly as it did originally. Shimano makes replacement pins that help with this situation but the process still stretches the holes in the plates.

I think the only way it makes sense to remove the chain frequently is to use a quick link (like Sram) that you can install & remove many times over without tools.

JanMM

If you're gonna consider waxing your chain, first consider the fire hazard involved in the process. Study up on the process and the safety precautions required. Then, make your decision.

TandemGeek

Because the average consumer doesn't really know how to properly break and re-join chains and, when done improperly, will usually lead to a dropped / broken chain or other drive train problems.

It's like the first time chain waxers who, as JanMM alludes to, sometimes don't realize that paraffin wax is flamable and make the mistake of heating a container of wax directly on a heat source with a flame or exposed coils and, well, bad things can happen.

As a hot-wax afficianado, I use a Mini Fry Daddy which eliminates almost all of the risks (and mess).

mrfish

I will have to give this chain waxing thing a go sometime to see if I like it.

Regarding degreasing, I try not to do it. I tend to wash my bikes quite often, normally straight after riding. Benefits are that you:
a) remember all the little niggly things from the last ride and fix them
b) find any cracks or similar before things break
c) keep things clean enough that you don't need to take them apart very often for a full strip down clean
d) get very quick at doing the was so that it takes less than 5 minutes

I only clean the chain every month or so and use a Park chain cleaner. It works very nicely, takes only a few minutes all-in. Disadvantages are that it's messy if you do it quickly and is a bit of a pain if you want to clean the chain of an already clean bike as you have to be careful and put newspaper down. It probably isn't as good as say ultrasonic cleaning, but I'm happy to trade 'good enough' for speed as the convenience means I clean the chain more often than I would if it were more difficult.

stokessd

I have been waxing chains since the summer of '82 or '83. I started using a single burner coleman stove (might as well maximize fire potential), but I did it out back behind my house. I maintain a stable of 7 bikes all with paraffin on the chains. In the past 20 years, I've ridden 10's of thousands of miles. My bikes tend to be old school 6-7 speed units with some indexing and some not. I've got an 8 speed and two 9 speed bikes. I haven't noticed any abnormal chain stretch or wear issues from the waxing. The tandem got the hot wax treatment after about 100 miles, and has been running silently and cleanly for the last 400 or so.

My chainrings and cassettes look clean and shiny, my calf looks clean and shiny, and if I need to take the wheel off to fix a flat, my hands stay clean and shiny.

I now use a crock-pot for the wax, it takes a whole lot longer to melt than the coleman on high, but since I'm doing it in my basement, I feel a whole lot better about not heating the bejesus out of the wax with an open flame.

I use about 15% bees wax with the paraffin and nothing else (except old road dirt and other crud that comes out of the dirty chains).

Simple green?! Puh-lease... I use mineral spirits and a scrub brush, it's been getting nasty oily gunk out of my life for decades, and will continue until they slam the lid on me and it's time for the dirt nap.

Some hot waxing tips:

Reuse the wax, I've got a crock pot with wax in it that has been through a lot of chains. The crock pot is now a dedicated waxing machine.

Attach a wire to the last link. I use safety wire looped through the rivet hole on the last link. About a foot will do. When the chain is "done", I pull it out by the wire, untangling if necessary and wrap the wire around a nail letting the chain dangle. As I'm pulling the chain from the crock-pot with one hand, I've got a couple folded up paper towels in the other hand which I am wiping the outside of the chain. After it's hung, I wipe it again a couple times and let it cool. This reduces the initial flaking dramatically. When done properly, there won't be any drips on the floor.


Sheldon