What do you think of the chain wax?

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Pajaa76
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by Pajaa76

Asphalt70 wrote:
Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:59 pm
My theory:
When I apply paraffin mixed wax to the chain by hand, I use a heat gun for a few sec's on chain, and wax sucks right into the center of the chain. No, need to take the chain of the bike all the time and use alot of chemicals.
I believe that lube and wax works its way from center and out, when riding. Not the oposit way - as long as the chain is well lubricated/waxed.
The outside can easily be cleaned with rag and brush.
What do you guys think?

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TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

It takes him 15min to treat one chain whereas I can turn on a crockpot, go do something else for a while, come back and dunk 5 chains all at once.

Flaws with his system:
1) Not ensuring that the interior of the chain is the same temperature of the melted wax.
2) No clear indication of full coverage. With immersion you just wait until the bubbles are gone.
3) Immersing the chain in molten wax and swishing it around is a much more effective cleansing process. I have a mesh grill at the bottom of the crockpot to collect solid particles.

Rotating through several chains also means wear on the rest of the drivetrain is minimized.

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XCProMD
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by XCProMD

Wouldn’t a heat gun be easier than the induction heater?

ylwgto
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by ylwgto

Sorry to hijack...but relevant to WAX.

I've just rolled out my first offering of a new bike chain lubricating wax that I have developed over the last 2 years. It is pre-market (officially), but I can offer it up to any interested in trying it out. I am still very interested in product feedback.

It has received very good reviews from the local NYC cycling teams that have tested it so far. Please visit my webpage below if you are interested and feel free to PM me with any questions (or if you have questions about international shipping).

https://www.walkerwax4bikes.com/

I intend to use proceeds from the early sales to have Adam at Zero Friction test it to get actual data. we have spoken a lot about my product but I need to raise the funds...it's not cheap!

Thanks and have a great season...spring is coming! LMK if you have any questions.

Ryan

brackc
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by brackc

ylwgto wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 9:43 pm
Sorry to hijack...but relevant to WAX.

I've just rolled out my first offering of a new bike chain lubricating wax that I have developed over the last 2 years. It is pre-market (officially), but I can offer it up to any interested in trying it out. I am still very interested in product feedback.

It has received very good reviews from the local NYC cycling teams that have tested it so far. Please visit my webpage below if you are interested and feel free to PM me with any questions (or if you have questions about international shipping).

https://www.walkerwax4bikes.com/

I intend to use proceeds from the early sales to have Adam at Zero Friction test it to get actual data. we have spoken a lot about my product but I need to raise the funds...it's not cheap!

Thanks and have a great season...spring is coming! LMK if you have any questions.

Ryan
I'll withhold any judgement until i see Adam's review of your product, but TBH your website looks like you designed it in maybe an hour by yourself... needs some work to be sure!

Also your application instructions don't mention cleaning the chain prior to application, which either means a) your product contains a degreaser to do that or b) your instructions aren't complete. Adam's already shown that with any wax-based lube, you'll massively decrease wax adhesion to the chain if it's not properly cleaned first!

Have a look at Wend - a crap product marketed well and see how you can emulate some of their marketing performance! Because TBH their website looks like an off-the-shelf free or cheap wordpress job, but it does everything it needs to. Alternatively look around other cycling websites at the bike photography and writing level on offer and try to aim that high. Yes, they're high targets, but if you meet them off the bat, you'll avoid damaging your brand and at least look legit.

*I'm currently on 4,500 kms on an immersive waxed chain and loving it, once you sift through some of the utter crap information out there (ozcycles / gcn / wend) it works really well! Only issue I've had was transporting the bike on the roof of the car in the rain ended up with one tiny rust spot where I'd obviously broken through the wax coating in that specific spot, but a more rust-resistant chain material would completely alleviate that problem from ever occurring, or if I'd bothered to take off the chain and store it dry inside the car...

DaveS
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by DaveS

I make my own inexpensive wax based lube from 6-7 fluid ounces of naptha ( camp stove fuel) that I buy for $8.50 a gallon at walmart, with 1 ounce by weight of paraffin and 2-3% of heavy weight lubricating oil, like royal purple gear lube. It's very dry and leaves the drivetrain very clean. I do apply it fairly frequently, like every 150 miles or so, which may not be necessary. I don't believe in the idea that any wax lube lasts for hundreds of miles between applications. The lube has a viscosity much like water. I apply it to the lower section of chain, holding a folded paper towel under the chain to catch any drips. With this lube, chain cleaning can be done with far less frequency, since it does not attract dirt. Some people would never clean the chain, just keep reapplying the lube. I can't say how well it works in wet conditions.

Paraffin will slowly dissolve in naptha, but it will mix quickly, if heated to a liquid first.
Last edited by DaveS on Sun Mar 14, 2021 5:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

wilwil
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by wilwil

froze wrote:
Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:41 pm

The lube I use one of two Rock N Roll lubes, one is the Gold which I use on my touring and commuter bikes because it holds up to rain really well without being an all out wet lube, and the other is Absolute Dry that I use on my road bikes. I am not saying that Rock N Roll is the best lube, personally after using many different lubes I've found there isn't a huge difference other then the drip on wax lubes that I found to be far inferior to oil based lubes. Rock N Roll won't discuss what their ingredients are, but I have it on "good" word that it's a petrochemical mix of wax, ceramic and PTFE (which I think is the stuff that settles to the bottom of the bottle, it's creamy and it's similar in appearance to PTFE that was originally used in Slick 50 before they changed to a non DuPont teflon which didn't work as well, and FinishLine Ceramic also had a creamy colored settlement), with some sort of membrane that connects the wax and ceramic with the PTFE oil and bonds it to the metal...or so they say! There is also a carrier mixed into the fluid that evaporates away which is why you need to wait overnight for that to evaporate before riding. Rock N Roll does leave the chain cleaner, and it lasts longer than other lubes I've tried which brings the expensive bottle of the stuff in line with others when you consider you don't have to lube it as much. And the Gold doesn't splatter like the wet lubes do. Another thing about Rock N Roll is that you need to start with a clean chain, then apply it per instructions but do so frequently for the first month like after every other ride, then after that you can go to just once every week; also wipe the chain down with a clean rag after every ride. But since I switched to Rock N Roll I haven't had to clean my chain at all, which is weird for me but the chains keep going.
Are you still using the original R&R Gold before it went Low Vapour? Ive found the Low Vapour version to be like water it last about 10 miles. Maybe the LV stuff is for export and in the US it's solvent based?

froze
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by froze

wilwil wrote:
Sun Mar 31, 2019 10:17 am
froze wrote:
Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:41 pm

The lube I use one of two Rock N Roll lubes, one is the Gold which I use on my touring and commuter bikes because it holds up to rain really well without being an all out wet lube, and the other is Absolute Dry that I use on my road bikes. I am not saying that Rock N Roll is the best lube, personally after using many different lubes I've found there isn't a huge difference other then the drip on wax lubes that I found to be far inferior to oil based lubes. Rock N Roll won't discuss what their ingredients are, but I have it on "good" word that it's a petrochemical mix of wax, ceramic and PTFE (which I think is the stuff that settles to the bottom of the bottle, it's creamy and it's similar in appearance to PTFE that was originally used in Slick 50 before they changed to a non DuPont teflon which didn't work as well, and FinishLine Ceramic also had a creamy colored settlement), with some sort of membrane that connects the wax and ceramic with the PTFE oil and bonds it to the metal...or so they say! There is also a carrier mixed into the fluid that evaporates away which is why you need to wait overnight for that to evaporate before riding. Rock N Roll does leave the chain cleaner, and it lasts longer than other lubes I've tried which brings the expensive bottle of the stuff in line with others when you consider you don't have to lube it as much. And the Gold doesn't splatter like the wet lubes do. Another thing about Rock N Roll is that you need to start with a clean chain, then apply it per instructions but do so frequently for the first month like after every other ride, then after that you can go to just once every week; also wipe the chain down with a clean rag after every ride. But since I switched to Rock N Roll I haven't had to clean my chain at all, which is weird for me but the chains keep going.
Are you still using the original R&R Gold before it went Low Vapour? Ive found the Low Vapour version to be like water it last about 10 miles. Maybe the LV stuff is for export and in the US it's solvent based?
Low Vapour? I haven't even seen that stuff yet, I went to their website after reading what you said and they don't say anything about low vapour, so you probably need to show me, and us here on this forum, what you're talking about, thanks. I didn't find anything on my either my dry or gold bottles that say anything about low vapor.

If they have gone to low vapour and what you say is correct concerning its durability you, and anyone else experiencing problems, need to write them an email because I won't buy it if they've done that, I can't have a lube lasting 10 minutes for any type of riding I do, not alone touring!

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Calnago
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by Calnago

He's likely talking about Low VOC's (which stands for Volatile Organic Compounds, and I think they're flammable, so can't be air shipped). Same idea as what Dumonde Tech did, when they came out with a Low VOC version that could be shipped by air overseas etc. Trouble is, it doesn't work nearly as well. I don't know about Rock 'n Roll and the durability factor, but it is the solvents in there that allow the lube to get where it needs to be. Dumonde Tech is local to me, and the three shops I frequent don't even carry the Low VOC stuff, just the Original (Blue) and the Lite (yellow).
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froze
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by froze

Calnago wrote:
Mon Apr 01, 2019 4:34 pm
He's likely talking about Low VOC's (which stands for Volatile Organic Compounds, and I think they're flammable, so can't be air shipped). Same idea as what Dumonde Tech did, when they came out with a Low VOC version that could be shipped by air overseas etc. Trouble is, it doesn't work nearly as well. I don't know about Rock 'n Roll and the durability factor, but it is the solvents in there that allow the lube to get where it needs to be. Dumonde Tech is local to me, and the three shops I frequent don't even carry the Low VOC stuff, just the Original (Blue) and the Lite (yellow).
Not sure about this low VOC stuff, all I know is that both the Gold and the Dry Rock N Roll last a long time before reapplying. I've never used Dumonde Tech so I can't compare personally, but I've read a lot about the stuff from users and the reviews don't seem very good overall.

froze
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by froze

froze wrote:
Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:20 pm
Calnago wrote:
Mon Apr 01, 2019 4:34 pm
He's likely talking about Low VOC's (which stands for Volatile Organic Compounds, and I think they're flammable, so can't be air shipped). Same idea as what Dumonde Tech did, when they came out with a Low VOC version that could be shipped by air overseas etc. Trouble is, it doesn't work nearly as well. I don't know about Rock 'n Roll and the durability factor, but it is the solvents in there that allow the lube to get where it needs to be. Dumonde Tech is local to me, and the three shops I frequent don't even carry the Low VOC stuff, just the Original (Blue) and the Lite (yellow).
Not sure about this low VOC stuff, all I know is that both the Gold and the Dry Rock N Roll last a long time before reapplying. I've never used Dumonde Tech so I can't compare personally, but I've read a lot about the stuff from users and the reviews don't seem very good overall.
I dug up an old post...oh well!! LOL, anyway, a bit of an update. In the fall of 2020 a car sideswiped me while on my 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe that WAS in mint condition, that mint condition is now junk condition due to a bent fork. So about 2 weeks before C19 became all the rage I bought a 2020 Masi Giramondo 700c to replace the Schwinn. On the Schwinn and my Lynskey, I used nothing but RnR Dry and it seems to work pretty well, I've had no real trouble with it other than if you follow the directions you have to use a lot of fluid to apply the chain, you have to literally squirt the stuff on! I thought that was a waste of expensive oil, so I made a change to try out the Dumonde Tech Lite for the Masi I had bought. So far I like it, it doesn't seem to keep the chain quite as clean as the RnR but it does seem to run quieter, and with my limited understanding of mechanical stuff when something runs quieter then that means there has to be less wear going on...is it? I don't know yet if the chain will last longer or not, but with that bike I have nothing to compare the wear with. So I'm going to start using this week on the Lynskey after I get done doing my maintenance on it and see how it goes. But I will give it a long amount of time to make sure it works good as I did with the RnR, initial impressions are very good though, but if the chain doesn't last as long I'll switch back to RnR since that was the best lube I've ever used before Dumonde.

TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

Your observations are mostly inline with mine. RnR (all types) is weird in that it’s like 90% carrier/solvent and yeah you need to use a lot of it per application. It does run exceptionally clean for a drip lube that isn’t really a wax emulsion.

Dumond Tech doesnt evaporate completely and stays somewhat liquid. Yes it does result in a quieter drivetrain, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s longer lasting or more efficient. I would be more likely to use Dumond Tech in occasional wet conditions than RnR. Likewise if mostly riding in dry conditions only I would use RnR over Dumond, but probably a modern wax drip lube over either.
Last edited by TobinHatesYou on Sun Mar 14, 2021 6:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

bikeboy1tr
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by bikeboy1tr

This is in reference to a debris screen in the bottom of a croc pot. When I decided to use chain wax procedure I didnt cut up a screen for the pot through impatience. The other day I thought what if I turn the croc pot on and catch the wax just as the pot has heated the perimeter of the wax and insert a pair of scissors to rotate the wax block back and forth in order to break it free. I pulled out the wax block and flipped it over and took a box cutter blade to slice off the debris on the bottom. Seems to have worked okay as its definitely more transparent when heated to temp. So if you have not installed a debris screen in your pot this might be a way to save a little on another pot of wax. Not that wax is expensive but I thought I would try it to see if it would work.
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by jlok

What do I think about chain waxing? This > viewtopic.php?f=14&t=156989

Thanks to all those people letting the world know about chain waxing. They should get Nobel Prize.
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