Chain Waxing

According to Silca the squeaking is mostly from the sideplates

Yeah that does make sense, when I look at the chain it looks like it still has good coverage. My previous experience of wax based lubes has not been good, watery piss that just makes a big mess. Is that not the case now ? What recommended?

I only used squirt and decathlon's own stuff, which also served me well. I usually warm up the bottle in a mug of hot water, dab a drop on each roller around the chain, few slow pedal revolutions, let it sit, then wipe off excess from the outside of the chainlinks.

I just fucking hose it on while mumbling about dust and fucking chain life bollocks blah blah chains lasted longer when I only rode 4hrs at a time blah blah stupid hobby blah blah fucking jizz in my tyres and jizz on my chain blah blah

I do all that too

No need to buy a bottle, a soy sauce squeezy fish of drip wax is perfect for a saddlebag. You then get a free delicious Chinese takeaway with it.

I don't remember the last time I saw one of those little fish bottles.

They're not big enough for the rides we're doing anyway.

I always enjoy checking in on this thread. Excellent tips! The Silca degreaser is genuinely impressive.

We're producing a video guide to chain waxing to accompany our written tutorial. We have a chef's hat ready and waiting.

I will skim this thread to hoover up any common questions but are there any red-hot unanswered questions or myths any of you would like to see addressed?

Eye drop bottles are perfect for saddlebag lube.

That's what I still use in my road kit for normal lube. When I went to wax I needed another bottle and didn't have an eye drop one so the missus bought a travel dropper from Boots I think.

I just bought some from Bezos and drank the eye drops. Taste like ketones so presume similar effect.

Has anyone much experience of effeto mariposa flower power drip wax?

Zero friction makes it sound like my dream lube - mega low wear without the penetration issues of squirt means I can just give it a proper clean on the 3 (normal) summer rides when I get caught out in the rain. I’m probably doing it wrong but I’m afraid to properly clean my squirted chain after building up the penetration/layers and starting over again…

Zero friction makes it sound like...

...a perpetual motion machine🙂

https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/

If the Effetto mariposa sunflower drip wax is so good would it be a good idea to add sunflower wax
when doing immersion waxing?

Used Silca drip wax today on my own bike which usually has immersive wax. So smooth, so fast, really impressive, which it should be for the price.

What capacity is it please?

All the dimensions you need are on the product spec here - https://www.elma-ultrasonic.com/fileadmin/downloads/Produktprofile/Produktprofile_EN/Ultraschallgeraete/Elmasonic_S/PP_Elmasonic_S30H_EN.pdf

It's big enough for multiple chains at a time; and cassettes also that aren't too huge.

I found the basket as well, so it's a complete unit.

Does it gunk up a bit, like Squirt, or dry flake like the good stuff?

I bought the Silca super secret in the sales and it's horrible stuff, they managed to turn waxing
into a filthy affair. It's very runny so most of it drips off the chain straight away, there is so much
runoff that my paper towel catching it started dissolving and leaving paper chunks in the chain.
Never had anything similar happen with Squirt.
It dries into a brown gunk and running your finger along the chain leaves stains, not as bad as oil but nothing like clean wax.
Performance wise I can't see a difference, one rainy ride and the chain is stripped anyway.

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there is so much
runoff that my paper towel catching it started dissolving and leaving paper chunks in the chain

Did you hang the chain to dry out of contact with the towel?

I am applying it on the bike and hold the paper towel under the links I put the drops on, I do the same with Squirt but that clings better to the chain. The low surface tension of the Silca wax might
help it to penetrate better but it's just wasteful and messy to use.

Silca's instructions are so elaborate....is it possible that you didn't follow them all? All the reviews on their site are very positive. How about asking for a refund?

https://silcavelo.eu/pages/how-to-apply-chain-lube

There is nothing elaborate about the instructions, love the "steady flow bit", just waste as much as possible.

For me it does not deliver what I expect from a wax lube, it's filthy and it's not water-proof as they claim.

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What's the black stuff? The chain is supposed to be clean. "The chain should be VERY clean and dry before applying." https://silcavelo.eu/collections/chain-lube-wax/products/silca-super-secret-chain-lube

The black stuff are the placebo additives in the Silca stuff, the chain has been bought clean ready for waxing and went through a few cycles of immersion waxing, Silca was only used for top up.

Here is how a chain looks with just immersion waxing.

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