After a very rainy ride
- If possible, rinse bike off with clean water
- Bounce bike on ground to shake off excess water
- Run chain through microfiber towel to remove grit and water
- Add drip wax to chain links
Preparing a new chain for waxing
(see Chain Waxing System Tutorial with Josh: A Step-by-Step Guide!)
- Put new chain (has factory grease) in a jar
- Fill jar with chain stripper until chain is submerged fully (approx 4 oz)
- Close jar with lid and shake (agitate) for 30 s
- Leave for 10 min at room temp
- Shake strongly for 30 s (grease is encapsulated into microspheres and agitation required to lift them out of chain)
- Decant the chain stripper from the jar through a coffee filter in a funnel back into the bottle (wait until everything has run through filter)
- Fill jar with approx 6 oz of warm water, shake for 30 s and dump out; repeat 2x
- Remove chain from jar and dry eg with paper towel
Layering up technique to achieve similar performance with drip wax compared to hot wax
(see How to “LAYER UP” Super Secret Drip Wax Lube) Note: drip wax is water-wax (30/70) emulsion; hot wax: 100% wax In between applications, cycle drivetrain for a while or go for a ride
- 1st application (cure for at least 4h, ideally 24h) → gets about 75% wax coverage after wax hardens and water evaporates
- 2nd application → about 91% wax
- 3rd application → about 97% wax Tip: after dripping on, rub in with fingers to help penetration Rule: after initial layering up, do 250-300 km of riding between lubrications After 1000 km, do a “reset” ie strip chain back to bare metal (only boiling water needed if chain only treated with wax!) and repeat layering up process
Misc tips
- Use Silca Synergetic to relube rear derailleur roller bearings every few hundred kms
- Note that chain treated with wax only does not need degreaser to clean, only hot (boiling) water