Silca hot waxing

[Sea of vapours]

Something of that order, yes. That's 11 speed ones. I really don't see that taking them off, unless you do some kind of violent twisting motion, is going to do any harm whatsoever. Definitely *not* worth worrying about !

 

[Binky]

Right, new bike has arrived and I've just put a freshly hot waxed chain on and holy moly it sounds terrible 😂. I've read this is normal for first 10 miles or so but the very brief test ride for a few 100 metres just to check things out it sounds like a bag of nails!

 

[Sea of vapours]

I presume it was correctly indexed before you put the waxed chain on was it? One thing you can't remotely do with a freshly waxed chain is index the gears as it sounds awful even when it's correct. Typically, it'll sound fine after about 10km or thereabouts. (If it wasn't indexed in the first place than, fairly obviously, it wont' !)

 

[scotsbikester]

Right, new bike has arrived and I've just put a freshly hot waxed chain on and holy moly it sounds terrible 😂. I've read this is normal for first 10 miles or so but the very brief test ride for a few 100 metres just to check things out it sounds like a bag of nails!

It wasn't normal for me. In fact when I first waxed the chain I was amazed how quiet it was on my first ride out. Quieter than the oiled chains I had been using up to then.

As SoV says, was it indexed properly before you put the waxed chain on? You didn't get the new bike and put a waxed chain on immediately did you?

 

[Binky]

Indexing is fine, I'm sure it's just the wax. As it happens I could double check as I have a brand new chain which still has factory grease on so I could swap them out and see. Just wanted views of those who have gone down hot wax route. Various forums report very noisy chains first 10-15 miles or so.

 

[Webbo2]

Indexing is fine, I'm sure it's just the wax. As it happens I could double check as I have a brand new chain which still has factory grease on so I could swap them out and see. Just wanted views of those who have gone down hot wax route. Various forums report very noisy chains first 10-15 miles or so.

I don’t know a great deal about this but according to GCN who are big in to waxed chains say you have loosen them up at first.

 

[scotsbikester]

Indexing is fine, I'm sure it's just the wax. As it happens I could double check as I have a brand new chain which still has factory grease on so I could swap them out and see. Just wanted views of those who have gone down hot wax route. Various forums report very noisy chains first 10-15 miles or so.

Yes, I'd heard about the "freshly waxed chain noise" thing. Hence why I was so pleased at the fact it was actually quieter than usual.

Sorry I can't be any more help. But setting/checking the indexing with a new non-waxed chain sounds like a good idea. Is it the same type of chain as the waxed one?

 

[Binky]

Yes, I'd heard about the "freshly waxed chain noise" thing. Hence why I was so pleased at the fact it was actually quieter than usual.

Sorry I can't be any more help. But setting/checking the indexing with a new non-waxed chain sounds like a good idea. Is it the same type of chain as the waxed one?

Identical.

 

[scotsbikester]

Identical.

Hmmm. That's odd then. Set the indexing with that one, maybe take it for a short "real" ride and see how it sounds. Then swap to the waxed one. That's all I can suggest.

Though of course you do have the slight problem that you're riding with the factory grease on, rather than "proper" wet lube. I suppose if it's a short ride, in the dry on a non dusty road, you can't "contaminate" the chain too much. So should still be strippable.

 

[Sea of vapours]

But setting/checking the indexing with a new non-waxed chain sounds like a good idea.

Errr..... arguably, it doesn't.

That'll work for checking the indexing and confirming that the chains sound different, certainly. It'll also deposit factory grease on the chain rings, jockey wheels and cassette sprockets. In theory, those are supposed to be immaculately free of oil / grease before putting a waxed chain on in order to avoid contaminating the wax. Plenty of people think this is quite a big deal. I personally have no idea as I've never done it.

I do invariably experience noise and poor shifting for the first 15-20m, or even 10km, with a freshly waxed chain though, including one which has been manually loosened up a bit. This is why pro teams have mechanisms to run the chain in a bit after re-waxing.

 

[Binky]

Right. Other chain put on and much quieter. Indexing is good. Wax chain back on and will test ride tomorrow.
If nothing else I've had practice with my new quick link pliers.

Thanks all

 

[scotsbikester]

Right. Other chain put on and much quieter. Indexing is good. Wax chain back on and will test ride tomorrow.
If nothing else I've had practice with my new quick link pliers.

Thanks all

Hmm. SoV may be right about contaminating the chainrings/cassette with factory grease.

My apologies if I have given you bad advice.

The factory grease on other parts of the drive train may, or may not, make a difference. Much like SoV I have no idea whether it matters. There have been some fairly heated arguments elsewhere about the compatibility, or otherwise, of various oils/greases/waxes. Some people have expressed the opinion that as it's all basically the same sort of chemical, of the general forumula CnH2n+2, it actually doesn't matter, and so the obsessive cleaning doesn't really matter either. I don't know how much of this is true, I'm not a chemist. Some advise OCD levels of cleaning, others seem to just give the chain a basic clean and get on with it.

Quite how much of the factory grease gets transferred to the drive train in a quick indexing check, is debatable. Or rather, you should be able to get an idea just by wiping your hand over a chainring.

It might be worthwhile giving the chainrings/cassette/jockey wheels a good clean before running the waxed chain.

Though one of the frequently touted benefits of immersive waxing, is that each bath in hot wax essentially "resets" the cleanliness of the chain. Contamination gets melted off, basically. Which makes sense.

 

[scotsbikester]

By the way, I emailed the manufacturer of the chains I use (YBN) about how to remove their grease. I told them what I did (three baths of mineral spirits, two of denatured alcohol). They replied, very swiftly, which is impressive, and said:

"your cleaning process is already very thorough and great in
practice.
I would consider the chain clean enough to proceed directly to hot-dip
waxing."

As the chain manufacturer approves, and that is also the system recommended by the wax manufacturer, that's what I'm going to do, if I ever buy another chain.

PS, they also said "Use a neutral detergent rather than an acidic or alkaline cleaner."

 

[PpPete]

three baths of mineral spirits, two of denatured alcohol

Use a neutral detergent rather than an acidic or alkaline cleaner.

I used to use the old Ozcycle method of unleaded, followed by a citrus degreaser, followed my methylated spirits.
On an "corrosion protected" (KMC EPC) this resulted in multiple cracked links !
After reading about hydrogen embrittlement I gave up on the degreaser completely.
I now strip new chains with two baths of white spirit and one of isopropanol - and before each rewax, hot water, dry and then isopropanol, dry again.

I was running waxed KMC-EL on one 11 speed bike and YBN (basic model) on the other - so as to distinguish them after rewaxing sessions. What I found was that I needed to rewax the KMC chains twice as frequently as the YBN.
I can see that it might be the inadeqate initial strip failing to strip KMC's grease, but succeeding on YBN's grease, but that persisted after multiple cleans and rewaxes which I would have thought would have removed any last invisible remnants of manufacturer's grease.
I never put the KMC's on now, just bought another YBN so I now have 2 for each bike.

I have just treated myself to a "Gold" YBN in preparation for a new crankset - slightly bigger rings which may need longer chain, so will have to see if that coating makes a difference.

 

[scotsbikester]

I used to use the old Ozcycle method of unleaded, followed by a citrus degreaser, followed my methylated spirits.
On an "corrosion protected" (KMC EPC) this resulted in multiple cracked links !
After reading about hydrogen embrittlement I gave up on the degreaser completely.
I now strip new chains with two baths of white spirit and one of isopropanol - and before each rewax, hot water, dry and then isopropanol, dry again.

I was running waxed KMC-EL on one 11 speed bike and YBN (basic model) on the other - so as to distinguish them after rewaxing sessions. What I found was that I needed to rewax the KMC chains twice as frequently as the YBN.
I can see that it might be the inadeqate initial strip failing to strip KMC's grease, but succeeding on YBN's grease, but that persisted after multiple cleans and rewaxes which I would have thought would have removed any last invisible remnants of manufacturer's grease.
I never put the KMC's on now, just bought another YBN so I now have 2 for each bike.

I have just treated myself to a "Gold" YBN in preparation for a new crankset - slightly bigger rings which may need longer chain, so will have to see if that coating makes a difference.

I think I've used petrol once, but then stopped when I read about hydrogen embrittlement.

I've heard the opinion that KMC doesn't take wax that well, no matter how well it is cleaned first.

I'm new to the chain waxing thing, but so far I've just put used chains back in the slow cooker. The most preparation I've done is a quick wipe down with an old towel. I quite like the idea of the "two pots" method, where the first one is just to get the old dirty wax off, and the second one applies the fresh wax.

BTW, there are, allegedly, lots of counterfeit YBN chains around. I got mine from InaSpin.