Chain Lube - Does wax work? & summary of Evidence

Does a wax lubed chain hold up to e.g. 200km of real world road riding, or does the wax get sheared off from shifting etc resulting in an inefficient squeaky chain?

I have a horrible feeling this thread will turn in to the usual claim and counter-claim regarding mileages in particular (With a guest appearance from the usual, valid, complaint that in wet conditions waxed chains can still rust etc etc).

HOWEVER I would say that on my winter road bike, I can't remember the last time I re-waxed it (Putoline) but it's not a great deal cleaner than a wet lube to be honest. I'm still very impressed with durability and GENERAL lack of faff, if you can get over the initial application. Putoline has performed similarly well on the MTB but it gets much less use.

Putoline did NOT perform well on the gravel bike (I think a YBN chain instead of Shimano) and left me high and dry on a couple of 100km gravel rides. I didn't bother experimenting any more as had two bottles of Fenwick's Stealth to use up so stripped the Putoline and used that instead.

Summer wax lube, I would typically reapply Squirt after a couple of rides, e.g. 200km, but more out of habit than anything, it never went squeaky. I rarely rode that bike in the wet though so can't conclude much. I DO think I was over-applying though, based on the build up of gummy, grey gunk on jockey wheels and in between sprockets.

I'm now on GLF wax for the summer bike. Easier and cleaner to apply than Putoline, once you've stripped the chain (or bought a chain that someone else has stripped) and looks lovely and clean on the bike. Fingers come away clean also which is a novelty! Feels good, which means nothing I know, and no squeaking after 100km. So too early to conclude much. I will say that there is more drivetrain noise, like a very slightly maladjusted rear mech, but I'm not blaming that on the wax yet as might have re-installed jockey wheels backwards!

Based on wear rates etc. I am absolutely convinced that any form of waxing improves drivetrain life.

I don't pretend it is 'less faff' than drip lubes, but nor do I believe it is significantly more, it's just different.

I can't measure efficiency but I swear I could feel a difference after freshly waxing the chain on my CX bike, the drivetrain felt amazing, quiet and smooth and I'm sure it felt faster but I'm not sure if a podgy amateur can notice the difference in what, 2 or 3 Watts? I am very fussy if that counts for anything 😎

Based on wear rates etc. I am absolutely convinced that any form of waxing improves drivetrain life.

My experience as well. Now run it on my winter road bike. Don't bother with the summer one as the chain never really gets that dirty.

I have been putolining my chains for around 15 years.  I am utterly convinced by it and haven;t used anything else since

Last years big bike ride of 3000ish miles - mainly road and gravel I redid it once at about 1000miles.   after about 2500miles ie 1500 after the redo it needed doing again really.  the chain is less than 0.75% worn after 5000 miles with I think 5 treatments.  IHG bike tho which may make a difference

I used to commutte on an ebike with derailieurs.  that lasted around 1000 miles per treatment winter and summer

I reckon 4x the life of a chain and similar of sprokets

Used offroad I would get at least a couple of hundred miles even in winter conditions - the only exception being very wet peaty soils which could strip it out a bit quicker

Others experience is different.  I have no explanation why

With a guest appearance from the usual, valid, complaint that in wet conditions waxed chains can still rust etc etc

👋

I swear TJ has a chain lube thread alert set up. 😂

The ZFC test data is a compelling case for hot or drip wax lubes. However, I’m uncertain on how well these results translate into real world? This makes me hesitate to get yet another lube and change my practices – but I also get fed up with the grime associated with wet lubes. I don’t think I’m up for the faff of hot melt application, but the drip wax lubes seem tempting.
Does a wax lubed chain hold up to e.g. 200km of real world road riding, or does the wax get sheared off from shifting etc resulting in an inefficient squeaky chain?

Real world as per the other putoline threads:

Yes it lasts 200km, more like 1000km in the summer, in summer it pretty much lasts until I get bored and throw the chains that don't need it in with one that does as there's always that one bike that's been out on a miserable run of rides.

The "downside" as a lot of tests claim is that it loses efficiency/durability once it gets muddy or wet. It might do, but it's still so far ahead of wet or dry lubes that you don't have to care.

There are conditions where some waxes don't last, peaty soils get mentioned a lot. I think it's worth considering this against a question of whether any other lube lasts either (odds are they don't). And a lube that lasts 19 out of 20 miles on a wet day, is still 19miles less rapidly wearing a dry chain than the lube that washed off on the first climb.

Go for a hot wax, don't get too hung up on which one (although GLF made by a STWer that's on my radar to try in about 2100 when my two tins of putoline run out.

I don’t pretend it is ‘less faff’ than drip lubes, but nor do I believe it is significantly more, it’s just different.

Probably sums it up.

It's like tubeless. What you spend on a bit of faffing in the shed when you have free time to spare and no rush, is paid back in not having to faff pre or post ride. So what if it takes an hour to work through cleaning and waxing 4-5 chains, so does Love Island so I'll do it while the OH hogs the remote.

Others experience is different. I have no explanation why

Hasn't there been talk about different factory coatings on chains affecting adhesion?

And also different wear rates, e.g. a new chain might require repeat applications to get right into the rollers?

I think I'll stick with Shimano chains going forward, they seem to behave best. One of the UK suppliers sells YBN chains which are apparently very good also but my only experience with a YBN chain and Putoline didn't end well.

This might be the main drawback of chain waxing, it's still a little bit 'black magic' in the same way that sometimes a good tubeless setup might be. Now I know what works I'm sticking with it!

I used Putoline in summer and winter until I got a new road bike and wanted to keep it clean (Putoline is excellent but a bit of gunk accumulates). I then switched to Molten Speed Wax and most recently (one chain so far) I am trying GLF wax. The MSW and GLF waxes are a tiny bit noisier on the drivetrain than Putoline I would say (still quieter than a traditional lube though) but they are silky smooth when shifting. The MSW definitely benefits from a reapplication after a wet ride and after 200km of dry riding whereas the Putoline lasts at least 5 times as long in all weather conditions. Caveat - I do not do any really sloppy mud riding.

I can certainly vouch for the longevity of drivetrain components using Putoline - I have done well over 4500 miles on a single SLX cassette rotating two XTR chains with virtually no wear (still reading just over 0.25 on a chain gauge). I cannot yet comment on the GLF/MSW but I suspect they will be similar if ZFC results are anything to go by. Oh and the GLF wax smells fabulous.

Does a wax lubed chain hold up to e.g. 200km of real world road riding,

Yes ime, I use Fenwick's Professional and generally apply it with the aid of a hair drier to get it flowing into the links. It's like a half-assed Plutoline - way thicker than Finish Line or White Lightening but not solid wax. I rode 1000km, a road tour mostly in the dry inc one intermittently wet day recently with one re-lube after about 450-500km (on the road in warm sunshine rather than using the hair drier.. I travel light and don't carry a hair drier...). It wasn't noisy-dry when I got back either. I rate it - never clean the chain, just re-apply when it's running dry and shiny, maybe wipe it off with a dry rag, that's it.

That Lama bloke seems convinced:

^ 15,000km with no wear... yeah OK.

I can’t remember the last time I re-waxed it (Putoline) but it’s not a great deal cleaner than a wet lube to be honest

It is cleaner, even if you don't wipe it down after application.  The problem with wet lube is that you keep adding more and it ends up as gunk splattered on everything. The Putoline just ends up as a dry excess that you can chip off, IF you don't wipe it down.  Basically you fit the waxed chain, pedal around a bit then wipe it again - this removes most of the excess that squeezes out.  Once you've done that, it stays clean for yonks.  See the other threads for pictures.

I use it because it's LESS faff.  Yes, it's more faff one time, but after that you just forget about it, potentially for months and months and dozens of rides.

Does a wax lubed chain hold up to e.g. 200km of real world road riding, or does the wax get sheared off from shifting etc resulting in an inefficient squeaky chain?

I've just ridden Paris Brest Paris. Single application of Squirt lube, no squeaking after 1200km. That is in the dry though.

Just Putolined my gravel bike chain as I'm off on a 400+km 3 day ride tomorrow.

I'm confident it'll get me round without relubing.

Putoline isn't really hard wax as such.  Sort of something between boot polish and lard.

Putoline isn’t really hard wax as such. Sort of something between boot polish and lard.

Was about to say similar, although I might have been guilty of overheating mine originally so it's perhaps not the original composition any more!

Going to put Silca SuperSecret drip wax on the road bike tomorrow, swopping from Smoove. Degreased and cleaned today and drying off overnight.

Some of the faffage some of you go thru with your chains putoline is a lot easier!  Just remove the chain and chuck it in the tin of molten wax, stir for a couple of minutes, leave to drip and cool, wipe down and refit and it only needs doing every hundred to thousand miles.

BTW when I asked Putoline themselves about heating temps they said not to go above 90C as some of the components will burn off making it less effective. It definitely should not be smoking hot.

Whichever one we choose, it's clear that hot wax is miles better than wet lube. In theory a cold wax could be as good but I don't know of one.

I think that Squirt works better the more that I use it, and also works much better with higher quality chains.

Does wax protect the chain from rust effectively as oil?

Not exactly.  If you hose your bike down and put away, then the water sits around the cassette and you get some rust on the outer plates where it's been in contact with the cassette. It's cosmetic though, on the outer plates. IF you want gleaming shiny every time then you'd have to wipe down with a WD40 rag every time.

I’ve finally given wax a whirl - although not actually done any mileage yet - and I’d buy GLF Wax again purely for the aroma. My bike shed smelled bloody lovely for ages.

Does wax protect the chain from rust effectively as oil?

as molgrips says - you can get surface rust on the outside but its purely cosmetic.  I use plated chains so its no issue.

Just spent 15 mins trying to bend my cassette back into shape. Had to remove the mech, and refitting it is a bit of a pain these days with the spring tension and whatnot so I had to grab it firmly, handling the mech, cage and chain very robustly, and the cassette beforehand.  The bike has been no more than briefly hosed down between rides since I got it in June. This is what my hands look like:

I don’t use wax. Just an irregular clean of the drivetrain with degreaser, water, a towel and then relube with Viking juice or Ceramic Juice lubes.  Takes about 5 mins every few weeks.

My commuter is on 17645km (Strava tracked) of commuting in all weathers since March 2020, is on its second chain and still on the first cassette, jockey wheels, and chainring. They will need replaced soon, but still 11000miles.  Decent longevity is not unique to wax.

Alright for a road bike. Wouldn't last long on MTB rides round here. That is, if you dont' want your chain full of grit in the first 15 mins.

When I say the wax lasts long, what I mean is that it's perfectly smooth and well lubricated the entire time.  Even when riding through mud and puddles.  I mean no gritty grinding sounds and no grit in evidence when you twist the chain in your fingers.  Such a level of protection is impossible with any wet lube I've tried and I've been through dozens.  Including Viking.  They don't tend to last even one ride, even the first hour of one ride when it's wet.  And by last I mean actually lubricate the chain and protect from grit.

Recent glf wax convert here, seems to have rained most days this summer so I ve done 4 treatments, as per other thread for new chains, crock pot etc.  V pleased with result as it's a new bike, once u get organised it's really easy.

Silky smooth drive train, really quiet and clean, I ll deffo carry on.

For dry weather use, I have a bike in Spain I reckon in 2 years of dry riding, just needs a dust down.  I don't remember ever doing anything else and it still looks brand new.

The key is to hot wax initially in order to get the wax into the links (or just buy a pre waxed chain). I then top up with Squirt wax at irregular intervals - probably about once per fortnight.

I have currently done 8900 miles on my summer road bike following the above treatment. It's been on the same chain since new (Sram Red AXS) and I have never cleaned the cassette. I'm thinking I might clean it at 10,000 miles. The chain gets cleaned with baby wipes and then I reapply Squirt. I always massage it into the rollers - don't just drip it on and expect it to work.

I'm finding this thread really interesting as my chain always gets gunked up even after using Viking Juice. However, I always find it a nightmare because of whatever is already on the chain when I buy it.

What in God's name does Shimano put on the chain and how the hell do people get it off? Or do you not have to if you're hot waxing?

I never take the factory lube off.  I ride until its gone then wax.  I use sram chains mainly

Solvent of choice will get the factory lube off and if you are using a GLF or Molten Speed Wax product it does need to come off completely first. Its designed to prevent the chain going rusty while in storage and not really meant for lubrication as such. However you can do as above and ride it till it comes off. It will attract all sorts of dirt though as its v sticky.

You can use white spirit bath but then you need a meths bath after as the white spirit leaves an oily residue which can prevent proper wax adhesion. Takes a few hours to penetrate and remove.

A better choice, but expensive, is UFO Drivetrain Cleaner - it only takes 5 mins in a 100ml bath of the stuff and 100ml will do a few chains. Rinses off with water and then you need to dry thoroughly with a hairdryer ideally.

I use MSW with a deep fat fryer. I got around 2500 miles from a drivetrain on my Trek Rail ebike used in all weathers and seasons which seemed pretty decent to me.

It’s not really a faf to use, chain goes into a Tupperware tub of white spirit, brush it around a bit, rinse with water then chuck it in the fryer. Shake it a bit, the water evaporates. When the fizzing stops hang the chain up to cool and you’re done.

I have yet to see any hard evidence that for my usage case, buying a dedicated slow cooker and going to the faff of degreasing chains, waxing them, then repeating this every so often, is worth the faff or the expense… OK, so I am fitting £25 chains not £100 ones, and probably do less miles than many/most on here, but even still, the benefits don’t seem to outweigh the hassle or the cost to be honest.

That said… I am a massive convert to Squirt lube… It seems to me to be about 80% of the benefit of waxing chains, but with minimal drawbacks. It is only slightly less convenient than using a conventional chain lube, but definitely runs a lot cleaner and offers better protection whilst extending service life too. I suspect that for almost everyone who is a bit more casual a cyclist than some of the diehard waxers on here who do the mileage to justify waxing by their own terms, that Squirt lube is probably the convenient and cost effective answer to this question…

Unsure this is evidence but I've been using Squirt since about 2012...I've had 2 new bikes in that time - 2015 and 2019...I've only replaced the chain once each on the new bikes. Before squirt I'd be 12-18 months, now I'm 30-36 months. I don't think I've changed level of quality of chain but squirt does seem to keep my whole drivetrain lasting longer. I'm riding more often but about same mileage.
Squirt has certainly helped prolong the life of things, but isn't the only thing playing a part, I suspect.

I've the same experience with Juice Lubes Viking that @Daffy does. I get about 6000 miles + out of my MTB drivetrain. My routine is similar to his.

Edit: I use XO1 almost exclusively (one of my bikes has a XG-1275 cassette on it) I think the quality of SRAM 1x12 makes a difference to longevity. It's lasts loads more than various Shimano 9-11sp with front mech used to.

I have yet to see any hard evidence that for my usage case, buying a dedicated slow cooker and going to the faff of degreasing chains, waxing them, then repeating this every so often, is worth the faff or the expense… OK, so I am fitting £25 chains not £100 ones, and probably do less miles than many/most on here, but even still, the benefits don’t seem to outweigh the hassle or the cost to be honest.

That's because you make it way more faff than it needs to be. If you just remove chain, fry, refit it works just as well.

the other thing for me is cost  A £35 tin of putoline lasted me a decade.

For those regularly removing chains, do you reuse the quick links? I've just got a new road bike with 12 speed SRAM and need to work out a maintenance plan. Replacing Force drivetrains regularly won't be cheap.

For those regularly removing chains, do you reuse the quick links?

yes - but I only have singlespeed and 9 and 10 speed chains

After using squirt for a few months I was really impressed, so decided to go for a putoline tin and hot plate. First dip was last week. Only thing I don’t like is the chain looks filthy and not sure how to keep the outer plates clean.

Spray a bit of WD 40 / GT85on a rag and run the chain thru it - it cleans the outside without taking the wax out of the rollers.  do it once when you fit the chain and once after the first ride

dust will tend to stick to the outside but it really does not matter as its not on any of the wearing surfaces

For those regularly removing chains, do you reuse the quick links?

As long as there's a positive "click" when I refit it, I'd reuse it. However I do always carry a spare with me.

The main benefit of "Squirt" to me is the lack of build up on the cassette and chainring.

I find whites spirit rag wipe best on outer plates. Putiline across all 6 family bikes now. Saves a fortune in flash dry lubes.

Who gives a shit.

A. Chain isn't solid or squeaking carry on.

B. If it is use whatever you have lying around and carry on.

Spray a bit of WD 40 / GT85on a rag and run the chain thru it

I find whites spirit rag wipe best on outer plates

Thanks will try these out

I reuse quick links on 9 speed chain.  Just seen a crock pot in st john hospice shop, Lancaster, 8 quid.  So 20 quid glf wax, croc pot, old wire coat hanger u r all set up.  I bought a quicklink extractor but not really needed.

Who gives a shit.

A. Chain isn’t solid or squeaking carry on.

B. If it is use whatever you have lying around and carry on.

Same here. Rag with a bit of white spirit (or shake in a jam jar) to clean the crud and a bit of oil. A new GX Eagle chain is £20 so don’t understand this obsession about wear. Watched a GCN video and looked a right chore involving ultra sonic cleaners and slow cookers.

Power links are £1 each so why even think about reusing?

However, I always find it a nightmare because of whatever is already on the chain when I buy it.

You're adding oil to a not very good (for our purposes) grease. It's going to turn to shit fairly quickly.

What in God’s name does Shimano put on the chain and how the hell do people get it off? Or do you not have to if you’re hot waxing?

Degreaser and a chain cleaner (park cyclone or similar) will get it off eventually, white spirits, petrol or thinners will get it off in a few minutes of stir and shake, then drain, dry and start lubing again from a bare metal chain.

I never take the factory lube off.  I ride until its gone then wax.  I use sram chains mainly

It's not really a "lube" it's trying to keep the chain running as long as possible, while corrosion free and protected for lowest common denominator users. Anyone going much over and above "riding to work in the rain" probably needs to strip it out fairly soon (and clean it the outside of the chain before you fit it in the first place).

You'll be in a better place, as putoline seems to be somewhere like a very hard grease or soft wax so mixing the remnants of the general purpose chain grease into it won't make that much difference, adding to a hard wax probably will. (i've used very similar stuff to putoline in industrial applications, needs to be cut into lumps and forced into the bearing cavities and melted in. Then when it's running (hot environment) it lubricates. Let it go cold and the start up torque is immense!)

1)it also saves the rest of your drivetrain
2) its nice to ride with a clean well lubed chain
3) it does not need to be the faff that some folk claim

4) its nice not to have to use oil every ride but wax every few hundred miles

I think its saved me over £1000+ in not replacing drivetrains over a decade.  £1000 in my pocket is worth having also the £35 tin of putoline has lasted me a decade

Mert - there is non of the factory lube left or almost none when I wax it.  A few ml of it in a kilo of wax is irrelevant anyway

I use two jamjars to get the packing grease of my chain. One with de-greaser, the other with a solvent. Put new chain in de-greaser, shake it like a cocktail, take it out, put it in the solvent, repeat, take it out, let it dry. Lids back on the jars for the next chain. Takes 5 minutes.

A few ml of it in a kilo of wax is irrelevant anyway

Not if you believe in homeopathy. 😉

For me it's just longevity, especialyl in bad conditions. Like, I used to do all the scottish enduro races, without fail there'd be a couple of races every year that were a swamp- blocked up frames, chains literally running through blocks of mud around the chainstays. And you'd see every possible desperate measure taken- people jumping in rivers, people carrying little bottles of cleaner and brushes, some people arranging probably-not-cheating-only-because-nobody-thought-to-make-a-rule-against-it outside assistance to have mates turn up with power washers mid-race... It wasn't like "I could do with cleaning this", it was "my gears don't work". But the putoline never missed a beat, I guess it just stops the crap from getting in better? I'd ride both days, no cleaning, no bother.

Obviously that's worse conditiosn than most people will chose to ride in but it does still apply in more sensible bad weather.

A new GX Eagle chain is £20 so don’t understand this obsession about wear.

You have to change really early on to protect the cassette, and they're pretty expensive these days. I don't like listening to my drivetrain wear out as I rode along. And ask I keep saying, it's less faff overall. Most of the time it's ride, put bike away, get bike out, ride. If I did that with wet lube I'd be buying twice as many chains at least and probably twice as many cassettes. Which is what used to happen. I spent 30 years riding with wet lube, this is definitely better and easier. That's why I do it.

You really can feel the difference between a perfectly clean drive train and one that's been done only a few weeks previously.  It sounds better, it freewheels better, it's just better.  In dry weather I get around 400-500km (2-3 weeks) of mixed (road, gravel, etc) surface commuting.  In the winter, that's about half unless I just re-apply a little on top.

You have to change really early on to protect the cassette, and they’re pretty expensive these days.

Funnily enough just replaced GX chain yesterday after exactly an year and 5000 km (and it’s clay around here) without any sign of wear on GX cassette. Maybe I’m just lucky.

without any sign of wear on GX cassette. Maybe I’m just lucky.

You are also lucky it's not warped like my brand new ones. I'd keep that one as long as poss if I were you!

I do re-use quick links yes.

Power links are £1 each so why even think about reusing?

Where?

Cheapest i can find 10-11-12 is usually about 4-5 quid

Wiggle have them for £1 at the mo. Including Eagle ones.

EDIT code SALE10 means they’re 90p…!

<p style="text-align: left;">Must stock up!!</p>

Yes ime, I use Fenwick’s Professional and generally apply it with the aid of a hair drier to get it flowing into the links. It’s like a half-assed Plutoline – way thicker than Finish Line or White Lightening but not solid wax. I rode 1000km, a road tour mostly in the dry inc one intermittently wet day recently with one re-lube after about 450-500km (on the road in warm sunshine rather than using the hair drier.. I travel light and don’t carry a hair drier…). It wasn’t noisy-dry when I got back either.

- just had the route up and it was 1350km, so even better durability from the Fenwick's

I can ride a 600 km Audax comfortably on a Putline waxed chain if it is dry (or a wee bit wet) and would tend to re-wax the chain after that distance, but I guess I might squeeze another 200km if conditions were good. I don't find Putoline lasts as well as oil in very wet conditions, but have used it successfully for 200-300km of wet riding.

The original factory grease is still my favourite. I rode 1540km on LEL with a new chain (in dry conditions) without needing to add any lubrication.

I run 2 or 3 chains at time so I can just swap over a freshly waxed one while the others queue up in the fryer for a batch of cooking.  I just keep the chains matched with the power links that they were supplied with and keep re-using them for the life of the chain. Power links are designed to be removed and refitted. I think the warning about re-use is to discourage anyone from using the same power link over the lifetime of more than one chain, which would obviously not be a good idea.

Before I bought a tin of putoline I did try a frying pan with a couple of old candles melted in plus an unscientific glug of old fork oil and a dollop of molybdenum grease.

It did seem to work better than any other wet lube I had tried and I have to say wasn't as sticky as putoline but didn't last quite as long. I've been putolining for a couple of years now and have to say it's good stuff but having seen there's people selling kits of paraffin wax chips and PTFE for extortionate sums I might buy a cheapy DFF and chuck in some cheap candles maybe a dollop.or two of the putoline and if I can get it cheap enough some molybdenum disulfide powder (not a fan of PTFE) just to see if I can make a less claggy, longer lasting paraffin wax solution.

Since someone suggested it on here a few weeks back, I just put silicone oil on the surface of the chain/cassette to prevent rusting...