DIY Chainwax Recipe/Results

I’d definitely recommend a garage-only slowcooker. I bought one for £8.50 from Argos a month or so ago.

My current recipe is (sorry in advance for using technical language):

Ingredients:
– Two big handful for paraffin wax pellets
– Smaller handful of beeswax pellets
– Decent squirt of Halfords Dry Lube (for the Teflon)

Procedure:
– Cook chain in first big handful of paraffin pellets to clean it.
– Pour out molten wax and wipe-clean cooking pot.
– Add second paraffin handful to clean cooking pot, followed by beeswax and lube.
– Cook chain, insert quick-links into chain whilst still warm (making sure to burn fingers).
– Suspend from rickety old set ladder to solidify.

This is my best recipe yet, but the (supposed) Teflon powder I ordered from AliExpress arrived the other day so I’ll update after my next batch has been tested.

I should add that this is for my road bike rather than my mountain bike, so I’m not sure how the above would stand up to dirt.

This seems like a lot of faff 😕

It seems like faff, but you do it a lot less regularly than applying normal lube and the drivetrain stays much cleaner so in the long run is less total faff. Plus it’s much much cheaper.

BoardinBob – Member
This seems like a lot of faff

I initially thought this, but persevered because I was interested by the claims that this study made: https://www.scribd.com/document/262044061/Velo-Friction-Facts-Chain-Lube-Efficiency-Tests

Turns out it’s actually far quicker and easier because the wax mixture just sits in the pot waiting for the next cooking session.

The chain is noticeably smoother, too, and seems to repel any kind of moisture/grime.

The slowest part is waiting for the cooker to melt the wax – if you had a camping stove or whatever I imagine you could do it in under ten minutes. As it stands, I can get it done in fifteen minutes, waiting ten minutes for Argos’s finest to get up to temperature.

Cheers for the Argos tip. Just picked up a deep fat fryer for 8 quid.

https://www.scribd.com/document/262044061/Velo-Friction-Facts-Chain-Lube-Efficiency-Tests

Interesting that the paraffin actually got better with dirt?

My road bike chain is on about 600miles (mostly dry) since it’s last dunking in putoline, it looks spotless (still feels waxy enough to be preventing rust on the outside) but hasn’t started creaking yet so there’s obviously still lube in the rollers. I’ll probably do it again at the weekend if I get a chance.

Yes it’s a faff waiting for the wax to melt, then letting the chan soak, but there’s no need to pre clean it, and you can do all your bikes at once (just make a note of what brand/speed of chain was on each bike), make a cup of tea and it’s done while you drink it.

My update is: I obtained a larger tin.

Still works well, though I should try some beeswax.

Wax is a godsend in the sandy conditions!