Hot Wax – Starter Kit

As we head into summer here in Scotland, I’m finally ready to get back on the hot wax bandwagon, but where to start?

Basically, looking for a budget-friendly wax to get started with, I have a crockpot I’m sure my wife won’t mind me using when she is at work! So, any good wax’es out there?

You’ll need a dedicated crockpot as the wax stays in it. Too difficult to decant and clean between waxings IMO.

Molten Speed Wax or GLF wax is a good place to start. GLF is made by someone on here. Both those two are very clean but need redoing regularly.

Or Putoline, lasts ages but is a bit gunky..

I did Silca’s boil-in-the-bag Hot Melt last month and I’m really happy with it. No need for a crockpot. I got their starter pack of chain stripper/top-up liquid wax solution too.

With a couple of top ups, it lasted a lot longer than I expected on my commuter.

You’ll need a dedicated crockpot as the wax stays in it. Too difficult to decant and clean between waxings IMO.

This ^^.

Once the wax is in it, it’s a nightmare to ever get off a surface and you absolutely wouldn’t want to be cleaning it and cooking food in it after it has had wax and chains in there. I got a cheap crockpot off Amazon – only about £15. The wax just stays in it.

You can buy starter kits with degreaser to get the chain clean initially, the wax and so on but it’s just as easy to buy a pack of Silca or Black Diamond wax. There are a couple of recipes online for making your own using food-grade paraffin wax combined with PTFE powder as well.

I did Silca’s boil-in-the-bag Hot Melt last month and I’m really happy with it. No need for a crockpot. I got their starter pack of chain stripper/top-up liquid wax solution too.

Do you have a link for this? I can’t see it on their website – unless I’m blind!

Don’t worry – I wasn’t really planning on using the home crock-pot, but will look out for a cheap one on Amazon. How important is a thermometer?

I got my Croc pot from a charity shop, 5 quid.  Glf wax user, find it q therapeutic cleaning bike and waxing chain.  Runs super smooth now.  Old coat hanger cut up to hang chain on and keep chain in 1 piece when link removed.  Park quick link remover if you are feeling flush.

How important is a thermometer

Not at all important if you have a slow cooker. Just keep it on low.

It’s this one. You can use a crock pot in the normal way, or leave it in the bag in a pan of water just under the boil.

https://www.merlincycles.com/silca-secret-chain-blend-hot-melt-wax-500g-198228.html

They cover it in a vid:

I recommend Rex Hotwax just because it did very well in Zero Friction Cycling test and is affordable. Been using that for about a year now.

Lubricant Testing

Top result – Rex 11+1 meaning 11 blocks of white regular wax and one black block of additives, they come in a box together, and for demanding users you can buy just the black additive blocks separately and add them to the mix. I have used just the 11+1.

They say for races and demanding conditions, one can use 4+1 mixture.

Black Diamond Hot Wax

In UK – https://midlandchainwaxing.co.uk/products/rex-black-diamond-hot-wax

You can use an electric crock pot, don’t go over 100 C, I use just two regular pots, that fit within each other, outer one has water so the temp stays at 100 even. First time use – degrease chain completely and properly, then wax – later uses – immerse chain in boiling water, let dry, then rewax.

I think that wax block set is probably enough for tens of thousands of riding – I have now done maybe 20+ chains and seemingly lost very little wax. When I hang the chains to cool, I put a plate underneath and then scrape off the cooled wax and put it back in the pot.

And as others have said, yeah you need a dedicated pot. And if you do it in the kitchen, place some cardboard for protection around the work area – I put a loop out of wire to the middle of the chain, and keep a bent spoke attached to said loop, so I can very carefully and not splashingly lift the chain out of the wax.

First time I made quite a mess with small droplets all around the stove and floor, was not easy to get it off and the floor was slippery with socks on for quite a bit afterwards. Second time, with loop and spoke in place for easy liftout and cardboard on the floor, no mess at all. Hang them to cool on a wooden rod on top of a plate.

GLF+ dedicated crock pot here. Makes the process v low effort vs boil in the bag etc.

A tin of putoline.  thats all you need.

@snax I’ll add that I would’ve gone with mrauer’s recommendation if I wasn’t just trying it out and so didn’t want to buy a crock pot (nice post @mrauer!).

The Silca needs a couple of top ups of their drip wax to reach the longevity of the best on zero friction cycling.

I managed to get 800 clean and quiet km out of a chain (though maybe I pushed it a bit far – I changed it when it started to squeak).

I’m a convert. I don’t think I’ll ever do wet lube again.

A tin of putoline. thats all you need.

Yep. Just don’t put it in a cheap deep fat fryer and overheat it…who knew you could wreck your putoline doing that… 😩

I’m a convert to drip wax who is hot wax curious. I’m aware I’m opening a STW can of worms here, but when my current drip wax runs out what are the advantages and disadvantages of hot waxing?

Seems like it’s more faff for longer intervals between needing to do it?

Barely any more faff if you know how to use a pair of quick link pliers.

And you could subtract a little bit of faff for not having to scrape the accumulated overspill of drip wax from cassette and jockey wheels (or maybe I was just over-applying Squirt a bit).

Biggest faff is cleaning the chain first, I’m not a fan of sloshing all those chemicals about, but you can buy pre-cleaned chains from GLF (I think) and InaSpin.co.uk

I haven’t looked back either although the MTB and winter bike are still on Putoline, but as above it’s not as clean.

I’ve been looking at this for a while and eventually ordered the silca kit with wax, top up wax lube etc. Just waiting on it coming from the Netherlands.

Regarding temperature I think the key (from various you tube vids) is to get it to 125 degrees for the initial waxing as this gets the wax hot enough to penetrative the entire chain, then drop it to 75 degrees with the chain still in it during the cooling process and then remove. This allows the wax to harden slightly and stop it all running off the chain when it’s really runny at 125 degrees.

Quite looking forward to it, clean drive train, easy to wash the chain with boiling water and then rewax etc…

Downsides / upsides?

I like to keep my bikes in tip-top condition and hate dirty drivetrains, hot waxing pretty much solves the cleaning issues – sparkling clean drivetrain with just rinsing is so awesome. Also I get a lot of kilometers – 500ish is easily doable with a single wax, and I have several chains for my most-used bikes that I rotate – so I have a readily-waxed spare to put on, and I re-wax chains in batches for minimum faff. I keep a tiny bottle of wax-based liquid lube in my tool roll, so should I develop a squeak on a longer trip, I can remedy that.

The one, very big downside for me is winter riding – they spray road salt everywhere here, and if the salty road grime is left on a waxed chain, it gets rust much easier. So in the winter, I change to Rex or Blub mixed liquid lubricants, they seem to protect the chain better. On my hub gear / fixed / single bikes I have a stainless steel chain (KMC Z1x Stainless) and those are very good to use with wax, as they are highly resistant to corrosion.

Top end SRAM and Shimano surface treated chains deal better but might still get spot rust if not rinsed after salty road conditions. That is so far the only minus side I can think of.

I use a deep fat fryer, it has a thermostat and goes down pretty low.  The basket is essential IMO.

I ve just done 2 bikes, once your wax is warmed up you may as well do multiple bikes.  Also, put a bit of garden twine round the end of chains to secure rollers, or when you are swishing your chain round in the hot wax the rollers can fall off.  Saves you fishing around looking for them.

Seems like it’s more faff for longer intervals between needing to do it?

Once you’re all set up, it’s barely any faff at all. Doing it the first time was a faff – also I tried using the “bag in a saucepan of water” trick then the bag fell over as I got it out the water spilling wax onto the floor. Total pain to clear it all up.

Once set up with a crockpot though, it’s been really simple. Pop it on in a corner of the kitchen and leave it for a bit, once the wax is molten, drop the (cleaned) chain into it and turn the temperature down, swill the chain around thoroughly then  leave it to cool slightly. Fish the chain out with a bent spoke or a wire coathanger. You can buy (for insanely high prices) a special “hang your chain from this for hot waxing” device – you absolutely do not need this, just use a bent spoke!

Hang to dry. Refit to bike. The first few revolutions of the cranks will be quite stiff but the chain soon beds in as the rollers free up.

It’s not like you need to be standing by the pot during all this – there’s maybe 5 minutes of actual put chain in, take chain out stuff and the rest of the time you can spend cleaning the bike or doing other stuff. It’s worth doing as many chains as you can in one go though and maybe having 2-3 chains per bike so you can just wax them all in one go,  then change chains every few weeks until they need doing again. The cassette, chainring(s) and jockey wheels all stay really nice and clean which is another huge plus point for wax; none of that black gunk over every tooth.

So far I seem to get about 500 miles per chain on road before it starts getting a bit noisy.

I’m also ‘hot wax curious’. Lot’s of folks suggesting 500 miles between applications (great!) – but is that just on commuters/Road scenarios? Pic below for illustration (that was the last time I used R&R Extreme, which seems not what it used to be). Currently using Squirt; how well does hot wax cope with muddy conditions?

how well does hot wax cope with muddy conditions?

It can be noisier because oil holds water and dirt onto the chain that deadens the sound, so with wax it can sound like the chain is not lubricated when it is  in fact performing better.

After wet rides, I wipe the chain down and add some liquid wax to dispel the water from the chain

https://www.theproscloset.com/blogs/news/waxing-your-chain-vs-using-wet-lube-for-unbound-gravel

“Waxing Your Chain vs. Using Wet Lube for Dust, Mud, & Unbound Gravel”

way down the article –

“But if there’s rain or mud in the mix, it won’t last nearly as long. I’ve actually used wax in some insanely gnarly conditions (just check out my 2024 Old Man Winter Recap) and it has done okay. Wax repels water, so it won’t just wash away immediately. In the wettest and worst mud imaginable, I’ve managed to get ~40-50 miles out of Silca Secret Chain Blend before it started making noise. In less extreme rain and mud, I’ve managed a more reasonable ~60-100 miles. ”

“In 2022, my waxed chain made it to the end, despite some heavy rain and mud in the middle of the race, but by the last 20-30 miles it was really loud and squeaky. I had brought a bottle of Silca Super Secret, which I applied at the checkpoint at mile 160 checkpoint, but it didn’t really do anything because it didn’t have time to dry and set.

My plan this year is to wax my chain and hope for a dry race, but I also have wet lube on hand if the weather turns.”

If I run into any serious moisture or mud and my chain starts protesting, then I’ll just sacrifice my nice waxed chain and put Silca Synergetic wet lube on it. I’ll keep a bottle with my support crew no matter what, and if the forecast is looking particularly bad, I may carry a bottle on the bike too. Synergetic bottles are fairly small, so it won’t take up much space in my hydration pack or top tube bag.

As I said above of my own experiences, the worst type of conditions here are a mix of mud, slushy snow and road salt in the winter, and those are the worst conditions for wax. I tend to switch to oils when riding in that type of weather, and clean everything more often – without oil coating the chains tend to rust because of the salt. Wax from spring to fall, when my typical riding is mostly dry to some moist but rarely muddy.

how well does hot wax cope with muddy conditions?

Very well.  It’s vastly more durable than drip-on lube, and it’s very easy to see why when you look at it.  It’s thick as hell and sticky.  I usually go all summer on one application (sometimes with a top up of drip, which seems to rejuvenate the wax), and in the worst conditions I see it lasts several rides.

It’s worth noting that in the picture above, the lube hasn’t lasted one ride – it’s completely gone about 20 minutes in, but it probably wasn’t actually protecting the chain at all.  If you listen and feel for grit in the chain when using wet lube it’s there from the first big muddy puddle.  With wax though, it lasts several rides without getting gritty even as you plough through puddles.

Interesting article Mrauer, I think I’ll give it a whirl.

Molgrips, you’re about right – that was a 17 mile night ride – drive train sounded terrible from about half way round.

I’ve been trying chain waxing, and I have a question about increased noise.
I’ve seen comments that a waxed chain is nosier, but what are we talking, after a couple of rides and about three plus hours of riding into the third, I’m getting all sorts of clicks / groans / squeaks.

I’m going to change the bottom bracket to eliminate that, I’ve refitted and greased the cassette and the QR, it still happens stood up, so not post or saddle, could it be the chain? KMC, so will try a shimano.

Does this sound like a usual waxed chain issue?

For me using Putoline it’s much quieter. Silent at first, then it becomes audible but still quieter than wet lube. When it starts to make more noise is when I re-wax it.

If it starts to make more graunchy noises then it’s time for a new chain, even though it probably hasn’t elongated.

Clicks maybe, as in relatively quiet sort of sewing machine type clickety clack.

Squeaks and groans – no!

I seem to remember a KMC chain not taking wax very well, I think some chains have coatings that discourage the wax from adhering?

It’s been quieter in my limited experience. Clean and quiet.

Like mrauer I had some rusting in winter (that was with drip wax) which is why I hot waxed some rust resistant KMC chains. They did me well commuting through the recent deluges.

TBH it’s easy to overthink it and get stuck in the decision making.

But in the real world the results end up something like:

1)The absolute best hot wax

2) The rest of the hot waxes

3 )Paraffin blocks/candles and baby oil in whatever ratio ends up just on the waxy side of crumbly.. A bit of PTFE or WS2 won’t hurt either

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Something in a bottle.

A little bit of candle wax left in the chain after 60 of the crappiest miles imaginable is a significant improvement on the most advanced wet lube ever that washed out in 20minutes.

Plutine tin.

Camping stove

A good simple  way to start.

Then go for the fancier waxes and fryer if you want to.

Plutine is better for mtb in my view esp in winter ,it lasts a lot longer so good for a commuter  bike as well. The fancier ones better for road use, but do need to be done more often and I found not suitable for a tour.

I would use plutine before a tour and top up with a waxy lube on route.

(I use squirt as the top up. )

I then use a fryer with Silica wax for on road oriented bike with full mudguards  and try and reapply every 200 to 300km. Good chain/cassette life is my priority on this bike.

I wouldn’t go with a naked flame.  The possibilities are terrifying.

chives
Free Member

Currently using Squirt; how well does hot wax cope with muddy conditions?

For me, incredible. So far better than anything else that it’s like sorcery.

I guess I should say that I used to use squirt but found that it was mostly good but there was some mud that it’d just instantly fail with, so if you’re finding it works well, maybe your mud is different from mine?

I use Putoline and the best test I can thing of was scottish enduro racing, back when I used to do the whole season. There were rounds like fort william and kinlochleven that were just incredibly destructive, you’d see people taking not just lube but brushes out with them and washing the chain in streams to try and get it going (once, I remember the dudes of hazard had a rider out on course who’d entered but whose entire job was to service the other riders’ drivetrain and brakes, he had a massive backpack full of cleaners and spares, and was legally allowed to give assistance because he was a “competitor” not a civilian). On my old Hemlock the entire frame would block solid with mud and the chain would have to cut itself a tunnel through it, sometimes the wheel would just stop turning.

So anyway, that was a situation where hardly anybody was getting through even practice day without issues. One time the fort william bike shop sold every bottle of lube they had in an hour. The absolute best normal lubes could just about make it through the day, with a lot of crunching and probably bit of desperate stick cleaning. With the putoline, you could get through the weekend without much fuss. It’d be absolutely knackered at the end, but it’d get you through the riding without having to worry about it. Sometimes I’d get a chance to wash it between practice and race day which did help, sometimes not, often I’d be so shattered that I just wouldn’t bother either way.

That’s basically the highest praise I could offer. It’s a lot more hassle but it’s hassle in the shed, on my terms, not up a mountain in a swamp with the clock ticking

MAybe there’s better than putoline but I have a big tin of it and a dirt cheap fryer from ebay so I’ll not be changing fornow.

I’m planning on re GLFing my chain soon, I plan to do eldest’s bike (7speed 20+”) as it’s clean and little hands like to grab manky things to see what it is and the wax is clean

KMC, so will try a shimano.

Zero Friction Cycling say KMC are no good for waxing because of a coating that prevents the wax from adhering properly.

Shimano will be fine – be sure to clean it meticulously first. After that waxed chains are much quieter IMO – virtually silent in fact.