Parrafin wax as a chain lube

dermabrasion

In this months Velonews, they tested a bunch of teflon-based, oil-based commercial lubes for performance (watts), longevity in harsh conditions (water, sand, snow ect) and viscosity. It surprised me how poorly (comparatively) some of the popular lubes that I see being used performed, with several watts difference from the best or being shed after a couple of hours in crappy conditions.
But, parrafin wax seemed to trump ALL. Does anyone apply this? Do you buy it in Woodies or LBS? It seems quite involved to safely melt it, steep your chain in it and re-chain your bike.

Darkglasses

Has someone informed Team Sky? They'll love it.

dancecatz2000

Wax brorhers.ie sell it, maybe get group buy as its €88 for 25kg

dancecatz2000

Evans just off Mary Abbey st sell it too.

petethedrummer

Sure why not go the whole hog.

http://www.scottoiler.com/us/products/scottoiler-bicycle-oiler-active-fluid-system.html

Dawn Rider

Paraffin wax is just white candle wax, afaik.

The old timers in my old bike shop stated it was the best lube.

Their process was:
1. Wash the chain in petrol.
2. Bake it in the oven until it's hot.
3. Melt candles in an old pot.
4 When the chain is hot, put it in to melted wax and stir.
5 Hang chain to cool. And wipe off excess wax.

Never tried it myself, though I do clean my chain with petrol and found it works a treat.

dermabrasion

Dawn Rider wrote: »

Paraffin wax is just white candle wax, afaik.

The old timers in my old bike shop stated it was the best lube.

Their process was:
1. Wash the chain in petrol.
2. Bake it in the oven until it's hot.
3. Melt candles in an old pot.
4 When the chain is hot, put it in to melted wax and stir.
5 Hang chain to cool. And wipe off excess wax.

Never tried it myself, though I do clean my chain with petrol and found it works a treat.

Yup, fairly involved process.
In the tests that Velonews performed, wax was about 4 watts and the worst one about 8-9 watts. The best commercial product came in about 5 watts. Rock 'n Roll gold chain lube. I might look out for this to avoid baking my chain.

Lumen

Dawn Rider wrote: »

1. Wash the chain in petrol.
2. Bake it in the oven

I think I spot a flaw in this plan.

Dawn Rider

Lumen wrote: »

I think I spot a flaw in this plan.

I asked about that too

Apparently you let the petrol evaporate first... Health and Safety gone mad

Mycroft H

My mother would have a fit if I put a chain in the oven.

Keep_Her_Lit

My wife would have a fit if I put a chain in the oven. Nowt changes, lad.

Dawn Rider

Like most things with Wives & Mothers. If it's going to upset them, don't tell them!

Beasty

Dawn Rider wrote: »

Like most things with Wives & Mothers. If it's going to upset them, don't tell them!

The key is to ask her what the smell is. Then she'll do all the cleaning up as well, oblivious to the fact it was nothing to do with her in the first place...

Pigeon Reaper

The way we used to do it for some motorbike chains was clean the chain, get a gas ring outdoors and a can of parafin wax and just heat up the can. The chain was placed in the can and heated for a while.

Remove the chain and let it drip back into the can as it cools. It should be pointed out that the can was of designed to take the chain and it was of a shape similar to a small camping frying pan.

Doing it outdoors ensures that if you mess up you won't burn down the house/have to explain to your other half why the kitchen is covered in semi-molten wax.

Eamonnator

I don't think parafin wax and candle wax are the same.

niceonetom

For those of us who don't want to end up setting the garden shed on fire in pursuit of 4 extra watts (just for a moment imagine yourself trying to explain this to a normal member of the non-cycling public), what came out as the best off-the-shelf lube?

Wicklowrider

I wouldn't use petrol, kerosene or white spirits does same job but would think it safer.

http://felixwong.com/2006/08/waxed-bicycle-chains/

here is an interesting post with photos. If you google candle wax as lube you will see conflicting reports, particularly for wet weather.

piston

Candle wax as a lube would have advantages. Carry a box of matched and if your lights stop working, you can set fire to your chain.

dermabrasion

... what came out as the best off-the-shelf lube?[/QUOTE]

Parafin Wax:4.8W
In ideal Conditions some of the ones
Rock 'n Roll gold (5.0W)
Finish line Dry Teflon (5.8W)
Finish Line Ceramic Wet Lube (6.0W)
3in1 Motor Oil (6.2W)
WD40 Aerosol (7.2W)
GT-85 Aerosol (7.8W)

Longevity in Crappy Conditions(60mins covered in dirt)
Parrafin Wax (-0.6W) i.e. it got better over time in the test
Park Tool CL-1 (-0.2W)
Finish Line Ceramic Wet (+1.2W)
I don't recognize the brands in rest from the article, they might be american products.

My take home is it is worth paying attention to this the night before a race and having a teflon or ceramic lube (probably Finish line Wet) properly installed on the chain.

Planet X

Tried this morning, gave my drivetrain a good seeing to what with the grit and salt on the roads.
Bog standard Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) and a bit of candle wax mixed in to give a bit of body to it;


















...seems fine.

Wicklowrider

Planet X maybe you can let us know how you get with it over a couple of weeks?

doozerie

This is Lennard Zinn's take on the debate, here is a snippet:

My immediate takeaway is that I really don’t know what to use now, but there’s not a way in the world I’m going to use paraffin to save a couple of watts, even though I usually install all of my chains with master links. If you use a Shimano, Campagnolo, or other chain that you close with a pin, the net damage to your chain from opening and closing it in order to clean and wax it would be so great that it would negate any small performance increase you might obtain.

I also believe that lubing regularly with almost any lube (other than high-carrier wax-based ones, perhaps) will make at least as much difference as using a particular lube that tests well but not doing it frequently.

And he provides this response from the author of the original lube test article when Zinn asked him what he himself thought:

I think it very much depends on how much you ride, where you ride, and how much free time you have to mess about with crockpots and paraffin. Since I have the tech room downstairs, I love wax. If I remember to turn the crockpot on in the morning, it takes five minutes before a lunch ride to rewax the chain, and it’s never, ever dirty. Love that. The watts, to be honest, aren’t as much of a concern as the dirt because I don’t race much anymore.

If I lived somewhere wet, and had to re-wax every few days, I’d give up on it. But out here I get a solid 1.5-2 weeks out of an application. That’s not so bad.
For the average person, I’d probably still recommend a regular lube. Maybe have a chain set aside for race day that you wax, but only if those few watts matter to you.

Planet X

Yeah it's smooth as silk. No probs with it but with more "product" on the chain it'll attract more dirt.

What I do is have two chains, one in the "wash" and t'other on bike. Makes sense especially in winter with grit and salt around.

The cost of a second (commute, non race)chain is a no brainer. Cheap enough.

Wicklowrider

Planet X how'd it last in the rain?

Planet X

It's beside me in work here. Just had a look. Looking good. Good for another few weeks seems like.