Rex Bike from Finland, best known for their world class ski waxes but also the Domestique and Black Diamond chain drip waxes, recently released the Black Diamond Hot chain wax. With some quite bold claimed benefits. To quote their product page:
"Hot waxing is an increasingly popular method for lubricating bicycle chains. The solid wax does not collect dirt, keeping the entire transmission of the bike clean and repelling dirt more effectively than traditional chain lubes. BLACK DIAMOND HOT WAX combines Black Diamond’s proven effective additive technology with over 70 years of wax experience from Rex. By switching to hot waxing, bike cleaning becomes much easier, and drivetrain component wear is dramatically decreased in long-term use. Hot-waxed chains don’t stain and do not require powerful solvents for cleaning. Instead, they can be easily cleaned with hot water only."
While I mostly rely on measured data from reputable sources, like Zero Friction Cycling, sometimes one has to do some empirical testing to determine if a product is suitable for your personal riding and conditions. I have had good luck with Rex's Domestique lube in the past, which according to ZFC lasts about 50% as long as their much more expensive Black Diamond lube, I was interested to find out if hot waxing could work even better.
Package, pricing and claimed longevity
Rex claim one application of hot wax will last up to 1000 km if you don't wash your drivetrain with solvents and ride in "optimal conditions". This usually means dry tarmac where the chain is not subject to dirt, mud, water, etc. Another factual benefit of hot waxing is that one batch will lubricate dozens of chains as the very little wax actually clings to the chain as it spread into the interface between the pin. One batch of melted hot wax results in about 1 liter of molten wax, so my estimate is you can easily get 30-50 applications with one batch. More on this later as I get the chance to wax more chains.
The box includes 1 black graphene or what-ever special additive block, and 11 white paraffin blocks. You can adjust the ratio by melting a different number of white-to-black blocks, but I chose to make the whole batch in one go.
The cost from Rex for 1 box / batch, is about 45€, so if we estimate you get 50 applications the cost is less than 1€ / application. If one were to get 1000 km / application you could theoretically get up to 50 000 km on one box of this stuff. This sounds unlikely, but even for regular riding and half this distance it would mean you'd need to buy 1 box every few years if you ride a lot. This is pure speculation as particles from used chains, lubricant residue, etc. will eventually reduce the performance and adhesion of the wax.
ZFC tests show that a thoroughly waxed chain could last up to 15 000km before hitting the 0,5% wear mark. In road riding this is probably true, but I don't expect my MTB chains to last nearly this long.
Chain prep and wax application
Zero Friction cycling have comprehensive instructions on how to apply a hot wax on their website. The two most important instructions:
ZFC: Chain preparation for waxing
If you follow these rather comprehensive instructions, chances are you will have done everything correctly and have a nice, waxed chain to use for several hundred kilometers.
Preparation
Preparing the chain for waxing is key for wax adhesion and thus longevity of the application. Based on my experience it's difficult to clean a used chain properly which has had wet lubricants applied to it. New chains are relatively easy. My findings:
USED CHAINS: Clean with a chain degreaser or turpentine. If you don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, use a glass jar filled with degreaser, soak for 10-15 minutes and agitate, rinse and repeat until no more gunk is coming out of the chain. 3-4 cleaning rounds are likely required. Final prep before wax is best done with Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) or similar to remove any solvent residue and let the chain dry. I don't recommend waxing used chains!
NEW CHAINS: Wipe clean with a degreaser and if you don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, use a glass jar filled with degreaser and let soak for approximately 5 minutes and agitate. Rinse with water and / or IPA and let the chain dry.
I have used several different solvents for cleaning the chain. The Rex Chain Cleaner smells like any automotive engine degreaser, but does not work very well when applied to the chain, agitated and rinsed, like some others like the Muc-Off drivetrain cleaner. However, used in an ultrasonic cleaner the Rex cleaner is quite good and doesn't leave a murky residue on the parts.
Application
This is the easy part. The wax needs to be heated to 70 - 90 °C but not so hot that it starts to steam and boil. This is easiest done with a slow rice cooker. I bought a cheap one and it seems to work fine, but make sure it's large enough to allow the wrapped chain to be fully submerged in wax. I recommend a minimum pot diameter of 150 mm.
Once the wax is hot, the chains need to be dipped in the wax and kept there until they reach the same temperature as the wax. This takes between 15 - 30 minutes. Pulling the chains out of the hot wax is tough, so use metal wire wrapped around the chain so you can pull it out of the wax and hang dry, preferably over the hot pot of wax as some will drip out of the wax. Let the chain cool, and once it's cool, remove the wire and break the links loose as the waxed chain will be stiff. Some black wax will also stick to the outside of the chain, so if you're picky about keeping your bling chain shiny this is probably not the product for you. Some of the black wax "chips" will also stick to the cassette, but they will slowly shed off as you ride the chain.
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| Waxed chains cooling down |
Reapplying wax to an already waxed chain is easy as long as you haven't used drip lubes on the chain! If you have, treat it as a used chain and clean thoroughly. If you haven't, all you need to do is wipe the chain clean and clean it with hot water to remove and dust, particles, etc. and repeat the waxing process.
Findings and longevity in MTB use
I waxed 2 new Sram XX1 chain when I bought my Yeti SB120 and the plan is to ride one until a re-wax is required and fit the other, and thus circulate the 2 chains to increase drivetrain life. In my opinion it's not worth it to wax only one chain as heating the wax, dip and cool down takes about 1-2 hours total. |
| Freshly waxed chain with some of the wax residue visible on the cassette |
My first chain ran incredibly silent and smooth for the first ~300 km, so based on this my recommended interval for re-waxing is 300 km unless you need to wash the bike often. This is similar to the recommendation and findings from ZFC. Is this long enough to warrant the hassle of waxing? It remains to be seen, but re-waxing is easy and if the waxed chain indeed lasts of 2-3 times longer than one ran with drip lube then it makes it worth it. Shifting is maybe a tad more clunky than with a conventional drip lube, probably due to the fact that the cassette is not really lubricated at all by the wax.
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| Sram X01 casette and XX1 rainbow chain after approximately 350km of riding and in dire need of re-waxing. |
Perceived or even measured power savings are not really relevant for MTB, again in my opinion, as the total losses, knobby tyres and on-power-off-power nature of MTB riding more or less makes any single watt savings irrelevant. However, wear resistance of drivetrain components is very much relevant. According to ZFC, the Rex Hot Wax is way up on the list of lubricants that best prevent chain wear, visible in this table: ZFC Lubricant testing results and considering the total cost over 10 000 km, all the hot waxes tested are at about 1/4 the cost of running drip lubes. Interesting findings!
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