Last year in July, I posted a review on the Rex Black Diamond hot wax, which back then was a new release from the Finnish ski wax manufacturer. I have since used the wax on both my MTB and gravel bikes for approximately 3000km, so I though it would be a good time to share my "mid-term" experiences.
Claims vs. Reality
Rex claim that the wax can last up to 1000km per application. I think this is optimistic at best, and probably only possible on a road bike that gets ridden only in dry, non-dusty conditions. My experience is that with MTB I reliably get about 200km per application and around double, so 400km on the gravel bike. This is with 1-2 washes in between and the requirement for a new application is purely subjective based on when the chain becomes noisy / creaky. Usually the chain is also very slack at that point, so most of the wax will have worn off.
Wax vs. Lube
I have used many lubes in the past, including marketing driven MucOff, and performance driven Rex Domestique with various results. When I was still using lube, I would use a dry lube as a clean chain is a happy chain and I try not to ride in extremely wet conditions. However, apart from cleanliness and longevity, I have not noticed any differences between a lubed and a waxed chain. Shifting is the same, and the drivetrain is generally quiet with both lubricants, as long as the film is there.
Chain longevity and conclusion
This is where things get interesting: I took the Sram Rival chain as a guinea pig on my gravel bike, as it's roughly equivalent to a GX Eagle chain, which I have found not to last very long with regular lube, probably only max. 1500km.
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| Brand new Sram Rival chain on the left / 1015km ridden Rival chain on the right. |
What I found is that my current Rival chain, after 1015km and 3 wax applications is showing 1,8mm of wear when compared to a brand new chain. I run my chain 1440mm long, so that equals 1,2% of wear. This is about 4x better than what I would reliably get with GX chains, though granted this is on a gravel bike and not a mountain bike.
Based on this I can conclude I SHOULD be able to get around 4300km before the chain is at 0,5% wear and effectively scrap.
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