Nice! I think it’s totally worth the little bit of extra start-up effort. In fact, a major reason I just chose Ultegra Di2 over AXS Force eTap was because I was certain I could continue waxing the 11-speed chains, where some have had issues waxing the SRAM 12-speed chains AND you shouldn’t re-use 12-speed quick links, so it’s an extra few bucks every time even if you do successfully wax the 12-speed. I could’ve just used Squirt on the new bike, and kept on waxing on my 10-speed Shimano TT bike, but I’m such a waxing fanboy now, I wanted to keep everything simple between bikes. Wax on!
Good info that could help someone else down the road - thanks for sharing! The longer I go in this sport, the more value I place on keeping my maintenance processes simple and clean. Every little thing you add is more time dedicated to the bike without being on the bike. I think a bigger influence was the fact that I’ve worked with Shimano 105/Ultegra/Dura-Ace for 15 years, current setups are all Ultegra or Dura-Ace, so introducing a new drivetrain seemed an unnecessary move. It didn’t help that there are a lot of complaints online about the AXS Force being very loud and requiring fixes right out of the box (been there with my Vector 3 and Kickr Core…), and it didn’t help that replacing SRAM parts seems a fair bit more expensive when that time comes. I then started thinking about having to swap cassettes on the trainer to switch between TT and road bikes, and that’s another hassle… it just all kind of added up to sway me to Di2.
How would you get it out of the seat stay?
Now that I think of it that was my solution to remove the AXS derailleur from the chain when flying using my bike bag, lol.
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Ah, that makes sense! Was a bit puzzled for a minute lol.
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A couple of weeks ago I managed to drop my chain out on the road (user error) which somehow managed to get past the chain catcher (still no idea how it got past the catcher) and down on the frame. Not a big deal since I was stopped when it happened but ended up having to loosen the catcher and work the chain around it to get it back on the chainring.
After finishing I looked and my hands and they looked just like they did before before starting the repair which included grabbing the chain a lot to get it worked past the catcher. Being able to do this type of fix out on the road and not end up with filthy, black, oily hands was priceless. Reminded me why I switched to waxing in the first place.
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Smoove is a little tough to remove. Hot water helps, but the Smoove Prep cleaner works very well. If you don’t have that, I believe Smoove mentions you should use some citrus solvent to break it down. That works better better than mineral spirits.
Ha! I didn’t catch that. 
So, wife and I have 6 11 speed bikes between us, and chain lengths are a bit different on each. Our titaniums use 110 links, our alloy gravel uses 113 and our carbon uses 110.
How do you guys solve this problem? I would just like a single bunch of chains that I can inter change between bikes.
Rotate two chains on each bike, or say 6 chains for four bikes so you always have ready spares. Hang the ready spares on nails or hooks labeled with the proper number of links. I have two nails in my garage wall. One for 10sp chain, one for 11sp.
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I have 2 bikes, with different length chains, 3 chains for the road bike, 2 for the CX
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Thanks guys.
Another question. I wanted to buy some missing links in bulk. Saw these on aliexpress. KMC ones, but, they say KMC and Shimano only. I have a few SRAM chains. Brand new. Anyone used KMC links with SRAM? Any idea why they say it’s for Shimano/KMC only?
Amazon US says that cl555r is ok with all 3 brands, but aliexpress says that they have cl555 and not ok with sram
EDIT: R refers to reusable, and KMC site says that both 555 and 555R are OK with all 3 brands.
Just get the connex links: 10s and 11s
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Any link. I see them for 25 dollars on Amazon. Also, I live in India, so most of these sites dont ship to India, and if the do, shipping is exorbitant.
Guys using YBN links, is this the shape of the links?
EDIT: Apparently YBN makes a QRs 11 and a QL 11
Check Merlin:
So… we all know that if a little of something is good, then a lot of it must be awesome. Right?
Yeah… I made that mistake on the last chain cleaning. I got interrupted mid process and forgot a chain in a jar of Simple Green. Later I remembered it was soaking, but figured it would be OK for a day or so. That turned into a week (or was it 2?). Eventually I got around to finishing the process: clean off the degreaser, soak chain a bit in mineral spirits, clean, then final rinse in denatured alcohol, etc… wax. Install. Ride.
I was 30 miles into a planned 70+ mile ride when my chain broke. I assumed it was the quick link, but upon reinstalling a quick link I noticed it was a chain link that broke. That should have been the moment I stopped to reassess and examine the chain and my situation more closely, especially since the break came under low effort. But, I missed that opportunity and set back on my way. Less than 2 miles later, snap. There goes another link. This time I pulled over, sat on a nearby picnic table and gave my chain a closer look. It was a disaster, loaded with cracks that were all ready to fail at any moment.
I’d never seen anything like it. Then again, I’d never before gave my chain a 2-week bath in Simple Green. Lesson learned!!!
This was a black Connex chain and my wax mix contains molybdenum, hence it doesn’t look so clean.
In the third photo, there’s a very visible crack in a link in the upper right side. A smaller cracks can also be seen, but not as well.
That is crazy - I can’t imagine that simple green would damage a chain that badly. Have you contacted Connex? How many miles did you have on this chain?
This was a very new chain. Prior to this “cleaning,” it had only been on my bike for about a month, so between trainer and road rides it had 40 hours or so on it at most. And this just happened on Saturday, so No, I haven’t been in touch w Wipperman / Connex yet, but I will.
Simple Green is pretty potent stuff. I’ve used it for years in a spray bottle and with a chain scrubber, but I’ve alway’s diluted it by at least 1:1, if not more, with water.
agreed that its strong, but its not that strong to crack metal in 40 hours of use. I would expect corrosion, maybe I am wrong but that appears to be more of a metal failure than soaking in simple green. I would be curious what Wipperman/Connex says if possible for follow up.
Mike