If I buy this chain from MSpeedwax and pay for the additional ultrasonic clean and wax AND do a thorough degreasing of my drivetrain , I should be ready to go with a waxed chain. Then I add a wax drip lube when necessary and I keep going ? Correct or incorrect ?
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I may be wrong, but I don’t think there is a “maintenance” lube you can apply to a chain that has been properly treated by immersing in melted wax. I think any existing wax in the chain would repel any drip lube you apply.
Most people who run waxed chains have multiple so that they can swap the worn out one for a fresh one, and then clean and reapply later.
Silca says you can use their super secret chain lube - waxed based + as a touch up for waxed chains.
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You are correct. This is what I have been doing however with Silca products as they have both the hot melt wax and drip wax. I get 1 week out of a freshly waxed chain then I’ll top it off with the drip lube for one more week of riding. After that the chain comes off and back in the hot melt wax pot. I ride ~275km/week.
The original UFO chains from ceramic speed used to ship with squirt lube as a maintenance lube until they came out with their own wax emulsion.
Plenty fine as long as you use one of the wax emulsions on the market. I used to do squirt but have moved to silca’s super secret chain lube as well. ( Mine are molten speedwax coated previous to this )
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As a point of interest I just got a new bike with SRAM Red. I did a break-in ride on the trainer for 1 hour on the factory greased chain then fully prepped it and waxed it. I kept all the solvents in a bottle to dispose of later and after it settled it looked like this. A truly amazing quantity of grease (and some type of glue I’m led to believe) in the chain. I washed it with:
1 x Morgan Blue chain cleaner
6 x mineral turpentine
2 x Denatured alcohol
The bottom image looks kinda cool - reminds me of flying over storm clouds.
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I’m just about to get into the waxing game, and wanted to know what people are doing about the master link? That is:
- are people buying new ones? If so, have you found a good source to get them reasonably priced? The best deal I’ve found was on Amazon at 2 for $14USD
- If you are re-using (Shimano), how many times?
The Wipperman Connex links are reusable as they don’t snap/lock together nor need pliers to pull back apart.
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Have you ever had one come off? They must be good enough, it just seems to me that it’d be a risk?
No, and I’ve never heard a bad word about Wipperman. FWIW, I’ve only used them on 11 speed Campagnolo.
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I use one master link for the lifetime of the chain - doesn’t really matter how many times I “re-use” it on the same chain. The link needs to wear at the same rate as the chain so unless you need to because of a broken chain don’t put a new master link into an old chain.
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Another for the Connex. No issues so far, broken and reused countless times!
Huh?
What’s the logic behind not using a new link in a worn (but not worn out) chain?
That’s a new one to me…
The chain has “stretched” but the new link obviously hasn’t. Not going to make a huge amount of difference but having a link that doesn’t match the rest of the system could cause hiccups.
I use YBN reusable links
I don’t think that holds up…. What issues would introducing a new link into an otherwise used but usable drivetrain cause?
and I’d avoid reusing links an unlimited # of times.
Once they stop snapping as securely, they are done imo. Of course if you are not breaking the link more than 2-3 times over the lifetime of the chain, it’ll typically be fine.
OP - read Dave Rome on cyclingtips posts about this - no one is perfect but his info is very comprehensive.
Oh and UFO drip is the light and the way 
I reuse the quick link ~20 times (i know blasphemy 
) in the life span of the chain.
I do it to clean the chain, bike and just because…
I always carry an extra link with me in the event I run out of luck, but till now never had a prob.
It must be noted that i ride mostly in tarmac. If you are doing mtb, cx, gravel and alikes it might be different. But for me as long it does a satisfying “click” I don’t see the need to change it.
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Like @Klaw mentioned the YBN reusable links are pretty reasonable. Search on Amazon or eBay. I reuse them until they feel loose when putting them back on.
Also Squirt and Smoove are not great for topping up a waxed chain IMO. They are not a pure paraffin based wax lube so they don’t easily wash off like Silca SS drip will. Silca SS is a nice for topping up multiple times. Rinse with hot water when dirty and the chain will be ready for a re-wax.
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A lot of options, but I am of the opinion that applying a wax emulsion between dips is not really worth it. Having two different products for your chains seems like more things to keep track of and buy, not less. If you want to spend more money to wax less frequently, buy a second chain.
What makes it simpler for me:
- YBN chains prewaxed from Molten Speedwax
- YBN master links that can be reused and purchased in an inexpensive 6 pack
- not worrying about cleaning the chain between waxes; wipe it down and then agitate in melted Speedwax, then wipe down again, and let cool.
- doing a lot chains at once