CHAIN WAXING

Full Immersion Chain Waxing for Optimal Drivetrain Care

What is it?

A significant part of your bike is the drivetrain; made up of the chainset, chain, cassette and derailleurs. These components see the most amount of movement and need lubricating to ensure they run smoothly and efficiently. Traditionally oil is used as a lubricant, however it is not the only option.

Chain waxing involves coating your chain in a wax blended with other additives as an alternative to oil. It is an amazing alternative to oil, with many benefits that align with the goal at Trinity Frameworks of getting the most out of your bike.

Keep reading to find out what the benefits are and how we do it.

Why Do It?

There are a number of benefits to waxing a chain that make it worth considering:

Wax acts as a dry lubricant and therefore does not attract dirt in the same way an oil lubricant does.
Less dirt means less wear on your components. If you are running a 1x set up or on a high end group set you have invested a lot of money in those components and you want them to last.
Without that slurry of oil and dirt the bike is so much cleaner; no more black hands when changing a flat and no embarassing chainring leg.
Wax reduces the friction in your drivetrain more than any oil based lubricant. This reduction in friction means an increase in power output.
Increased time between lubricating your chain, meaning more time riding and less time fussing about your bike.
It is easy to rewax a chain when you do eventually need to.

THE PROCESS

Cleaning Process

It is vital that the whole drivetrain is clean; and I mean really clean. Eat your dinner off it clean. Any residual oil or dirt will stop the wax from fully adhering to the chain. It is relatively easy to clean the cassette, chainrings, jockey wheels and front derailleur. The chain presents a bigger challenge and this is the only component of the drivetrain that gets wax applied to it. How do you clean inside the roller bearings and pins where the wax really needs to be. Trinity Frameworks follows this process to ensure the chain is absolutely clean; so you don’t have to.

Chemical Wash

This is the first stage and the process and aims to get the bulk of the oil and other grim off the chain. If it is an old chain this may take several cycles before moving on to the next stage.

Ultrasonic Bath

A heated ultrasonic bath in a cleaning solution ensures all the spaces between pins, roller bearings and plates and free of oil and dirt. The cassette might also take a dip in here at the same time to get everything out from between the cogs.

Final soak

Finally the chain is soaked in a solution that ensures that chain is cleaner that the plate you had your dinner on. Everything is now ready for waxing.

Waxing Process

After the cleaning process before, this process is a relatively simple one. It is important though that the wax mixture gets in to all the spaces within the chain.

Wax bath

The wax mixture is heated to around 90°C. The chain is then soaked for roughly 15 minutes ensuring it is fully coated. The chain is then removed and depending on the type of bicycle it is intended for will be wiped down to a greater or lesser degree. The chain will be cooled, mobilised and installed ready for action.

Ensure the wax is soaked in to the chain

Why are you waiting?

If you are like me then you have watched no end of videos on this subject and done a stack of reading. I have used this as well as a number of my customers and it is difficult to go back to an oil based system.

If you are looking for a way to get some extra watts from all the training you are doing, want those expensive components to last a little longer and are fed up with all the mess that an oil based lubricant has then get in touch.

Whether you are just interested in a single chain or want to know how we can help manage your drivetrain then click on the “Get in Touch” link in the menu above; you won’t regret it.