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Checking chain wear when waxing chains. (lemmy.ca)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/bikewrench

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So, I joined the world of waxed chains. So far, it's life changing. Quiet to the point that your think I'm running a belt drive, but more importantly, super clean and component preserving.

But, I was thinking earlier, if wax fills in the gaps between the parts the wear, how would you actually get a true chain wear measurement?

I've never heard of someone stripping the wax off to check for wear, and that would get incredibility wasteful to do it often.

Zero friction Cycling doesnt mention anything special in regards to checking a waxed chain.

So, would I go about checking the chain, waxed and all, and assume the numbers are pin point accurate?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I've never heard or read about waxed chains. What's this about? what kind of wax?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Check ZFC too. They also sell pre-waxed chains if you don't want to deal with stripping your original chain (which is the most annoying part of the process).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

It's paraffin wax. Here's a good video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvJ7aAUWBz8

[–] PlantJam 1 points 3 months ago

It's worth the extra work. I keep three chains in rotation and generally get about four weeks of riding out of each chain. That means I'm only having to get out the wax a few times a year.

My favorite part about it is that the chain is clean to touch. I don't have to carry gloves in my saddle bag in case I have to touch my chain, and I don't get black lines on my leg.

The biggest down side is the initial prep, but silca has some one step chain stripper that works great. You only have to do that once for the life of a chain, though, so it's really not that big of a deal.