# Paraffin wax for 10 speed chain



## Sven (Feb 25, 2018)

Has anyone done the paraffin wax routine for their chain? I saw the videos from OZ CYCLE on youtube

The chain on my totally refurbished 1973 varsity is the original one. Needless to say it probably needs changing. I use 3 in 1 Oil to lube it ( it was good enough in the 70s and 80s, so why would today not be good) Anyway...

I though I would ask the experts here, before jumping into something that isn't worth the time or effort. It s not that I want to shave off 5 watts { what ever the hell that  means} during my ride. Just looking at a good chain care routine. Also...I rebuilt a Schwinn approved Speedometer and reset it to 0. my goal is to put 1000 on it this year. {If it would ever stop raining }

Thanks.


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## GTs58 (Feb 25, 2018)

Do you soak your chain in 3 in 1 to get it inside the rollers? Oil is messy and collects dirt and dust like Pig-Pen which causes unnecessary  wear on the teeth and the chain. The old time motor oils were made with paraffin wax and furniture builders used it on drawer guides among other things. Years ago I learned an old carpenters trick using gas and wax on the 16d nails to make it easier and quicker to drive the nails. I've done two chains with the gas and wax and prefer that over any oil. On the bikes I mess with I usually install new chains since the originals are worn and end up causing issues on my geared bikes. On my Corvette 5 speed rider I ended up replacing the chain after I checked out the original. When stretched out on the table it was 3/4" longer. In my opinion, I'd say the wax is better and cleaner than any oil and it's really not that much trouble or more of a pain than dealing with messy oil that ends up covering your gears, hub, chain stays and derailleur while collecting dirt.


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## bulldog1935 (Feb 25, 2018)

I run stainless Wippermann chains and Molten Speed Wax on all my bikes. 
$18/lb sounds crazy expensive, but I get 700 mi/ chain wax, and can get 10+ waxes from a half-pound, that's about 15,000 mi




I ultrasonic clean my chains in mineral spirits followed by denatured alcohol to clean them and remove the old wax. 
I use a double boiler from $3 enameled sauce pans, heating the water just to deaeration (not boiling) and idle the stove.  
I store the resolidified MSW in the small pan.  
Starting with a clean chain lets me re-use the half pound of MSW 10 times.  

Nothing sticks to my chain and if get mud on it, I can rinse it with a hose.


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## Andrew Gorman (Feb 25, 2018)

I used to soak my chains in molten canning paraffin.  Now I just use Kawasaki Foaming Chain Lube.  It boils out a lot of schmutz and ends up dry and non greasy.  Easy to apply too!


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## Sven (Feb 26, 2018)

GTs58 said:


> Do you soak your chain in 3 in 1 to get it inside the rollers? Oil is messy and collects dirt and dust like Pig-Pen which causes unnecessary  wear on the teeth and the chain. The old time motor oils were made with paraffin wax and furniture builders used it on drawer guides among other things. Years ago I learned an old carpenters trick using gas and wax on the 16d nails to make it easier and quicker to drive the nails. I've done two chains with the gas and wax and prefer that over any oil. On the bikes I mess with I usually install new chains since the originals are worn and end up causing issues on my geared bikes. On my Corvette 5 speed rider I ended up replacing the chain after I checked out the original. When stretched out on the table it was 3/4" longer. In my opinion, I'd say the wax is better and cleaner than any oil and it's really not that much trouble or more of a pain than dealing with messy oil that ends up covering your gears, hub, chain stays and derailleur while collecting dirt.




Thank you sir for the advise. 
I didn't soak the chain, I just dripped some on each side of the roller.  Your mentioning old motor oils having wax in it, reminded me back in the early 80's ,I was told to stop using Quaker State because of the wax content.
I was a carpenter's helper in my younger years ( pre-nail gun era}. I learned a lot of useful tricks. 
So wax it is


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## bulldog1935 (Feb 26, 2018)

the enemy of chain and gear life is sand.
Oil-based lube is a sand magnet because the oil film wets and traps sand particles in the liquid surface tension.
Sand does not stick to my waxed chains.
Water spray on a wet road makes chert stick to even a waxed chain, but that composition is soft clay, and easily dusted off when dry.

this is the complete wash  from the chain in the bottom of the beaker after a 700-mi run




when I ultrasonic-clean a chain that was run on oil-based lube, I get a teaspoon of sand and metal wear particles in the bottom of the beaker

I'm running a 47T TA chainring from the 70s, which is hen's teeth - I'm going to give it the longest life I can possibly achieve


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## Sven (Feb 26, 2018)

bulldog1935 said:


> I run stainless Wippermann chains and Molten Speed Wax on all my bikes.
> $18/lb sounds crazy expensive, but I get 700 mi/ chain wax, and can get 10+ waxes from a half-pound, that's about 15,000 mi
> View attachment 760189
> I ultrasonic clean my chains in mineral spirits followed by denatured alcohol to clean them and remove the old wax.
> Nothing sticks to my chain and if get mud on it, I can rinse it with a hose.



 Thank you sir . 
I will check the out the Wippermann chain selection.  A lot of chains I looked at are for newer bikes with 6 to 11 or so rear cogs. They use  1/2 x 11/128, which is 1/128 or .0078 of an inch difference from 3/32. But now that I have a direction to go I can refine my search
Wax is it.


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## Sven (Feb 26, 2018)

Andrew Gorman said:


> I used to soak my chains in molten canning paraffin.  Now I just use Kawasaki Foaming Chain Lube.  It boils out a lot of schmutz and ends up dry and non greasy.  Easy to apply too!



Is Kawasaki Foaming lube still on the market?


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## Sven (Feb 26, 2018)

bulldog1935 said:


> the enemy of chain and gear life is sand.
> Oil-based lube is a sand magnet because the oil film wets and traps sand particles in the liquid surface tension.
> Sand does not stick to my waxed chains.
> Water spray on a wet road makes chert stick to even a waxed chain, but that composition is soft clay, and easily dusted off when dry.
> ...



 Wax it is . Thanks


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## bulldog1935 (Feb 26, 2018)

Sven said:


> Thank you sir .
> I will check the out the Wippermann chain selection.  A lot of chains I looked at are for newer bikes with 6 to 11 or so rear cogs. They use  1/2 x 11/128, which is 1/128 or .0078 of an inch difference from 3/32. But now that I have a direction to go I can refine my search
> Wax is it.



You have some pretty good leeway in matching chains to sprocket spacing.
"8-speed" chains match down to 3 or 4 rear cogs on 115mm OLD (prewar to 1960), and these chains will work on everything made to 2000. 
Easy to substitute 9-speed chains on 7 rear cogs, etc.  - I also know people doing it the other way.

FWIW, I noticed Wippermann chains run slightly narrower than SRAM for the same chain width designation.


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## Sven (Feb 26, 2018)

bulldog1935 said:


> You have some pretty good leeway in matching chains to sprocket spacing.
> "8-speed" chains match down to 3 or 4 rear cogs on 115mm OLD (prewar to 1960), and these chains will work on everything made to 2000.
> Easy to substitute 9-speed chains on 7 rear cogs, etc.  - I also know people doing it the other way.
> 
> FWIW, I noticed Wippermann chains run slightly narrower than SRAM for the same chain width designation.




Holy Link, batman...chains are as confusing as wheel sizes,  anyway just found this on ebay


 
This one is apparently for 10 speed ( 5 rear cog ) bikes. Then there is the Wippermann  Connex 800, 804,808.


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## bulldog1935 (Feb 26, 2018)

try this search

apparently XLC also makes a low-priced stainless steel chain
I've had good luck with Outside Outfitters on bike parts - just keep in mind, they're slow - they repackage and ship, but their prices are often the best.

The only place you must match chain is 11-speed rear
Before that, cog spacing wasn't small enough to matter - plus, 7, 8, 9 are all on the same cog spacing simply with wider rear axle.

Front derailleurs sometimes are sensitive to chain width, but no worries if your FD has plenty of travel and crank arm clearance.


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## Sven (Feb 26, 2018)

bulldog1935 said:


> try this search
> 
> apparently XLC also makes a low-priced stainless steel chain
> I've had good luck with Outside Outfitters on bike parts - just keep in mind, they're slow - they repackage and ship, but their prices are often the best.
> ...




Okay, so what youre saying is I need a XLC or Wipperman 9 speed Stainless chain on my 5 rear cog ,10 speed bike.


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## bulldog1935 (Feb 26, 2018)

Sven said:


> Okay, so what youre saying is I need a XLC or Wipperman 9 speed Stainless chain on my 5 rear cog ,10 speed bike.



that will work - might be tricky up front with a triple (if low-Q crank), but the rear won't care.

This search is for Wipperman 8sp stainless, which is just slightly wider.

You also don't necessarily need stainless, though they'll last 15,000+ mi, and won't flash rust when wet, which also keeps the total dirt mass down.


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