How To: Maintain a Waxed Chain

One of, if not the biggest, benefit to waxing your chain is how clean it runs and how easy it is to keep that way. When you get done with a ride, you can simply wipe off any debris from the chain with a microfiber towel or a gear wipe. 

If you had a dry, dusty ride, you will want to remove that dust, but you can be confident that the wax is still in-between the inner and outer plates which is where the friction is happening. 

You will not want to use another degreaser on the chain as that residue could be left on the chain and cause future wax not to stick as well. The degreaser in the Gear Wipes, however, flashes off completely so it won't cause an issue.

How to maintain your waxed chain after a wet ride starts with our favorite answer, it depends. First, we will cover how to handle a little bit of water. Maybe you got a light rain for a few minutes, ran through some wet roads, etc. 

For these light rain situations, just try to get the chain dry quickly. You can wipe down your chain with a Gear Wipe as this will help some of that water flash off, and then reapply either Super Secret Chain Lube or Hot Wax. If you have access to an air compressor, quickly blowing out the chain is a great way to remove all that water.

Now for those long driving days where you are out for hours at a time, it is very important that you get that drivetrain dried off as quickly as possible. If the chain sits there it can start to develop surface rust because there is no oil to remove the water. Blow out the chain with a compressor or wipe it dry with a microfiber towel. Then you are going to want to add your Super Secret Chain Lube or Hot Wax treatment to help the last bit of moisture be driven out. This will make sure your chain is ready to go for the next ride.

If you do get a bit of surface rust on your chain, don't worry, it's not ruined. It will typically rub right off with a gear wipe and might just take a little more effort for a brush.

A waxed chain should give you 200-250 miles per application assuming good conditions. If it is wet and muddy that can be shorter. For an event like Unbound 200, we recommend running a waxed chain even if it's going to be a rainy day as wax is the best at repelling mud and is going to lead to the lowest friction. 

With that being said you are not going to get 200 miles out of a mud-filled day like we saw in 2022. This is where a high-quality oil-based lubricant like Synergetic comes into play. An emulsified wax like our Super Secret Chain Lube, or any other brand's offering, can't be used effectively mid-ride. The same additives that make the wax a liquid need time to evaporate for it to be effective. Adding an emulsified wax mid-ride can actually have the opposite of the intended effect by emulsifying the wax that is on the chain and removing all lubricant from the chain. 

For those reasons, we recommend using a high-quality wet lube. The oil will penetrate and quiet the chain while providing the needed lubrication. However, since oil and wax don't mix well, you will need to strip the chain when you get home if you want to wax again. This would be a boiled water, degreaser bath, acetone, and re-wax process.

Since we know waxed chains and water aren't best friends, how do you go about washing your bike after a dirty ride? We can probably assume that if your frame is pretty dirty then your drivetrain is too. In this case, wash your bike as you normally would, but be careful not to use soap or cleaner on the drivetrain. This ensures that the wax has clean metal to stick to.

 
Then, rinse the chain with water, dry it off, and either take it off your bike to hot wax or apply Super Secret to your chain as soon as the bike is dry.  Another great option is to clean your chain just as we talked about above but to use a waterless wash like our Ultimate Waterless Wash. This will clean your frame and leave behind a protective ceramic coating. 

For the ultimate in deep cleaning, we recommend removing the chain before you start cleaning your bike and cleaning the chain separately.