Comment by cycomanic
10 hours ago
That's not really true. There's lots of research out there showing that waxed chains result in less power loss over longer time compared to no lubrication and most other lubricants (both bicycle specific ones and more general ones). Now waxing your chain is admittedly annoying, but it does work.
3in1 is actually bike specific, it fell out of favor with the rise of the modern bike lubes. Wax collects dust and dirt, especially when friction or the sun cause it to soften, which turns your waxed chain into a drive train eater and will cause power loss. More for the track than the road.
Wax is great for road riding. I ride in Auckland where it’s wet half the time (all the time this summer). I re-wax every 400 or so km. It’s clean running and beautiful compared to the expensive oils I was using, and lasts longer.
Wear appears to be down too. The reduction in grease and dirty chain makes is so nice.
It is much better than the expensive oils, but not as good as old fashioned 3in1. The expensive chain lubes are mostly meant for racing, they give you the least friction by a long shot but don't last and most of them do not take well to reapplying without cleaning, you end up with grinding paste.
Wax holds up quite well against water but does hold grit and tends to deposit it on chainrings, sprockets, and pulleys, and it wears them quicker than 3in1 will. Wax shares the downside of PTFE, you need to clean off the old before applying more or things start wearing fast, which is not an issue for everyone. It is nice and clean.
Here in the winter of northern Minnesota, one good snowy ride with the road salt and sand will strip wax. Not that you would want to use wax in this sort of cold even if the road salt and sand were not an issue, wax gets stiff and brittle in the sorts of cold we get. I am an everyday rider and bike is my mode of transportation for everything, in this climate I need ease of reapplication or I will be replacing chainrings yearly.
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