Maintaining a waxed chain is WAAAAY easier than maintaining a wet lubed chain

Even easier is not caring or even knowing that you are supposed to do anything.

Then measuring the chain wear after a year to discover no significant degradation.

How many miles/km?

Yes, good chains last longer. But good waxed chains can outlive the life of some bikes (20,000km on a waxed chain is not unheard of). And it preserves the components at the same time.

Same. When it rusts I replace it

Be sure that you're checking your chain for wear... and your cassette... and chainrings. That approach might work well for some, but squeaking is already a sign that wear has been occuring.

You lost me at 10-second chain swaps

Wipperman connex master links. No tools required. Can be reused "for the life of the chain". Takes a second to remove and re-connect. 10 second chain swap!

and boiling water.

Unlike with traditional bike chain lube, which require some rather harsh solvents to remove. Wax can be boiled off the chain when needed. You can go back to bare metal on a waxed chain without any solvents.

Not sure if there is a lighter weight version, but I used to run wax on motorcyles, it came as a spray can and went on almost like a clear plastic coating. Game changer for chain maintenance

It’ll be hard to convert anyone that just lets their bike run into the ground before they start taking care of it, but they’re also probably on bikes that are sub $500 and aren’t looking for efficiencies or endurance performance.

I think that's probably pretty accurate. If I had a bike kicking around that I may or may not use, I don't even think I'd be waxing that chain.

I also think that a good number of people are simply scared away by "all the work" that goes into waxing.

I'm almost looking forward to the winter, where I can really compare my experience between wax and wet lube.

I don’t like maintaining my bike much and the waxing seems like it’s something for people that do.

For me, it's the opposite. Maintaining a lubed chain required far more time and patience than waxing. In that sense, I can focus more on riding my bike (or maintaining it in other ways, if I choose to).

And I feel like the nasty black chain is mostly a thing if you used too much oil?

That black is metal + dirt + oil. Basically, a grinding paste between the pins of your chain + all the crap that stuck to your chain.

I was using a single drop of wet lube, and my chain would be forever dirty after each ride. I could attempt to wipe it clean with 2 or 3 large microfiber rags, and still not get it "clean". But wiping doesn't actually clean the dirty parts where wear is occurring, so it was a never ending battle with degreasing, solvent baths, re-lubing, wiping.

I mean, sure, I could just wipe and re-lube and call it a day, but for the amount of riding I do, I'd either have to be replacing chains every month, or more expensive components a few times a year. That's not in my budget! LOL

Yeah, if you can get a belt drive, go for it. I think if I ever got an ebike, it would need to have a belt drive. There's something about working on a heavy bike that makes me want to work on it far, far less than something that's lightweight.

I just waxed the chain on my gravel bike and it’s going great so far. Maybe time to consider the mountain bikes. I do spend a lot of time lubing chains.

We’re getting into our wet season so this is definitely piquing my curiosity once again.

Winter here gets slushy and salty, and I burned through a few chains two winters ago, then invested in "rustproof" chains last year, which worked well, but keeping on top of cleaning the inside of the chain and relubing was a PITA.

This year, I'll be rotating waxed chains.

The SILCA strip chip does a great job of eliminating the need for chain prep. Worth the extra cost, if you don’t want to mess around with harsh chemicals.

I actually ordered some, realized that the slow cooker I was using couldn't get to the right temperature for it, and sent it back.

It would have been easier, for sure. But the Chain Stripper is also really easy and can be reused. I'll probably never run out, considering that I may only need to use it once every few years (per new chain). LOL

Yup! Even drip wax will give better results vs. wet lube. The cleanliness blows me away every time!

I was at a group ride and showed some of the guys how clean the chain was... wiped it with my bare hands, and nothing. That was after like 60km of riding! LOL

Thrift stores are full of old crock pots. We used to get them for candle making.

If you use Silcas hot melt, then you can actually just boil the bag and put the chain in there. I haven't used it like that, but instead just got an inexpensive slow cooker (most are <$25 or nearly free if second hand).

It doesn't really "ruin" the pot, but I would dedicate it to wax only.

Interestingly enough, I've discovered wax melting pots designed specifically for melting waxes (i.e. for candle making), and while they might be a little more expensive than a slow cooker, they offer finer temperature control and may be slightly more convenient to use. With a cheap slow cooker, I'm quite happy!

I use a small wax heater for removing body hair. 20$ and gets the job done. If you plan to do more than one chain at a time though, it's too small. I'll probably buy a used crock pot or instant pot at some time to wax more than one chain at a time.

This will be my first winter with waxed chains. My only real concern is the drip wax treatments between immersion wax. Since I don't bring my bikes inside where it's warm, I think it would be too cold to apply drip wax. I think we have many below zero days, I'll probably just keep rotating immersion waxed chains until it warms up.

Sounds like you made a DIY version of a commercial drip wax. I use Silca's drip wax, and I'm getting really good value out of it, so I'm not motivated enough to try something homemade. But I'm glad it works for you, and no doubt is better than most other lubes!

We’re supposed to be lubing our chains?

Here's the problem:

The parts of the chain that wear out are on the inside; you can't wipe it clean.

When you use a standard lube, it attracts dirt inside the chain, and creates a grinding paste (i.e. that black crap), which will degrade the chain quickly.

As the chain wears, it wears on other components, so it cascades to the point where you'll get issues with shifting, chain skipping, etc., and components will need to be replaced.

Waxing fills the gaps where those inner components of the chain wears, effectively providing a buffer that dirt does not stick to.

You may not notice wear unless you are checking with a good quality chain checker tool, or when you start to experience issues.

How often you ride will also be a factor. Someone who rides 2000 km a year may not notice chain wear issues for 2 years. Someone riding 20,000 km might notice these problems every month.

And the more gears your bike has, the less chain wear you can get away with before it starts chewing through other components.

To me, it's an easy way to ensure longer-lasting, cleaner, quieter components, so I'll stick to it (no pun intended)!

Unless your commutes are 150 km a day, wax will still be better than wet lube. Rotating among multiple chains would be the way to go.

The lower the speed count, the less expensive the chain, but you'll save money in the long run, even with multiple 11 speed chains (which are way more expensive than something like a 7/8 speed chain).

I generally keep on top of my maintainance and will wash the bike usually once a week including cleaning the filthy as fuck chain.

I got tired of that. And realistically, you'll never get a "clean" chain when using wet lube unless you use an ultrasonic cleaner + solvents (and run it through multiple cleaning cycles). You can clean the outside of the chain, but the wear happens around the pins, and you can't wipe that clean.

I do 5-10 chains at a time.

For how many bikes??

Drip wax is better than wet lube, but not as good as immersion wax. You CAN use drip wax over a chain that has been immersion waxed for ongoing top-ups, but it also depends on what works for you.

I use the site zerofrictioncycling to see which methods are best.

This is what I've been using for the last 12 years, and I've been happy. Immersion waxing seems interesting, but it does seem a bit daunting to me.

and I think I've spent less than an hour total on cleaning and lubing my chains.

Then you aren't really cleaning them. The pins in your chain can't be wiped clean from the outside. If you ride and wipe down the chain, it's not clean.

10 minutes to degrease your chain with some fancy (and expensive, I presume) stripper? Damn, nobody's got time and money for that.

For clarity, that's done once with a new chain. And it's a much safer product than solvents, which can be reused for years.

Just put your dirty chain in a small plastic bottle with some gasoline and shake it well for a minute.

You aren't getting it clean if that's how you do it. The grit isn't being removed as well as you think. You can try that with an ultrasonic cleaner, but a used chain with need multiple baths, even with an ultrasonic cleaner.

After that, run it through a piece of cloth and hang outside to dry.

In below zero temps, this isn't an option. And I'd prefer not to use gasoline in my home, either.

You do what works for you. I find waxing to be a far better process, but maybe you're needs are different from mine.