As recent product intros have shown, the biggest hurdle for most people to wax their bike chains is the prep. Second biggest? Cleaning up from the prep. But there’s no denying the performance benefits, and Cyclowax’s Starter Kit looks to make it as easy as possible by putting everything you need (including the chain) in the box.
The Starter Kit gets you get cleaning supplies with degreaser (for cleaning your cassette and chainrings prior to installation) and alcohol cleaner (for wiping down the waxed chain after a ride), and a brush and cleaning cloth to help remove any surface dirt and stuff before re-waxing. It even has cleaning strings to get in between the cogs to make sure you’re removed all prior grease and oils.
To start, though, you choose from 10/11/12/13 speed chains for Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo, with several options for most of those. Then just drop that pre-cleaned, pre-waxed chain onto your bike and you’re ready to ride.
The result is a claimed (up to) 8 watts of drag reduction, and a much cleaner, quieter chain. As you ride, the wax pushes dirt and grime off the chain, so it stays clean, too.
Out of the box, Cyclowax’s waxed chains look completely clean, with no excess wax visible, and they make it really easy to top off. The included heating pot warms up in just 10 minutes and comes with a hanging stand and wire to hold your chain while it cools.
The kit includes their black Performance Pro Wax Tablet, which has biodegradable, friction reducing “race additives” blended in. They also offer a white standard wax with no added ingredients. Both tablets can be used up to eight times before needing to replaced, giving you about 2,000 miles (3,200km) of real world riding per puck. Their app lets you track wax timing, and if you link it to Strava, it’ll even tell you when to re-wax based on your mileage.
