It’s impossible to talk about chain lub without someone bringing up chain waxing. Zero Friction Cycling will tell you that most hot melt waxes are the best at preventing wear, but they’re also more involved to apply. There’s the actual waxing part which usually requires a way to heat up the wax, and then there’s the cleaning part where you have to completely strip a new chain of its factory lubricant.
The new Silca StripChip and Ultimate Chain Wax System claims to almost completely eliminate that cleaning part. How? Instead of cleaning the factory chain in a separate step, you simply drop a StripChip into the pot of wax and the process of oleogelation does the rest.
According to Silca, “While developing Chain Stripper, Silca CEO Josh Poertner fell down a chemistry revolution occurring in the food industry known as oleogelation. This new concept developed to replace hydrogenation for food oils, for health benefits, also showed promise at converting lubrication oils into solids. This simple chemistry takes base oils which would normally act as solvents inside of waxes and converts them into binders that connect and extend wax molecule chains. Just a few minutes at the right temperature and oils and greases inside the factory lubed chain, convert into highly lubricious, long chain wax/lubricant molecules right inside of your hot wax. Simply drop one square of StripChip into your hot melt wax, let it melt, then drop in your new factory chain and let it work its oleogelation magic.”
The only catch is that the StripChip needs a higher temperature than typical waxing (125ºC to 75ºC), which is where the new Silca Ultimate Chain Wax System comes in. Calling it the “first bicycle chain optimized, temperature adjustable wax system (75-125ºC / 167-257ºF)”, the device has a 600ml pot, chain hanging coupler, and a drip stand.
When used with the StripChip, you simply add 400g of wax with one square of StripChip, and set the temp to 125ºC and you’re done. The StripChip will work with Crockpots and Instant Pots, though Silca says they must be carefully monitored for temperature, stating ” the standard Crockpot Low is 90-110ºC, which is below the oleogelation temperature, and standard Crockpot High is 150-160ºC which is right at the over-temperature point of the oloeogelator and risks long term damage to the wax. If using the product with a double boiler, Crockpot, or Instant Pot, we recommend using a thermometer and carefully ensuring that the wax never exceeds 130ºC.” Also, note that this process is for new factory-lubricated chains only. Silca does not recommend using StripChip on used chains that weren’t originally waxed.
Available now, the StripChip sells for $24 for a brick of 6 chips. One chip is used for 400g of wax, and the wax still in the pot is reusable for future waxings, so 6 chips should last you a while.
The Chain Waxing System is available for $99 and only includes the wax warmer pot, drip stand, and cable coupler. It does not include any wax or the StripChip.
