How to lube bike chains with candle wax
After a few of weeks of riding YBN halflinks, it snapped, as expected. Although I did not expect it to for at least a couple more months. That’s considering that I don’t ride hard at all. As I am determined to not get sucked back into spending a lot of moolah on yet another hobby, I had to make use of what I have. So I resurrected an abused KMC set I had lying around the bike parts bin. Rusty and old but the overall integrity seems intact.
I remember reading a few years back about using wax to lube chains. At that time, I didn’t really put much thought into it but now seems to be the perfect time.
Ingredients:
– Chain
– Pencil
– Light oil lubricant
– Stove/burner
– Candle wax
I know candle wax is not really the type of wax used for lubrication. That’s the reason I’ve added graphite and an oil based lube to the mixture. By theory, once the wax wears off, graphite and oil should stay. Well, at least I hope so. I estimate my formula to be 80% candle wax, 10% oil, and 10% graphite.
Gather the materials and make sure you’re in a well-ventilated location and wear ample protection (gloves and googles).
Pre-heat the container. Put the wax in, add the other mixtures and dip your chain. There goes your shinny sticky newly lubed chain! Now ride your bike you silly monkeys.
Disclaimer: One important part of the process prior to dipping your chain is to make sure it’s clean. What I did was to first soak it on DOT 3 brake fluid inside a Ziploc bag for a few days. Clean afterwards with soap and water. Then remove excess water with cloth. I left it hanging outside to dry further.
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