Nice video Vladamir. I currently have the same Dura-Ace CN-HG901 11 speed chain which i initially stripped and hot waxed in standard paraffin/teflon mixture and subsequently every, 200, 300, 700 and 800km. I have currently done 5820km and measure the chain the simple Parktool 50-75 method and the chain is still not reached 50% worn. Amazing! ..its still running whisper quite and smooth. In the past ive used KMC and Ultegra chains and both have not taken well to wax and I managed only 4500km on each. Very impressed with the Dura-Ace CN-HG901 chain so im keen to see far i can take the chain before reaching 75% worn.
Good video- Never seen that "Campagnolo" method before.... I changed my drivetrain to a new 105 but added a Dura-Ace chain (from reputable supplier, not fake). I use ProGold Prolink lube and have never tried waxing. My Park CC 3.2 checker is showing almost 0.5% wear(cleaned chain, on the rollers, pushed apart from each other?) after just 1250km in only dry weather. I've degreased it (chain scrubber on the bike)at 400km intervals and after each ride I wipe it down completely until the rags are clean before relubing and it doesn't ever sound "gritty" when twisted... So earlier I tried the old method of measuring 12" and seeing if it had the extra 1/16" of wear and it doesn't- it's still bang on 12" so there is no pin wear visible from this method. Can you advise what "ballpark" number I should be seeing for 0.5% wear using the Campag method - should you take 132.34 x 1.005 so 133.00mm would be 0.5% wear??? Don't know whether to change the chain soon or not as my chain looks ok for pin wear but maybe not so for roller.... I'm away from home at this time and don't have access to my vernier calipers to check that 132+ measurement... Everyone seems to say pin wear is more critical for damaging the rest of the drivetrain??
1. Yes, for a zero point of ~132.34 your calculation of 0.5% combined wear is right, ~133.0 2. While away from the tool-kit, just trust your CC 3.2 3. Dura-Ace chains tend to show more roller wear and less elongation, like Campag chains. So, the ruler (“12”) and hanging methods are not good for these chains. Will mention this in the future videos. 4. Switch to waxing whenever possible, it’s just another world 😀 PS And thanks for you detailed story!
@@ZavyalovCycling I want to try the waxing but not sure about where I live- Scotland...I could see in warm, dry, sunny climates it would be perfect but maybe not so here as it's usually the opposite of that! I am however thinking of trying it on my Kickr setup this winter- the bike on it is only used indoors so a waxed chain may last a long time and never get truly dirty like outside. I'm concerned about this Dura Ace chain because I also have a KTM E-MTB and on that I can get 1600km of harsh all weather off road use in the mountains here, only ever a wipe down and relube, using the "SRAM EX-1" (10 speed, but changed at 0.5% using CC 3.2) chains. That's with all the additional power of a motor not just my output (similar to yours but with 91kg ha ha!).... I have 3 new Ultegra chains on order but maybe I should run a 10 or 11 speed e-bike chain on the 105?? It's a thought...chains must be stronger and I don't really care about a few more grammes...
@@Bazza1968 Waxing is actually really good in wet weather because it doesn't cling to a lot of road grit. However, it does get washed off quite a bit quicker. Another note: lower 8-9 speed chains, and especially 7 speed chains, can tolerate more damaging wear and tear than higher speed components because of looser tolerances.
@@neutronpcxt372 This 11 speed is the first I've owned (upgraded from Sora), most of my previous bikes have been 9spd or lower. Only 10 speed is the E-MTB EX1 (it's 8 speed drivetrain built to 10 speed parts/tolerances to reduce cross chaining effects, like ditching 2 gears) and my 10spd Tiagra 4600 winter bike I built up. I was playing with that bike and put a tourney 46/30 crankset on it which is 7/8 spd and by gently dropping from 46>30 you can get the chain to ride in the space between the chainrings..., not good, clearly designed for wider chains of lower speeds- and there's an FSA Tempo Adventure 46/30 coming from Germany that's going on the bike before it's used. Lower speed chains may be heavier, more robust but they are also surely more prone to shedding the wax/lube simply because they are much slacker built in every sense...???
@@Bazza1968 If I were you in Scotland, I'd still try waxing. I have a CX bike which I use mostly for dusty and rainy rides. These conditions surely accelerate wear, but I still get over 5000 kms. But your land is your land, and you know better what to go for 😎
im seeing fantastic mileage with kmc chains and immersing in candle wax /paraffin approx 50/50 ratio. theres actually no need to separately clean a new chain as paraffin is an excellent solvent
@@neutronpcxt372 thats a baseless assumption. how do you know. have you tested it. i would argue the amounts are so miniscule that the differences would be undetectable.
@@andy-the-gardener Zero Friction cycling has tested it. The differences are not negligible, but they are small of the performance front. On the durability front however, additives like tungsten disulphide do provide some nice durability benefits.
@@neutronpcxt372 i dont think he has. i discussed it with him and he was unaware paraffin was a solvent. i suggesting running tests but he did not reply to my knowledge. after researching what i said about paraffin, he broadly agreed with me that paraffin was indeed a solvent (as good as white spirit, gasolene etc). on my part, i agreed that to run accurate tests, the grease should be removed. the point is, that for the average joe, the paraffin itself will remove the grease, and it simply becomes part of the solution, and is not necesarily a bad thing anyway
I'm sure this is great, however rewaxing every 200 mi will cause you to rewax a total of 50 (!) times (50*200=10.000 mi). Do you really want to do that, to save on chains? The 901 chain is expensive, but its not THAT bad at around 42 euros. Assuming you could prolong chain life from 2000 to 10.000 mi, you would gain 8000 mi or save 4 chains in 10.000 mi. 4*42 = 168E total saving on chains. That's 168/50 = 3,4E pr rewax. The 601 chain is 1/2 the price and you would likely save less the 2E pr rewax. Im thinking I would just buy more chains 🙂
It's not too bad when you wax 3 chains at once and after rain you don't have to get all the crunchy sand out from the chain because it can't get there. But the best part for me is how clean everything is, no more separating oily and clean parts on the bike, everything is clean.
I agree the cost of the chain does not warrant waxing. But, I wax (once every ~300 miles, riding in dry/clean conditions), and I don't find it to be a big deal. I have a crock pot next to my bike stand, while watching tv, I pop it off, wax it, and put it back on. It takes a while for the wax to heat up, but that does not involve any work, and the actual waxing is super fast... maybe 5 minutes of my time total... much faster than washing the bike! I really like the feel/quiet of a waxed chain. I also like not being covered in oil every time I touch it. The fact that it extends chain life and improved performance is just a bonus. I would actually be more curious about how much it extends cassette life (ie, if you buy a new chain every 2k miles, vs using a waxed one. I imagine running fairly new chains most of the time is good, but the waxed chain will pick up less dirt and grind the cassette less...)
Good stuff, thanks for the info!
Welcome, thanks for the feedback!
Nice video Vladamir. I currently have the same Dura-Ace CN-HG901 11 speed chain which i initially stripped and hot waxed in standard paraffin/teflon mixture and subsequently every, 200, 300, 700 and 800km. I have currently done 5820km and measure the chain the simple Parktool 50-75 method and the chain is still not reached 50% worn. Amazing! ..its still running whisper quite and smooth. In the past ive used KMC and Ultegra chains and both have not taken well to wax and I managed only 4500km on each. Very impressed with the Dura-Ace CN-HG901 chain so im keen to see far i can take the chain before reaching 75% worn.
Amazingly, these Dura-Ace chains are long lasting! 😀 While it would be natural to expect just the opposite, George, true 👍 Keep calm and wax on 😎
Because the DuraAce chain is SilTec treated at the factory
Good video- Never seen that "Campagnolo" method before.... I changed my drivetrain to a new 105 but added a Dura-Ace chain (from reputable supplier, not fake). I use ProGold Prolink lube and have never tried waxing. My Park CC 3.2 checker is showing almost 0.5% wear(cleaned chain, on the rollers, pushed apart from each other?) after just 1250km in only dry weather. I've degreased it (chain scrubber on the bike)at 400km intervals and after each ride I wipe it down completely until the rags are clean before relubing and it doesn't ever sound "gritty" when twisted... So earlier I tried the old method of measuring 12" and seeing if it had the extra 1/16" of wear and it doesn't- it's still bang on 12" so there is no pin wear visible from this method. Can you advise what "ballpark" number I should be seeing for 0.5% wear using the Campag method - should you take 132.34 x 1.005 so 133.00mm would be 0.5% wear???
Don't know whether to change the chain soon or not as my chain looks ok for pin wear but maybe not so for roller.... I'm away from home at this time and don't have access to my vernier calipers to check that 132+ measurement... Everyone seems to say pin wear is more critical for damaging the rest of the drivetrain??
1. Yes, for a zero point of ~132.34 your calculation of 0.5% combined wear is right, ~133.0
2. While away from the tool-kit, just trust your CC 3.2
3. Dura-Ace chains tend to show more roller wear and less elongation, like Campag chains. So, the ruler (“12”) and hanging methods are not good for these chains. Will mention this in the future videos.
4. Switch to waxing whenever possible, it’s just another world 😀
PS And thanks for you detailed story!
@@ZavyalovCycling I want to try the waxing but not sure about where I live- Scotland...I could see in warm, dry, sunny climates it would be perfect but maybe not so here as it's usually the opposite of that! I am however thinking of trying it on my Kickr setup this winter- the bike on it is only used indoors so a waxed chain may last a long time and never get truly dirty like outside. I'm concerned about this Dura Ace chain because I also have a KTM E-MTB and on that I can get 1600km of harsh all weather off road use in the mountains here, only ever a wipe down and relube, using the "SRAM EX-1" (10 speed, but changed at 0.5% using CC 3.2) chains. That's with all the additional power of a motor not just my output (similar to yours but with 91kg ha ha!).... I have 3 new Ultegra chains on order but maybe I should run a 10 or 11 speed e-bike chain on the 105?? It's a thought...chains must be stronger and I don't really care about a few more grammes...
@@Bazza1968 Waxing is actually really good in wet weather because it doesn't cling to a lot of road grit.
However, it does get washed off quite a bit quicker.
Another note: lower 8-9 speed chains, and especially 7 speed chains, can tolerate more damaging wear and tear than higher speed components because of looser tolerances.
@@neutronpcxt372 This 11 speed is the first I've owned (upgraded from Sora), most of my previous bikes have been 9spd or lower. Only 10 speed is the E-MTB EX1 (it's 8 speed drivetrain built to 10 speed parts/tolerances to reduce cross chaining effects, like ditching 2 gears) and my 10spd Tiagra 4600 winter bike I built up. I was playing with that bike and put a tourney 46/30 crankset on it which is 7/8 spd and by gently dropping from 46>30 you can get the chain to ride in the space between the chainrings..., not good, clearly designed for wider chains of lower speeds- and there's an FSA Tempo Adventure 46/30 coming from Germany that's going on the bike before it's used. Lower speed chains may be heavier, more robust but they are also surely more prone to shedding the wax/lube simply because they are much slacker built in every sense...???
@@Bazza1968 If I were you in Scotland, I'd still try waxing. I have a CX bike which I use mostly for dusty and rainy rides. These conditions surely accelerate wear, but I still get over 5000 kms. But your land is your land, and you know better what to go for 😎
im seeing fantastic mileage with kmc chains and immersing in candle wax /paraffin approx 50/50 ratio. theres actually no need to separately clean a new chain as paraffin is an excellent solvent
Note that doing this doesn't give you all the performance or absolute maximum durability, but it does get you a good way there.
@@neutronpcxt372 thats a baseless assumption. how do you know. have you tested it. i would argue the amounts are so miniscule that the differences would be undetectable.
@@andy-the-gardener Zero Friction cycling has tested it. The differences are not negligible, but they are small of the performance front.
On the durability front however, additives like tungsten disulphide do provide some nice durability benefits.
@@neutronpcxt372 i dont think he has. i discussed it with him and he was unaware paraffin was a solvent. i suggesting running tests but he did not reply to my knowledge. after researching what i said about paraffin, he broadly agreed with me that paraffin was indeed a solvent (as good as white spirit, gasolene etc). on my part, i agreed that to run accurate tests, the grease should be removed. the point is, that for the average joe, the paraffin itself will remove the grease, and it simply becomes part of the solution, and is not necesarily a bad thing anyway
Интересный концепт, как то даже и не думал использовать штангенциркуль. Спасибо за идею
Валерий, идея не моя 😀 Просто было интересно собрать и сравнить основные ходовые методы замера износа велоцепей.
What is the Campag measurement number for a new Connex chain.
I'm sure this is great, however rewaxing every 200 mi will cause you to rewax a total of 50 (!) times (50*200=10.000 mi). Do you really want to do that, to save on chains? The 901 chain is expensive, but its not THAT bad at around 42 euros. Assuming you could prolong chain life from 2000 to 10.000 mi, you would gain 8000 mi or save 4 chains in 10.000 mi. 4*42 = 168E total saving on chains. That's 168/50 = 3,4E pr rewax. The 601 chain is 1/2 the price and you would likely save less the 2E pr rewax. Im thinking I would just buy more chains 🙂
It's not too bad when you wax 3 chains at once and after rain you don't have to get all the crunchy sand out from the chain because it can't get there.
But the best part for me is how clean everything is, no more separating oily and clean parts on the bike, everything is clean.
I agree the cost of the chain does not warrant waxing. But, I wax (once every ~300 miles, riding in dry/clean conditions), and I don't find it to be a big deal. I have a crock pot next to my bike stand, while watching tv, I pop it off, wax it, and put it back on. It takes a while for the wax to heat up, but that does not involve any work, and the actual waxing is super fast... maybe 5 minutes of my time total... much faster than washing the bike!
I really like the feel/quiet of a waxed chain. I also like not being covered in oil every time I touch it. The fact that it extends chain life and improved performance is just a bonus.
I would actually be more curious about how much it extends cassette life (ie, if you buy a new chain every 2k miles, vs using a waxed one. I imagine running fairly new chains most of the time is good, but the waxed chain will pick up less dirt and grind the cassette less...)