I’ve done a couple of chains now and they seem to get noisy really quick!
I’m pretty sure they were stripped correctly. I’m worried that the smaller tolerances on the 12-speed AXS chain make it so the wax goes away quickly.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Another question: What’s the difference between the Force AXS and Red AXS chain? Competitive Cyclist says 9 grams and $35.
Molten Speed Wax. I’m a pro at waxing 11 speed chains and 12 speed eagle.
Here’s another question, does anyone have SRAM AXS and notice a loud chain? I can hear it more in the 3 and 9 o’clock positions when I’m putting out power. It’s almost like the “whoosh whoosh whoosh” you get from a disc but not in a cool way since it’s my chain 
.
Clearly a case of too much power Nate.
I know that Dan from Premier Bike have said at slowtwitch that they use Wipperman chains for their waxed chains because of the tighter tolerances those are manafactured to. However, Premier disassembles the chain and polishes every individual part, making the chain looser. He has said on that forum that a Wipperman chain that has not been treated in this way is not suitable for waxing, as there simply isn’t enough room for the wax. I don’t know about the AXS chains, but this sounds like something similar?
This is what I’m afraid of and it makes sense since 12 speed has to make everything tighter.
I’m waiting for official data, but I read somewhere else that it looks like the smaller front chain rings and the 10 tooth cog makes the whole thing take up more watts.
I wish they would have done bigger chain rings and gone to 11 in the front.
@Nate_Pearson Sorry to hear about your chain noise. I have the AXS setup on my new S-Works Tarmac and have found the chain/drive train similar, if not slightly quieter than, the Di2 setup I have on my Roubaix. I don’t use wax, but rather I use Purple Extreme - a great all around lubricant recommended/sold by Cognition, [I believe] Specialized’s largest retailer in NorCal.
Your note reminded me to clean my bike after the the dirt it accumulated at Sea Otter. I took a few short videos if you are interested (LMK and I will post)
a. cleaned without lube (no rider)
b.cleaned and lubed with Purple Extreme (no rider)
c. mounted on dumb trainer using Kinetic thru axle adapter (highly recommend) with me as a rider (but no serious power, just soft pedaling)
On a related note: I loved having the 12 speed cassette for the Hennnekens and Barloy climb. That extra gear made the climbs “more tolerable” :).
Thanks Bob, and congrats on your result! You did really well, and when you throw in that was your first road race and you were 10 years older than the next closest guy you did outstanding!
Just curious. How long are you leaving your chain in the wax? I had noise on a chain and rewaxed it but left it in longer and it sounds great. I’m thinking the longer time in the heat can expand the parts a bit and allow the wax to get to those tough areas.
Thanks Nate!
Overall, I was very pleased. And it was a blast! As I am not time limited, I was able to do SSB MVI and MVII and layer on top of that Tim Cusick’s progressive interval protocol to increase my fatigue resistance [TTE] from mid 30s to 1hr 4mins. That was really key.
However, I did very little VO2Max work (often substituting longer TiZ SS, Threshold & O/U work for VO2 work) and hence got handedly dropped on the Hennekens climb. My plan is to add VO2/NM work in the build phase but maintain, if not build on, fatigue resistance gains. Perhaps eventually, I could hang with leaders on a punchy ride like Sea Otter.
Congratulations to you as well on your rapid rise through the categories and race results! Impressive power #s and racing skills!
Pretty long, but I just left one in the wax for 4 hours so hopefully this new chain will be 
.
I am keen to see how this works out… Or any further information on waxing AXS chains. I don’t have AXS yet, I am just waiting a little longer before pulling the trigger on it. Waxing is something I was wondering about.
Well, yes. I guess your right, don’t know where I got the disassembling part from.
But the point still stands about tighter possibly chains being less suited for wax.
@Nate_Pearson, have you considered trying to reduce the viscosity of the melted wax (or incresace, I can never remember which way that goes)? Basicly try to make the liquid thinner. I don’t know how adding parrafin oil would affect that, but it’s worth a shot?
For this last chain, I did it twice. Once at 3 hours and once at 4 hours.
Someone in the industry told me to put it in an ultrasonic cleaner. That what they have to do with track chains since there are such tight tolerances. He thinks I just need to get my wax hotter and shake it around more and I should be good to go.
Sounds like you need two heated ultrasonic cleaners. One to actually do the cleaning, and one to do the waxing
Is there an ultrasonic cleaner thread yet? What are you guys using?
At least one listed via TR in the main waxing thread.
And this.
Blockquote
Thank you Sir!
I’ve been waxing chains with paraffin since the early 90s. Molten speed wax had a couple of easy to obtain extras but is basically the same thing. The truth is, it doesn’t last long no matter how clean you get it. I get the wax pretty hot using a hot pad (just starting to smoke) and it seems to work better.
Someone else in the industry told me that when they wax track chains with very small tolerances they have to get the wax very hot in order for it to penetrate.