Gearlube hot melt wax tested and approved by CYCLING STORY

Maximum efficiency with minimum effort. Some lubricants promise you unprecedented returns. This is often all a bit exaggerated. Nevertheless, we see that waxing products are gradually gaining the upper hand. A lesser-known variant is the so-called hot wax. And when a Belgian producer with hot wax comes onto the market, we like to take a closer look. So it's time to try out Gearlube's hot wax thoroughly.

Luc Vandevenne

There's no getting around it: cycling is expensive. A good bike costs quite a bit of money and there are still the parts. It is therefore important to keep the wear and tear as low as possible. Chain and sprockets suffer during our weekly ride. Sometimes it's dust, other times it's water and dirt. So good lubrication is the message. However, the choice between lubricants is large. One lubricates fantastically but is washed away at the slightest rain shower. Another one stays in place, but catches a lot of dirt. Cleaning, drying and lubricating well after the ride is therefore the message.

Wax lubrication is on the rise

A few years ago, we saw how wax gradually took over from oil. Less mess, thanks to the additives, good lubrication and less accumulation of dirt. Everyone has seen the mass of grease that sometimes accumulates on the pulleys on their own bike or someone else's. The combination of oil and dirt transforms the best lubricant into an abrasive product. And that's not only on your pulleys, but also inside your chain. This results in higher wear of the rollers and lengthening of the chain. As a result, it no longer runs correctly on cassette and gears and is therefore less efficient. Not to mention additional wear and tear.

When a manufacturer claims to increase the efficiency of a chain and reduce wear, we want to experience this first-hand. Hot waxing had already caught our attention a few times. Instead of basting the chain with wax, dip them in the hot wax and let them infuse. In this way, the small gaps between rollers and chain links are completely filled with wax. The layer of wax on the outside ensures that dirt cannot penetrate and therefore the chain wears less.

Waxing

One of the websites we follow on Youtube is Zero Friction Cycling. During tests, they saw that hot-waxed chains save up to 8 watts and show much less wear than conventional chains. They are big fans of hot wax. There are not that many producers of hot wax, but the Belgian Gearlube is one. Gearlube prides itself on developing its own product. We were therefore very curious to put this to the test and went to work ourselves. We specifically opted for the Pro version, which uses Tungsten as an lubrication additive. This is a metal with low friction, a very high melting point and very high anti-corrosion properties. During the process, the warm wax distributes itself between all the small openings and pores, placing a layer of Tungsten on the rollers and links. The outer layer protects the chain from dirt and water.

We do recommend doing the whole process with a new chain. This way, the protection works optimally because you avoid that dirt has already crept into the chain, which is then just kept in by the wax. After all, that is the opposite of what is intended. The whole process of hot waxing is simple. Before we wax the chain, we clean it thoroughly. We remove the storage grease on the outside with a degreaser, but afterwards we dip the chain in a jar of pure alcohol to clean the inside of the chain and remove the residue of the degreaser.

Slow cooker or wax heater

In the meantime, we put the blocks of wax that Gearlube gave us in a slow cooker. There are appliances specially designed for hot wax, but a simple slow cooker of 25 euros will also do the job. We attach the chain to an old spoke, the end of which we have folded into a hook. The Tungsten wax tablets are black, so you won't see the chain at the bottom of the bowl. We also keep the Quick Links separate. When they are covered with a layer of wax, it is possible that they no longer fit together cleanly and that it is therefore difficult to place the chain.

From the moment you dip the chain in the hot wax, you will see air bubbles escaping. That will stop after some time, but you can safely leave the chain in the wax for a while so that it can get into all the nooks and crannies. Afterwards we take the chain out of the wax and hang it somewhere to cool down. However, when the chain is cold, it is completely stiff and you need to make it flexible again. To do this, we pull the chain along a brush handle a few times until the wax surface is broken. Then we mount the chain and set off to break in the chain. After about 20 km everything feels smooth and the chain is ready for several thousand kilometers. Of course, the wax will disappear from the chain, but Gearlube has provided an additional jar of liquid wax for that. We apply it every 100 km.

Belgian and EU Gravel championship

In the meantime, we have covered a good 3,000 km with the new chain and she has digested the Belgian/European Gravel Championships, among other things. After each race or training ride, we simply rubbed off the chain and applied some liquid wax. The chain has hardly suffered and the wear is minimal. While we used to be able to notice a clear wear and tear around 3,000 km and started thinking about a replacement, that replacement seems to be far from being an issue. In terms of wear, the Gearlube hot wax easily beats the classic agents. But we also have no reason to complain in terms of efficiency and shifting. At no point does it seem that the chain does not rotate smoothly and the shifting even seems slightly better to us. Even under load, the chain quickly goes from small to large or vice versa, while it seems to be just a little quieter and always remains clean.

In short, for us, this test has been a complete success. The wear is clearly less and cassette and gears also benefit. Of course, we can only guess about the efficiency, but in our opinion the chain certainly does not run worse, but just a little quieter. While shifting gears is a tap smoother. In the meantime we repeated the whole process and waxed the chain again. After all, with the amount you are sent, you will arrive several times. Afterwards, you simply order a new cube, so that there is enough laundry in your slow cooker for a few subsequent turns.

Translated from the original Dutch article.