Wend Wax – The New Kid On The Chain Wax Block

A good chain lube should do a lot of things. It should keep your drivetrain moving smoothly and quiet, and should also help reduce friction. There are many types and brands to choose from, but paraffin waxing is an old school method that has made a comeback in recent years. These modern waxes add additional compounds to the wax, and are regarded as some of the most efficient lubes methods out there. The down side is they are usually don’t last as long as liquid lubes, are time consuming, and messy when applying, but there is a reason why this process gives some of the best results, its ability to penetrate deep into the moving parts of the chain. Wend Wax, a well-known brand in the snow sports world, has brought their wax technologies over to the bike industry to make a chain wax that they claim is easy to apply, performs better and lasts longer than traditional paraffin waxing. We received a sample of their Chain Wax Kit, and have been running it on a number of bikes. Read on to hear what we think.

Wend has two main options for cyclists, stick or tub. In stick version, the circular tube could be mistaken for an under arm deodorant, and actually smells pretty good. With the tub, you can either apply by hand, or turn it into a self-contained waxing solution using a crockpot. More on that and some of their other products later.

Regardless of which option you choose, Wend’s Wax-On chain lube uses a paraffin base with proprietary friction reducers and lubricants that include Zinc and Teflon. The blend is made from hydrocarbons, making it biodegradable and safe for the environment. The kit also comes with their Wax-Off cleaner. The penetrating liquid cuts through wax, oil, and dirt to clean your chain, and has wax additives that aid in future lubrication of your chain.

Application using the stick is pretty simple. Whether you are starting with a brand new or used chain, you should give it and the rest of your drivetrain a good cleaning. For our test chains, I stripped the stock lube from SRAM, Shimano and KMC off the chains with an ultrasonic cleaner and degreaser to try and get down as close as I could to a naked chain. From there, I mounted them back on the bikes, grabbed the Wend Wax-On stick, turned it upside down and started spinning the chain backwards while pressing the wax into the bottom of the chain. After a few full trips of the chain around the drivetrain, I repeated the step, but with the wax on bottom of the chain.

After a few more spins of the chain to allow it to start to work in, I used my fingers to rub the wax in towards the rollers and clean off any excess from the drivetrain. Wend also notes that you can use a few drops of their Wax-Off to help the wax penetrate deeper into the chain, which I did. I tried to keep the sides of the chain clean, because the lubricant really needs to get into the rollers.

If you have the tub, the alternative method would be to drop the tub into a crockpot, turn up the heat to melt the wax, and drop your clean chain in. After allowing it to cook a few minutes, you can use something to swish it around a bit before pulling it out and letting it drip dry. Wend recommends laying it on a towel so that you can wipe off any excess wax from the side plates before reinstalling the chain. They sell a kit on their site that includes a slow cooker, Park Tool master link pliers, and a tub of their wax.

Before we go any further, I do want to highlight something. When lubing a chain, you are mainly trying to get the lubricant into the rollers of the chain. This is where the chain contacts the drivetrain under normal load (not shifting) and chain wear, or stretch, happens over time at the pins that hold everything together. Anywhere else that you lube, you are basically just inviting contamination. A trick I learned from former road and cyclocross pro Jessica Cutler was to drip one drop of lube on each roller. Yes, it is time consuming, but it doesn’t waste lube and it keeps your drivetrain cleaner, while focusing the lube where it needs to go.

So this brings up an interesting point about Wend’s Wax-On Stick. A concern I have is that not much of the wax is actually getting into the rollers of the chain. Being a solid, it seems as though it would have a hard time penetrating into such a tiny space. The Wax-Off could help to “melt” the wax a bit and get it deeper into the chain. It’s not quite as easy of a process as what Wend claims with using the stick only, but from my experience, it’s not that much extra work.

I’ve put a total of about 1,000 miles on 3 different chains using the wax since I received it. Two of the chains are on their first waxes with only about 150 miles each, while the third that has seen the most miles will be rewaxed for a third time before an upcoming race. The first waxing of this chain saw mainly dry, dusty conditions on roads and cinder rail trails. The white wax started to turn a darker color, which could be due to any remaining old lube from the drivetrain as I didn’t clean the cassette, chainrings, or jockey wheels as well as I could. The Wend Wax-On never really picked up a lot of grime from the road, which waxes typically will not. I’d say I got about 300 miles out of the first waxing, and probably could have gone a little longer, but I tend to be a bit OCD on cleaning my chain.

The second waxing didn’t last as long, but the bike also saw wet and gritty conditions of riding in the rain and on a wet cinder trail. About 150 miles into the waxing, I hit about 30 minutes of downpours and flooding conditions while riding the trail and road. The wax held its own, and lasted another 100 or so miles, but the harsher conditions definitely shortened the life of the wax.

The third waxing is still going strong after another 100 or so miles, but since I like to have a fresh bike for a race, the chain and drive train will be cleaned and relubed before the race.

One thing that I noticed with all of the applications is some build up in the jockey wheels and cassette locking cap on the first ride. I wiped these areas clean after the first ride, and the build up was minimal thereafter.

What I did notice is a smooth feeling, quiet drivetrain that was definitely cleaner than other lubes I’ve used. The Wend Wax-On didn’t pick up the road grime that other liquid lubricants typically do. I didn’t notice any chain wear that was out of the ordinary, but will continue to monitor and will update if I notice anything. I am hoping to be able to try the hot melt method of waxing with Wend in the future and will update if I find a difference.

Wax-On and Wax-Off are available individually or as a kit. To add a bit of pop to your bike, Wend also released their colored versions of the Wax-On stick and tub. For a small uncharge, six day-glo colors are available to brighten up your chain.

Wax-On Stick – $22-25

Wax-On Tub – $56

Pocket Wax – $7-18

Chain Wax Kit – $30-33

Hot Melt Wax Kit (10oz tub, crockpot, Park Tool masterlink pliers) – $90

Factory Waxed Chain (with free socks) – $100

https://wendperformance.com