Hey Josh! Very excited to get hands on soon. Will chat to you more on this via email - but just for viewers as well - the main test protocol can be altered for products if needed with regards to re application intervals. This has not needed to be done very often, but it can be done on request / or of the standard intervals will exceed a products treatment lifespan. There is no point testing in the main test at the standard intervals if that will exceed treatment longevity, as then we are not assessing that products performance. Ie if a product has an expected treatment longevity of 200km due to being focused on ultimate speed, then re lube / re wax intervals can be shortened to stay within mfg claims. Such was done for UFO drip V1 which had a recommended treatment lifespan of 200km dry road, and also for Tru-Tension Tungsten race, and the more frequent re lube intervals is noted on the test result and detail review. Basically testing a product outside of its design brief is pointless - its like taking a ferrari to a 4wd track and calling it a crap car. So there will be no issues re shortening intervals in main test for speed chip to match mfg recommendations. Very rarely this is also done the other way. Rex Black Diamond Drip lube the mfg requested it to be lubricated only ONCE per 1000km clean block, and only twice during the 1000km contamination blocks - due to that products exceptional treatment longevity, and it tested very well overall despite the much less re application amount vs normal protocol. However as key attribute and marketing claim is its treatment longevity, testing at standard protocol would not have backed this claim. In short - will discuss any adjustments to the standard protocol for speed / endurance chip you wish to make - as this is then covered in the detail review etc.
Next nice development would be antirust additives to the dripwax, for all of us who don't really need marginal gains but just want longevity and practicality.
It'd be nice to have a silca wax pot v2 with interchangeable "pots" if you have several bikes/chains with differents needs i.e a race bike/chain that needs speed chip and a gravel/training bike/chain that needs longevity instead. Right now I know of no easy way to do this apart from having two cookers which I find a bit annoying...
Soon as the speed chip came out, that was what I wanted too - extra pots. I would definitely purchase 4 pots, and label them/so would be great if they came with some sort of label system. BUT for those of us who bought Silca Wax Pot V1, is there a way you could make inserts that go in what we already have? We'd need to use up what we have or melt and toss and but soon as the chips came out (including Strip Chip) I was soooooooooo wishing the Silca Pot design had the next launch products in mind with its design - but thinking there's gotta be some way to make a metal insert that would fit (even if it means the heat needs to go up a bit to heat the inner pot adequately - no idea! BUT GREAT COMMENT FROM BeckyK!
Once the wax in the pot has cooled and hardened it can easily be removed. Flip the pot upside down over a clean surface and turn the pot on. Within 15sec or so the wax "puck" will drop out cleanly and in one piece.
Thank you for the explanation videos! I enjoy the technical nature of the content, even if I don’t plan on buying every variant of your product. The comparisons make it easy to decide which product is the right one for my style of riding. Keep up the good work.
8:34 I'm sure you're aware and researching this exact thing. But if there were compounds available that *can* increase longevity for wet conditions by a significant enough margin, that would be great. If only for peace of mind. The stark falloff of performance and wear when the chain returns to dry (in the lubeless sense), accelerated massively by rain if I'm not mistaken, is the thing that scared me a little bit to make the switch to waxing. And in practise, I think I had chain noise return after 150 km a few times this winter. A wax or additive that ups the life between reapplications in wet conditions reliably to over 300 km would be great, the 15% of the endurance chip is alluring, but not quite there. Are there avenues that are explored right now that seem promising?
One of the main problems here is that from a performance and wear perspective, wax is absolutely the best performer in the wet.. look at ZFC data: zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/ and click the down arrow to look at 'Wear by Block' and you will see that for rainy test block 4, all of the top performers are hot wax, and SecretBlend is in first place at only 8% wear in the block (compared to something like RockNRoll Gold which shows 65% wear in the same block). So the challenge here is that when wax starts to fail it gets noisy and alerts you that its failing, while the other lube types especially wet lube, hide the fact that they've failed by remaining silent long after they are actually a problem. The reality is that for any lube, 150km of rain riding is more or less the limit. If you also look at Adam's notes on SingleApplication Longevity testing, he notes that wax lubes 'feel and sound dry and are not pleasurable to ride' more of less by the time they get halfway to the 'jump point' where the chain really begins to wear, and for wet lubes they often still sound ok well past the jump point.
@@SILCAVelo Yeah, I wish I could've told myself earlier what I tell people now, "if the upkeep of waxing seems daunting then you're not taking enough care with your drivetrain anyway". Only thing really that remains is the fear that if in my mind the wax is still good for a day, then suddenly there is rain and I go over that point where the graphs are steeply downhill. Whereas if it were dry I woudl not even have to think about topping up or rewaxing. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that for my usecase - bike courier, so intensive daily and all weather sea climate use, with unpredictable lengths - wax is still far superior. Not taking care of your oil lubed chain is certainly less strain on the mind sometimes, but you notice that quickly in the wallet. Taking some care of your oil lubed chain is as much hassle as taking perfect care of your waxed chain.
I also would like to see some product come out that adds a little rust resistance to the mix. I primarily ride in extremely dusty conditions, but there are occasional river crossings on many of the mtb trails. I know that is an extreme condition. If, however, I just make it home in time to get to work, I might not have time to re-wax, even though I won't ride it again until I do re-wax or switch chains. It would be nice if there was a little more rust protection for a day or two. I definitely see a need for this for commuting to work also. If you ride a bike to work and it rains, the bike sits for 12 hours, and then you go home. The chain could have already started to rust.
As per Adam a 0FC I'm using 2 chains each for my (mountain bike, Road Bike, and Gravel Bike) with a year in no wear at all. I can clean then rewax in 10 minutes. My question is what or how would waxing your bottom bracket bearings as opposed to using grease? Are you looking into a way to wax your bearings in tungsten disulfide etc...? i.e. use a tough wax to seal out dirt from the bottom bracket. ???
This will still be condition dependent, but 2 endurance chips should more or less double the duration of the wax life, so if you were getting 300km before, you can expect more like 600km now, and if you are say riding MTB is sloppy conditions and getting 100km before, you can probably expect more like 200km now.
@@SILCAVelo But what Josh said in the Wet Weather Performance chapter of this video is that a single endurance chip will give us 60% - 80% increase in longevity in DRY conditions but only about a 15% increase in WET conditions. Not sure the math supports that two chips will DOUBLE the wax life in wet weather.
Love your products and use many of them and will be buying a couple of EnduranceChips once in stock for UK delivery. Every release though does seem to produce a ton of questions, valid at that, that ideally really should be addressed in more thorough Q&A on your website. I'm sure a little less misinformation and confusion on potential customer's behalfs in using your products, either as stand alone SKUs or in conjunctiion with one another, would be helpful for everyone.
I think this is actually a quite interesting question to understand the whole lifecycle around the SS Blend: e.g. 1/2 bag with strip chip in one liner for the first application and another 1/2 bag with [speed|endurance] chip blends in a second liner? This is a question I have also due to the whole extra heat needed with the strip chip since it kinda concerns me what will it do to clean, let's say, 6 new chains over time. Is the wax used to strip factory grease still in ok condition?
Hi Josh - the graphic on your site says that Chain Blend + 1 Speed Chip is approx 10 hours of riding, BUT since all your other instructions and videos talk miles/kilometers and not hours, would you all be willing to list miles/kilometers for the wax additives too? Just would be super helpful since that's the data point you've taught us to use and easier to get that number quickly in my workouts lists. Additinally the wax additive formulation graphic on your site is impossible to read. Can you make a larger version or one that increases resolutions when made bigger: I want to take a screen shot of it, but when I increase the size, it gets very blurry. Thank you so much - LOVE ALL YOUR PRODUCTS, PODCASTS and VIDEOS! P.S. I also want to DITTO the comment from BeckyK who said is there way the hot wax system you just created could come with extra pots so we can label of formulations and just swap between them?
Can you start making more swag? From silca product I'm just using drip on wax, I don't care about performance too much, I just wax in normal parfin wax with WS2. But I would like shiet with `Wax chain mafia` text or something like that :)
Hi Josh, for those of us who use the dripwax in between hotwaxes, I'm assuming the additives (especially speedchip I assume) aren't as "profitable" if we consider that we're remplacing the wax+additive combination with just "regular" Silca wax. What's your take/reflexion on this? thanks.
If I use the Super Secret drip wax to top up the Endurance blend will I still get benefit from the better adherence of the base layer even with the drip wax on top? This probably tips the balance for me using wax in the UK winter months.
Hey Josh, what’s the ideal chain waxing strategy for a mountainbike marathon racer? When I won the 4-day Alpentour Trophy stage race in Austria this year, I prepped my almost-new chain with Silca Chain Stripper and waxed it using Silca Secret Chain Blend in the Silca Wax Melter. Thanks to the good weather, the chain lasted through all four stages without any maintenance. However, after using my wax melter just once for a StripChip on a new chain for my sister, I noticed a significant drop in the wax’s durability. Instead of lasting four races, it now only lasts for one or two races in good weather. Could this be the reason? If so, I might switch back to using the Chain Stripper, or consider using one melter for StripChip and a separate Silca Wax Melter for regular Secret Chain Blend applications. I’m also considering whether to get the Silca Wax Melter with the Endurance Chip. For racing, though, I don’t see much benefit - since the chip might sacrifice some performance and doesn’t offer enough extra durability for tough conditions like rain or mud. But for the chains on my training bikes, it could be worth considering. A dedicated Silca Wax Melter for speed wax in good weather and single-day mountainbike races seems like a sensible option. I’m a bit torn, as none of these are “keep it simple” strategies, but on the other hand, every watt counts for me.
someone might think that now instead of 30 km/h they will drive 40 km/h at the same power and in the same conditions, but the difference is actually so great that in practice it is not even noticeable
Hi @silcavelo, should I go by KM or hours to cap the maximum usage with 2x speedchips and 250gr of wax? My events are ~3h and ~130km long, so should I go 2x or 1.5x speedchip?
Squirt contains paraffin oil that will break down hot wax and also attracts dirt and gunk, so we don't recommend mixing it with any of our products. SecretBlend + SpeedChip will be fastest, and you can top off with SuperSecret without any negative performance effects.
I managed to grab some before it was sold out. I have the Silca wax set up - how would i be able to switch between speed chip and endurance? I have an event coming up and would use the speed chip but then it will be endurance for training. Should I start with speed chip then add endurance after the event?
In the user manual it states that both the SC and EC are for 1 chain. How does that work? I add the chip to the hot melt wax and then insert the chain to the mix. I can wax several chains like that, so it's not for single chain?! Also what happens when the mixture hardens and I heat it up next time. Has the Chip vaporized?
If one of the main uses of the drop wax is to add longevity to the original hot waxing, why not create a drip wax with the endurance wax added to increase the miles til a re-hot wax is needed?
I purchased the Silca wax system in April and appreciate how easy it is to use. I have a 'bowl' full of wax of unknown mass that I top off occasionally to replenish wax deposited on the chain during the waxing process. What does that imply for an endurance chip, would I break one in half and add it to the 'bowl' full of secret blend? Another unrelated question is would you recommend waxing shifter cables and what would recommended immersion time be? Bike is modern MTB 1x12, GX Eagle.
If I may throw an idea out to you . . . I also use and LOVE the Silca wax system. Not sure what Josh would say but I'd hazard a guess that your shift cables don't work or are as stressed anywhere NEAR what your chain is subjected to so I think if there IS any advantage to waxing your cables, it would be minimal at best but I can't see a downside, frankly, The only caution I'd suggest is that if you go ahead and wax your shift cables, I'd strip the wax off where they are secured by the bolt at the derailleurs otherwise they might slip. Immersion time would be the same as the chain - over time could never hurt anyway :-) Happy and safe riding !
What about different temperatures? What would you recommend for riding in -10c, 0c, 10c, 20c, 30, And 40c? Would you give them different mixes for any of the temperature ranges?
Already have Secret Blend with a Strip Chip in the Silca wax pot. Would like to try the Endurance chip - can I just add that to the pot, or is it recommended to do that to a fresh batch of Secret Blend?
1) Do these additives need any special temperatures (and so require a temperature controlled pot) or can they be thrown into standard slow cooker as well? 2) For cyclocross racing (~3 hours of riding including the course recon, warm up and the actual race) with some mud and wet conditions, would you rather add a SpeedChip or an EnduranceChip (or keep the wax stock) for optimal performance?
For our pro CX racers we warmup/recon, etc with endurance chip and then switch to speedchip chain for the main event which ensures you're on the fastest possible chain for the race, but you could easily do 3 hours of riding in these conditions with any of the wax combinations without big negative implications.
If the wax has a yellow to brownish tint to it after it hardens, then it has been damaged. If it appears white-light grey when cool, you are most likely fine.
Picked up a couple of endurance chips at your MADE booth. The instructions recommend five minutes at 95 °C, then dropping to 75 °C to pull. My Secret Blend is in an ultrasonic cleaner that only goes to 80 °C. Can I still use the endurance chips?
That will work, maybe give it 10 minutes at 80C before dropping to 75 to pull it.. the ultrasonic will also help get it stirred into the inside of the chain to drive out any trapped air.
Graphene vs Tungston. Two quick questions. 1). For my 40k TT is it safe to assume pure speed wax is going to faster than race X wax and if so, by how much? 2) other than the issue with water, is there a reason to not have both additives? Thanks
Hi Josh, I appreciate your honesty about the limited wet weather benefits. As a mountain biker in the UK, it's all about treatment lifespan here. I'm not racing so will happily sacrifice speed if it means more chance of making it to the end of the ride with lube in the chain. I currently wax at 75°C as per advice in a previous video. I notice the endurance chip melts at 95°C. If I did add two endurance chips to 500g, would that change the optimum temperature for waxing?
Will you also offer different drip-on waxes containing either SpeedCip or EnduranceCip, or is this not possible? For example, the Squirt e-bike chain wax remains a little bit sticky (it is absolutely essential to wipe off excessive wax), but the chain still stays clean, although the wax is absolutely waterproof - after a ride in the rain (when every oil-based lubed chains got wet), the water had no chance to get into the chain. Of course the chain is not made for running fast, that wax is more for hassle-free maintenance, as most e-bikers for sure don't care about losing or winning marginal gains, and for my second bike (intended to use in summer bad weather, or in fall and winter) it is perfect, but not for my summer/nice weather bike, there I use Super Secret chain wax.
I still have an unused bag of wax from a competitor (MSW) bought before your wax was readily available in Australia. Can you add endurance chip/s to this? Thank you.
We have not tested either, but the recommended temperature for Endurance chip waxing is very close to the damage temperature of MSW so we would not recommend that combination.
@@SILCAVelo thank you for the reply 🙏🏻. Sounds like the perfect excuse to gift my MSW stock to a friend, then buy your wax so that I can use the endurance chip 😉
Do you have to add one chip everytime you wax? Or will the effects "stay in the pot" for the next time you wax? Or else this will becime really exoensive
Hi Josh. The question I have that I’m not sure has been covered yet is how using the chips then works with maintaining the chain using Super Secret chain lube. For example, if I use EnduranceChip for waxing, can I use Super Secret chain lube for a period before re-waxing and what would the approximate mileage be before needing to completely re-wax? Is this approach a compromise on longevity and the extended mileage of EnduranceChip that it has post waxing? Thanks!
You can expect SuperSecret to extend life by 150-200km per application for dry road condition, roughly the same as if you were using it in combination with standard SecretBlend.
Josh, please tell me what the best use of Silca chain products are for 24 hour races. I’m looking at the unknown weather of 24HOP in Tucson next February. My team will podium. I need advice on what to do depending on rain or dry conditions. My gravel races have been exceptional on using the Silca system of waxed chains for performance and longevity. With all the new stuff, I’m confused.
If what you're doing works, I'd stay with it.. but if this is a team event with 4-6 hour stints, you could certainly add a SpeedChip or two to the mix and then either rewax when not riding your stint, or take multiple chains and just swap them out. For Visma, we keep SpeedChip chains, standard chains, and endurance chip chains on the truck and then just swap out depending on length of day and weather, rewaxing the chains after they've been used and re-stocking them.
Hi Josh and team! I was wondering if Wax X will make a return for the track cyclists? In a way, it reads like compared to the speed chip and hot wax, the hot wax x is still the fastest for track?
What efficiency improvement would pure speed chip deliver? Also how long would the 'break-in' period be for a newly waxed pure speed chip chain? (I think it takes around 20 minutes in pure SS chain blend if I remember correctly...)
In the winter I do a lot fatbiking exclusively on snow trails. When I waxed last year, the break-in time was very long as the temps are all below zero. Would adding the speed wax chip reduce that break-in and soften things up a bit?
You can add a little Synergetic oil to your wax for extreme cold riding. This will improve break in time as well as wax adhesion to the chain in those conditions.
Potentially silly question, but what ratios should you use? E.g. are we saying 1 EnduranceChip per 250g of Secret Wax is the right amount? Or is it more like 500g for 1 EnduranceChip? Can't find much online about that specifically.
simple question: is chatGpt correct? (BIG Thanks from Vienna, Austria) Tell me, does silcas stripchip also work with an ultrasonic cleaned new chain? GPT-4o Mini: The Silca StripChip is designed to work with bicycle chains, specifically for cleaning and degreasing. It can be effective on chains that have been cleaned using ultrasonic methods, as long as the chain is free of contaminants and excess lubricant. The ultrasonic cleaning process generally removes dirt, grime, and old lubricant effectively, which can help the StripChip perform better when applying a new lubricant. However, it's important to ensure that the chain is completely dry and free from any cleaning solution residues before using the StripChip to apply new lubricant. This will help achieve optimal performance and longevity of the chain and the lubricant.
Once a chain has been stripped then waxed and eventually the chain needs to be cleaned, does that mean the chain needs to be stripped the re-waxed? If a chain has already been waxed, can you add the speed wax?
To clean a waxed chain you just boil it in water for a few minutes, so no need to strip it ever again. After that you can rewax in the original pot of wax and can add speed or endurance to that as needed.
When u say block are u referring to a block of time or miles or? Since I have invested in Hot Wax X what is your current recommendation? Should I abandon it? Add Speedchip? Add potato chips?
Some coatings are better than others. In general, any hard chrome coated chain will do well with wax and all Shimano chains do well with wax. The black DLC coating that KMC uses is terrible with wax, as is any rainbow coating. The gold and copper coatings are nearly as good as the silver chrome coatings but not quite.
Im quite surprise with the graph of longevity/effeciency. I was thinking that it was good for about 1000km. Even if im rewaxing or drip after each ride😊. But for an ultra event like Paris Brest Paris 1200km. Without the possibility to drip and wait it to dry… do you recommend taking on board a second waxed chain or just synergetic lube on regular application during the race ?
Drip wax definitely extends the life of the wax, and you should easily get 1000km+ if you are using drip in between rides, but there really isn't anything that can go the full 1200km on one waxing. A spare chain, both with Endurance Chip will work as you should get 600km+ per chain, but I know a lot of riders just carry a Synergetic bottle and top off as they need. This is especially helpful if it rains as you can use the Synergetic to drive some of the road grit out of the chain when you relube, and you can do it numerous times if conditions are truly terrible.
soon they will also make wax for completely new chains that have yet to be run in, it will be a little more expensive than the usual super top secret wax, but that investment will pay off later,and if you buy 5 packages of wax, you will get a silca T-shirt with an advertisement for free, which you must always wear while on the bike, otherwise they will take all the wax from you without refund
Is there a maximum temperature where the waxes get destroyed in a heating/melting process to a point of no return when cooling down again? Im thinking of the endurance chip and its long chained chemical structure getting cracked up and loosing its mechanical characteristics. I once made the mistake with the original blend not to have an eye on my melting pot and the temperature raised over 140°C. Now I use a regulated heating pot, but am unsure if i f**** up the whole wax. I searched for a maximum temperature in the datasheets of your product, but couldn´t find one. Thank you!
For SILCA, our waxes begin to break down in the 135-140C range.. which is why we have the PID controller in the wax melter. With StripChip requiring 125C, the window between Stripping and damage is just too close for thermostatic temperature control. Typically, if the wax is overheated, it will start to take on a yellow to brown color after it has cooled, so to test this we recommend melting it, letting it sit undisturbed for 20 minutes so that the additives can sink to the bottom, and then looking at the color on top after it cools. If it's white to grey you are fine, if it has any yellow-brown, it is damaged.
of course, but then before buying the wax, they will need to come for a consultation to determine the bike usage profile of each client in order to determine the right type of wax
Interesting to know how the marketing team came up with the ‘dog bone’ shape for endurance product. The whole world of shapes to choose from with a moldable wax product…? And why not a medal to match speed chip? Thinking they should have gone with a molded wax head of Josh! That would be good. Idea for the future there (c).
….running with this theme, how about an endurance chip wax head of *Trump. Just dropping that little sucker in the super hot wax bath here, lol. So many options to have fun with. * select your own politician to play with in here.
silca has created a religious cult of their wax, and worried followers come to confession and for advice on how to proceed, of course other waxes are heresy
One thing: Could you please stop using the absolutely horrible automatic translations to German on your website/newsletter. It makes your products look like TEMU crap and makes me think you don‘t care about the market. Better leave it in English if you don‘t want to invest in proper translations.
@@SILCAVelo i think it's not about the youtube-subtitles, but rather on your homepage / shop website. there you can select german as a language which is horribly translated
Did I just watch the Olympics of snake oil salesmen 😂. Wow the bicycle industry allows such profound 💩 to be peddled to the masses and the fan boys race to lap this stuff up. Silca was once a brand of reliability and such honor. Now it remins me of a $2 shop with a hawker on repeat. Please ✋️ !!!!!!!!!
Hey Josh! Very excited to get hands on soon. Will chat to you more on this via email - but just for viewers as well - the main test protocol can be altered for products if needed with regards to re application intervals. This has not needed to be done very often, but it can be done on request / or of the standard intervals will exceed a products treatment lifespan. There is no point testing in the main test at the standard intervals if that will exceed treatment longevity, as then we are not assessing that products performance. Ie if a product has an expected treatment longevity of 200km due to being focused on ultimate speed, then re lube / re wax intervals can be shortened to stay within mfg claims.
Such was done for UFO drip V1 which had a recommended treatment lifespan of 200km dry road, and also for Tru-Tension Tungsten race, and the more frequent re lube intervals is noted on the test result and detail review. Basically testing a product outside of its design brief is pointless - its like taking a ferrari to a 4wd track and calling it a crap car. So there will be no issues re shortening intervals in main test for speed chip to match mfg recommendations.
Very rarely this is also done the other way. Rex Black Diamond Drip lube the mfg requested it to be lubricated only ONCE per 1000km clean block, and only twice during the 1000km contamination blocks - due to that products exceptional treatment longevity, and it tested very well overall despite the much less re application amount vs normal protocol. However as key attribute and marketing claim is its treatment longevity, testing at standard protocol would not have backed this claim.
In short - will discuss any adjustments to the standard protocol for speed / endurance chip you wish to make - as this is then covered in the detail review etc.
Excellent and just as expected ZFC. Manufacturer product marketing claims are respected and tested on that basis. As it should be. Proper.
Next nice development would be antirust additives to the dripwax, for all of us who don't really need marginal gains but just want longevity and practicality.
It'd be nice to have a silca wax pot v2 with interchangeable "pots" if you have several bikes/chains with differents needs i.e a race bike/chain that needs speed chip and a gravel/training bike/chain that needs longevity instead. Right now I know of no easy way to do this apart from having two cookers which I find a bit annoying...
Great comment ❤
Soon as the speed chip came out, that was what I wanted too - extra pots. I would definitely purchase 4 pots, and label them/so would be great if they came with some sort of label system. BUT for those of us who bought Silca Wax Pot V1, is there a way you could make inserts that go in what we already have? We'd need to use up what we have or melt and toss and but soon as the chips came out (including Strip Chip) I was soooooooooo wishing the Silca Pot design had the next launch products in mind with its design - but thinking there's gotta be some way to make a metal insert that would fit (even if it means the heat needs to go up a bit to heat the inner pot adequately - no idea! BUT GREAT COMMENT FROM BeckyK!
don't say twice, they will produce all the pots you want
Once the wax in the pot has cooled and hardened it can easily be removed. Flip the pot upside down over a clean surface and turn the pot on. Within 15sec or so the wax "puck" will drop out cleanly and in one piece.
@@I_DreamOn2Wheels Brilliant - thank you!
why no drip wax version of the endurance mix ?
Thank you for the explanation videos!
I enjoy the technical nature of the content, even if I don’t plan on buying every variant of your product.
The comparisons make it easy to decide which product is the right one for my style of riding.
Keep up the good work.
So, prolonged time between waxing and lower €/Km with Endurance Wax.
Win win 🏆
You build so much trust with the full disclosure!
8:34 I'm sure you're aware and researching this exact thing. But if there were compounds available that *can* increase longevity for wet conditions by a significant enough margin, that would be great. If only for peace of mind. The stark falloff of performance and wear when the chain returns to dry (in the lubeless sense), accelerated massively by rain if I'm not mistaken, is the thing that scared me a little bit to make the switch to waxing. And in practise, I think I had chain noise return after 150 km a few times this winter. A wax or additive that ups the life between reapplications in wet conditions reliably to over 300 km would be great, the 15% of the endurance chip is alluring, but not quite there. Are there avenues that are explored right now that seem promising?
One of the main problems here is that from a performance and wear perspective, wax is absolutely the best performer in the wet.. look at ZFC data: zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/ and click the down arrow to look at 'Wear by Block' and you will see that for rainy test block 4, all of the top performers are hot wax, and SecretBlend is in first place at only 8% wear in the block (compared to something like RockNRoll Gold which shows 65% wear in the same block). So the challenge here is that when wax starts to fail it gets noisy and alerts you that its failing, while the other lube types especially wet lube, hide the fact that they've failed by remaining silent long after they are actually a problem. The reality is that for any lube, 150km of rain riding is more or less the limit. If you also look at Adam's notes on SingleApplication Longevity testing, he notes that wax lubes 'feel and sound dry and are not pleasurable to ride' more of less by the time they get halfway to the 'jump point' where the chain really begins to wear, and for wet lubes they often still sound ok well past the jump point.
@@SILCAVelo Yeah, I wish I could've told myself earlier what I tell people now, "if the upkeep of waxing seems daunting then you're not taking enough care with your drivetrain anyway".
Only thing really that remains is the fear that if in my mind the wax is still good for a day, then suddenly there is rain and I go over that point where the graphs are steeply downhill. Whereas if it were dry I woudl not even have to think about topping up or rewaxing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that for my usecase - bike courier, so intensive daily and all weather sea climate use, with unpredictable lengths - wax is still far superior.
Not taking care of your oil lubed chain is certainly less strain on the mind sometimes, but you notice that quickly in the wallet. Taking some care of your oil lubed chain is as much hassle as taking perfect care of your waxed chain.
I also would like to see some product come out that adds a little rust resistance to the mix. I primarily ride in extremely dusty conditions, but there are occasional river crossings on many of the mtb trails. I know that is an extreme condition. If, however, I just make it home in time to get to work, I might not have time to re-wax, even though I won't ride it again until I do re-wax or switch chains. It would be nice if there was a little more rust protection for a day or two. I definitely see a need for this for commuting to work also. If you ride a bike to work and it rains, the bike sits for 12 hours, and then you go home. The chain could have already started to rust.
Reminds me of the ski industry wax blending.
These info videos are great. Started waxing and now I will try my first re-wax on multiple bikes and test the endurance additive.
As per Adam a 0FC I'm using 2 chains each for my (mountain bike, Road Bike, and Gravel Bike) with a year in no wear at all. I can clean then rewax in 10 minutes. My question is what or how would waxing your bottom bracket bearings as opposed to using grease? Are you looking into a way to wax your bearings in tungsten disulfide etc...? i.e. use a tough wax to seal out dirt from the bottom bracket. ???
At what distance in the wet should we rewax our chain with the endurance chip ?⛓️
This will still be condition dependent, but 2 endurance chips should more or less double the duration of the wax life, so if you were getting 300km before, you can expect more like 600km now, and if you are say riding MTB is sloppy conditions and getting 100km before, you can probably expect more like 200km now.
@@SILCAVelo But what Josh said in the Wet Weather Performance chapter of this video is that a single endurance chip will give us 60% - 80% increase in longevity in DRY conditions but only about a 15% increase in WET conditions. Not sure the math supports that two chips will DOUBLE the wax life in wet weather.
What’s the best method to determine when a chain needs a) a drip wax top up and b) a re wax?
Love your products and use many of them and will be buying a couple of EnduranceChips once in stock for UK delivery. Every release though does seem to produce a ton of questions, valid at that, that ideally really should be addressed in more thorough Q&A on your website. I'm sure a little less misinformation and confusion on potential customer's behalfs in using your products, either as stand alone SKUs or in conjunctiion with one another, would be helpful for everyone.
I asked on the last video, can you use the endurance chip with secret blend and strip chip?
Can i use this with strip chip combined?
I think this is actually a quite interesting question to understand the whole lifecycle around the SS Blend: e.g. 1/2 bag with strip chip in one liner for the first application and another 1/2 bag with [speed|endurance] chip blends in a second liner? This is a question I have also due to the whole extra heat needed with the strip chip since it kinda concerns me what will it do to clean, let's say, 6 new chains over time. Is the wax used to strip factory grease still in ok condition?
yes
This was answered in the first video, it can be
@@ItzMe3224 no it wasn't (i just re-watched it)
Can you make a chain wax for climbers so Sepp Kuss can win the Vuelta again ?
Visma, including Sepp are generally running SecretBlend with 2 SpeedChip per bag of wax for road and mtn stages, and 4 SpeedChip per bag for TT
How about StripChip compatibility with SpeedChip and EnduranceChip?
What to do for bikepacking? Several chains, topping with super secret drip or going for the synergetic lube?
The next development I really need is aero socks in size 50, please!
yes, with owl feathers
Hi Josh - the graphic on your site says that Chain Blend + 1 Speed Chip is approx 10 hours of riding, BUT since all your other instructions and videos talk miles/kilometers and not hours, would you all be willing to list miles/kilometers for the wax additives too? Just would be super helpful since that's the data point you've taught us to use and easier to get that number quickly in my workouts lists. Additinally the wax additive formulation graphic on your site is impossible to read. Can you make a larger version or one that increases resolutions when made bigger: I want to take a screen shot of it, but when I increase the size, it gets very blurry. Thank you so much - LOVE ALL YOUR PRODUCTS, PODCASTS and VIDEOS! P.S. I also want to DITTO the comment from BeckyK who said is there way the hot wax system you just created could come with extra pots so we can label of formulations and just swap between them?
Can you start making more swag? From silca product I'm just using drip on wax, I don't care about performance too much, I just wax in normal parfin wax with WS2. But I would like shiet with `Wax chain mafia` text or something like that :)
Hi Josh, for those of us who use the dripwax in between hotwaxes, I'm assuming the additives (especially speedchip I assume) aren't as "profitable" if we consider that we're remplacing the wax+additive combination with just "regular" Silca wax. What's your take/reflexion on this? thanks.
If I use the Super Secret drip wax to top up the Endurance blend will I still get benefit from the better adherence of the base layer even with the drip wax on top? This probably tips the balance for me using wax in the UK winter months.
Hey Josh, what’s the ideal chain waxing strategy for a mountainbike marathon racer?
When I won the 4-day Alpentour Trophy stage race in Austria this year, I prepped my almost-new chain with Silca Chain Stripper and waxed it using Silca Secret Chain Blend in the Silca Wax Melter. Thanks to the good weather, the chain lasted through all four stages without any maintenance.
However, after using my wax melter just once for a StripChip on a new chain for my sister, I noticed a significant drop in the wax’s durability. Instead of lasting four races, it now only lasts for one or two races in good weather. Could this be the reason? If so, I might switch back to using the Chain Stripper, or consider using one melter for StripChip and a separate Silca Wax Melter for regular Secret Chain Blend applications.
I’m also considering whether to get the Silca Wax Melter with the Endurance Chip. For racing, though, I don’t see much benefit - since the chip might sacrifice some performance and doesn’t offer enough extra durability for tough conditions like rain or mud. But for the chains on my training bikes, it could be worth considering.
A dedicated Silca Wax Melter for speed wax in good weather and single-day mountainbike races seems like a sensible option. I’m a bit torn, as none of these are “keep it simple” strategies, but on the other hand, every watt counts for me.
Are these mainly for competition/events? Is there noticeable difference for weekend/casual riding?
Using a combination of super secret wax and a strip chip used to breakdown the factory grease now will that affect either one of your new products?
someone might think that now instead of 30 km/h they will drive 40 km/h at the same power and in the same conditions, but the difference is actually so great that in practice it is not even noticeable
Hi @silcavelo, should I go by KM or hours to cap the maximum usage with 2x speedchips and 250gr of wax? My events are ~3h and ~130km long, so should I go 2x or 1.5x speedchip?
I’ve been doing secret + squirt, would a secret and speed chip be faster? Over IM distance
Squirt contains paraffin oil that will break down hot wax and also attracts dirt and gunk, so we don't recommend mixing it with any of our products. SecretBlend + SpeedChip will be fastest, and you can top off with SuperSecret without any negative performance effects.
I managed to grab some before it was sold out. I have the Silca wax set up - how would i be able to switch between speed chip and endurance? I have an event coming up and would use the speed chip but then it will be endurance for training. Should I start with speed chip then add endurance after the event?
In the user manual it states that both the SC and EC are for 1 chain. How does that work? I add the chip to the hot melt wax and then insert the chain to the mix. I can wax several chains like that, so it's not for single chain?! Also what happens when the mixture hardens and I heat it up next time. Has the Chip vaporized?
If one of the main uses of the drop wax is to add longevity to the original hot waxing, why not create a drip wax with the endurance wax added to increase the miles til a re-hot wax is needed?
I purchased the Silca wax system in April and appreciate how easy it is to use. I have a 'bowl' full of wax of unknown mass that I top off occasionally to replenish wax deposited on the chain during the waxing process. What does that imply for an endurance chip, would I break one in half and add it to the 'bowl' full of secret blend? Another unrelated question is would you recommend waxing shifter cables and what would recommended immersion time be? Bike is modern MTB 1x12, GX Eagle.
If I may throw an idea out to you . . . I also use and LOVE the Silca wax system. Not sure what Josh would say but I'd hazard a guess that your shift cables don't work or are as stressed anywhere NEAR what your chain is subjected to so I think if there IS any advantage to waxing your cables, it would be minimal at best but I can't see a downside, frankly, The only caution I'd suggest is that if you go ahead and wax your shift cables, I'd strip the wax off where they are secured by the bolt at the derailleurs otherwise they might slip. Immersion time would be the same as the chain - over time could never hurt anyway :-) Happy and safe riding !
What about different temperatures? What would you recommend for riding in -10c, 0c, 10c, 20c, 30, And 40c?
Would you give them different mixes for any of the temperature ranges?
At freezing temperatures my main concern would be salted roads and the corrosion that follows.
@@Frostbiker not too much salt on MTB / fat bike trails
good question about salt - on winter roads, how long it last?, how frequent we need to rewax
@@Frostbiker it doesn't have to be, it can be dry and cold
When ss drip 2.0 ??? Or Hybrid of wax and oil for different weather scenarios?
Already have Secret Blend with a Strip Chip in the Silca wax pot. Would like to try the Endurance chip - can I just add that to the pot, or is it recommended to do that to a fresh batch of Secret Blend?
You can just add it to the pot!
1) Do these additives need any special temperatures (and so require a temperature controlled pot) or can they be thrown into standard slow cooker as well?
2) For cyclocross racing (~3 hours of riding including the course recon, warm up and the actual race) with some mud and wet conditions, would you rather add a SpeedChip or an EnduranceChip (or keep the wax stock) for optimal performance?
For our pro CX racers we warmup/recon, etc with endurance chip and then switch to speedchip chain for the main event which ensures you're on the fastest possible chain for the race, but you could easily do 3 hours of riding in these conditions with any of the wax combinations without big negative implications.
Hi, I see after looking at one your videos that I overheated my wax during application in my slow cooker. Have I permanently damaged my wax?
If the wax has a yellow to brownish tint to it after it hardens, then it has been damaged. If it appears white-light grey when cool, you are most likely fine.
Do you use degenerated alcohol after cleaning chain and before wax to get the water out used after cleaning?
Picked up a couple of endurance chips at your MADE booth. The instructions recommend five minutes at 95 °C, then dropping to 75 °C to pull. My Secret Blend is in an ultrasonic cleaner that only goes to 80 °C. Can I still use the endurance chips?
That will work, maybe give it 10 minutes at 80C before dropping to 75 to pull it.. the ultrasonic will also help get it stirred into the inside of the chain to drive out any trapped air.
Graphene vs Tungston. Two quick questions. 1). For my 40k TT is it safe to assume pure speed wax is going to faster than race X wax and if so, by how much? 2) other than the issue with water, is there a reason to not have both additives? Thanks
Hi Josh,
I appreciate your honesty about the limited wet weather benefits. As a mountain biker in the UK, it's all about treatment lifespan here. I'm not racing so will happily sacrifice speed if it means more chance of making it to the end of the ride with lube in the chain.
I currently wax at 75°C as per advice in a previous video. I notice the endurance chip melts at 95°C. If I did add two endurance chips to 500g, would that change the optimum temperature for waxing?
I would wax at 95C and lower to 75C before pulling the chain, this will give you the best overall penetration and wax holding per waxing.
Can you add any of the chips to hox wax x?
Will you also offer different drip-on waxes containing either SpeedCip or EnduranceCip, or is this not possible? For example, the Squirt e-bike chain wax remains a little bit sticky (it is absolutely essential to wipe off excessive wax), but the chain still stays clean, although the wax is absolutely waterproof - after a ride in the rain (when every oil-based lubed chains got wet), the water had no chance to get into the chain. Of course the chain is not made for running fast, that wax is more for hassle-free maintenance, as most e-bikers for sure don't care about losing or winning marginal gains, and for my second bike (intended to use in summer bad weather, or in fall and winter) it is perfect, but not for my summer/nice weather bike, there I use Super Secret chain wax.
I still have an unused bag of wax from a competitor (MSW) bought before your wax was readily available in Australia. Can you add endurance chip/s to this? Thank you.
We have not tested either, but the recommended temperature for Endurance chip waxing is very close to the damage temperature of MSW so we would not recommend that combination.
@@SILCAVelo thank you for the reply 🙏🏻. Sounds like the perfect excuse to gift my MSW stock to a friend, then buy your wax so that I can use the endurance chip 😉
ha, ha, I was really curious how he would answer you in a polite way if you don't use that wax but his wax
Do you have to add one chip everytime you wax? Or will the effects "stay in the pot" for the next time you wax? Or else this will becime really exoensive
Hi Josh. The question I have that I’m not sure has been covered yet is how using the chips then works with maintaining the chain using Super Secret chain lube.
For example, if I use EnduranceChip for waxing, can I use Super Secret chain lube for a period before re-waxing and what would the approximate mileage be before needing to completely re-wax? Is this approach a compromise on longevity and the extended mileage of EnduranceChip that it has post waxing? Thanks!
You can expect SuperSecret to extend life by 150-200km per application for dry road condition, roughly the same as if you were using it in combination with standard SecretBlend.
@@SILCAVelo Many thanks for clarifying/confirming. I thought that it would be a normal extension of use but it's good to know for sure.
Are these compatible with StripChip?
yes
Josh, please tell me what the best use of Silca chain products are for 24 hour races. I’m looking at the unknown weather of 24HOP in Tucson next February. My team will podium. I need advice on what to do depending on rain or dry conditions. My gravel races have been exceptional on using the Silca system of waxed chains for performance and longevity. With all the new stuff, I’m confused.
If what you're doing works, I'd stay with it.. but if this is a team event with 4-6 hour stints, you could certainly add a SpeedChip or two to the mix and then either rewax when not riding your stint, or take multiple chains and just swap them out. For Visma, we keep SpeedChip chains, standard chains, and endurance chip chains on the truck and then just swap out depending on length of day and weather, rewaxing the chains after they've been used and re-stocking them.
Hi Josh and team! I was wondering if Wax X will make a return for the track cyclists?
In a way, it reads like compared to the speed chip and hot wax, the hot wax x is still the fastest for track?
What efficiency improvement would pure speed chip deliver? Also how long would the 'break-in' period be for a newly waxed pure speed chip chain? (I think it takes around 20 minutes in pure SS chain blend if I remember correctly...)
In the winter I do a lot fatbiking exclusively on snow trails. When I waxed last year, the break-in time was very long as the temps are all below zero. Would adding the speed wax chip reduce that break-in and soften things up a bit?
You can add a little Synergetic oil to your wax for extreme cold riding. This will improve break in time as well as wax adhesion to the chain in those conditions.
Hello Josh and Team Question… what prescription would you recommend for a FAST IronMan bike leg? Assume fast flat course and 4hr 50min for 112 miles
I'd use 1 speed chip in 250gm of wax for a fast, dry IM leg.
Potentially silly question, but what ratios should you use? E.g. are we saying 1 EnduranceChip per 250g of Secret Wax is the right amount? Or is it more like 500g for 1 EnduranceChip? Can't find much online about that specifically.
There are suggested recipes on the product page, scroll down to 'Choose your Recipe': silca.cc/products/performance-chips
simple question: is chatGpt correct? (BIG Thanks from Vienna, Austria)
Tell me, does silcas stripchip also work with an ultrasonic cleaned new chain? GPT-4o Mini: The Silca StripChip is designed to work with bicycle chains, specifically for cleaning and degreasing. It can be effective on chains that have been cleaned using ultrasonic methods, as long as the chain is free of contaminants and excess lubricant. The ultrasonic cleaning process generally removes dirt, grime, and old lubricant effectively, which can help the StripChip perform better when applying a new lubricant. However, it's important to ensure that the chain is completely dry and free from any cleaning solution residues before using the StripChip to apply new lubricant. This will help achieve optimal performance and longevity of the chain and the lubricant.
Once a chain has been stripped then waxed and eventually the chain needs to be cleaned, does that mean the chain needs to be stripped the re-waxed?
If a chain has already been waxed, can you add the speed wax?
To clean a waxed chain you just boil it in water for a few minutes, so no need to strip it ever again. After that you can rewax in the original pot of wax and can add speed or endurance to that as needed.
When u say block are u referring to a block of time or miles or? Since I have invested in Hot Wax X what is your current recommendation? Should I abandon it? Add Speedchip? Add potato chips?
You can add speedchip to HotWaxX.. it will reduce break-in time but will not make it faster.
@@SILCAVelo I guess my real question is what is the most optimum wax protocol?
can you put a strip chip and speed chip in the same wax pot
Yes.
Just to ask are different chain manufacturers better to wax than others ?
Some coatings are better than others. In general, any hard chrome coated chain will do well with wax and all Shimano chains do well with wax. The black DLC coating that KMC uses is terrible with wax, as is any rainbow coating. The gold and copper coatings are nearly as good as the silver chrome coatings but not quite.
Im quite surprise with the graph of longevity/effeciency. I was thinking that it was good for about 1000km. Even if im rewaxing or drip after each ride😊. But for an ultra event like Paris Brest Paris 1200km. Without the possibility to drip and wait it to dry… do you recommend taking on board a second waxed chain or just synergetic lube on regular application during the race ?
Drip wax definitely extends the life of the wax, and you should easily get 1000km+ if you are using drip in between rides, but there really isn't anything that can go the full 1200km on one waxing. A spare chain, both with Endurance Chip will work as you should get 600km+ per chain, but I know a lot of riders just carry a Synergetic bottle and top off as they need. This is especially helpful if it rains as you can use the Synergetic to drive some of the road grit out of the chain when you relube, and you can do it numerous times if conditions are truly terrible.
with a small battery portable inductive heater you can heat the chain on the bike and wax the chain in 6 minutes or replace the chain
what is your recommended starting point with a new chain with either or both?
soon they will also make wax for completely new chains that have yet to be run in, it will be a little more expensive than the usual super top secret wax, but that investment will pay off later,and if you buy 5 packages of wax, you will get a silca T-shirt with an advertisement for free, which you must always wear while on the bike, otherwise they will take all the wax from you without refund
Is there a maximum temperature where the waxes get destroyed in a heating/melting process to a point of no return when cooling down again? Im thinking of the endurance chip and its long chained chemical structure getting cracked up and loosing its mechanical characteristics.
I once made the mistake with the original blend not to have an eye on my melting pot and the temperature raised over 140°C. Now I use a regulated heating pot, but am unsure if i f**** up the whole wax. I searched for a maximum temperature in the datasheets of your product, but couldn´t find one. Thank you!
also interested in
For SILCA, our waxes begin to break down in the 135-140C range.. which is why we have the PID controller in the wax melter. With StripChip requiring 125C, the window between Stripping and damage is just too close for thermostatic temperature control. Typically, if the wax is overheated, it will start to take on a yellow to brown color after it has cooled, so to test this we recommend melting it, letting it sit undisturbed for 20 minutes so that the additives can sink to the bottom, and then looking at the color on top after it cools. If it's white to grey you are fine, if it has any yellow-brown, it is damaged.
@@SILCAVelo Thank you for this extensive answer! you and your products are awesome!!! I will take good care of your advice
unfortunately you have to buy new wax
Hi, can I wax my pulley wheel bearings with silca vax?
No, bearings will not run with wax in them, we recommend Synergetic oil for ultimate speed in pulley wheels.
Will there be a super secret version?
of course, but then before buying the wax, they will need to come for a consultation to determine the bike usage profile of each client in order to determine the right type of wax
what if it rains more than 15% harder than usual :)
Whatever I just don’t want the oil getting on my hands and clothes. It’s difficult to wash out.
I'm surprised speedchip was the choice for a ~6 hour gravel race!
Keegan averaged 21.5 mph in that race. He is not like us normal humans.
@@pandatactical4530 still a 6 hour race
@@JackMott Even the speed wax lasts longer than 6 hours.
Rather buy a bag of one or the other as this feels like I am being nicked & dime
Dont spend the dimes.
“We sold out” the classic marketing to get more people to buy more……….
Interesting to know how the marketing team came up with the ‘dog bone’ shape for endurance product. The whole world of shapes to choose from with a moldable wax product…? And why not a medal to match speed chip? Thinking they should have gone with a molded wax head of Josh! That would be good. Idea for the future there (c).
It's a chain link shape
….running with this theme, how about an endurance chip wax head of *Trump. Just dropping that little sucker in the super hot wax bath here, lol. So many options to have fun with. * select your own politician to play with in here.
@@COYSMike Thanks, yes but saw the 'dog bone' first and now cannot see anything else!
@@stephencharles6932 I do agree though. Being white doesn't help either!
silca has created a religious cult of their wax, and worried followers come to confession and for advice on how to proceed, of course other waxes are heresy
I do not want hot wax sex, thank you though
One thing: Could you please stop using the absolutely horrible automatic translations to German on your website/newsletter. It makes your products look like TEMU crap and makes me think you don‘t care about the market. Better leave it in English if you don‘t want to invest in proper translations.
My understanding is that is just automated by UA-cam.. we have nothing to do with it, but I'll ask the team if there is a way to turn it off.
I think he's talking about the silca website @@SILCAVelo
@@SILCAVelo i think it's not about the youtube-subtitles, but rather on your homepage / shop website. there you can select german as a language which is horribly translated
just buy moltenspeed wax and call it good.
Did I just watch the Olympics of snake oil salesmen 😂. Wow the bicycle industry allows such profound 💩 to be peddled to the masses and the fan boys race to lap this stuff up. Silca was once a brand of reliability and such honor. Now it remins me of a $2 shop with a hawker on repeat. Please ✋️ !!!!!!!!!