Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Chain waxing felt like one of those activities reserved for the most obsessive cyclists, but after a year of experimenting with it myself, I think I found the ultimate additive…
SIROKO CLOTHING – 10% off (automatically applied via link below):
srko.co/tracevelo
In this episode, I’ll take you through my full DIY chain waxing setup, the mistakes I made along the way, the various additives I tried, and the one ingredient that made the biggest difference: microcrystalline wax.
I cover how I clean and prep chains for waxing, my original paraffin, MoS₂ and PTFE blend, why I moved away from PTFE, and some of the real drawbacks of chain waxing that people don’t always mention. Things like flaking wax, cold weather issues, rust after wet rides, and the hassle of breaking in a freshly waxed chain.
I’ll also show you the updated formula I’m using now, why microcrystalline wax improved it so much, what my current process looks like, and whether doing it yourself actually makes sense compared with buying a ready-made system from someone like Silca.
If you’ve been curious about hot waxing your chain, or you’re already fully initiated and want to refine your own blend, hopefully you’ll find this episode useful!
My current blend is:
230g paraffin wax
25–30g microcrystalline wax
2g MoS₂
2g WS₂
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:36 – What I bought?
04:14 – Drawbacks
07:19 – New wax formulation
10:49 – Old vs new formula
12:47 – Tips and tricks
14:09 – Cost and Silca comparison
15:28 – Why bother chain waxing?
16:29 – Bonus clip
Intro roll:
Created by Dev Joshi - go2dev.co.uk
Instagram:
instagram.com/tracevelo
Email:
tracevelouk@gmail.com
Chain waxing felt like one of those activities reserved for the most obsessive cyclists, but after a year of experimenting with it myself, I think I found the ultimate additive…
SIROKO CLOTHING – 10% off (automatically applied via link below):
srko.co/tracevelo
In this episode, I’ll take you through my full DIY chain waxing setup, the mistakes I made along the way, the various additives I tried, and the one ingredient that made the biggest difference: microcrystalline wax.
I cover how I clean and prep chains for waxing, my original paraffin, MoS₂ and PTFE blend, why I moved away from PTFE, and some of the real drawbacks of chain waxing that people don’t always mention. Things like flaking wax, cold weather issues, rust after wet rides, and the hassle of breaking in a freshly waxed chain.
I’ll also show you the updated formula I’m using now, why microcrystalline wax improved it so much, what my current process looks like, and whether doing it yourself actually makes sense compared with buying a ready-made system from someone like Silca.
If you’ve been curious about hot waxing your chain, or you’re already fully initiated and want to refine your own blend, hopefully you’ll find this episode useful!
My current blend is:
230g paraffin wax
25–30g microcrystalline wax
2g MoS₂
2g WS₂
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:36 – What I bought?
04:14 – Drawbacks
07:19 – New wax formulation
10:49 – Old vs new formula
12:47 – Tips and tricks
14:09 – Cost and Silca comparison
15:28 – Why bother chain waxing?
16:29 – Bonus clip
Intro roll:
Created by Dev Joshi - go2dev.co.uk
Instagram:
instagram.com/tracevelo
Email:
tracevelouk@gmail.com
