Chain waxing is a fantastic way to extend the life of your drivetrain — and save watts if you’re part of the #marginalgains crowd. We’ve just had a packet of AbsolueBLACK’s Graphinewax land on the workbench.
AbsoluteBLACK’s take on the hot wax melt sees the addition of graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of carbon said to maintain a stable coefficient of friction across a full spectrum of humidity and temperature and spectacular mechanical strength — it’s claimed a 1m2 piece of graphene would weigh 0.77mg and could support 4kg without snapping. Impressive stuff.
According to AbsoluteBLACK, this mechanical strength can separate metal surfaces and stave off wear from them grinding together, we’ll have to take their word on that one. AB also says they haven’t used Tungsten Disulfide (WS2) nor Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) additives in the formula that are common in other lubes and waxes, as the brand claims they don’t actually reduce friction in real-world conditions. The brand says it has also avoided oils and paraffin oil, which can affect efficiency and speed the wear on drivetrain parts.
As to the validity of these claims, we’ll leave it to the folks whose bread and butter is testing friction and drivetrain efficiency, like Zero Friction Cycling.
What we can speak to, however is what it’s like to work with the GrapheneWax. Shipped out in blocks, it takes about 15-20min to melt in a crockpot set to high. Despite this fast prep, the brand says it won’t melt off your chain on a hot day.
You get 340g of wax, which the brand says should be good for somewhere in the ballpark of 62 treatments and each should last 450km of riding in dry road conditions. Obviously, that will be reduced a fair bit in an offroad scenario, but that’s still significantly longer than you get with drip lube. The brand also says the GrapheneWax runs quieter than other hot melts, that is one claim we can test, and we’ll be pulling out the decibel metre.
The wax itself is quite soft, which makes the break-in period where you have to free each individual link a bit less labour-intensive than other hot melts — just slide the chain through your fingers, wang it on the bike and pedal away. The brand also says it won’t flake off or clump.
Keen to find out more about the process of waxing your chain? We’ve got you covered, click here.
