Tips and Tricks for the Baranski Chain

Congratulations! You’re holding a chain waxed by Der Baranski with a lot of care and effort. To ensure you enjoy it for a long time and achieve fast times on the road or off-road, here are a few tips for you:

1. The chain is now completely grease-free, so it should be installed on a grease-free drivetrain. This means either a new drivetrain or a thoroughly cleaned one. I recommend using white spirit or brake cleaner and a cloth for cleaning. This process is worth it as it will rarely need repeating, and the annoying chain mark on your calf will be a thing of the past—or it’ll be on your friend’s leg instead. Also, don’t forget to clean the jockey wheels and the areas between the teeth and on the running surfaces of the chainring and cassette!
2. Only use quick links, as they make things a lot easier and allow for chain removal if needed for rewaxing. Make sure both sides sit flush and the pin and eye are aligned on both sides when closing the quick link. Sometimes it helps to scrape off the wax from the inside of the waxed link with your fingernail. The best tools for opening and closing quick links are good pliers, like those from YBN available in my shop. Otherwise, depending on the connection, you might have problems, especially with Shimano links! For Shimano, the embossed text should always face outwards. Warning: If the chain is embossed on both sides, you’ve unfortunately bought a counterfeit chain (no joke, it happens), which I wouldn’t recommend installing.
3. The chain might feel a bit stiff at first, but after the initial break-in, any skipping or shifting noise will quickly be resolved, usually within a few minutes. If your shifting was well-adjusted before, don’t tweak anything now; it will soon run smoothly, just quieter than before. After a few kilometers, check for wax buildup between the 10, 11, and 12-tooth cogs and scrape it off if necessary. You can simply wipe off any wax flakes.
4. I often see freshly waxed chains being topped up with liquid lubricant for supposed extra tuning. This doesn’t make sense. The wax film is already optimized and adding more will only make it dirtier. An exception, more for peace of mind, is treating a fresh chain with Race Powder from Molten Speed Wax. However, this also turns the chain black and is more suited for good weather.
5. Depending on external conditions and your personal torque, the wax lasts between 300 km (mud and sand off-road) to over 1,000 km (sunny road use) without needing re-lubrication. You’ll know it’s time to re-wax when you hear metal-on-metal sounds. I recommend rewaxing with hot wax or using a liquid alcohol-based drip lube like DryFluid Bike, which is available in my shop. In a pinch, any wax-based lube will do; apply it from the inside of the links and let it dry overnight. Please never put oil on this chain again; it would break my heart to see that.
6. Special case for chains treated with Formula S Chain-Ceramic from DryFluid: These last significantly longer than any other hot wax variants I know of. When it’s time to re-lubricate, often after well over a thousand kilometers, use only the DryFluid Bike that came with it. The wax is formulated for this purpose, and other drip lubes aren’t suitable as they rely on different additives! We’ve worked on this for over a year for a reason.

7. In wet and dirty conditions, rinse the chain with a hose and—very importantly—dry it with a cloth. Terrycloth or microfiber is excellent for this, but an old sock works too. Don’t leave the bike standing completely wet, as light rust can form depending on the chain material and quality. If rust does appear, just keep riding; it will wear off, though it won’t look great.
8. I recommend switching to a second or third chain. With reusable quick links, you can keep maintenance time and, more importantly, the wear on all drivetrain parts low. Waxing more than one chain at a time balances out the effort, and you always have a fresh one on hand. It’s a similar feeling to putting on new tires or fresh bar tape—trust me.
9. Not sure about the correct length for your bike? Well, no worries, just see here.
10. Enjoy your ride, keep the chain on the right, and if you have any questions, just email me.