I like Rock and Roll Gold too. Works a charm and the chain generally stays pretty clean. Only problem is that you use alot if you apply it as per manufacturers instructions.
I use a heat gun on the chain to boil out the kero and water (I rinse after kero). Non o-ring chains (i.e. all bicycle chains) are made only of steel so the heat gun (300 deg C or so at most) doesn’t harm them. When the chain sizzles you’re doing it right.
I’ve always found this a good technique. Doesn’t work so well on geared bikes however.
Just replaced my road bike chain after 13930 km. Still within 0.75 mark but new wheels and cassette so changed it. It was a KMC X11SL. I use Squirt liquid wax. I made sure to give multiple applications before riding and used heat gun to help get wax inside rollers. After that it is just wipe chain every couple of weeks (or after wet ride) with cloth and a little metho. Then drip on some more squirt and dry cloth wipe next day before riding. Never removed chain during its lifetime.
Previously while using Squirt only got around 4000km or so but didn’t do the multiple applications at the start or use heat gun.
I am getting good life out of KMC X11SL chains … around 9,000km using R&R Gold lube at 300 km intervals. I replace mine at the recommended 0.5% wear.
Lucky to get 4,000 km out of Shimano Ultegra or 105 chains so definitely worth the extra expense.
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Immersive hot wax is a game changer. ~22k km on the roadie over 3 Shimano chains. No wear on the chain checker. More on the gravelo and same deal. Sooo much cleaner.
Head on over to zerofrictioncycling.com.au
He has done a stack of testing. No drip on lube comes close.
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Actually it was from zerofriction that I got the idea to make sure the initial application was repeated multiple times and added in some heat. The detailed results for Squirt showed the most wear was in the initial block and then wear rates slowed alot. The hot immersive wax obviously permeates the rollers extremely well. I planned to go to hot wax but still have one and a quarter bottles to go. I don’t think I’d do the swapping chains and reimmersing every few hundred kilometres though. Just wipe and top up with drip wax should be sufficient. My chain and cassette is very clean. I probably do a more thorough clean of chain every 6 months, but do it on the bike, just metho on cloth to remove wax build up.
I rode on gravel with squirt drip wax. That caused me to go to immersive hot wax. Squirt drip still collected dirt. Lube + dirt = grinding paste imo.
How wax is much cleaner.
ZFC testing includes adding dirt in some of test blocks. Squirt drip is on their test data base. It does not compete with hot wax.
Hot wax is superior from all accounts. Drip wax suffers from not getting fully into the chain if you just follow manufacturers instructions. My prep and maintenance gives clean chain and cassette with minimal effort. I expect your experience with drip wax differs from mine due prep and maintenance.
I am not suggesting anyone move from (or not move to) immersive wax, it is best practice for most. But drip wax with proper prep can give excellent results (chain life increased from 4000km to over 12000kms for me).
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You may already know this. But if you choose, you don’t have to wait to finish your Squirt drip wax to use the Squirt hot wax, since they are compatible.
My work site is about 6 km from the ocean and a very wet valley. I left my Silca hot waxxed SRAM 10s chain on the bike at work in the car park and it ended up rusting in about 3 weeks. Brought it home and put it in strong vinegar for 24 hours, but didn’t help much. Tried boiling the old wax off, but didn’t work well. Ended up just rewaxing it in the pot. One could start with a rust resitant chain, but ZFC Adam said the wax doesn’t cling well to them. Maybe a drip wax is better for that environment.
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Thanks I’ll give it a try but now need to buy cooker and the wax.
I was a hot wax convert early on … still have the Woolworths cheap pot and wax but with my essentials tremor … getting a lot worse with age, connecting quick links is fraught with lots of frustration and bad language so I think I will stick with drip lube
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I have swapped to Squirt wax. Unfortunately your Woolies slow cooker will be no good. It is temperature sensitive. <95c.
800-1000km between waxings however. I use YBN quick links and squeeze the plates together with thumb and forefinger of L hand. Then use the chain pliers to click the link back together, so that I can feel that it still clicks. Ime drip lube performs worse in terms of cleanliness and is more work.
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I’ve been using Transmax Z Ful Synth ATF for years on bicycle chains. Decant some ATF into a standard specimen container from chemist, its plastic & small so taking it in your cycle backpack is easy & it helps for ease of drawing the ATF into the 2ml Syringe.
Use a 2ml Syringe with 18G needle to apply the ATF to the chain at the link pins.
2ml syringe available from the local chemist with an 18G Needle (1.25mm diameter) file the sharp tip off square to shaft before using.
The above is cheap & effective with minimal waste when applying chain lubricant.
Rob
Why not get an old saucepan and use on a portable gas cooker? 
Foo
I have my wax pots setup on the workbench in the shed. Not worried about mess or SWMBO that way.
I spent a bit of time on zero friction cycling as he has done testing that reveals just how much better wax is compared to drip lubes. Squirt hot wax is temperature sensitive. Keep it below 95c. I emailed Adam from ZFC for wax pot suggestions. He replied with a link for a pot from Amazon which he hadn’t used but looked good. About $80- can set and forget rather than watch the temp. Happy with it and have 2 now. One for road and one for gravel.
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On topic, just received this applicator. Illl report back once used
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Like Warthog, I also use hot wax on my 3 personal bikes. I still use oil on the other family bikes because they barely move year to year. More like display pieces.
Wax doesn’t suit very corrosive environments from what I’ve seen recently. Well not without a lot more work.
For the X-ring chain on my motorcycle where wax isn’t a viable option, I use 140 weight transmission oil and a squeeze bottle. I run it on the lower part of the chain while its moving briskly. One side at a time as per Sheldon Brown’s direction. As said above, ATF might be a better option for bicycle chains than many other oils. Bicycle oil drip lubes are overpriced and under perform IMO. We are mostly better off with basic automotive transmission lubricants if not using good wax products in their various forms.
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I’m happy with the simplicity of a 2ml syringe 18G needle applicator & performance of Transmax Z Full Synth ATF.
SILCA Velo Chain Waxing? Avoid These 7 Beginner Mistakes!
& This may be of interest,Trace Velo 2026_04_15 OXFORDSHIRE
Blend is:
230g paraffin wax
25–30g microcrystalline wax
2g MoS₂
2g WS₂
….However, the DIY wax added up to about the same amount as the Silca wax. And if it’s the same price, might as well get the pre-made one
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Plenty of information here with respect to chain waxing.
He does ramble a bit on his videos, but he has done a shed load of testing and has the data.
Immersive wax dumps on any other drip lube with respect to driveline durability.
Oil based lubes quickly turn into grinding paste as they hang onto dirt, sand and other abrasive muck they come in contact with.
Cassettes, chains and chainrings aint cheap so it makes sense ime. Everything is so much cleaner. It actually saves time also. Squirt hot wax will do 800km per lube on dry road conditions. Give it a wipe, whip it off and put the new chain back on. 
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