It's a maintenance point that can be regularly overlooked, but lubricating your chain using the best bike chai🅘n lube will save 🐽you effort and money; it's as simple as that. A clean and correctly lubricated chain will prevent unnecessary drivetrain wear but will also run more efficiently, helping you go faster for the same effort.
When a chain is dirty, contamination is present in each chain link in the form of metal particles, dirt or sand etc. These contaminants are suspended within a chain lubricant, specifically the carrier the lubricant is held in, and essentially form a grinding paste which will just wear your chain out from the inside. Even the 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:best road bike groupsets will be ruined in just a few thousand miles if chain wear is ter🍌minal.
To avoid this, ensuring you know 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:how to clean your chain is an important step in the process, as it's essential to get it as clean as possible before applying any lubricant. The difference here could be a handful of watts over your friend's bike with the filthy black drivetrain (we all know someone with a bike like this), but more importantly, it will also save you money by extending the life of your components. If you are interested in taking this to the next level, you can also check out our guide on the 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:best bike chain wax.
There is a vast ❀array of chain lubricants on the market these days. Independent testers like the experts at have a wealth of information and data on the subject. All of the drip lubes listed in our guide have been independently tested by Zero Friction and can be backed up with a set of results. Any one of these chai🔥n lubricants will really help care for your drivetrain.
Silca Super Secret Chain lube is incredibly slick out of the bottle. It gets close to immersive wax performance and you can hot wax your chain with Super Secret applied. Apply twice and work into chain links with your fingers.
An affordable and clean running wax emulsion chain lubricant. If you're looking for a great, wax all-rounder, Smoove is a🔥 product you should consider. Apply in the big chainring and largest sprocket to open up your chain links that little bit more and aid chain penetration.
CeramicSpeed UFO All Conditions drip lubricant is the third generation of the UFO drip lube series. It's low ✃wear and super fast, perfect for a race day chain or performance tr🌺aining and riding. If you really stay on top of chain maintenance this could be perfect for you.
A great option if you want a great lubricant with green credentials. Effetto Maripꦛosa Flower Power is a vegan lubricant produced using sunflower seed oils. It's durable and long-lasting and set a cost to run record in testing. It runs a little darker so keep this in mind if you like a sparkling drivetrain.
Tungsten All Weather packs a punch despite its small 50ml size. It is really gooܫd value, if you prefer to stick ༒to budget or cheaper chain lubes and spend your money on upgrades you can almost have the best of both worlds with this product.
AbsolteBlack Graphen wax has won at least one Tour de France with Pog and lasts an incredibly long time between applications. It's expensive initially but will last you a long time and perfౠওorm very well.
Revolubes is a high-performing wet lubricant that has been developed with a great deal of care. Follow the applicat🐻ion instructions below and you can enjoy one of the smoothest-feeling chain lubes.
Silca Synergetic is the brand's top wet lubricant and was initially designed for F1 applications. If you want the familiarity of a wet drip❀ lub✱ricant to apply to your drivetrain, then give Syngergetic a look.
Rex Black Diamond is the Finnish🐈 company's top-tier drip lubricant and is the drip version of the Black Diamond hot melt wax. The small bottle will go a long way and perform brilliantly.
It can be used as a top-up alongside super secret hot wax
+
Nice product support and info provided by Silca
Reasons to avoid
-
At RRP, it's not the cheapest around
-
Application can be a little messy
Buy it if
✅ You want wax performance that's easy to apply: Simply drip it onto the chain links and the Super Secret Drip lube easily penetrates the chain links.
✅ You want you already use Silca Hot Melt and Mspeedwax hot melt waxes: Silca's drip wax can be used to top up your wax chain.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want a clean application: Don't use this lube 🧔over a nice r⭕ug, as the Super Secret Drip lube can get messy when applying.
The idea behind Super Secret Drip lube from Silca is that you're getting pretty close to immersive wax benefits and performance but in a drip lubricant ಌfrom a bottle.
Using Tungsten Disulfide which, without getting too ner🍨dy, is a very smooth and slippery componen💯t that's perfect for a chain lubricant. So slippery in fact the lube almost wants to slide off your chain links when applying.
Super Secret Drip is excell🌜ent at penetrating the links of a clean chain, meaning it's working optimally from the get-go for you. Performance-wi🐟se wise it keeps a drivetrain very clean and has very low recorded wear rates. It is also compatible with Silca Hot Melt and Mspeedwax hot melt waxes.
I applied Super Secret﷽ drip on a freshly prepared new YBN chain for my🌌 track bike, the nozzle could be a little finer to aid application and you do get a little bit of mess from drips due to the thin consistency and slipperiness, so take your time when applying.
Best value drip-on wax lube
(Image credit: Future / Tom Wieckowski)
2. Smoove chain lube
Great value wax emulsion bike chain lube
Reasons to buy
+
Great longevity at a sensible price
+
Runs really quietly, almost silent
+
Will last a long time
Reasons to avoid
-
A little more prep is involved to best apply the lube
-
The applicator can be fiddly
Buy it if
✅ You want a long-lasting lube: It performs well and has a long interval between applications.
✅ You want a silent drivetrain: Not only does it give your drivetrain a silky smooth feel, but it also runs very quietly.
✅ You want an affordable lube: The 125ml bottle is keenly priced and our test bottle lasted over 10,000km.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want easy application: The applic𝓡ator is a little fiddly and requiresဣ a little forward planning.
Smoove is a white-coloured wax emulsion drip lubricant from the South African company Smoove. It is 100% biodegradable and solvent free. It is cheap to buy and the 125ml bottle will last a 𓄧long time making it really good value, with one bottꦛle lasting for over 10,000km of testing.
Its wax-based formula is mixed with water. Smoove performed well in Zero Friction testing but it is a lubricant that needs a little more work for it to adequately penetrate a chain once applied (similar to GraphenLube from AbsoluteBlack), ꦦwe have a section on this at ꧒the bottom of the page for you to read.
The one thing I wasn't overly keen on was the applicator design, I found it a bit faffy and w✱ould prefer just a regular nozzle to apply the lubricant. After thoroughly prepping the KMC chain on a gravel bike I'm testing I applied Smoove and left it to set overnight. Once on, it runs really quietly which I have loved and the chain is spotless with minimal waxy buildup on pulley wheels etc. It does set ꧒with a degree of tackiness, so you may need to be hotter on maintenance if you are using it for a lot of gravel or off-road riding.
Not the best choice if your riding hundreds of miles or want to 'fit and forget'
Buy it if
✅ You want the fastest lube possible: Zero Friction's testing found the CeramicSpeed UFO Drip with the lowest recorded wear rate of all drip lubes, making it very fast.
✅ You want a clean chain: The lube runs clean and doesn't attract dirt.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want long-lasting performance: Short reapplication inter⭕vals require more attention, especially ꦡwith the overnight curing time.
CeramicSpeed updated its UFO drip lubricant this year🍸 and released an updated third version. Ditching the black and white bottle for a burgundy one - though we are most interest𓆏ed in what's inside!
Despite releasing All-Con𝓡ditions, Wet and Indoor lubricants this year, the All Conditions lube is closest to the previous UFO drip in performance but is now white instead of grey. The CeramicSpeed bottle has a 'pea' inside to help mix the lubricant, the only lube to have this. Application is also easy with a very fine nozzle.
It is the Danish company's fastest l🍎ubricant. In testing, ZF found it to be very fast with the lowest recorded drip lubricant wear rate of all. CeramicSpeed claims a proper application will be around 180 miles. So this could be a good option to use if you're racing or don't want to reapply / clean chains every week or less.
In 🥃the wet, CermaicSpeed recommends its wet UFO lubricant over this one, so tཧake a look at this if this sounds like a better option for your riding.
Best eco-friendly chain lube
(Image credit: Future / Tom Wieckowski)
4. Effetto Mariposa Flower Power
A great option if you want great lubricant with green credentials
Reasons to buy
+
Excellent green credentials
+
Set a ZF cost to run record
Reasons to avoid
-
Not as clean running as some other lubricants
Buy it if
✅ You want an eco-friendly lube: The wax formula uses Sunflower seed and other natural occurring waxes, it's also vegan.
✅ You want great value for money: It's one of the cheapest lubricants to run.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want to ride in dirty conditions: The lube doesn't run as clean as other options.
Flower Power wax by Effetto Mariposa is a 🦂top-performing yet eco-friendly drip chain lubricant formulate🐬d in part using oil from Sunflower seeds. The wax emulsion is water-based, and uses a high sunflower wax content alongside other naturally occurring waxes, making it vegan too.
With a claimed application duration of roughly 600km, the lubricant set a new record during ZF testing as the lowest cost-to-run lubricant. In a comparison of wear rates from all the ZF testing blocks and conditions, Flower Power emerged as the cheapest lubricant to run with an Ultegra 11s groupset. The goal with any chain lubr🥂icant is to have to replace drivetrain components as little as possible.
For all-around riding, Flower Power is an excellent option that's green and affordable. The only potential drawback is that your driveꦓtrain won't look as clean dur🍨ing use compared to some products in this guide.
Best all-weather chain lube
(Image credit: Future / Tom Wieckowski)
5. Bananaslip Tru Tungsten
Excellent value drip lube with Tungsten Disulphide
Reasons to buy
+
Good value
+
Keeps the drivetrain clean
Reasons to avoid
-
Smaller 50ml bottle
Buy it if
✅ You want to ride in wet or muddy conditions: Minimal contamination keeps your drivetrain running efficiently in all conditions.
✅ You want an affordable lube: Low price and good performance makes this a great value option.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want a big bottle: It only comes in a 50ml bottle, so you'll need to stock up if you go thrܫough a lot of lube.
Tru Tension all-weather is a waterproof wax-based bike cꦏhain lube which uses Tungsten Disulphide in its makeup.
The Tru Tension All Weather is easy to apply with the fine nozzle and has a slightly grey colour out of the bottle. ZF testing found it to have very good wear rates across lubricant testing a⛦nd a very good ability to clear contaminꦜation, making this an excellent option if you ride off-road or in fouler conditions.
For the low cost per bottle, especially in the UK. This should be one of the drip chain lubricants you should consider for all-around riding protection. It c👍omes in the smallest bottle in the guide, but the affordable price and high performance mean it should still last a decent amount of time.
Best long-lasting bike chain lube
(Image credit: Future / Tom Wieckowski)
6. AbsoluteBlack GraphenLube
Fantastic application longevity
Reasons to buy
+
Comes with resealable bags included for initial application
+
A bottle will last a very long time
+
High performance across the board
Reasons to avoid
-
140ml has a high retail price
Buy it if
✅ You want a long-lasting lube: With an application interval of up to 1800km and decent wet-weather performance, you won't need to lube your chain frequently.
✅ You want a high-performance lube: Tadej Pogačar has used it for the Tour de France, enough said.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want an easy application: Having to completely clean and immerse the chain in ಞth♋e lube off the bike makes lubing your chain a bit more involved.
AbsoluteBlack's Graphenlube is the most expensive lubricant in the guide and has been used by Tadej Pogačar to win at least one of his two Tour de France titles. It's a wax-based lubricant containing high-quality Graphene. It does have a black colour when dry so you don't get that super shiny chain look with this one. It's best applied to a very clean or new chain and a submersive application is required first.
Graphenlube is incredibly long-lasting per application, up to 1800km. Low friction and has been found to perform very well in the wet. If you can live with the initial outlay, it will do very well for you. ZF was also i🌟nvolved in this lubricant prototype testing.
After initially stripping a new chain to go on my winter bike, I followed AbsoluteBlack's application instructions and used the provided resealable bag that comes with the chain lube, this does make the application really easy and mess-free. Pouring the best part of the bottle out into a bag feels odd but after agitating the chain in the lubricant and letting it soak for a while, most of the contents are the♓n poured back i⛎nto the bottle, it then becomes obvious this chain lubricant will last you a very long time.
One of the fastest wet lubes around
(Image credit: Future / Tom Wieckowski)
7. Revolubes Bike Chain Lube
Long lasting and smooth feeling when pedalling
Reasons to buy
+
Easy application from the pipette
+
Each application lasts a long time
+
As claimed, feels smooth to ride
Reasons to avoid
-
Wet lubricants may attract more contamination
Buy it if
✅ You want all-weather performance: Smooth feel when riding in unpleasant conditions.
✅ You want a fast and simple application: Relubing up requires no curing time, making it a great option for last-minute lubing.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want your chain to stay clean: Unlike waxes that dry and reduce contamination, some dirt will s𓆉tickཧ to the wet lube.
Revolubes specialises in mak𒆙ing lubricants for the bike, motorsports and fishing sect🅺ors. It is a wet chain lubricant (meaning this isn't a wax lube that dries, rather than a lube for rainy days) and it has performed fantastically during ZF testing.
Revolubes is one of the best wet lubricants ZF has test༺ed, especially for drier road con🌺ditions. It's long-lasting per application and is relatively cheap, stays clean and feels really smooth to ride.
I prepped and applied Revolubes to a KMC chain. The lubricant is also the only product to come in a glass bottle and with its own pipette applicator which is handy. Revolubes also makes a chain grease you can ෴mix with the wet lubricant for wet and challenging conditions.
Like many of the lubricants here, Revolubes recommends🌞 you apply the lubricant to a thoroughly ౠcleaned chain. They now have a useful you can follow.
Alternative high-performance wet lube
(Image credit: Future / Tom Wieckowski)
8. Silca Synergetic
An excellent wet lubricant option
Reasons to buy
+
A top performing wet drip lube
+
Excellent testing results
Reasons to avoid
-
Fiddly to apply
-
Doesn't have the best staying power
Buy it if
✅ You want to keep chain wear to a minimum: The Synergetic lube reduces drivetrain wear better than any other non-wax lube.
✅ You want a clean chain: Despite being a wet lube, Silca Synergetic picks up very little dirt.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want easy lube application: Applying the lube is a simple process, although you only need a little bit on each link so it requires a little patience.
❌ You want long wet weather protection: The Synergetic doesn't last as well in wet conditions so will require more frequent top ups.
Silca Synergetic is along with Revolubes another wet lubricant. It is an oil-based lubricant that contains Tungsten disulfide (the same as the Tru Tension lube). You can see the Tungsten disulfide collected at the bottom of the bottle before shaking it up to mix. The lubricant will change from a clear colour to a dark grey/black wh🦩en mixed up.
Silca Synergetic was first developed as a lubricant for F1 applications and there is some interesting info on this on the . It has te💃sted a🐻s just about the top wet lubricant during ZF testing. It keeps the drivetrain pretty clean in use and has good application longevity.
Best drip wax for all disciplines
(Image credit: Future / Tom Wieckowski)
9. Rex Black Diamond
A solid drip lube from an innovative company
Reasons to buy
+
Solid testing and development
+
Excellent longevity per application
Reasons to avoid
-
Hard to find in the UK right now
Buy it if
✅ You want a versitile lube: Formula has been designed for road, gravel and MTB.
✅ You want a long-lasting lube: Thick consistency and high lubricant levels mean it has good longevity in a range of conditions.
Don't buy it if
❌ You want quick link penetration: Thicker consistency means the lu🌠be needs to be worked into the links.
Rex&ꦆnbsp;Black Diamond lube is the drip lubricant sibling of the Rex Black Diamond hot wax. It's a🎀 dark-coloured wax lubricant that the Finnish company says is suited to road, gravel and MTB riding.
ZF has t🌌e🔜sted the slightly less premium Rex Domestique drip lubricant. Black Diamond is said to contain more premium friction modifiers so should perform more strongly. 100% of Black Diamond's content is also a lubricant, not water which will evaporate, or a poor carrier which can trap contamination.
The small Black Diamond bottle uses a fine applicator, it is a little thicker and stickier out of the bottle than its competitorꦚs. Rex reꩲcommends working the lubricant into a chain with your fingers to aid penetration and to get it into the rollers.
How to choose the best bike chain lube for you
Finding the right chain lube can feel a bit like trying to find the 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:best road bike saddle for you; the lube that will perform the best for you will depend l🅰ar🍷gely on where you ride, how much you ride, and how often you clean and or re-lube.
Honestly, things may jusﷺt boil down to how interested you are in drivetrain cleaning and the world of chain lubes. Some riders just aren't hugely bothered about having a mucky chain that may wear out a little faster and that's absolutely fin🐼e.
If you do want to up your game and try to use the best possible product to increase efficiency and lengthen drivetrain life, then start with cleaning. You will need to start with a properly cleaned chain. Investigate♔ what degreasing products you want to use to get your chain sparkling, and head to which has more🎃 information than we could possibly include here on the subject and this will enable you to find the best lubricant for your riding and budget.
All of the lubricants in this guide are excellent. Their differences are highlighteಞd depending on what conditions you are riding in. But any lubricant from our guide will perform very well compared to poorer l෴ubricants on the market.
What are the different types of chain lube?
Wet lube
Wet lubes as the name suggests are physically wet by nature and don't dry like wax lube 🀅products. They tend to be similar to heavy oil or light grease in makeup. These will be long-lasting and stand up well to torrential downpours but also attract dirt and contamination more easily. So there is a balance to be struck here. Our advice would be to forget the old adage 'wet lube for wet riding'. Technology and the products on the market have moved on.
Wax-based and wax emulsion
Wཧaxed-based drip lubes are popular because they work well in both wet and dry conditions and for on and off-road applications. Wax lubes are made up of friction modifiers and or products lik🐬e tungsten disulfide which are often emulsified in a carrier fluid; the liquid helps the particles get where they need to be and dries, leaving just the wax inside. Due to the nature of wax, it dries and doesn’t attract much grit and can also support additives like Teflon, while coating and protecting metal components.
The downside to wax lubes is that they take a bit more initial work to apply and maintain. Before the initial application, you’ll need tಌo make sure any factory grease or old lube has been removed and get the chain as clean as possible. The process also takes longer, it's advisable to apply these lubricants theꦛ night before a ride ideally.
Should I use wet or dry lube?
This is the age-old classic. The stock answer generally tended to be 'wet for wet rides dry for dry ride𓄧s'. But this is outdated now as mentioned above. Both wet and dry lubricants can be really damaging to your chain, regardless of conditions, if the chain is carrying a lot of contamination already.
Wet lubricants, as in physically wet lubricants as well as dedicated wet weather lubricants may attract more contami💃nation, especially in muddy and or dusty conditions. So it's important to choose your lubricant carefully or be ready to clean after a really mucky ride.
By 🅠all means, apply a wet lube for a torrential ride, but make sure you clean your chain effectively afterwards. Don't just reapply a fresh layer of lubricant on top of the grit and dirt that's on your chain. The same goes for 'dry' lube.
We would recommend simply splitting chain lubricants into hot melt immersive waxes and drip lubricants. I.e lubricants that come out of a bottle as a liquid and go𒊎 from there based on your requirements.
FAQ
Is it ok to use WD40 on my chain?
If you are reading this guide♓ you may well know this already. But we will include it anyway. WD40 isn't a c﷽hain lubricant and there are far more effective options out there. WD40 (the brand) also makes a range of bike-specific chain lubricants now that are better suited to the job, so save the WD40 (the product) for un-seizing or protecting metal parts.
How can I clean my chain properly?
For every chain lubricant listed here, starting with a properly cleaned chain is essential for optimum performance and for you to enjoy its performance be𓆏nefits.
Most of the products listed are supported by dedicated cleaners from the respective manufacturers which helps. We would recommend 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:removing the c🐽hain from the bike for cleaning. If you haven't done it before it may mean investing in s🔯ome chain link removal pliers; these just look like a small pair of pliers and undo a chain's connector link. A chain can be removed 🍸in a few seconds, it's a simple job.
Once the chain is removed, you can submerge and clean the chain in chain cleaner, white spirit or your chosen degreaser. Doing this with a new chain is far easier than trying♕ to clean a dirty chain. A resealable Tupperware container is excellent for agitating the submerged chain, if you haven't done this before you will be amazed at what comes out of the chain. It may take an overnight soak or a few rounds of cleaning to remove all of the factory packing grease and get the chain clean.
You can also use an 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:ultrasonic cleaner to do 🐭this, but using 💫a resealable container is cheaper. When the cleaning solution is running clear with no discolouration or contaminants, you know your chain is clean.
Should I spend more on chain lube?
In short, it's up to you whether you want to invest more in a good chain lubricant, which may have a higher initial cost than others. It is worth thinking about, especially for mid and higher-tier groupsets w🥂hich most performance road bikes generally have.
If a chain and cassette are worn out after 3000 miles, for example, this coul✅d be within a year's worth of riding for plenty of cyclists. The cost of a new chain and cassette will far exceed a bottle of more premium chain lubricant. I have had to explain to plenty of cycli🐼sts that their drivetrain is completely worn out and needs replacing which has resulted in a large bill. It's never a nice conversation, especially if you're on the receiving end of the bad news, but it's something that's totally avoidable with a little effort and the right chain lube.
What are penetration issues?
Penetration issues in chain lubricants refer to the lubricant not being able to penetra🌳te inside all of a chain link to provide adequate lubrication and protection. This can be due to tight chain tolerances where the lubricant can't physically get in there or a lack of lubricant in the first place.
A good example is this, imagine getting your chain perfectly clean after several baths in White Spirit, letting it dry and then applying a tiny drop of lubricant to each chain link. If that lube doesn't penetrate the link properly, you'll ha🅰rm your chain when you use it, and the first few miles could see very high wear rates as unlubricated metal surfaces mash together due to a lack of lubricant within.
There are a few lubricants in this guide that ZF found to ꧒have initial p🌱enetration issues, these lubricants simply require a little more work at first to get them into a chain properly. One good tip is to apply chain lubricant in the big chainring and largest rear sprocket, this will open up chain links just that little bit more and help lubricant penetration.
How should I look after my chain after a wet ride?
Water from a wet ride will carry contaminants💫 into your chaཧin links and there they will stay, wearing your chain from the inside unless they are removed and contamination is reset. You should therefore try to avoid just re-lubricating your chain after a wet ride if you can help it.
Afte🅘r a wet ride, ideally try to clean your chain and remove as much contamination as you can. Start by wiping down the outside, then you can use a spray degreaser to keep the chain on the bike, or remove it and essentially repeat the submersion bath in chain degreaser or white spirits etc until the liquid remains clear. You can refer to the to help you here.
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cycl♔ingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
