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 Zero Friction Cycling 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. While drive chains aren’t kept in a bath of lubricant, a decent lube will – to some extent – help to reduce this damage, especially where it creeps under the unsealed roller.

metal discs were coated with chain lubes for this review, as well as another that was left bare; a big thanks to crash-protection and aftermarket accessory specialist Evotech-Performance for manufacturing these for me. So wheel off then. But even with the gentlest of pressure, holding the stubby nozzle right up to the chain, there's still enough overspray to coat both chainstays and rear mech in un-needed lubricant. Yes it will wipe off, but it leaves a detectable mark on even freshly cleaned and degreased metal. The downside to wax lubes is they take a bit more initial work to apply and maintain. Before the initial application, you’ll need to 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 the night before a ride ideally. Should I use wet or dry lube?

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Despite releasing All-Conditions, 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. For lubrication, use the recommended lubricant. Do not use engine oil or any other lubricants for the chain drive. Using such non-recommended lubricants might prove harmful since they may contain substances that could damage the O-rings.

Second, there would be jerky wheel movements. Since the wheel is not receiving the power from the chain properly, the speed continuously dwindles. Only when the rear wheel receives this power and starts to move forward, the motorcycle will start moving forward. You could also use it as the only lubricant on your chain, and it will last for 8 to 12 hours of riding in dry conditions.If you are reading this guide you may well know this already. But we will include it anyway. WD40 isn't a chain 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?

Side Note – WD-40. will remove any other lubricants on your chain. If you want to put a different lubricant on your chain you’ll need to make sure all of the WD-40 product has been fully cleaned from the chain. Lower numbers are best in this graph showing the results of the IP 239 four-ball anti-wear; the performance of the XCP is truly outstanding. If you want to use normal oil, the gear oil that chain manufacturers recommend works fine. But remember that they’re simply suggesting something that they know will work to some extent, and that doesn’t favour any brand, and that won’t lead to litigation if that product changed or didn’t perform as expected. The problem is that it flings off like crazy, and as the testing has shown, that means it offers poor corrosion protection – there’s no point testing rust proofing without spinning the samples first, which is why I did this the way I did. 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 which most performance road bikes generally have.With 55 lubes reviewed, including gear oil and chainsaw oil, we’ve also employed the services of a leading lubrication testing lab to ensure this is the most detailed and trust-worthy test you’ll ever see… Gear oil WILL make more of a mess, and it’ll need reapplying a lot more than a dedicated chain lube, but overall it performs better than chainsaw oil.