The Guitar Ted Lube-Off: The Final Word

  NOTICE:  The Guitar Ted 'Lube-Off' is a comparison of different lubrication products for bicycle chains that is undertaken in 'real world' conditions in a set way. Then I compare and contrast the results with past 'Lube-Off' products to see "which one is best for me". This is done for entertainment purposes and the reader should apply their own reasoning and discernment while reading my 'Lube-Off' entries. What works for me may not work for you at all. 

Dusty gravel roads are my absolute favorite riding surface and fortunately for me, we have a lot of miles of that sort of road around here. So, I have been focusing on what sort of gear works best for m those roads. Part of that is my search for the perfect lubricant for my uses. 

So, this all may not be for you. It may make zero sense to you. You can disagree all you want to. But, if you find yourself on similar roads, well then, you might be interested in what I found. 

This year, the contenders were made up of one previous winner, one remake of the previous winner, and two new entrants. The top lube going into 2026 for me was SILCA's Super-Secret v1 formula. This year, SILCA revised that formula, upgraded it, and now offer a v2 of Super-Secret that they claim is longer lasting and just better overall than v1. Two new drip-wax lubes came into this round. Stan's Polar Drip Wax and Triboflux. 

So, which one did I think was the best? 

Winner, winner...something something Door Dash.

If you caught yesterdays post, you probably have already guessed that Triboflux is not the top lube this time around. (Scroll back to the previous post to see that entry) Yes, Triboflux is decent enough, but not "best". Then we have the curious case of the other new entrant, Stan's Polar Drip Wax. I think it is a contender, but it isn't as good as the top lube in this test. 

Obviously this leaves the two versions of Super-Secret. The v2 test is shown above. I saw very similar results with v1. SILCA says v2 will last longer and resists washing off from water exposure better than v1 did. If you take them for their word, then the newer version wins. I cannot separate v1 from v2 at this point. Those two Super-Secret lubes are still neck and neck for me on my roads. 

I have a giant bottle of the v1 Super-Secret to get through yet, and I'll happily do so. The v2 can wait. But if you are in the market for a chain lube with a very good performance which doesn't attract gunk or very much dust at all, get Super-Secret v2. I do not think v1 is available anymore, but if it is, you cannot go wrong with it either. 

And with that, the Lube-Off for 2026 comes to a close.  

The Guitar Ted Lube-Off: Triboflux Update & Conclusions

 NOTICE:  The Guitar Ted 'Lube-Off' is a comparison of different lubrication products for bicycle chains that is undertaken in 'real world' conditions in a set way. Then I compare and contrast the results with past 'Lube-Off' products to see "which one is best for me". This is done for entertainment purposes and the reader should apply their own reasoning and discernment while reading my 'Lube-Off' entries. What works for me may not work for you at all. Also, I did not receive this from the company but I did pay for it with my own money. 

I introduced the next contender in this year's Lube-Off, Triboflux, back in September. If you missed that, click HERE. There you will learn all the tech details behind this wax based drip lube.

The first Triboflux update can be seen HERE. The last update on the Stan's and SILCA products can be seen HERE. 

In this final update on the Triboflux lubricant I will discuss my impressions of the lube, show the chain/cassette dust/grunge build up, if any, and then share my take on this drip-wax lubricant. 

The Triboflux made it into that segment of Fall where we had some fine, ultra-dusty days and so I feel I did finally get a good read on how this lubricant would do for me in a complete riding season. 

Essentially Triboflux seems to be a decent contender. I thought the shifting quality while using this lube was very good. In fact, it was quieter than the other drip wax lubes in this session of the Lube-Off. Perhaps the thickness of the lubricant upon application left a slightly thicker layer of wax on side plates which damped noises. This would be my guess. 

I did not feel the need to reapply the lube at any point and I did not get any squeaky chain noises later into this run. So all in all, these things would seem to point to a good choice for dry gravel road usage. 

Just a little bit more dirt/dust accumulation than I'd like to see here. 

 The chain looked pretty good, but there was more residue coming off the rollers than I am comfortable with. This chain is a little dirty, and that is not great. Sure, I could knock off a lot of the dust and dirt with a microfiber cloth, but that stuff coming off the rollers concerns me. I just do not see that with the other contenders in the test round. 

Conclusions: Triboflux is a decent lubricant, don't get it twisted, but it just doesn't measure up to what I see with others in the field in my Lube-Off tests. I can think of a half a dozen lubes I've tried which I would turn to before using Triboflux. At least at this stage of the riding. 

Perhaps a brand new, prepped chain would fare a bit better, but the other lubricants I am using in this round are all on used chains as well, and I see better results. Hard to say now.  But at this point, I am afraid Triboflux is just not as impressive as I was hoping for it to be. Again, Triboflux is good. Just not great. 

A final Lube-Off post will appear here tomorrow.  

Come Join The Party

From IWAR's Facebook page

All things we know on Earth have a beginning and an ending. Such is the case with Iowa Wind and Rock, which will hold its final event this coming April on 300-plus miles of gravel roads. 

I do not need to go into great detail on why this matters to me. However; if you are unaware, I wrote this post in September of this year when IWAR made its announcement that the 2027 event would be its last. 

In terms of gravel events, IWAR, and Trans Iowa before it, were, and are, acquired tastes. I'd liken these events to being the Jagermeister amongst the Southern Comforts of the gravel event world. People say they liked Trans Iowa and IWAR, but mostly they did not. Those who truly do, and did, are the nutjobs of gravel riding. They are very few and far between. 

So, my message to those of you out there who understood these events, and truly were fans, participants, or dreamers who wished they "could have", is that you should show up this one last time. Be that as a rider, volunteer, or just to hang out and share in what will likely be the last time a gravel event of this sort ever happens. I highly doubt anyone will take on this hard and heavy a responsibility in the future. Perhaps I will be proven wrong on this point. I doubt it though. 

So, be that as it may, I am now planning on being there. Probably just to hang out, but you never know. And speaking of riding, you have until the end of this month to decide to do this. Registration is HERE.

It is now or never.....

Two Things

A Patenet Application Image seen on Pink Bike

Novel Suspension Idea For Bicycles:

As seen in this article from "Pink Bike", a new design has been submitted for patent by Yeti. The design, a rotary type, centers around the axle and frame attachment, which is very different than traditional through axle drop outs you may be familiar with. 

Of course, as with any non-traditional idea, this may never see the light of day. So, any speculation further than the mere existence of the idea is quite possibly unnecessary. 

But the article linked above did mention this was an idea which could be made to work for a gravel bike. This is my only reason for even bringing this up here today. See, a mountain bike company is proposing something to radically change what really is a type of road bike. 

Now, mountain bikes have typically been the realm of the weird, wonderfully over-engineered, and sometimes game-changing ideas which have left this category of bicycle with no archetype. At least not from a mass-produced, large scale mountain biking company. The original "all-terrain bike" is somewhat preserved in some company's bike packing bikes, but even then, the MTB hardtail is so far removed from the roots of mountain biking it is not comparable. 

Radical suspension designs for front and rear sent our minds on a wild fantasy ride back in the early 1990's (See this example ) Meanwhile, road bikes kept to a fairly distilled design language which had been proven over decades and was simple, elegant, and lightweight. There was not much to improve on the road biking side. 

See, the thing is, this entire "gravel bike" thing is being co-opted by mountain bikers because the bikes are fast, light, and pseudo-capable MTB/single track machines which brings the lightweight, simple design language back to off-road which has been missing. Now these off-roaders are applying their creativity to make something more MTB-like, and retain the things road bikes have, if this idea is truly going to end up on a gravel bike. Maybe it will, but probably? It won't and all this is but hot air. 

But I'll sum up by saying this idea is stupid because it makes a frame propriety and useless if the suspension fails. Keep gravel bike simple. They are, after all, really road bikes anyway. 

Riki Don't Lose That (LT Pro) Number:

Life Time Events has mandated a new qualifying system to enter in any Life Time Pro event for the off-road and gravel events it holds. The move should distill the field down to the most elite level athletes in the gravel and MTB disciplines. 

Life Time reviews applicants and/or considers top results in their events or outside events as factors which will allow an athlete to obtain a "LT Pro Number", as Life Time is calling it. These LT Pro Numbers expire at the end of the 2027 calendar year and then the application process opens up again for the following year. 

Past champions and series winners are automatically entered in the LT Pro Number ranks. There are more details to this idea, but this is the gist of the thing. 

 Hmm.... Let's make gravel more exclusive! That's the idea, guys! Nicely done. They say they are making things "more professional", and I say, "Well, it's BS like this which provoked us to create our gravel events in the first place." So, perhaps this will eventually be the spur to the loins to get some more grassroots action happening. Who knows?

Next thing I think of is how this language Life Time is using avoids the term "License" and at the same time the idea will kind of force top athletes to commit to Life Time or forsake Life Time and head on over to the UCI. In my mind, this is really what is going on here. Life Time wants to grab the top athlete pool for themselves and push the UCI out of North American gravel. 

I could be wrong, but this is how I see it now.  

A Great "First Time"

Lambeau Field, Green Bay WI. 

I don't generally veer off the topic of bicycling here on this blog. However; I hope you will indulge me on at least this occasion to allow me to tell you about my experiences of the last couple of days. And if you don't like the Green Bay Packers, you may want to skip today's entry.

That is because I was in attendance at the game in Lambeau Field this past Thursday. It is something I never thought I would ever be able to experience. So, it was a very big deal for me, especially since I am a fan of the Green Bay Packers. 

I will not get into all the history I have with the team, going back to my youth. I won't get into all the reasons why I never went to a game before this, nor why I never thought I ever would go attend any NFL game. It was just something I figured was beyond my reach both financially and travel-wise. 

But Mrs. Guitar Ted and I have some old friends who have been avid Packer fans, and season ticket holders, for many years. They offered to take us to the game if we paid for lodging. So, the plan was set, and even the day before we left I found the entire idea so unreal I could not believe it. And sitting here writing this, I still kind of feel like it all was a dream. 

Mrs. Guitar Ted being silly at Titletown next to Lambeau Field

A huge statue of Curly Lambeau, the stadium's namesake. 

The plan our host had was to guide us on a kind of overall look at Lambeau Field and its surroundings. We walked about 3/4's of the way around the building, saw Kroll's tailgate party, went to Titletown, and the Johnsonville Tailgate Village. 

The Johnsonville Tailgate Village

A giant Lombardi Trophy replica greets you as you enter the stadium at the American Family Insurance gate.

We entered the stadium and saw a 50ft high replica of the Vince Lombardi Trophy which represents the championship trophy of the NFL.. The trophy was named in honor of the famous coach of the Packers when the Packers won multiple championships in the 1960's. 

Then we went through the Atrium. A large open area where we came across a drum corp banging out a cadence at a deafening volume. It was the ultimate pep rally! If you weren't hype after this, you were dead. 

The drum team was awesome, and LOUD!

 Then we began the slow climb upwards towards our seats......

A view within the original "bowl" of Lambeau Field, erected in 1957. It originally held a little over 32,000 fans.

 

My view from my seat on the 7th Level. The stadium now holds 72,515 fans.

Our seats were in the South End Zone area, the newest part of the stadium. It was pretty high up there and I was glad there was a Jumbo-tron so I could actually see what was happening on the field a little more clearly. 

Now, a few random impressions I gathered from my experience:(No particular order)

• Lambeau Field is considered one of the "must see" stadiums of any kind in the world, and certainly in the NFL. I would agree that it is very impressive. 
• This place is cleaner than anyone's home you've been in. There is not one piece of trash anywhere on the ground. There are no little corners filled with dust, random spider webs, or anything. It's an amazingly spic and span joint. Shout out to this stadium's caretakers. You rule!
• The stories you hear about the fans are true. Nice, fun, and gregarious. We had a Panther fan sitting in front of us and he was treated with all due respect as a human. Nice! 
• Lambeau gets LOUD. The televised crowd noise soes not do it justice. The vibes are real. 
• The game moves quickly at times and then you get the "TV ad breaks" which slow things down tremendously. It's a contrast which is noticeable at the field. 
• Prices for concessions are very expensive. 
• The Milwaukee Brewers, who had just won the World Series the evening before, showed up with the Commissioners Trophy in between the first and second quarters wearing cheese heads. The crowd lost their minds. 
• The Packers defeated the Carolina Panthers 27 - 19. 

So, that is where I've been and with travel, what I've been up to for two days this week. I hope you've enjoyed this tiny look at Lambeau Field and the experience I had there. Tomorrow I will return to regular content again. 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions. 

Friday News And Views

Apologies:

The 32”er wheel news was a mistake on my part and I apologize for the mistake  

Thanks for the folks in the comments who set me straight  I appreciate you all  

New Podcast With Dark Reader Questions:

We like reader questions and Josh, (a local rider. Hello Josh!), loves sending us questions. He sent one in recently which gave rise to the title of our latest episode, "The Death Bike"

Without giving too much away, the premise of the main question was this: You have five good, healthy years left. Then you die. You have ONE bike to ride these last five years, and price is no barrier. What would you build? 

We jokingly called this our "death bike" dream build. So, that is why we named the episode as we have. At any rate, it is Halloween weekend! Please enjoy the new episode, and there is a lot more in there than just that topic to listen to. 

We're closing in on the end of Season 4 of the Guitar 
Ted Podcast. Four seasons and we have already recorded 122 episodes. Thirty-Two just this year alone. The total output of the Guitar Ted Podcast has already outstripped the Riding Gravel Radio Ranch's output in less than half the amount of time. As I look back the decision to take control of the production was a wise one from a podcast production standpoint. 

Hopefully you listeners are enjoying the podcast and we still like doing it. New things are in the works for 2027. Stay tuned....

I Get No Respect:

In the annals of gravel event history in the Modern Era, Barry-Roubaix is often forgotten or ignored for some reason. 

I'm not sure why this is. The event has perennially been one of the largest gravel events anywhere with 5,700 riders annually now. It boasts a prize pool worth $40,000 dollars. It is well sponsored by the cycling industry and is one of the best run events anywhere in cycling. 

But do you ever read or hear anything about this event? If you do, it is rare to see it mentioned in mainstream media that covers cycling. And maybe that is a good thing. Maybe it helps preserve the feel of this event. But the importance and influence this event has, and still does, cannot be denied. 

That influence is important to gravel cycling history. Co-founders of Barry-Roubaix, Rick Plite and his wife, Cathy Plite probably should have already been in the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame by this point. (PLEASE, someone nominate them HERE) They not only deserve being in the Hall, they are a glaring omission from it. 

And by the way, you can register for the 2027 Barry-Roubaix, scheduled for April 17th, 2027, on November 14th on BIKEREG. Barry-Roubaix Homepage HERE.  

Not Much Happening:

Typically I have to edit out several stories from appearing here on the FN&V. However; this week has been a slow news week,and so this FN&V will be a brief one this week. 

There is another circumstance which may be affecting this shorter FN&V if anything breaks news-wise on Thursday. But to learn why that is, you'll have to come back here on Saturday and read that day's entry. 

There are a few things percolating in the background here which I cannot discuss just yet. That all should get announced soon. 

Reviews are all starting to be wrapped up. I think I have something like three more to go before I can put the 2026 review season in the rear view mirror. Speaking of rear view mirrors.... 

I'll be working up my end-of-year stuff soon too. 2026 is quickly coming to a close. Meanwhile we tied a record for temperature here on Wednesday at 79°. 

Ridiculous. 

Okay folks.....go ride those bicycles!

Review: Aeron TPU Tubes Final Word

 Note: Guitar Ted received Aeron TPU tubes and a patch kit at no charge for test and review from Aeron. Guitar Ted is not being paid, nor bribed for this review and all opinions are Guitar Ted's.

The Aeron TPU tubes ended up in this wheel set. 

 
 It is time to put the Aeron TPU tube test to rest. As I had intended to do, I put the Aeron tubes in the Rene Herse tires I have and set those up on an old set of HED Ardennes + wheels I had laying around with a quick release interface. That worked out to test the wheels on the Fargo. The last update can be seen HERE. 

During the test we found out that these tubes can be transferred successfully from one tire to another. I thought this was a good thing to learn because some of us change out tires more than others, and if the Aeron tubes were okay with moving from one tire size to another, I thought this might help alleviate anyone's concerns who might be thinking about making the switch to TPU tubes. 

Image courtesy of Aeron

I know a few folks who are converting bikes from tubeless to TPU tube set ups. It is a great idea if you have multiple bikes and tubeless maintenance is driving you mad. Setting up a few bikes that do not get ridden often with TPU tubes instead will save on that maintenance and get you riding faster when the time comes to ride. 

Like many newer TPU tubes, Aeron is using an aluminum valve stem and they have a removable core. Technology moves fast though and some TPU tubes now feature fully threaded aluminum vale stems. I like that idea a little better than the partial threaded stem Aeron employs. 

Aeron uses a 'multi-layer TPU'' in their TPU tube construction which I felt was a boon to durability and for successful transfer of an Aeron TPU tube from one tire to another. 

As previously mentioned, Aeron makes this tube to work with a 650B size rim and tire. This makes mounting an Aeron TPU tube in a 700c wheel and tire a chore. More than it should be. I'd rather see Aeron go with separate sizes for both wheel diameters. 

Final Word: The ride quality is fine. Again, it isn't tubeless smooth, but it is close and you may have trouble telling any difference. It's that close. I feel it, but I admit it is a subtle difference. I wouldn't trade off tubeless for any brand of TPU tubes if I lived in an area with puncture problems like sharp rocks or thorns/goat heads and the like.  But for riding anywhere else I do not see a disadvantage to TPU. It certainly eliminates the hassles of tubeless maintenance and TPU outperforms butyl rubber in several ways. 

Would I go with the Aeron TPU tubes? They are very good, but with new TPU tubes having fully threaded valve stems and with other brands offering dedicated 700c sizing, I would spend my money elsewhere. Aeron is just a tic off with this offering, and if they corrected the sizing issue, and upgraded the valve stem I would be totally fine with this brand. The TPU tube itself is very good. 

Find Aeron TPU Tubes HERE.