Announcing The 2022 Version of the Guitar Ted "Lube-Off":
The super-unscientific, random, "data-point-of-one" lubrication test will be conducted again for this coming riding season. This is purely for fun and enjoyment. If you get anything worthwhile out of the Lube-Off than that is good, but it is not meant to be a technical, scientific based comparison.
Essentially all this amounts to is me taking you along on my journey to find what lube works best for me in Iowa on dry, dusty, crushed rock roads.
The Lube-Off is not sponsored, paid for, nor supported by any company, distributor, or brand/marketing group. I do this purely of my own volition and when I do get gifted lube to try I will point it out here in the posts dealing with the Lube-Off. I may refer you to the Standard Disclaimer Page .This will cover any instances where I get product for free or as a gift.
The Set Up For 2022: Last year I pitted the NixFrixShun Blue Devil Lube against the SCC Tech Lube and both came out with high marks, entering my "Lubes of Recommendation" status. In fact, I am running the Blue Devil Lube through the wetter season here to see if what a commenter claimed to me is true. They said that it is great at wet weather performance. (So far, it seems to be holding up) I will revisit that once drier weather sets in and when it makes sense to end that experiment.
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| A possible contender for this round |
So now I am thinking about what lubes I want to get into the rotation for this round of the Lube-Off. Last year I asked for recommendations from you- the readers- and I received some great suggestions and used two of them to get my contenders for last year. Thanks for helping me do that, by the way!
As I recall, last year there were more than a few requests for me to try out SILCA's "Super-Secret Chain Lube". I didn't want to get into having three different lubrications pitted against one another last year, so unfortunately I didn't get into the SILCA offering. But what do you think about this lube for the 2022 round? Let me know in the comments.
And as always, feel free to chime in with any suggestions for other brands.
I'll take the top two vote-getters and go with those. ALSO- I happen to have a bag of Molten Speed Chain Wax. Convince me that I should use it, and I will give it a whirl for you all to see what I think. NOTE: I am VERY reticent to use a product that requires futzing around with heating up wax and that requires a bunch of "procedures" to use when I can use MANY other products MUCH more easily with GREAT results. So, you'd better come with some great convincing arguments for me to use that chain wax stuff.
And I may continue to roll either the Blue Devil or the SCC Tech as a "control" for comparison to anything new thrown into the mix for 2022's round of the Lube-Off. Plus, I want to do a special compilation post of ALL past Lube-Offs and give you all a place to see ALL my recommended lubricants and why I recommend them. Stay tuned for that soon...
Thanks for reading G-Ted Productions!
5 comments:
Super Secret please! Thank you.
I vote for testing the super secret lube and passing on the wax dip. Super secret is supposed to have most of the wax benefit without the hassle of actual waxing. Since Silca is a bug wax proponent, I think it’s interesting trying their liquid alternative
I would vote for the Silca Super Secreat as well. I also think sticking with a drip lube for your round up is the best option as most people have no desire to go through the tedious processes of maintaining a hot dip waxed chain every 200 or so miles.
I have personally used the molten speed wax. Went through all the steps of cleaning and application. Rode for several hundred miles of dry gravel. As Keith above mentioned, I had to redo the process quite often. In my opinion it's simply not worth the hassle. Don't waste your time.
Please include the Silca Super Secret.
I'm a big fan of hot dip wax, BUT I wouldn't be if I had a fleet of bikes. I use it on my MTB and Gravel/Allroad and that's it. I love how clean things stay and I live in a dry climate so it lasts pretty well. It seems to self clean if you're on a particularly dusty ride (I had folks comment on that at a big race...my chain went from grinding like everybody elses to running smoothly). I 'top up' with super secret if I don't have time to heat the pot. Super secret has been my favorite drip-on wax, but like most drip-on waxes it does have some buildup which I don't like (and which hot dip doesn't do). The buildup is not as bad as smoove, for what that's worth.
I've tried Silca's oil lube (synergetic) on my wife's bikes and I'm a pretty big fan of it. I think you would be too, based on your history of favored lubes. I find it picks up the least amount of dust/grit of any oil based lube I've used and it seems to last really well. I've been considering converting my MTB to synergetic for mid-ride top ups when I end up doing long days with lots of creek crossings.
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