The award winners for best chain lube have been the most difficult to select for me by far for our Cyclingnews awards series. I'll explain why briefly and below explain how I arrived at my three choices.
I put in a lot of work this year overhauling and putting together our best bike chain lube buyers guide, in conjunction with our best bike chain wax guide. I researched and subsequently selected a range of lubricants. Applying each one and cleaning and preparing chains for this was a laborious process and I was glad of a few test bikes in the garage providing drivetrains to apply product to. I also spoke with Adam at Zero Friction Cycling and used his lubricant research and testing to ensure each lubricant in our guide is backed up by a set of test results; I wanted to provide more assurance and evidence than just 'my gears felt smooth'. It's good to know that the actual makeup of a lubricant isn't quietly and speedily wearing your drivetrain out.
The lubricants in our guide are some of the very best on the market. The bar across the board in the buyer's guide is very high. All will offer excellent longevity and a range of low-friction performance whilst protecting your drivetrain and saving your hard-earned money, so it definitely is worth taking a look at our guide to see the full range. Digging down into each one is a little more nuanced, and it's going to come down to your own preferences and riding conditions, and how much maintenance you want to do. Some choices will be amazing over relatively short periods of time, some won't be as happy in the wet or, for example, some may not be quite as fast but deliver excellent longevity. I've tried to choose three based on a mix of performance, ease of use and value, but either way, any of these will be a good choice.
The Winners
Best overall
CeramicSpeed overhauled its UFO chain lubricants recently with a visual rebrand but also added an all conditions, wet weather, and indoor lubricant formulation. UFO drip is now white in colour and the All Conditions lubricant emerged to take our top spot.
Zero Friction and CeramicSpeed's own testing has shown UFO drip to be one of the best-performing and fastest lubricants around in terms of low friction and wattage savings as well as in longevity testing. And though I don't have access to my own testing rig or facility, we can fully trust this chain lube to be one of the best out there.
I applied UFO All Conditions to a thoroughly cleaned Sram 12s flat-top chain as per the CeramicSpeed instructions and left it overnight. I was impressed by how dry and clean the lube set. The chain was absolutely spotless but dry and did make me think it looked very close to a waxed chain. My first ride was over 3 hours with some wet roads and a light shower which dried quickly. The chain stayed really clean which pointed to it not taking onboard tonnes of contamination. I also tested it by riding it again without cleaning it like I normally would. I was expecting a dry, rattly chain after the soaking but it was still silent on my next ride. So although not being the dedicated wet version of the lubricant it certainly offers some resistance to wet weather and I think CeramicSpeed's 180-mile application interval can be believed as these two rides took me to over 100 miles.
UFO is a very fast drip lubricant, is now more affordable and sets to be very clean and dry which I love, on a clean chain I've no doubt it's one of the fastest options around.
Best value
Smoove is a wax emulsion lubricant that comes in a 125ml bottle, which should last a really long time. It's very affordable, and for a few more dollars than a bottle of regular chain oil you're getting a far superior product. The key to unlocking Smoove's full potential is to ensure a thorough and effective application, to begin with in order to ensure the best lubricant penetration possible.
Zero Friction testing and analysis saw Smoove's results and effectiveness increase by a good amount when initial penetration issues were combated. In a nutshell, it's difficult to initially get enough lubricant into the depths of a chain link to ensure the metal surfaces are sufficiently coated, thus protecting them. Heating the lubricant up helps this, so I placed my bottle of Smoove in a mug of hot water for a few minutes before applying. I then applied two full applications to the chain on the top and bottom sides of the chain and massaged in with my fingers. Then, wiped off the excess from the outside of the chain and allow it to set at least overnight.
Once dried and set, my actual real-world riding experience with Smoove was great. Once dry it's ever so slightly tacky, and my drivetrain ran really quietly, almost silently which was very nice. (This was on a 1x gravel bike setup) The set lubricant looked to give good protection and contamination (dirt, dust etc.) stuck to the outside of the chain, but it didn't turn black which pointed to good protection from external contaminants.
Honorable mention
Effetto Mariposa Flower Power chain lubricant glides into the honourable mention spot for a combination of great performance, value and some of the unique features it brings to the table.
Flower power is made using the oil from sunflower seeds and has excellent green credentials. It performed excellently during Zero Friction testing and actually set a new cost to run longevity record amongst any drip lubricant. Who would have known the humble sunflower seed could contribute to such an excellent chain lubricant?
Flower Power is an excellent option for riding for long periods of time or riding off-road where more contamination is present. It's off-white in colour and does get a little muckier than some other lubricants in use, but you can rest assured it's bringing fantastic longevity to the table.
It's not terribly expensive, and if you are someone that likes to 'fit and forget' a little bit with your chain lube this may be a good one for you. Whether you just want longer intervals before you have to clean and reset your chain or just want to know you're using one of the most environmentally friendly chain lubricants out there.
