Wow I’m thoroughly impressed with the amount of detailed work that went into this video. The testing was controlled and measured. It was refreshing to watch.
I enjoyed watching this as I'm subsc6to Project Farm too. I appreciate the 10w-30 and WD-40 as a ton of customers use it. There was a time I used Mobile1 for bike chains...with good results. The two lines I was hoping you'd test are my favorites...Pro Link " Pro Gold," and Boeshield T-9.
@@outlaw7x77 Haha - yes. Many people use what they have in a pinch (like me) and others use non-specific lubes exclusively. Thanks for your suggestions - I'll add them to the list to consider for a future test! -Eddie
You should NOT be impressed... The test is invalid. All it proved is that evaporative liquid lubricant carriers are poor lubricants. * He needs 2 test sets. Many of these chain lubes have a liquid carrier that adds no lubrication at all. IT is simply a carrier that floats off dirt and deposits the actual lubricant that is waxy or a grease. The liquid then evaporates off. This never happens in this test! Other lubricants are oils and they don't use evaporating carriers. * 1. Test 1: ALL chain lubes that use a liquid evaporative carrier. Get rid of the liquid carrier and test just the lubricant! The liquid is a washing agent and does NOT lubricate! 2. TEST 2: All oils. They don't use evaporative carriers. This video is valid as is for them. * Again...these tests are invalid. Good tools, bad test set because he ignored the nature of differing chain lubricants. I'd LOVE to see a valid test that accounts for the types of chain lubricants! This wasn't it!
@J A C C That's not quite it. The wear scar test never gets any drying effect at all. AS a result the lubricant never is applied in any meaningful way to the cylinder. He needs to eliminate the liquid carrier to actually test the lubricant in them. The sling test is slightly better. Some drying does occur, but not a lot. Much of the oils or grease are still floating in carrier and of course sling off.
Yes,,, I don’t think PF would would pick a bath test for a dry lube. For me it’s impossible or at least to expensive to do this kind of stuff correctly 🥴
Kudos to you for putting together one of the most comprehensive, controlled, and scientifically-driven test/reviews I have ever seen on this TH-cam platform. I only stumbled onto your review when I was researching the best lube for my e-bike chain, but I have since subscribed to your channel in hopes of seeing other such well-done content. Thank you!
By far one of the most Official “At home” experiment Iv ever witnessed on TH-cam!!! Bravo 👏🏼 Keep up the AMAZING content and thank you for helping me decide on a MTB chain lube.
I can't believe I'm now one of those who say "you should have a million subs", but the scientific approach, fitting to this kind of video pace and way of presentation - just perfect. People get just right what they came for. This kind of videos is really appreciated by the community, thank you
It's an old video, but I have to give credit where it's due. So much work put in to this video, well done. I am using only Muc-Off (Dry) on my MTBs and I can say that even though after about 50km in wet conditions you can hear it's almost gone, I still prefer it as it's easy to clean, it attracts very little dirt on the chain. Ride, clean, relube - repeat (and it smells nice) :]]]]
Great work! Interestingly, I've used many different chainlubes over the years (Triflow, Progold, Finishline, R&R Extreme) but somehow I keep coming back to my 2 staples - Muc Off Dry Lube and R&R Gold. You definitely validated my unscientific albeit real world observations/experience. And of those 2, I definitely prefer the Muc off, but the R&R Gold I say I use more due to it's cheaper price! Great channel, glad I stumbled upon it!
I think in not classifying rock n roll gold as a dry lube he often overlooked letting it dry. It really should state on the bottle that it's supposed to dry since the solvent needs to dry off. I don't know if it really classifies as a dry lube, but I usually apply rock n roll gold or extreme after I ride. I love that it does a really good job of cleaning my chain off, and it's been an excellent lube in terms of staying clean, lasting a long time in variable conditions, and keeping my drivetrain super quite. My friend uses squirt and it works really well, and is probably cleaner than rock n roll in terms of attracting dirt, but the stuff kind of builds up and is a pain in the ass to clean off.
NOTE on SQUIRT: These tests took me a total of 3 weeks to record. Squirt dried overnight for the sand test (15:33). It dried for at least 3 hours in the sun for the wet test (17:15) - and was totally dry (but even if it wasn't completely dry - it still came in first place for that test). Squirt also tied for first place in the sling test - assuming it would have no sling after testing Muc-Off. Finally, I assumed that testing Squirt wet for friction would actually work in its favor. A few viewers disagree so be on the lookout for a dry test of Squirt against the friction testing machine! -Eddie
Now do this test: Wash all the oil out of the chain. Soak it in fuel overnight. Get all of it out. Melt paraffin candles. Soak the chain in it. I've used many oils. They're all rubbish. Once you go wax, you'll never get dirty fingers or running gear again. Relube: Wash chain in boiling water, soak in metho and dry. Now soak in melted wax.
It's just that your test doesn't correspond to the intended use of this product. There is no doubt that a wax should come first on the last 3 testes. And about the friction, independants testes (such as the ones done by Zero Friction Cycling) put always wax above oils.
@@damienmarguerite827 Totally agree - except for your testes... ;-) The friction test and sling test for wax emulsion is simply not representative of a dry lube product, such as Squirt's, intended use.
Agreed these tests is prolly what these lube creater do. I wouldn't be surprised if these tests are actually more scientific like u sed holy moly good video I love this kinda stuff like actually in your face info and than basically all comes down to hey you decide what you wanna apply on ur gear man... Ok 👌 I shut up basically all that to say agreed man 100
This was GREAT, and very well done. Felt like I was watching a Project Farm video! One suggestion. On the wet test, You should have weighed the chain while it was dry, then weighed it after you saturated the lubes. That way, we would have then known how much lube was on and in the chain. It would have given us a better reference for how much lube was lost after being sprayed with water. Hope you guys do more tests like this. It not only lets us consumers pick the best product for our money, and environment, But it also will hopefully force these companies to keep working hard to make their products better!
Impressive test - I was getting suspect that R&R Gold wasn't a great lube as my chains wear fairly quickly, and I do apply regularly and keep the chain clean on my road bike, but I can relax now and put it down to my awesome power output! :) Great video and thanks for the hard work!
I love the muc off dry lube, easy to clean off and re apply. Noticeable smoother and more effecient pedalling . Smells great too! I've been using it for years and know I now why I hardly replace my drive train components! Thanks for doing the test, I'll stick with muc off dry lube!!
Excellent video and thank you. I found either high quality videos that were subliminal ads for sponsored products or genuinely objective videos with poor methodology; this is the best of both worlds!
Best chain lube test anywhere on TH-cam! As a beginner, your video not only educated me on lubes but on helping me decide on best lube. I hope you can do a follow up video soon using other brands like Finish Line, etc. I'd love to see 1 test for just wet lubes and 1 test for just dry lubes. Thanks again Eddy!
One of the most empirical videos on MTB tech I've seen so far. Really refreshing in this time of mostly sponsored reviews on the bigger channels. Keep up the good work!
Glad the Muc-off won as I just bought some yesterday. I thought it was a bit expensive, but obviously worth it. Thanks for the comprehensive testing, former Tribologist here.
You buddy are an absolute star. I know this video is a few years old but I’m on the search for a good lube and just came across this after watching others and this is possibly the best video I’ve ever seen. Amazing mate, thank you so much for taking the time to do this and share your findings.
Amazing test! Great job on the video! Would love to see the Muc Off C3 dry as well and see if it actually improves over the regular Muc Off dry lube. Subscribing!
@@cocoplops4982 Yes, BUT he just tested the fancy ones I also have terrible experience with C3, but will try this cheapest one since Squirt that I am currently using is not actually performing good in any tests I saw.
This really helped me decide which lube I should buy, cause i dont know much about bike lubricants, and this made it all much clearer and easier to understand why you picked them. Thank you!
Took a while but I watched every second. Thank you for such a great test. Riding an $8500 old trike and really don't want to have to buy a chain for it. Thanks so much. Just rode my longest on the trike today at 30 miles. 59 years old. But I was looking at the chain and I think the powers that be said lube the chain. So here we. are. Thank you so much for your thorough study. You rock.
I have been running Squirt for the past 3 years, and when correctly applied, its been the best lube I have ever used, both for MTB and Road. I get a clean chain with no sticking, which is awesome. My chains last longer, on the road bike I get around 1500km more life out of the chain (when it gets to the 0.5 wear mark). Also you don't need to apply it before every ride if you ride in the dry conditions, I'd say on the road its around 200-250km when I re-lubricate the chain (once a week). Recently on a Granfondo I got gifted a pre-production of a brand new chain wax from a MTB World Cup mechanic, which he produces by himself, and in the short time that I tested it - it is even better than Squirt, once in full production that thing will break out and be the next level..
WHAT A GREAT VIDEO! Thanks for taking the time to test all the brands, I had no idea of what could be the final result, and the test was so well put together, really helpfull. I think your channel is going to soar very fast with so strong and solid content. I will surelly pass the link to friends! Keep up the really great work you are doing, and thank you for helping us in deciding on an propper MTB chain lube. Best! 😀
Nice job! I was not surprised about WD-40 as it is generally considered a solvent and not a lubricant. Would have loved to see you test Finish Line DRY Bike Lubricant. It has a good reputation in the industry. Also, despite being more time consuming to apply, testing a chain that had been parrafin waxed (re: Oz Cycling) would have been really helpful for those who ride in dirty conditions but still want great protection for their chain. Keep up the great work!
A very well put together test setup. If you ever do another round of testing, I would love it to see both Finish Line wet and dry ceramic lubes, not to mention the muc-off c3 ceramic dry and wet lube, one of them might be another top contender. 🙂
Thanks for the tremendous amount of effort that video must have taken. you have answered a question that has been on my mind for a tremendously long time. OUTSTANDING & THANKS!!
For what its worth, the rock and roll lube is meant to set up for a few hours or overnight. The directions also say to remove excess with a rag. I think this would have made a big difference in the sand retention test in particular, but most of the other tests as well. It should have been given similar treatment as the dry lubes.
Truly excellent work! I've used many different lubes over the years - Triflow, Progold, Finishline, R&R Extreme etc. Interestingly, I keep coming back to both the Muc Off Dry and R&R Gold. I feel like you totally validated my non-scientific albeit real-world observations/experience. I do prefer the Muc Off but it's hard to beat the R&R Gold for the price! Again, excellent work here!
I like the way your mind works. For non-lab conditions you did a remarkably creative and credible job. A big Bravo. I am so tired of sloppy people pontificating with "facts" when they really have no idea…this was refreshing. And thanks for settling some questions for me.
Excellent test. I can vouch for Muc-Off Dry as well, having used it with good results. If availability wasn't an issue in my neck of the woods, I'd keep buying it. I'd love to see you put Boeshield T-9 and Weldtite TF2 All-Weather through their paces in this test as well.
This is an incredibly well orchestrated test. My only wish is that you had included other super popular chain lubricant brands such as Finish Line and WD40's bike specific dry lube.
Well if you look up "Finish line wax lubricant zero friction cycling" (without the quotation marks), you'll find that it was basically the worst thing they'd ever tested. Guess which one I've been using?
I see a lot of comments regarding Squirt. I am a Squirt user and it’s definitely fantastic. I noticed right away that in the first friction test you didn’t wait until the wax dried which is the recommended way to use it hence why I knew the wear would be too much. I’m glad you rectified that later in your comments. Definitely wait overnight before you go out and ride your bike. I’ve had my chain for 2.5 years now and have ridden over 12,500 km on it and no wear on my chain yet. An Ultegra 11 speed.
Pretty thorough! These days, if you don't have immersive wax in your test, you're missing it. On MTB for dry conditions it's ultra fast, and attracts zero dust/dirt.
@@pewsician2388 I would differ with you there. I started with it here in OR this early spring and was caught a few times in steady rains. On a solid, wet, gritty ride like that the wax is gone gone gone when you get home. Testing shows it's not great in wet or muddy conditions--where you'd be better off with a wet lube--Silca's Synergetic. I'll use that in Winter and Super Secret in Summer here. DOesn't rain all summer.
Beg to differ. I'm in Oregon and used it for a full summer with great results. Winter weather showed up and my Silca wax is GONE after one wet gritty ride. I went to Synergetic wet for Winter, Wax for summer.@@pewsician2388
You are the man when it comes to thoroughly testing all aspects of the chain lubes. Thank you so much for all the time you invested to give me an informed direction for purchasing one these products. I am buying Muc-Off for my Diamondback Response today.
Good video and tests. Funny thing though, I replaced Muc Off after years of use and went to Squirt, it is head and shoulders better in real world application. I have doubled chain life, which increases cog life. Also you dont have to perform deep chain cleaning ever again, just wipe of surface dust and add more lube. Maybe you could have explained a paraffin lube to oil base lubes better. Again, good video.
I did the same! I was really disappointed with Muc Off...the only "positive" for me was that it smelled nice. It wears off completely after each ride on my gravel bike...the drivetrain starts sounding like a bird sanctuary after 60-70 km...
A lot of excellent work here, thanks! I do think, however, the block-on-ring test would have been more realistic had it been done by wetting the block/ring, let sit for 10min, and running with nothing in the reservoir. Also consider acetone between fluids to clean the previous off. A flir camera might show temperature differences indicative of friction.
I've been using R&R Gold on my Trek Domane road riding since I got the bike 3 months ago and I've been very happy with it but not quite sure how it well was performing, especially with regards to wear. So happy I found your video. You have validated my thoughts and feelings about the product.
Been using Dumonde for a while and it works really well against volcanic dust found in eastern Oregon and the Sierras in CA. The biggest issue is it collects the dust and makes "build up" on your pulleys and chain ring. I've found Dumonde to be a bit of overkill for my local trails near Santa Cruz. Still after 30 years, my favorite for my conditions in dry weather is TriFlo. I'm sad it didn't get included in the test.
Amazing amazing content with insanely well defined and well measured test! Not sure why I didn't came through your channel or videos before. It was refreshing and this channel should have way more views than random review channels. Keep up the good work and design more such tests. Thanks!
No you don’t, test was fun to watch but rather meaningless. Comparing apples and pears. Can’t compare regular oils with lubricants that are using a carrier that needs to evaporate before the lubricant will do it’s job. I don’t know if the product that “won” is good, it might very well be. But the way these tests were carried out were not correct at all.
Great video! Although most tests don't reflect wear conditions on a real chain, I recommend the channel Zero Friction Cycling. It has more accurate tests. My go to would be Squirt
ZFS is a distributor for MSW. I'm just a dude in my garage. I have no sponsors or interest in any lube winning. I didn't find wax to be a good lubricant at all. -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking you might want to revisit wax , it's unmatched in chain and drive train longevity and also the fastest. It's not for everyone in every situation.
Hello Simply Mountain Biking, Thank you for your time and effort put into this video. This is by far the best bike chain lube video on TH-cam! New subscriber.
Loved the tests, so comprehensive. I wish some other very popular lubes were tested like Finish Line Dry Teflon, WD-40 Dry and Pro Link Gold. Although these seem similar to other lubes tested and probably wouldn't stand up to Muc-Off.
Fantastic scientific approach! I was super pleased to see my favorite lube won! Yay for Muc-Off!!! I hear the Wet version is even better, as it supposedly stays on even better.
@CocoPlops hmm... just put some Muc-Off Wet lube on. Haven't ridden yet. There was probably some muc-off dry lube still on. Chain is fairly clean. Curious to see if it acts weird, as you say.
Absolutely amazing work on the tests! Very nice methodology and a great setup for repeatability. I only have one small point to criticize. The first test is fairly unrealistic in any bike related scenario and none of the bike lubricants are designed to work this way. I would have loved to see the same method as used with the Muc-Off dry lube as that is a lot more realistic. I would wager that WD-40 could actually perform better that way as the cleaning agents that are part of the WD-40 that are designed to loosen and solve particles from metal would have evaporated potentially leading to less wear.
This looks like a great experiment, thank you for sharing! I'm curious as to how White Lightning's Clean Ride dry lube stands up to the Muc-Off, as well as Finish Line's dry lube.
I’ve been using muc off for a while now with great success. I also make sure I lube every ride and my shifting has been a dream. It’s cheap way to keep a bike running smoothly in my book. I would have liked to see tri flow tested as it’s widely used.
During the Wet Test I think it would have been valuable to note the weight of the chain before it went through the lubing process. With that you could effectively calculate the percentage of lube lost. Some lubes may deposit less material so may have less mass to lose and could sqew the results
This is the best bike related product test i've seen, Its close to Project Farm for thoroughness of testing. I've used Muc Off for years so i'm pretty happy with your results.
Interesting result and great detailed video. From my personal experience I find Muc-Off lubes collect too much dust & dirt and cleaning the chain just with a cloth will be dirt smear all over the place. It takes more time to completely clean your drive train on a wash and even a quick wipe off and re-lube results in a lot of dirt. I switched from MucOff to Squirt and find Squirt superior. It might not last as long or have slightly worse efficiency in wet conditions BUT wiping off and re-lubing takes 5 mins incl. a _clean_ drivetrain. I rather lubricate every 150km instead of having everything dirty as hell on every wash. Being a roadi / gravel guy here though
@@SimplyMountainBiking Great test! I use Muc-Off Dry Ceramic lubricant since over a year on my MTB and I find the chain to stay very clean. On the other hand, the Wet (non-Ceramic) lube does collect quite a bit of dirt on my city bike, but there I don't care as much and drive even while it's raining.
@@SimplyMountainBiking I've been using mucoff dry on my mtb in dusty and wet conditions and I really like it. I find one of the best things about it is how it sheds dirt and how easily it cleans off with a chain cleaning machine. Depending on how muddy the rides are, I usually clean and lube my chain after 3 rides. With about 3K km on it, it has no noticeable wear. On my commuting e-fat bike that I ride all year round including some pretty bad snow, slush and salt conditions, I tried paraffin wax the 1st winter and it was OK but too much of a pain for cleaning and relubing. This past winter I used rock and roll gold and probably was not all that diligent and it worked OK too and was way less effort for maintenence. I've also used a schwinn wet lube that looks a lot like chainsaw oil and as long as you wipe it down well, it doesn't attract too much dirt, resists wash off well and is the longest lasting. I rode 10K km last year, its a 1000W mid drive ebike and I have steep hills over 15% on my way home. I use it as my main mode of transport and often load it up with 230lb me and another 40 or 50 lbs of stuff so it's really punishing that chain. I've gotten as low as around 1000km on a chain in winter and maybe 4K km in summer. I probably go through 4 chains a year, I get KMC plate silver or ept 8 speed chains and change them around 0.75 percent wear. At almost 14K km ice gone through 1 drive sprocket and 2 cassettes. Still way cheaper than a car :-) I usually start off with just the factory lube and decrease the outside of the chain and that lasts quite a long time and doesn't attract much dirt. I'm pretty much now about what's easy and quick to use. At about $30 a chain, it's not worth wasting too much of my time on maintenance.
Love how in depth your tests are and subscribed off the back of your chain cleaner tests. Stumbled across this test and must say I am and am not surprised. I've just switched to Squirt after years on Rock n Roll gold. in the month I've used it on both my MTB and gravel bike I've noticed that I don't have to apply it as frequently as I did Gold and that my drivetrain is quieter with Squirt. The issue with the wear test here is that you are testing metal on metal at high rotational speeds. This high rotational speed will cause more heat build up at the contact area and will brake down some lubricants faster than other, particularly some of the waxes which will melt. Bike chains don't move very fast, don't have high rotational speeds and therefore don't get hot so a lube designed for a bike chain won't necessarily do well in your test as it hasn't been designed with high rotation and heat in mind. There is a reason why there are so many lubricants out for for different uses and this test isn't really indicative of how a bike chain works. What I've noticed in the real world is that I'm liking Squirt more than any other lube I've tried so far. Sure, I don't have a long time on the product so don't know how it will fair long term but usually a quieter, cleaner chain would indicate less wear occurring. Keep up the good work, I know how time consuming these videos are to create!
@Simply Mountain Biking thanks a lot for this scientific detailed test! So amazing and so well done! The time you spent for providing the community experimental results of bike lubes! Indeed, I was expecting from sand-test results that Muc-Off would be the winner! I'm starting to use it! Bravo Muc-Off!
What ever happened to Tri-Flow as a chain lube? When I rode a lot in the 80s and 90s that was all we used. I still have it in the garage and it works great as a general lube, and it smells much better than WD40.
Thank you for all the work you put into this to help us all out! With all of the options out there, it is so hard to narrow down a good quality product that I want to spend my money on.
Measuring the weight loss of the cylinders instead of the size of the scar would have been a much more accurate way of determining which lubes lubed better. But great video and thanks for all the information!
Would like to have seen WD40’s actual chain lube(s), instead of the water displacer. Also, Tri-Flow is a popular lubricant that I’ve used for years. Otherwise great video!
This video is gold. He put so much thought, planning and effort into this! Real test results, vs most of the other videos on the same subject, that at mostly opinion based. Very valuable. I may be biased though. My most recent chain lube of choice is Muc Off.
Wow! Super video. Loved it! Really appreciate all the effort and time you put into it! I happen to use Rock n Roll Gold. Glad to see it did well. It's sold as a drip on dry lube (goes on wet, wipe dry, then let dry for 8 hours before using the bike). Wonder how it would have scored in the sand retention test if it been allowed to dry first. Really keeps my chain clean.
I use the RnR Gold on the Recc of World Cup Champion mech Brad Copeland. He's tried 'em all. I believe gold is not marketed as a dry lube .."creates a wet membrane..." It works best after sitting a few hours because it apparently pushes contaminants out to the surface over time which you then wipe off. Works great five minutes after applying as well.
Great video overall, well executed tests imo. Mucoff in my experience offers those little details that matters to me and maybe other riders aswell. I've got the UV light lube and i love that even tho i just get to see it when im doing my maintenance at home.
I have sworn by Muc Off for years. Your thorough testing has proven without a doubt that I'm only going to continue to apply Muc Off. BTW. Muc Off Ceramic is another Winner.
I'd be interested to see how Muc-Off's wet lube compares across those same challenges - I was actually pretty surprised to see how well the M-O dry did against the water.
First off thank you for this video’ aros e job! @kieran0 I’d second that! I’ve used wet during the winter and switch to wax in the summer. I’d love to see how each of the muc-off products perform against each other. It would be great to also see how different wax’s perform this had been my first season using wax during the dry months and I enjoyed them. Seemed like my chain stretch and wear were significantly decreased. Am I crazy? Thanks Eddie
The amount of work and detail thoughts you put into these tests are impressive! Ingenious! I am also impressed about how much some of the liquid gold lubricants costs and then don't deliver.
I just came back to this vid with an update: I went into my local shop to get some Rock N' Roll (I've used the Blue one for quite a while); when the head mechanic suggested I switch to *Wolf-Tooth's* *WT-1.* It's pretty expensive, but was supposed to last longer... The results are in and IT'S *AWESOME!!!* It actually lasts *wwwaaayyyy* longer. I rode all last summer, lubed up my chain this spring, and even used it to lube my dropper post, bushings, sealed bearings and my derailleur during my spring maintenance tasks; and I have used less than 1/4 of the bottle!! It's amazing stuff for sure!
@@SimplyMountainBiking you are certainly welcome. I'm absolutely convinced that the WT-1 is the bestest. It also has been fantastic at reducing the "grit" factor that we have around here in the late summer, where our dirt is closer to powdered sugar than actual dirt.
Hey SMB! We need an updated comparison of Lubes! There are a lot of new options, specially now that the eMTB market is hot. I keep coming back to this video. Love it. Cheers man!
I’ve recently become a bit obsessed with studying products like this. Mostly gun oils along with some other stuff. This video is amazing. Your tests were so well done and extremely informative. There’s a ton of products like this you could test. I know this a bike channel but if you’re interested I could recommend some gun oils to test. In any case you should check out for yourself a product called seafoam deep creep. It’s a penetrating oil for loosening rusty bolts and such, but is also quite a good lubricant, protects fairly well against rust, and is supposed to resist heat and evaporation. They recommend it for bike chains.
This is very good research, even if you're not interested in lubricants. At the end it's about being sceptic to what you've been told, and how to overcome that.
Thank you so much for doing this testing. You deserve an award for your fair design-of-experiments, fair comparison and unbiased results for this trial. Essential viewing - I'm subscribing.
Immediate sub for all the effort gone into this! Also happy with Evans for suggesting the muc off for my first mtb purchase, didn't even realise it's biodegradable too 💚
I read a bike reviewer site who tested a bunch of lines in real world conditions. The 2 that stood out was muc off dry and rock and roll red. So add the red into your next test and great that the muc off dry match as a top choice
While was making a run for supplies I needed for work, I purchased a bottle of Rock N Roll about two weeks ago. I had been having some creaking and clanking issues with my chain for about a year that was quite annoying. I initially thought it was a problem somewhere in my 3 piece crank, but I'm glad I didn't take the bike to be serviced. I used the product as suggested, then gave the chain, free coaster wheel, and chain wheel a good cleaning. Those three areas were where the problem was coming from. An old Champion shirt, a few Q-Tips, and a folded bus transfer were the tool kit I used to get the gunk out of the small spaces and corners.
There are no available videos like this one... the information you provided us could be quite important in order to make a wise purchase decision. Thumbs up and subscribed to this channel. Astonished with the quality of info and performed tests.
Wow I’m thoroughly impressed with the amount of detailed work that went into this video. The testing was controlled and measured. It was refreshing to watch.
Glad you liked it! -Eddie
I enjoyed watching this as I'm subsc6to Project Farm too. I appreciate the 10w-30 and WD-40 as a ton of customers use it. There was a time I used Mobile1 for bike chains...with good results. The two lines I was hoping you'd test are my favorites...Pro Link " Pro Gold," and Boeshield T-9.
@@outlaw7x77 Haha - yes. Many people use what they have in a pinch (like me) and others use non-specific lubes exclusively. Thanks for your suggestions - I'll add them to the list to consider for a future test! -Eddie
You should NOT be impressed...
The test is invalid. All it proved is that evaporative liquid lubricant carriers are poor lubricants.
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He needs 2 test sets. Many of these chain lubes have a liquid carrier that adds no lubrication at all. IT is simply a carrier that floats off dirt and deposits the actual lubricant that is waxy or a grease. The liquid then evaporates off. This never happens in this test! Other lubricants are oils and they don't use evaporating carriers.
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1. Test 1: ALL chain lubes that use a liquid evaporative carrier. Get rid of the liquid carrier and test just the lubricant! The liquid is a washing agent and does NOT lubricate!
2. TEST 2: All oils. They don't use evaporative carriers. This video is valid as is for them.
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Again...these tests are invalid. Good tools, bad test set because he ignored the nature of differing chain lubricants. I'd LOVE to see a valid test that accounts for the types of chain lubricants! This wasn't it!
@J A C C That's not quite it. The wear scar test never gets any drying effect at all. AS a result the lubricant never is applied in any meaningful way to the cylinder. He needs to eliminate the liquid carrier to actually test the lubricant in them. The sling test is slightly better. Some drying does occur, but not a lot. Much of the oils or grease are still floating in carrier and of course sling off.
Project farm meets bikes with better video quality. 👌
Thank you! -Eddie
Project farm is still amazing though and so is simply mountain biking !
Every time he read the product claims I was waiting for "we're gonna test that."
Made with global components!
Yes,,, I don’t think PF would would pick a bath test for a dry lube. For me it’s impossible or at least to expensive to do this kind of stuff correctly 🥴
Kudos to you for putting together one of the most comprehensive, controlled, and scientifically-driven test/reviews I have ever seen on this TH-cam platform. I only stumbled onto your review when I was researching the best lube for my e-bike chain, but I have since subscribed to your channel in hopes of seeing other such well-done content. Thank you!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the test! -Eddie
By far one of the most Official “At home” experiment Iv ever witnessed on TH-cam!!! Bravo 👏🏼
Keep up the AMAZING content and thank you for helping me decide on a MTB chain lube.
Wow, thank you! -Eddie
its just an add...
I can't believe I'm now one of those who say "you should have a million subs", but the scientific approach, fitting to this kind of video pace and way of presentation - just perfect. People get just right what they came for. This kind of videos is really appreciated by the community, thank you
Thank you! -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking you should check out zero friction cycling.... dry lubs are TERRIBLE for bicycle chains
It's an old video, but I have to give credit where it's due. So much work put in to this video, well done.
I am using only Muc-Off (Dry) on my MTBs and I can say that even though after about 50km in wet conditions you can hear it's almost gone, I still prefer it as it's easy to clean, it attracts very little dirt on the chain. Ride, clean, relube - repeat (and it smells nice) :]]]]
Thank you for sharing! -Eddie
Rock N Roll Gold Lube is STILL my go-to lube even after all these years. I call it a tune up in a bottle. Great review.
Thank you! Yes - for me, I plan to apply Muc-Off after a chain cleaning - but keep a bottle of R&R Gold in my go bag to use at the trail head. -Eddie
Agreed, Rock n Roll is my daily driver. I will say I like how Squirt holds up on really long rides.
If you don't mind a lowly long-miles roadie agreeing with you, Rock 'n' Roll is, has long been (15 years) my goto.
Great work! Interestingly, I've used many different chainlubes over the years (Triflow, Progold, Finishline, R&R Extreme) but somehow I keep coming back to my 2 staples - Muc Off Dry Lube and R&R Gold. You definitely validated my unscientific albeit real world observations/experience. And of those 2, I definitely prefer the Muc off, but the R&R Gold I say I use more due to it's cheaper price! Great channel, glad I stumbled upon it!
I think in not classifying rock n roll gold as a dry lube he often overlooked letting it dry. It really should state on the bottle that it's supposed to dry since the solvent needs to dry off. I don't know if it really classifies as a dry lube, but I usually apply rock n roll gold or extreme after I ride. I love that it does a really good job of cleaning my chain off, and it's been an excellent lube in terms of staying clean, lasting a long time in variable conditions, and keeping my drivetrain super quite. My friend uses squirt and it works really well, and is probably cleaner than rock n roll in terms of attracting dirt, but the stuff kind of builds up and is a pain in the ass to clean off.
NOTE on SQUIRT: These tests took me a total of 3 weeks to record. Squirt dried overnight for the sand test (15:33). It dried for at least 3 hours in the sun for the wet test (17:15) - and was totally dry (but even if it wasn't completely dry - it still came in first place for that test). Squirt also tied for first place in the sling test - assuming it would have no sling after testing Muc-Off. Finally, I assumed that testing Squirt wet for friction would actually work in its favor. A few viewers disagree so be on the lookout for a dry test of Squirt against the friction testing machine! -Eddie
Very interested to see how squirt goes in the friction test when dry, great video 👍👍
I have zero chain wear using Squirt for 2 years. It's awesome stuff.
Now do this test:
Wash all the oil out of the chain. Soak it in fuel overnight. Get all of it out. Melt paraffin candles. Soak the chain in it.
I've used many oils. They're all rubbish. Once you go wax, you'll never get dirty fingers or running gear again.
Relube: Wash chain in boiling water, soak in metho and dry. Now soak in melted wax.
It's just that your test doesn't correspond to the intended use of this product. There is no doubt that a wax should come first on the last 3 testes. And about the friction, independants testes (such as the ones done by Zero Friction Cycling) put always wax above oils.
@@damienmarguerite827 Totally agree - except for your testes... ;-) The friction test and sling test for wax emulsion is simply not representative of a dry lube product, such as Squirt's, intended use.
I've been riding dor 12 years and have never used anything except R&R Gold. Thanks for the validation. Awesome test.
Our pleasure! -Eddie
Very comprehensive and well thought out tests. Clear, concise, scientific. Thank you!
Thank you! -Eddie
Agreed these tests is prolly what these lube creater do. I wouldn't be surprised if these tests are actually more scientific like u sed holy moly good video I love this kinda stuff like actually in your face info and than basically all comes down to hey you decide what you wanna apply on ur gear man... Ok 👌 I shut up basically all that to say agreed man 100
This was GREAT, and very well done. Felt like I was watching a Project Farm video!
One suggestion. On the wet test, You should have weighed the chain while it was dry, then weighed it after you saturated the lubes. That way, we would have then known how much lube was on and in the chain. It would have given us a better reference for how much lube was lost after being sprayed with water.
Hope you guys do more tests like this. It not only lets us consumers pick the best product for our money, and environment, But it also will hopefully force these companies to keep working hard to make their products better!
Thanks - great suggestion! -Eddie
I thought the same - without knowing how much lube each chain retained in the first place, measuring how much has washed off is almost meaningless.
I wouldn’t call this “simple, but those are some pretty impressive tests. Very fun to watch and informational.
Thanks much! -Eddie
Impressive test - I was getting suspect that R&R Gold wasn't a great lube as my chains wear fairly quickly, and I do apply regularly and keep the chain clean on my road bike, but I can relax now and put it down to my awesome power output! :)
Great video and thanks for the hard work!
Thank you! -Eddie
I love the muc off dry lube, easy to clean off and re apply.
Noticeable smoother and more effecient pedalling .
Smells great too!
I've been using it for years and know I now why I hardly replace my drive train components! Thanks for doing the test, I'll stick with muc off dry lube!!
You are welcome. -Eddie
Excellent video and thank you. I found either high quality videos that were subliminal ads for sponsored products or genuinely objective videos with poor methodology; this is the best of both worlds!
I very much like your wit. ;) Feedback received. -Eddie
Best chain lube test anywhere on TH-cam! As a beginner, your video not only educated me on lubes but on helping me decide on best lube. I hope you can do a follow up video soon using other brands like Finish Line, etc. I'd love to see 1 test for just wet lubes and 1 test for just dry lubes. Thanks again Eddy!
Wow, thank you! -Eddie
One of the most empirical videos on MTB tech I've seen so far. Really refreshing in this time of mostly sponsored reviews on the bigger channels. Keep up the good work!
Glad to help! Thank you! -Eddie
Glad the Muc-off won as I just bought some yesterday. I thought it was a bit expensive, but obviously worth it. Thanks for the comprehensive testing, former Tribologist here.
You're welcome! -Eddie
Mate this is absolutely epic. I love these incredibly detailed reviews. Please do more videos like this!
That's the plan! -Eddie
Epic video. Really detailed and so well presented and edited. You've got a bright future on youtube.
Wow, thank you! -Eddie
You buddy are an absolute star. I know this video is a few years old but I’m on the search for a good lube and just came across this after watching others and this is possibly the best video I’ve ever seen. Amazing mate, thank you so much for taking the time to do this and share your findings.
Glad you liked it! -Eddie
Amazing test! Great job on the video! Would love to see the Muc Off C3 dry as well and see if it actually improves over the regular Muc Off dry lube. Subscribing!
Thank you! I may test more lubricants in the future. If I do, other Muc Off varieties will certainly make the list! -Eddie
Muc off lubes are genuinely awful. Go look at zero friction cycles and you’ll never touch them again
@@cocoplops4982 Yes, BUT he just tested the fancy ones I also have terrible experience with C3, but will try this cheapest one since Squirt that I am currently using is not actually performing good in any tests I saw.
C3 has reviews all over how it leaves gum like film all over drive train. Pass for me
Very helpful and impressive testing. Thanks Eddie.
Thank you! -Eddie
Holy smokes! As a creator, I can understand just how much work was involved in making this video! Thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you so much!
Just a few weeks of work. 😀 -Eddie
This really helped me decide which lube I should buy, cause i dont know much about bike lubricants, and this made it all much clearer and easier to understand why you picked them. Thank you!
I'm glad it was helpful! -Eddie
Killer vid my dude. Can't wait to see more from you!
Thanks! -Eddie
Took a while but I watched every second. Thank you for such a great test. Riding an $8500 old trike and really don't want to have to buy a chain for it. Thanks so much. Just rode my longest on the trike today at 30 miles. 59 years old. But I was looking at the chain and I think the powers that be said lube the chain. So here we. are. Thank you so much for your thorough study. You rock.
Glad it was helpful! -Eddie
We genuinely appreciate the amount of work that has been put in to this ❤️
You are welcome! -Eddie
This arguably might be the most informative cycling video ive ever watched. Thank you so much!!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks! -Eddie
I have been running Squirt for the past 3 years, and when correctly applied, its been the best lube I have ever used, both for MTB and Road. I get a clean chain with no sticking, which is awesome. My chains last longer, on the road bike I get around 1500km more life out of the chain (when it gets to the 0.5 wear mark). Also you don't need to apply it before every ride if you ride in the dry conditions, I'd say on the road its around 200-250km when I re-lubricate the chain (once a week). Recently on a Granfondo I got gifted a pre-production of a brand new chain wax from a MTB World Cup mechanic, which he produces by himself, and in the short time that I tested it - it is even better than Squirt, once in full production that thing will break out and be the next level..
Hey - I'm glad you like it. I never had any luck with wax in the southeastern U.S. -Eddie
Wow. Incredible work. Thanks for all the time you spent on this
Much appreciated! -Eddie
WHAT A GREAT VIDEO! Thanks for taking the time to test all the brands, I had no idea of what could be the final result, and the test was so well put together, really helpfull. I think your channel is going to soar very fast with so strong and solid content. I will surelly pass the link to friends! Keep up the really great work you are doing, and thank you for helping us in deciding on an propper MTB chain lube. Best! 😀
Thank you! -Eddie
...and that is how I will start using Muc Off. Great tests and very well explained.
Thanks! -Eddie
Are you satisfied with Muc Off?
Nice job! I was not surprised about WD-40 as it is generally considered a solvent and not a lubricant. Would have loved to see you test Finish Line DRY Bike Lubricant. It has a good reputation in the industry. Also, despite being more time consuming to apply, testing a chain that had been parrafin waxed (re: Oz Cycling) would have been really helpful for those who ride in dirty conditions but still want great protection for their chain. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!.Great suggestions! -Eddie
I'm honestly annoyed whenever anyone refers to WD-40 as a lubricant.
A very well put together test setup.
If you ever do another round of testing, I would love it to see both Finish Line wet and dry ceramic lubes, not to mention the muc-off c3 ceramic dry and wet lube, one of them might be another top contender. 🙂
Thanks for the suggestions! -Eddie
Thanks for the tremendous amount of effort that video must have taken. you have answered a question that has been on my mind for a tremendously long time.
OUTSTANDING & THANKS!!
You are welcome. -Eddie
For what its worth, the rock and roll lube is meant to set up for a few hours or overnight. The directions also say to remove excess with a rag. I think this would have made a big difference in the sand retention test in particular, but most of the other tests as well. It should have been given similar treatment as the dry lubes.
Need to get Farm Project to test chain lube.
Thanks for your feedback. -Eddie
Truly excellent work! I've used many different lubes over the years - Triflow, Progold, Finishline, R&R Extreme etc. Interestingly, I keep coming back to both the Muc Off Dry and R&R Gold. I feel like you totally validated my non-scientific albeit real-world observations/experience. I do prefer the Muc Off but it's hard to beat the R&R Gold for the price! Again, excellent work here!
Thanks for sharing! -Eddie
I like the way your mind works. For non-lab conditions you did a remarkably creative and credible job. A big Bravo. I am so tired of sloppy people pontificating with "facts" when they really have no idea…this was refreshing. And thanks for settling some questions for me.
Awesome, thank you! -Eddie
Excellent test. I can vouch for Muc-Off Dry as well, having used it with good results. If availability wasn't an issue in my neck of the woods, I'd keep buying it.
I'd love to see you put Boeshield T-9 and Weldtite TF2 All-Weather through their paces in this test as well.
Thanks for sharing your suggestions. I'll add them to the list to consider for a viewer's choice video. -Eddie
Agree about Boeshield T-9. It's the only lube I use after 35+ yrs of biking. I don't have any complaints.
This is an incredibly well orchestrated test. My only wish is that you had included other super popular chain lubricant brands such as Finish Line and WD40's bike specific dry lube.
Yes - I may get to them some day... - Eddie
Well if you look up "Finish line wax lubricant zero friction cycling" (without the quotation marks), you'll find that it was basically the worst thing they'd ever tested. Guess which one I've been using?
@@SimplyMountainBiking "ProGold prolink" is also extremely popular, easily top 8.
I see a lot of comments regarding Squirt. I am a Squirt user and it’s definitely fantastic. I noticed right away that in the first friction test you didn’t wait until the wax dried which is the recommended way to use it hence why I knew the wear would be too much. I’m glad you rectified that later in your comments. Definitely wait overnight before you go out and ride your bike. I’ve had my chain for 2.5 years now and have ridden over 12,500 km on it and no wear on my chain yet. An Ultegra 11 speed.
Thanks for sharing! -Eddie
Pretty thorough! These days, if you don't have immersive wax in your test, you're missing it. On MTB for dry conditions it's ultra fast, and attracts zero dust/dirt.
It's does well in wet conditions also
@@pewsician2388 I would differ with you there. I started with it here in OR this early spring and was caught a few times in steady rains. On a solid, wet, gritty ride like that the wax is gone gone gone when you get home. Testing shows it's not great in wet or muddy conditions--where you'd be better off with a wet lube--Silca's Synergetic. I'll use that in Winter and Super Secret in Summer here. DOesn't rain all summer.
I don't ride dry and was selfish in this test - testing only lubes I would consider using... -Eddie
Beg to differ. I'm in Oregon and used it for a full summer with great results. Winter weather showed up and my Silca wax is GONE after one wet gritty ride. I went to Synergetic wet for Winter, Wax for summer.@@pewsician2388
Mate, great vid! Loved the effort you put into this - also helps that my favorite chain lubes where the top two! Keep up the great work.
Thanks, will do! -Eddie
You are the man when it comes to thoroughly testing all aspects of the chain lubes. Thank you so much for all the time you invested to give me an informed direction for purchasing one these products. I am buying Muc-Off for my Diamondback Response today.
Thank you! -Eddie
Thank you! -Eddie
Good video and tests. Funny thing though, I replaced Muc Off after years of use and went to Squirt, it is head and shoulders better in real world application. I have doubled chain life, which increases cog life. Also you dont have to perform deep chain cleaning ever again, just wipe of surface dust and add more lube. Maybe you could have explained a paraffin lube to oil base lubes better. Again, good video.
Thanks for sharing! I'll have a dry test of Squirt soon. I'll also be comparing Squirt to another paraffin. I hope you'll watch it. -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking Hope to see you adding a "OZ cycle recipe (pure parraffin with a 10th 1.6micron PTFE)" Heat wax bath to that test.
I did the same! I was really disappointed with Muc Off...the only "positive" for me was that it smelled nice. It wears off completely after each ride on my gravel bike...the drivetrain starts sounding like a bird sanctuary after 60-70 km...
I got a free sample of Squirt for a race a few years ago. That's now my go-to lube. I ride in the SW US and it's perfect.
Wow, I just shifted to Squirt also. Not picking up dirt and dust is important! I was using Muc Off, but it seemed to gum up the chain after a while.
A lot of excellent work here, thanks!
I do think, however, the block-on-ring test would have been more realistic had it been done by wetting the block/ring, let sit for 10min, and running with nothing in the reservoir. Also consider acetone between fluids to clean the previous off. A flir camera might show temperature differences indicative of friction.
I appreciate you sharing these points and ideas! -Eddie
I've been using R&R Gold on my Trek Domane road riding since I got the bike 3 months ago and I've been very happy with it but not quite sure how it well was performing, especially with regards to wear. So happy I found your video. You have validated my thoughts and feelings about the product.
Great to hear! -Eddie
Been using Dumonde for a while and it works really well against volcanic dust found in eastern Oregon and the Sierras in CA. The biggest issue is it collects the dust and makes "build up" on your pulleys and chain ring. I've found Dumonde to be a bit of overkill for my local trails near Santa Cruz. Still after 30 years, my favorite for my conditions in dry weather is TriFlo. I'm sad it didn't get included in the test.
Thanks for sharing. Maybe I will test Tri-Flow some day... -Eddie
Great video! I appreciate the effort that you put into doing these extensive tests.
Glad you like them! -Eddie
Amazing amazing content with insanely well defined and well measured test! Not sure why I didn't came through your channel or videos before. It was refreshing and this channel should have way more views than random review channels. Keep up the good work and design more such tests. Thanks!
Thank you very much!
Absolutely loved this video. Was up in the air what chain lube to buy, now I know. Thanks
Glad I could help! -Eddie
No you don’t, test was fun to watch but rather meaningless. Comparing apples and pears. Can’t compare regular oils with lubricants that are using a carrier that needs to evaporate before the lubricant will do it’s job.
I don’t know if the product that “won” is good, it might very well be. But the way these tests were carried out were not correct at all.
Great video! Although most tests don't reflect wear conditions on a real chain, I recommend the channel Zero Friction Cycling. It has more accurate tests. My go to would be Squirt
ZFS is a distributor for MSW. I'm just a dude in my garage. I have no sponsors or interest in any lube winning. I didn't find wax to be a good lubricant at all. -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking you might want to revisit wax , it's unmatched in chain and drive train longevity and also the fastest. It's not for everyone in every situation.
Hello Simply Mountain Biking, Thank you for your time and effort put into this video. This is by far the best bike chain lube video on TH-cam! New subscriber.
Glad you like it! -Eddie
Loved the tests, so comprehensive. I wish some other very popular lubes were tested like Finish Line Dry Teflon, WD-40 Dry and Pro Link Gold. Although these seem similar to other lubes tested and probably wouldn't stand up to Muc-Off.
Great suggestions! I'll have a look at these if I do a "viewers choice" video review. -Eddie
Also maxima chain pro, finish like wet, 3M Chain saver, Tri flow…etc
May I suggest that you test a bottle [not spray can] of 3-IN-ONE Multi-Purpose Oil?
Great test! Thanks for doing this, it was super helpful.
Very welcome! -Eddie
Fantastic scientific approach!
I was super pleased to see my favorite lube won! Yay for Muc-Off!!!
I hear the Wet version is even better, as it supposedly stays on even better.
Cool! I'll check it out. -Eddie
Muc off wet lube ends up creating a paste like material that ends up chewing through your drive train. Avoid it.
@CocoPlops hmm... just put some Muc-Off Wet lube on. Haven't ridden yet. There was probably some muc-off dry lube still on. Chain is fairly clean. Curious to see if it acts weird, as you say.
Absolutely amazing work on the tests! Very nice methodology and a great setup for repeatability.
I only have one small point to criticize.
The first test is fairly unrealistic in any bike related scenario and none of the bike lubricants are designed to work this way.
I would have loved to see the same method as used with the Muc-Off dry lube as that is a lot more realistic.
I would wager that WD-40 could actually perform better that way as the cleaning agents that are part of the WD-40 that are designed to loosen and solve particles from metal would have evaporated potentially leading to less wear.
Thank you for the comment and suggestions! -Eddie
This looks like a great experiment, thank you for sharing! I'm curious as to how White Lightning's Clean Ride dry lube stands up to the Muc-Off, as well as Finish Line's dry lube.
Great suggestions! -Eddie
Definitely agree on a dry lube shootout
Yes add more lube. I use this one
Holy hell! What a fantastic video comparison! This is the gold standard for any comparison video
Wow, thanks! -Eddie
I’ve been using muc off for a while now with great success. I also make sure I lube every ride and my shifting has been a dream. It’s cheap way to keep a bike running smoothly in my book. I would have liked to see tri flow tested as it’s widely used.
Thanks for sharing - I'll have a look at flow. -Eddie
During the Wet Test I think it would have been valuable to note the weight of the chain before it went through the lubing process. With that you could effectively calculate the percentage of lube lost. Some lubes may deposit less material so may have less mass to lose and could sqew the results
Thanks for your feedback. -Eddie
This is the best bike related product test i've seen, Its close to Project Farm for thoroughness of testing. I've used Muc Off for years so i'm pretty happy with your results.
Thanks! -Eddie
Interesting result and great detailed video. From my personal experience I find Muc-Off lubes collect too much dust & dirt and cleaning the chain just with a cloth will be dirt smear all over the place. It takes more time to completely clean your drive train on a wash and even a quick wipe off and re-lube results in a lot of dirt. I switched from MucOff to Squirt and find Squirt superior. It might not last as long or have slightly worse efficiency in wet conditions BUT wiping off and re-lubing takes 5 mins incl. a _clean_ drivetrain. I rather lubricate every 150km instead of having everything dirty as hell on every wash. Being a roadi / gravel guy here though
Thanks for sharing your perspectives and experience! I guess I'll see how Muc-Off does in real world conditions. -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking Great test! I use Muc-Off Dry Ceramic lubricant since over a year on my MTB and I find the chain to stay very clean. On the other hand, the Wet (non-Ceramic) lube does collect quite a bit of dirt on my city bike, but there I don't care as much and drive even while it's raining.
@@patoberli Thanks for sharing! -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking I've been using mucoff dry on my mtb in dusty and wet conditions and I really like it. I find one of the best things about it is how it sheds dirt and how easily it cleans off with a chain cleaning machine. Depending on how muddy the rides are, I usually clean and lube my chain after 3 rides. With about 3K km on it, it has no noticeable wear. On my commuting e-fat bike that I ride all year round including some pretty bad snow, slush and salt conditions, I tried paraffin wax the 1st winter and it was OK but too much of a pain for cleaning and relubing. This past winter I used rock and roll gold and probably was not all that diligent and it worked OK too and was way less effort for maintenence. I've also used a schwinn wet lube that looks a lot like chainsaw oil and as long as you wipe it down well, it doesn't attract too much dirt, resists wash off well and is the longest lasting. I rode 10K km last year, its a 1000W mid drive ebike and I have steep hills over 15% on my way home. I use it as my main mode of transport and often load it up with 230lb me and another 40 or 50 lbs of stuff so it's really punishing that chain. I've gotten as low as around 1000km on a chain in winter and maybe 4K km in summer. I probably go through 4 chains a year, I get KMC plate silver or ept 8 speed chains and change them around 0.75 percent wear. At almost 14K km ice gone through 1 drive sprocket and 2 cassettes. Still way cheaper than a car :-) I usually start off with just the factory lube and decrease the outside of the chain and that lasts quite a long time and doesn't attract much dirt. I'm pretty much now about what's easy and quick to use. At about $30 a chain, it's not worth wasting too much of my time on maintenance.
@Stephen - thanks for sharing! That's a lot of experience shared! -Eddie
Love how in depth your tests are and subscribed off the back of your chain cleaner tests.
Stumbled across this test and must say I am and am not surprised. I've just switched to Squirt after years on Rock n Roll gold. in the month I've used it on both my MTB and gravel bike I've noticed that I don't have to apply it as frequently as I did Gold and that my drivetrain is quieter with Squirt.
The issue with the wear test here is that you are testing metal on metal at high rotational speeds. This high rotational speed will cause more heat build up at the contact area and will brake down some lubricants faster than other, particularly some of the waxes which will melt. Bike chains don't move very fast, don't have high rotational speeds and therefore don't get hot so a lube designed for a bike chain won't necessarily do well in your test as it hasn't been designed with high rotation and heat in mind. There is a reason why there are so many lubricants out for for different uses and this test isn't really indicative of how a bike chain works.
What I've noticed in the real world is that I'm liking Squirt more than any other lube I've tried so far. Sure, I don't have a long time on the product so don't know how it will fair long term but usually a quieter, cleaner chain would indicate less wear occurring.
Keep up the good work, I know how time consuming these videos are to create!
Thank you for your feedback. I love it when people share their real world experience here - to contrast against the lab tests! -Eddie
woo i use rock n roll gold for years.. glad it finished 2nd!! thanks for the cool video. took a lot of time to make this and much appreciated!
Glad you liked it! -Eddie
@Simply Mountain Biking thanks a lot for this scientific detailed test! So amazing and so well done! The time you spent for providing the community experimental results of bike lubes! Indeed, I was expecting from sand-test results that Muc-Off would be the winner! I'm starting to use it!
Bravo Muc-Off!
Thank you very much! -Eddie
What ever happened to Tri-Flow as a chain lube? When I rode a lot in the 80s and 90s that was all we used. I still have it in the garage and it works great as a general lube, and it smells much better than WD40.
Never heard of it... -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking You're joking, right?
@@zoomustard I was wondering the same thing! I live and mountain bike in NC (Pisgah) and Tri-Flow is all I have ever seen used around these parts
@@zoomustard Was looking for a comment mentioning Tri-Flow. Could be personal bias but among my riding buddies it's a classic.
Thank you for all the work you put into this to help us all out! With all of the options out there, it is so hard to narrow down a good quality product that I want to spend my money on.
You are so welcome! -Eddie
Measuring the weight loss of the cylinders instead of the size of the scar would have been a much more accurate way of determining which lubes lubed better. But great video and thanks for all the information!
Thank you for your feedback. -Eddie
Are you in mech eng
Would like to have seen WD40’s actual chain lube(s), instead of the water displacer. Also, Tri-Flow is a popular lubricant that I’ve used for years. Otherwise great video!
Thanks! -Eddie
+1 I've always just used tri-flow. Too bad it wasn't tested.
This video is gold. He put so much thought, planning and effort into this! Real test results, vs most of the other videos on the same subject, that at mostly opinion based. Very valuable. I may be biased though. My most recent chain lube of choice is Muc Off.
Thank you so much. I'm just a dude in my garage. I very much preferred cheap and easy before producing this video. -Eddie
Wow! Super video. Loved it! Really appreciate all the effort and time you put into it!
I happen to use Rock n Roll Gold. Glad to see it did well. It's sold as a drip on dry lube (goes on wet, wipe dry, then let dry for 8 hours before using the bike). Wonder how it would have scored in the sand retention test if it been allowed to dry first. Really keeps my chain clean.
Thank you - and I appreciate the perspective on letting R&R Gold dry. -Eddie
I use the RnR Gold on the Recc of World Cup Champion mech Brad Copeland. He's tried 'em all. I believe gold is not marketed as a dry lube .."creates a wet membrane..." It works best after sitting a few hours because it apparently pushes contaminants out to the surface over time which you then wipe off. Works great five minutes after applying as well.
Great video overall, well executed tests imo. Mucoff in my experience offers those little details that matters to me and maybe other riders aswell. I've got the UV light lube and i love that even tho i just get to see it when im doing my maintenance at home.
Thanks for sharing! -Eddie
I have sworn by Muc Off for years. Your thorough testing has proven without a doubt that I'm only going to continue to apply Muc Off. BTW. Muc Off Ceramic is another Winner.
Thanks for sharing! -Eddie
I'd be interested to see how Muc-Off's wet lube compares across those same challenges - I was actually pretty surprised to see how well the M-O dry did against the water.
Thanks for the suggestion - I might give it a try. -Eddie
First off thank you for this video’ aros e job!
@kieran0 I’d second that! I’ve used wet during the winter and switch to wax in the summer.
I’d love to see how each of the muc-off products perform against each other.
It would be great to also see how different wax’s perform this had been my first season using wax during the dry months and I enjoyed them. Seemed like my chain stretch and wear were significantly decreased. Am I crazy? Thanks Eddie
Wow Eddie that was an extensive test. Thank you for doing that. I'm glad I use Muc-off dry lube, and it smells great.
Fatty's Rock!
🤘🏽😎🇺🇲
Thank you! -Eddie
The amount of work and detail thoughts you put into these tests are impressive! Ingenious!
I am also impressed about how much some of the liquid gold lubricants costs and then don't deliver.
Thanks! -Eddie
Thank you! -Eddie
I like how you followed exactly ZERO application methods on the lubricants.
Thanks for the comment! - Eddie
WD-40...not an actual lubricant.
Haha - nope! -Eddie
The amount of testing for this video is incredible! I'm so happy for such a thorough dive into chain lubes
Thank you! -Eddie
Squirt needs 24 hrs to dry ... Blah...
Check out the Squirt specific video I made. -Eddie
This was such an in-depth and well thought out analysis. Very informational. Thanks for putting in all that work!
Thanks! -Eddie
I just came back to this vid with an update: I went into my local shop to get some Rock N' Roll (I've used the Blue one for quite a while); when the head mechanic suggested I switch to *Wolf-Tooth's* *WT-1.* It's pretty expensive, but was supposed to last longer... The results are in and IT'S *AWESOME!!!* It actually lasts *wwwaaayyyy* longer. I rode all last summer, lubed up my chain this spring, and even used it to lube my dropper post, bushings, sealed bearings and my derailleur during my spring maintenance tasks; and I have used less than 1/4 of the bottle!! It's amazing stuff for sure!
Thanks for sharing! -Eddie
@@SimplyMountainBiking you are certainly welcome. I'm absolutely convinced that the WT-1 is the bestest. It also has been fantastic at reducing the "grit" factor that we have around here in the late summer, where our dirt is closer to powdered sugar than actual dirt.
Hey SMB! We need an updated comparison of Lubes! There are a lot of new options, specially now that the eMTB market is hot. I keep coming back to this video. Love it. Cheers man!
Haha - I planned a follow-on, but... life happens. I don't think I'll get to it soon. Not enough free weekends. :) -Eddie
As passionate Rock Gold fan for years... Held my breath till end! Confirmed great stuff!
Nice! -Eddie
I’ve recently become a bit obsessed with studying products like this. Mostly gun oils along with some other stuff. This video is amazing. Your tests were so well done and extremely informative. There’s a ton of products like this you could test. I know this a bike channel but if you’re interested I could recommend some gun oils to test. In any case you should check out for yourself a product called seafoam deep creep. It’s a penetrating oil for loosening rusty bolts and such, but is also quite a good lubricant, protects fairly well against rust, and is supposed to resist heat and evaporation. They recommend it for bike chains.
Thank you so much! I don't have any current plans to break out the test kit soon. I'll keep this in mind - maybe some day! -Eddie
This is very good research, even if you're not interested in lubricants. At the end it's about being sceptic to what you've been told, and how to overcome that.
Thank you! -Eddie
Thank you so much for doing this testing. You deserve an award for your fair design-of-experiments, fair comparison and unbiased results for this trial. Essential viewing - I'm subscribing.
Thanks! -Eddie
This is one of the best videos on bike components. Great job and thank you.
Glad you liked it! -Eddie
Jeez this was a thorough review my God. Impresive. Thanks a lot for your time!
Haha - it took some time to make. Thank you! -Eddie
hats off to you man , really did a had work just for a small topic , really loved the efforts and the video.
I appreciate that! -Eddie
Immediate sub for all the effort gone into this! Also happy with Evans for suggesting the muc off for my first mtb purchase, didn't even realise it's biodegradable too 💚
Awesome, thank you! -Eddie
Just came across your video and wanted to thank you for all the test you performed. Very informative. Thanks
Very welcome! -Eddie
I read a bike reviewer site who tested a bunch of lines in real world conditions. The 2 that stood out was muc off dry and rock and roll red.
So add the red into your next test and great that the muc off dry match as a top choice
Thanks for the info! -Eddie
LEGEND! A really well done test. Thank you so much for your time, effort and attention to detail.
You're welcome! -Eddie
While was making a run for supplies I needed for work, I purchased a bottle of Rock N Roll about two weeks ago. I had been having some creaking and clanking issues with my chain for about a year that was quite annoying. I initially thought it was a problem somewhere in my 3 piece crank, but I'm glad I didn't take the bike to be serviced. I used the product as suggested, then gave the chain, free coaster wheel, and chain wheel a good cleaning. Those three areas were where the problem was coming from. An old Champion shirt, a few Q-Tips, and a folded bus transfer were the tool kit I used to get the gunk out of the small spaces and corners.
Thanks for sharing! -Eddie
There are no available videos like this one... the information you provided us could be quite important in order to make a wise purchase decision.
Thumbs up and subscribed to this channel. Astonished with the quality of info and performed tests.
Thank you for your comment! -Eddie
you earned a subscriber, like and fan, amazing work and time invested on this video to share the best for us, thanks for sharing this.
Thank you! -Eddie
This is the best review I’ve seen in my life. A well designed of experiment with controlled measurements and results.
Thank you so much! -Eddie