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Oils, waxes, dry lubricants, wet lubricants. The sheer flood of products for the bike chain has bikers' heads spinning like cranks. On top of this, some manufacturers now also offer oils for e-bike chains and nano-particle-based lubricants as well as speciality products with magic ingredients such as graphene. Cost: a whopping 129.95 euros for 140 millilitres.
But do bikers really need all these special products to crank smoothly over the trails and minimise wear on the drivetrain? We get to the bottom of the question and test 20 all-round lubricants for the bike chain from the most important manufacturers on the market.
You can download the complete comparison test of 20 chain oils and bicycle lubricants from BIKE 11/2020 as a PDF below the article. The test costs 1.99 euros.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in BIKE. We don't charge for them, but the opposite is the case: we do charge for them - tens of thousands of euros every year.
All chain lubricants in the test
- Sonax silicone chain care oil
- Tunap Chain Oil Ultimate
- Wash'n Roll organic drive oil
- WD40 Bike Chain Oil Dry
- Weldtite Sport chain fluid
- Zéfal Extra Dry Chain Wax
Our extensive laboratory test provides information about the actual quality of the lubricants and shows that good lubrication does not have to be expensive. You can find high-quality products on the market for as little as €4.40 per 100 millilitres that will give your chain a long life.
Downloads:
Stefan Frey
Editor
